Stephen Paul Ford (born 15 August 1965 in

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

) was a Welsh international

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 ...

winger. After being banned from rugby union for an act of professionalism, he was eventually allowed back into the sport and went on to represent the Wales national team. He played club rugby for

Rugby career

Club career

Steve Ford played rugby as a schoolboy representing Llanrumney High School before joining Rumney RFC. In April 1985, Ford made his debut for

. Later that year, he had a trial with

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 ...

club

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

. He made two appearances for the club as an amateur, scoring a try in a 60–12 win against

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford, n ...

in the Yorkshire Cup. He was offered a contract by Leeds, but Ford decided to return to Wales and resume playing for Cardiff. However, the

Welsh Rugby Union The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; ) 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, overseeing 320 member clu ...

soon learned of Ford's appearances for Leeds, and banned him from playing rugby union due to the sport's stance on professionalism. During his ban, Ford played several rugby league matches with

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

during the 1985–86 season. At the time, Ford claimed that he had only received expenses for his appearances in rugby league, but admitted many years later that he was paid to play the sport. His ban was eventually lifted, and he began playing for Cardiff again in 1988. He scored 198 tries for Cardiff.

International career

In 1990 he won his first full international cap, facing

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

as part of the 1990 Five Nations Championship. Ford was utilised on the wing, and scored a try on his debut. Despite this Wales lost the match 14-8. Ford was next selected for Wales on their 1990 Summer tour of Namibia. Ford played in both tour Tests against

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

, Wales winning both. After representing Wales against the touring

Barbarians A barbarian is a person or tribe of people that is perceived to be primitive, savage and warlike. Many cultures have referred to other cultures as barbarians, sometimes out of misunderstanding and sometimes out of prejudice. A "barbarian" may ...

in October 1990, Ford was selected for the

1991 Five Nations Championship The 1991 Five Nations Championship was the 62nd series of the Five Nations Championship, an annual rugby union competition between the major Northern Hemisphere rugby union national teams. The tournament consisted of ten matches held between 19 Ja ...

. Ford played in three of the Championship matches; the loss to England at

followed by a second defeat, this time to Scotland in which Ford scored his second and final international try. Ford's final home nations game was a draw with Ireland. Ford's final international was during the 1991 Wales tour of Australia, in which Wales were crushed 63-6 by

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in Brisbane. Although he never played in any of the matches of the tournament, Ford was part of the Wales team that participated in the

1991 Rugby World Cup The 1991 Rugby World Cup () was the second edition of the Rugby World Cup, and was jointly hosted by England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France: at the time, the five European countries who participated in the Six Nations Championship, Five Na ...

, hosted by England. Despite not representing the Wales team in the years following, he was chosen for the Wales squad for the

1995 Rugby World Cup The 1995 Rugby World Cup (), was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country. The World Cup was the first major sporting event to take place in ...

but again failed to be selected for any of the tournament games.

International matches played

Wales * 1991 *

1990 * 1991 * 1990, 1991 * 1990, 1990 * 1991

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Steve 1965 births Living people Rugby union players from Cardiff Rugby union wings Welsh rugby union players Rugby league wingers Welsh rugby league players Rumney RFC players Cardiff RFC players Leeds Rhinos players Salford Red Devils players Wales international rugby union players 1991 Rugby World Cup players 1995 Rugby World Cup players