Melvyn James (21 February 1948 – 11 December 2022) was a Welsh

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

and professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer who played in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. He played club level rugby union (RU) for

Resolven RFC Resolven Rugby Football Club are a Wales, Welsh rugby union club based in Resolven in Wales and are a feeder club for the Ospreys (rugby union), Ospreys. History Rugby was supposedly introduced to Resolven by two visiting engineers; Charlie Th ...

and Swansea RFC, and at representative level rugby league (RL) for

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

, and at club level for St. Helens, as a .

Career

International honours

Mel James won

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

s for the

(RL) while at St. Helens in the 1975 Rugby League World Cup against England, in 1978 against France, England, and Australia, in 1979 against France and England, in 1980 against France and England, and in 1981 against France and England (2 matches). James also toured with the 1979

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

side in Australia but did not play in any of the test matches.

World Club Challenge Final appearances

Mel James was a Substitute in St. Helens 2-25 defeat by the 1975 NSWRFL season premiers, Eastern Suburbs Roosters in the unofficial 1976 World Club Challenge at

Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in the Moore Park, New South Wales, Moore Park suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australi ...

on Tuesday 29 June 1976.

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Mel James played as a substitute (replacing John Mantle) in St. Helens' 20-5 victory over

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2021–2022 United Kingdom censuses, 2021 census had a population of 62,400. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, ...

in the 1976 Challenge Cup Final at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on Saturday 8 May 1976.

County Cup Final appearances

Mel James played left- in St. Helens 0-16 defeat by

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

in the 1982 Lancashire Cup Final at

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

on Saturday 23 October 1982.

BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final appearances

Mel James played right- in St. Helens' 22-2 victory over

Dewsbury Dewsbury is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder, West Yorkshire, River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, ...

in the 1975 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final at Knowsley Road, St. Helens on Tuesday 16 December 1975, played right- in the 11-26 defeat by

Hull Kingston Rovers Hull Kingston Rovers (often abbreviated to Hull KR) are a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England. The club play home games at Craven Park, Hull, Craven Park and compete in Super League, the top tier of B ...

in the 1977 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final at Craven Park,

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually shortened to Hull, is a historic maritime city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Est ...

on Tuesday 13 December 1977, and played right- in the 7-13 defeat by Widnes in the 1978 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final at Knowsley Road, St Helens on Tuesday 12 December 1978.

Personal life

James died on 11 December 2022, at the age of 74.

References

External links

Profile at saints.org.uk

Statistics at swansearfc.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Mel 1948 births 2022 deaths 20th-century Welsh sportsmen Resolven RFC players Rugby league players from Resolven Rugby league props Rugby union players from Resolven St Helens R.F.C. players Swansea RFC players Wales national rugby league team players Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players