Ray "Chico" Hopkins (born 8 July 1946) is a Welsh international

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

player who was also a member of the British Lions.

Background

Ray Hopkins was born in

Maesteg Maesteg is a town and community in Bridgend County Borough, Wales. Maesteg lies at the northernmost end of the Llynfi Valley, close to the border with Neath Port Talbot. In 2011, Maesteg had a population of 20,612. The English translation of Mae ...

, Wales, and he later worked as a

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fitter at their workshop in Maesteg.

Club career

Hopkins played youth

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for the

Maesteg RFC Maesteg is a town and community in Bridgend County Borough, Wales. Maesteg lies at the northernmost end of the Llynfi Valley, close to the border with Neath Port Talbot. In 2011, Maesteg had a population of 20,612. The English translation of Mae ...

academy. Later, he played for the senior Maesteg team, ,

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

and

Llanelli RFC Llanelli Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Llanelli) is a Welsh rugby union club founded on 30 March 1872. The club's historic home ground was Stradey Park in Llanelli, but they moved in 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent Pembert ...

. Hopkins played for the victorious Llanelli team that played and beat the

New Zealand All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

Stradey Park Stradey Park (Welsh: ''Parc y Strade'') was a rugby union stadium located near the centre of the town of Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It was the home of the Scarlets region and Llanelli RFC rugby teams. The stadium was a combination of s ...

on 31 October 1972. The Scarlets side emerged 9-3 winners of what was a bruising, brutal encounter at a packed Stradey Park with 20,000 supporters. Others to play in the victory included ex Wales Coach

Gareth Jenkins Gareth John James Jenkins (born 11 September 1951) is a former Wales, Welsh rugby union rugby player, and former head coach of the Wales national rugby union team, Welsh national team. After a long and distinguished career at Llanelli RFC, Jenki ...

and

Ray Gravell Raymond William Robert Gravell (12 September 1951 – 31 October 2007) was a Welsh rugby union centre who played club rugby for Llanelli RFC. At international level, Gravell earned 23 caps for Wales and was selected for the 1980 British Lions ...

. In 1972 Hopkins joined Swinton RLFC (

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), making his debut against

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on 3 December that year.

International career

Although he played only 20 minutes for the full international Wales team, Hopkins earned lasting fame in Welsh rugby history due to a notable try against England in 1970. It was unfortunate for him that

Gareth Edwards Sir Gareth Owen Edwards CBE (born 12 July 1947) is a Welsh former rugby union player who played scrum-half and has been described by the BBC as "arguably the greatest player ever to don a Welsh jersey". In 2003, in a poll of international ru ...

was in possession of the Wales and British Lions scrum-half position at the time. Hopkins's moment of fame came during the

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

v. Wales game at

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in 1970. The Wales team were behind on points with twenty minutes to go. The captain, Gareth Edwards, was injured and had to retire from the game. Hopkins came onto the field as a replacement. He soon scored a

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, and, after a

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by J.P.R. Williams, Wales won the game. He toured with the 1971 Lions to New Zealand and played in ten games against provincial sides.Chico Hopkins Lions profile
lionsrugby.com He was an injury replacement for Gareth Edwards in the

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match, which the Lions won, 9-3.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopkins, Ray 1946 births Living people Barbarian F.C. players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales Llanelli RFC players Maesteg RFC players Rugby league players from Maesteg Rugby union players from Maesteg Rugby union scrum-halves Swinton Lions players Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players