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Gareth Edwards

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Gareth Edwards
SchoolMillfield
UniversityCardiff College of Education
Rugby union career
Position(s) Template:Scrum-half
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
1966-1978 Cardiff RFC
Barbarian FC		 ()
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1967-1978
1971-1974		 Wales
British Lions		 53
10		 (88)
0(3)

Gareth Owen Edwards CBE (born 12 July 1947) is a former Welsh rugby union footballer who played scrum-half, considered by many to be one of the greatest players in the history of the game.[1] He was prominent in the Welsh national team that was to the fore in European rugby in the 60s and 70s.

In the 2007 New Years Honours List, Edwards was made a CBE for services to sport.[2]

Early life

Edwards was born a miner's son in Gwaun-cae-Gurwen, Wales. He won a scholarship to the elite Millfield Public School in Somerset, where he came under the tutelage of Bill Samuels. Apart from rugby, Gareth showed promise in a wide range of sports playing for West Wales Youth soccer team and signing for Swansea City at the age of 16. He also showed prowess in gymncastics and track and field.[3]

Playing career

Wales

Image of Edwards on the wall of the Cardiff Arms Park

Edwards won his first international cap for Wales on 1 April 1967 at the young age of 19 against France in Paris[4]. Unfortunately he would not make a winning start to his international career. Wales lost 20-14 to eventual championship winners France[5]. Between 1967 and 1978 Edwards won 53 caps for Wales, including 13 as captain. All his caps were won in succession; he never had a dip in form or an injury that would allow anybody else to take his place. Edwards was the ultimate finisher, blessed with extreme pace, married with strength, agility and guile. He scored twenty tries in internationals.

He is Wales' youngest ever captain, gaining his first captaincy at the age of 20 in February 1968 against Scotland - a game which the Welsh side won 5 - 0[6]. Edwards was very fortunate in playing with two of the best outside halves the game has ever seen: Barry John and Phil Bennett. In the early part of his career, Edwards and his club team mate Barry John appeared inseparable, always knowing what the other was doing. During his era the Welsh side dominated the Five Nations Championship, winning the title seven times, including three grand slams. In 1969, Edwards was named Player of the Year in Wales.

In 1974 Edwards was named BBC Wales Sports Personality of the year. He followed up this success by receiving an MBE in 1975.

Edwards' long successful international career came to an end on 18 March 1978 in the same way as he had started his career - against France in the Five Nations Championship. However, unlike his debut, Edwards celebrated with a 16-7 winning finish in front of a home crowd at the Arms Park in Cardiff. Wales also sealed the Grand Slam and a third consecutive Triple Crown - a record, given that no team had ever won it more than twice in a row[7]. To crown his achievements he was named Rothmans Player of the Year 1978.

British Lions

He also played ten times for the British Lions, playing for the legendary 1971 Lions team that was the only such team to win a series in New Zealand and for the unbeaten 1974 side in South Africa.

Cardiff RFC

He made his debut for Cardiff RFC against Coventry on 17 September 1966. All in all he played 12 season for Cardiff, scoring 67 tried in 195 games.

Other

Edwards also played for Cardiff College, Wales Secondary Schools, East Wales, Wales, Barbarians, Wolfhounds, Irish President XV, World XV in South Africa in 1977, the combined England and Wales against Scotland and Ireland at the RFU centenary in 1971, first Wales Sevens team SRU centenary in 1973, and the RAF (though not in the Services) on tour in Cyprus 1972.[8]

Trivia

In the 1976 series of British Superstars, Gareth Edwards came in 4th position (from 10) behind athlete David Hemery, boxer John Conteh and formula 1 driver James Hunt. He did, however, in the process beat English rugby player David Duckham (5th) and fellow Welsh team mate JPR Williams (8th).[9]

That Try

His try for the Barbarians against the All Blacks in 1973 at Cardiff Arms Park, often referred to simply as 'that try', is commonly said to be the greatest ever and is available to view on the Barbarians Website. [10] The move starts with a deep kick from the New Zealand winger. The ball drops from up high towards the tiny Phil Bennett near to his own goal line and facing the entire New Zealand team, arguably one of the greatest teams assembled. Bennett side-stepped and evaded three tackles, offloaded the ball to JPR Williams, passing through four other pairs of hands (Pullin, Dawes, David and Quinell) before Edwards finished it with a diving try in the left-hand corner.

