Keith Alun Rowlands (7 February 1936 – 18 November 2006), was a Welsh international

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rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

player and later administrator, who was the first chief executive officer of the

International Rugby Board World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...

Playing career

Rowlands was born in Brithdir,

Bridgend Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the medieval bridge over the River Og ...

, the son of a Glamorgan Constabulary Police Inspector. After attending

Cowbridge Grammar School Cowbridge Grammar School was one of the best-known schools in Wales until its closure in 1974. It was replaced by Cowbridge Comprehensive School. Founded in the 17th century by Sir John Stradling and refounded by Sir Leoline Jenkins, it had cl ...

, on his father's transfer to Aberdare, Rowlands entered the second year at

Aberdare Boys' Grammar School Aberdare ( ; cy, Aberdâr) is a town in the Cynon Valley area of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, at the confluence of the Rivers Dare (Dâr) and Cynon. Aberdare has a population of 39,550 (mid-2017 estimate). Aberdare is south-west of Merthyr Tydfi ...

and went on to captain both the rugby (1953–54) and

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teams (1954 and 1955). He won a Welsh Secondary School Cap in 1955, playing against England at

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

. He graduated from

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degre ...

and served

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with the 1st Battalion of

The Welch Regiment The Welch Regiment (or "The Welch", an archaic spelling of "Welsh") was an infantry regiment of the line of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1969. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of ...

from 1958 to 1960. Rowlands played for

Aberaman Aberaman is a village near Aberdare in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, south Wales. It was heavily dependent on the coal industry and the population, as a result, grew rapidly in the late nineteenth century. Most of the industry has now ...

and then

London Welsh London Welsh Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Cymry Llundain) was a rugby union club formed in 1885. Based in Old Deer Park, Richmond-upon-Thames, London Welsh RFC played in the English Premiership in the 2012–13 and 2014–15 seasons ...

. He transferred to

Llanelli Llanelli ("St Elli's llan (placename element), Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of ...

for one season in 1958, before

signed him in September 1961. He played 147 games for the Welsh capital side until 1967. In March 1962 he gained his first of five caps for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

when he played in the winning side which beat France. He made his debut for the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less ...

at Leicester in March 1962, later captaining the side in 1966. Rowlands represented the

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...

on 19 occasions, including all three tests in the 1962 Tour of South Africa, where he scored a try in the final international. He also played in the non-cap Lions match with

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. He played his last rugby for

Newport RFC Newport Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Casnewydd) is a Welsh rugby union club based in the city of Newport, South Wales. They presently play in the Welsh Premier Division. Until 2021 Newport RFC were based at Rodney Parade situated on ...

in 1973/74.

Post playing

Rowlands finished playing in 1967, and immediately became a committee member at

Cardiff RFC Cardiff Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Caerdydd) is a rugby union club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876Parry-Jones (1989), pg 59 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, shortly after ...

. He was chairman for the 1974 season and continued to serve Cardiff until 1986. Whilst serving on the Cardiff committee, he became a member of the

Welsh Rugby Union The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; cy, Undeb Rygbi Cymru) is the governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby. The WRU is responsible for the running of rugby in Wales, ove ...

. Rowlands was appointed as one of the WRU's two representatives on the

in 1983 and became the IRB's first general secretary in 1988. Under Rowlands guidance, its headquarters moved from

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Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

, Ireland. This was key in turning the

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb ...

into one of the leading sporting events in the world, which Rowlands was at the heart of as one of its directors. Rowlands decided to retire at the end of the 1995 Rugby World Cup. However, IRB chairman

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and the RWC chairman Leo Williams persuaded Rowlands to take on the Chief Executive's role at the

1999 Rugby World Cup The 1999 Rugby World Cup was the fourth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial international rugby union championship. It was principally hosted by Wales, and was won by Australia. This was the first Rugby World Cup to be held in the sport's profess ...

in Wales. He resigned all positions with the IRB and the RWC after the tournament ended. In 2004 Rowlands beat WRU Secretary David East in the contest to succeed Sir Tasker Watkins as Welsh Rugby Union president.

Outside rugby

Rowlands was married to Jean, with whom he had one child named Joanne. In his retired years, he lived with his wife in Rhiwbina, Cardiff. As he played his rugby in amateur days, Rowlands worked in sales and marketing for Arthur Guinness Ltd and the Taunton Cider before becoming a full-time professional at the IRB. In his retirement Rowlands had roles as Patron of Aberaman RFC, President of Rhiwbina RFC, the Welsh Academicals and the Welsh Deaf Rugby Association. He was also President of the Cwmbach Male Voice Choir. Rowlands collapsed at his home in Cardiff and died at lunchtime on 18 November 2006, less than 24 hours after watching Wales beat Canada 61–26 at the

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national ru ...

.Welsh Rugby Union : Tributes pour in for WRU President Keith Rowlands
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References

External links

WRU obituaryBBC obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowlands, Keith 1936 births 2006 deaths Aberdare RFC players Alumni of the University of London Barbarian F.C. players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales Cardiff RFC players Llanelli RFC players People educated at Cowbridge Grammar School Rugby union players from Bridgend County Borough Wales international rugby union players Wales Rugby Union officials Welsh rugby union players Rugby union locks