Gerald Davies
Birth name | Thomas Gerald Reames Davies | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 7 February 1945 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Llansaint, Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Carmarthen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
University | Loughborough College Emmanuel College, Cambridge Cardiff University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Thomas Gerald Reames Davies
Early life
Born in Llansaint, Carmarthenshire, under the local coal miners scholarship scheme he studied at Loughborough University, before studying at Emmanuel College, Cambridge,[2] and appearing for the University rugby team. Davies taught at Christ's Hospital in Horsham, Sussex from 1971 to 1974[3] when he took up a post with the Sports Council for Wales.[4]
Rugby career
Davies played club rugby for Cardiff RFC and London Welsh. He captained Cardiff for three seasons in the 1970s, his most famous game for Cardiff probably being a 1977–8 Welsh Cup game against Pontypool when he scored four tries (beating his marker and near namesake Gareth Davies on each occasion) to earn his side a 16–11 win.
He made his international debut on Saturday, 3 December 1966 against Australia in
Davies toured with the
Invited to join the 1974 Lions Tour of South Africa, he turned the opportunity down on his personal uncomfortable position at the consequences and realities of apartheid.[5]
Welsh & Lions Honours summary
For Wales: 46 Internationals, of which Wales won 29, lost 14 and drew 3 (points for 758, points against 507). 20 tries, 8 of them before the value of a try was raised to four points in the 1971–72 season (72 points in all).
For the
After retirement
After retiring as a player, Davies became a journalist, writing on rugby matters for
Davies holds Honorary Fellowships from the
In November 2007 he was announced as the manager of the 2009 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa.[11] Davies was elected to the post of President of the Welsh Rugby Union in September 2019 and took up the role in November 2019.[12] In October 2023, Davies was replaced as President of the WRU by former Director of Rugby, Terry Cobner.[13]
Bibliography
- Davies, Gerald (1979). Gerald Davies – An Autobiography. London: George Allen & Unwin. ISBN 0-04-796052-3.
References
- ^ Three Grand Slams
- ^ Davies (1979), pg 90.
- ^ Davies (1979), pg 126.
- ^ Davies (1979), pg 130.
- ^ Bills, Peter (17 July 2008). "Gerald Davies on the adventure of the Lions". The Independent. London. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
- ^ Gerald Davies' Lions profile lionsrugby.com
- ^ "Gerald Davies CBE". BBC Sport. 31 December 2002. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
- ^ "No. 56797". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2002. p. 7.
- ^ a b c "Presidents". Welsh Rugby Union. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
- ^ "Honorary Fellowships awarded". Cardiff University. Retrieved 8 July 2008.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Davies named 2009 Lions manager, BBC website 20 November 2007
- ^ "Wales legend Gerald Davies elected WRU president". BBC Sport. 30 September 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
- ^ "Three new Board members appointed". wru.wales. 28 October 2023.
External links
- Gerald Davies, WRU profile