Cliff Morgan's now legendary commentary of the try describes it thus: "Kirkpatrick to Williams. This is great stuff. Phil Bennett covering, chased by Alistair Scowan. Brilliant! Oh, that's brilliant! John Williams, Brian Williams, Pullin, John Dawes. Great dummy! David, Tom David, the half-way line. Brilliant by Quinnell. This is Gareth Edwards. A dramatic start. What a score! Oh that fellow Edwards". His other memorable score came against Scotland in 1972 when from a scrum deep in own half, Edwards raced the length of the field to score a try in the corner, and resulted in the memorable picture of him emerging caked in the red mud from the dog track that used to surround the Arms Park Stadium. The commentary for the try from Bill McLaren is as equally memorable, "Its beautiful laid back for Gareth Edwards, Edwards over the 25 yard line, over half way, the kick ahead by Edwards, can he get there, it would be a miracle if he could. He may well get there... And he has!!! The sheer magic of Gareth Edwards has brought the whole of this stadium to its feet. You can see on his face, the power, the strength, the fitness that took him there".

The Barbarians won the game 23-11.[11]

Post-playing career

The sculpture of Gareth Edwards in St. David's Centre

When he wrote his autobiography he was branded a "professional" and was temporarily prevented from coaching or being involved in any way with the sport of rugby union.

From 1978 until 1982 Edwards was a team captain on the TV quiz show A Question of Sport along with Liverpool and England footballer Emlyn Hughes.[12]

In 1997, Edwards was one of the first fifteen former players inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame along with (among others) former playing partners Barry John and JPR Williams[13]. He is also the subject of a plaque in the Rugby Pathway of Fame in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, which is credited as the home of the game.

On 21 November 2001, Edwards was voted the "Greatest Welsh Player of all time" at a rugby dinner held at the Cardiff International Arena by the 'Welsh Rugby Former International Players' Association' and First Press Events company. Voting took place via the Western Mail, South Wales Echo, Wales on Sunday and the nine Celtic Press titles. The public votes were then sifted by a team of experts and a 'crowd' of almost 1,000 packed into the CIA to discover who were the 'Greatest'.[14]

In a poll of international rugby players conducted in 2003 by Rugby World magazine, Edwards was declared the greatest player of all time. Surprisingly, Edwards has admitted that All Black scrum-half Sid Going most likely got the better of him over their seven encounters, "As I say, he was the best I played against and, yes, he probably had the edge on me in the games we played". Edwards does however think that the pack Going was playing behind may have helped, "...I wouldn't have minded playing with the back row the All Blacks had...then Sid might not have come out on top".[15]

He now commentates on the game for the BBC and S4C, commentating for the latter in Welsh, his mother tongue. He is also a director at the Cardiff Blues region, director of Mercedes dealership Euro Commercials Ltd. and President of Cardiff INstitute for hte Blind.[16]

A sculpture of Gareth Edwards stands in the St. David's Centre, Cardiff.

See also

References

  1. ^ "BBC Sport – The State of the Union".
  2. ^ BBC NEWS | Wales | Sporting stars head honours list
  3. ^ http://www.irb.com/history/halloffame/newsid=2027707.html
  4. ^ Gareth Edwards - Wales Rugby Player - Rugby-Heroes.net
  5. ^ 1967 Five Nations Championship
  6. ^ Sporting Heroes [1]
  7. ^ 1978 Five Nations Championship
  8. ^ http://www.irb.com/history/halloffame/newsid=2027707.html
  9. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tv_and_radio/superstars/2959150.stm
  10. ^ Barbarians Website.
  11. ^ http://www.barbarianfc.co.uk/match_records.cfm
  12. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/question_of_sport/qs_history/default.stm
  13. ^ International Rugby Hall of Fame - First Induction Dinner 1997[2]
  14. ^ http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/5018_2136.php
  15. ^ Palenski, R: "Century In Black, 100 Years of All Black Test Rugby", page 105. Hodder Moa Beckett Publishers Ltd, 2003
  16. ^ http://www.irb.com/history/halloffame/newsid=2027707.html


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