John Rees Glyn Stephens (16 April 1922 – 4 February 1998) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

international rugby union player who played club rugby for

Tonmawr RFC Tonmawr are a Welsh rugby union club based in Tonmawr, Neath Port Talbot in South Wales. Tonmawr are a feeder club to the Ospreys regional team. Tonmawr have a tradition of producing players who go onto represent the Ospreys region - these playe ...

and

Neath Neath (; cy, Castell-nedd) is a market town and community situated in the Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a population of 19,258 in 2011. Historica ...

. He won 32 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 ...

and was selected to play in the British Lions on the 1950 tour of Australia and New Zealand. He was the son of a past Welsh rugby international, Glyn Stephens, who was also president 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 ...

. Born in 1922 in Neath, Stephens played under-14s rugby for Wales and then after being accepted to Llandovery College, he played for Wales Secondary Schools. During the Second World War Stephens played scratch rugby for many clubs while working as a miner. Initially a number eight, Stephens would later switch to the second row.

International career

Stephens made his official debut for the senior Wales team against England in 1947 under the captaincy of Haydn Tanner. Stephens had turned out against the French team in the 1945/46 'Victory' internationals, but his first capped games were during the

1947 Five Nations Championship The 1947 Five Nations Championship was the eighteenth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the fifty-third series of the northern hemisphere rugby u ...

. The 1947 England game at the

Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park ( cy, Parc yr Arfau Caerdydd), also known as The Arms Park, is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. It is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green. The Arms Park was host to the British ...

saw Wales lose 9–6 though Stephens did manage to score a try in the game, one of only two he would manage in his long career. During the 1947/48 season, Stephens lost his position to the returning

Les Manfield Leslie Manfield DFC (10 November 1915 – 2 November 2006) was a Welsh rugby union international. He was the second oldest Welsh international of all time, and at the time of his death, aged 91, the oldest living man to have played as a fo ...

, but Stephens was back for Wales's final game of the 1948 Championship game against Ireland. Over the next two years he would drop in and out of the Welsh squad, often through injury sometimes through selection choices, but in 1950 he and

Bleddyn Williams Bleddyn Llewellyn Williams MBE (22 February 1923 – 6 July 2009), was a Welsh rugby union centre. He played in 22 internationals for Wales, captaining them five times, winning each time, and captained the British Lions in 1950 for some of the ...

were chosen to represent the British Lions of their tour of Australia and New Zealand.

International matches played

Wales * 1947, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1957 * 1947, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957 * 1947, 1948, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957 * 1953 * 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957 * 1951

British Lions

During the 1950 Lions tour, Stephens was chosen for the opening match against a joint Tasman regional team. During the game he injured his shoulder and would not be fit enough to play until the eleventh game of the tour. Although he played in two Australian tests, Stephens was not deemed to be fit enough to face the New Zealand All Blacks. * Australia 1950

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Rees 1922 births 1998 deaths Barbarian F.C. players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales Neath RFC players Rugby union number eights Rugby union players from Neath Wales international rugby union players Wales rugby union captains Welsh rugby union players