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Clifford Isaac Morgan, (7 April 1930 – 29 August 2013) 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 peop ...
rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
player who played for
Cardiff RFC Cardiff Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Caerdydd) is a rugby union club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876Parry-Jones (1989), pg 59 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, shortly after ...
and earned 29
caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...
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 ...
between 1951 and 1958. After his playing career ended, Morgan made a successful career in broadcasting, both as a commentator and presenter and also as a programme-maker and
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
executive.


Rugby career

Morgan, born in Trebanog in the Rhondda valley, was from a mining family and joined Cardiff Rugby Club straight from Tonyrefail Grammar School in 1949, playing at fly-half. Blessed with natural balance and strength, together with an astute line-kicking ability and searing acceleration, he quickly made an impact. He also played club rugby in Ireland for Bective Rangers in the 1955–56 season, with the club being dubbed the "Morgan Rangers" as a result. He won his first cap for Wales against
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
in 1951, playing opposite his own hero
Jack Kyle John Wilson Kyle, (10 February 1926 – 27 November 2014), commonly referred to as Jack Kyle or Jackie Kyle, was a rugby union player who played for Ireland, the British and Irish Lions and the Barbarians during the 1940s and 1950s. Kyle is bes ...
. He was part of the Grand Slam-winning Welsh side of 1952. The following year he inspired both Cardiff and Wales to historic victories over the touring All Blacks. In 1956, following his success on the 1955 British Lions tour to South Africa, he was made captain of Wales. During that tour, in which the Test series was drawn 2–2, Morgan distinguished himself for his marshalling of a talented Lions backline that included
Jeff Butterfield Jeffrey Butterfield (9 August 1929, Heckmondwike, Yorkshire – 30 April 2004, Wicken, Northamptonshire) was an England, British and Irish Lions, Yorkshire, Cleckheaton RUFC, Northampton and Barbarians Rugby player and businessman. Education ...
and Arthur Smith in the centre, with
Cecil Pedlow Alexander Cecil Pedlow (20 January 1934 – 9 November 2019) was an Irish rugby union player, particularly remembered for his tenure with the British Lions. He represented Ireland 30 times and the British Lions, earning two caps for them on th ...
and
Tony O'Reilly Sir Anthony Joseph Francis O'Reilly (born 7 May 1936) is an Irish former businessman and international rugby union player. He is known for his involvement in the Independent News & Media Group, which he led from 1973 to 2009,Dublin, Ireland, ...
on the wings. Morgan's try in the first Test at Ellis Park, in front of a then world-record crowd of 100,000, helped secure a sensational 23–22 victory at the end of a match that some still consider the most exciting ever played. The Springboks levelled the series in the second Test. Then, with Lions skipper
Robin Thompson Robin Henderson Thompson (5 May 1931 – 14 August 2003) was a rugby union international for Ireland, a former British Lions captain and rugby league player. Robin Thompson won two Ulster Schools Senior Cup medals with RBAI (Royal Belfast Aca ...
injured ahead of the third Test in Pretoria, Morgan was made captain and duly inspired his team and controlled the game to ensure a 9–6 win that meant the series could not be lost. The South African newspapers dubbed him "Morgan the Magnificent" and the level to which his influence was thought key was reflected in the frenzy of coverage his injured ankle received as the fourth Test came around. Although he played, he was not fully fit and the Lions could not prevent the Springboks squaring the series. But his reputation was already made and the memory of that tour – still known in South Africa as "the Cliff Morgan tour" – proved long-lived. His last game of first-class rugby was for the Barbarians on 28 May 1958 at the RFUEA Ground,
Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...
, versus
East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...
.


Broadcasting and television career

Following his retirement from the game in 1958 he found a new career in broadcasting. Although he will forever be remembered for his celebrated commentary on the 1973 Barbarians rugby match against the touring All Blacks at Cardiff (particularly the commentary of " that try, that golden try") his broadcasting career was far more wide-ranging and influential than that single event would suggest. During his playing days he had already been spotted by the BBC in Wales as a natural talker and communicator, and in 1960, at the invitation of the BBC's Head of Welsh Programmes, Hywel Davies, he joined BBC Wales as Sports Organiser in Cardiff. His exceptional ability as a programme-maker and story-teller briefly took him outside the familiar world of BBC Sport in the mid-1960s, when he spent two years as editor of ITV's current affairs programme ''This Week''. Returning to the BBC he then produced and edited established TV sports programmes such as ''Grandstand'' and ''Sportsnight With Coleman'', and, from 1970, was himself one of the original team captains (opposite
Henry Cooper Sir Henry Cooper (3 May 19341 May 2011) was a British heavyweight boxer, best remembered internationally for a 1963 fight in which he knocked down a young Cassius Clay before the fight was stopped because of a cut eye from Clay's punches. Coo ...
) on the long-running TV quiz ''
A Question of Sport ''Question of Sport'' (previously ''A Question of Sport'') is a British television sports quiz show produced and broadcast by the BBC. It is the "world's longest running TV sports quiz". Following a pilot episode in December 1968, broadcast on ...
''. In radio he found a natural outlet for his love of music, presenting for a time the BBC Radio 2 series ''These You Have Loved''. He also presented 'Singing Together' a radio for schools programme. Off-air, his enduring influence in the world of sport and beyond helped him rise to join the ranks of leading BBC executives. In 1974 he became Head of BBC Radio Sport and Outside Broadcasts, and from 1976 to 1987 he was Head of BBC Television Sport and Outside Broadcasts, supervising coverage of major events including football World Cups, Commonwealth and Olympic Games, Royal weddings and other national ceremonial occasions, notably the funeral of Mountbatten in 1979 and the wedding of Charles and Diana in 1981. After his retirement from his executive post in BBC Television in 1987 he returned to radio, where his warm, mellifluous voice, together with his natural conversational style and his wide range of contacts in sport and entertainment, greatly benefited BBC Radio 4 series such as '' Sport on Four'' (1987–1998), ''My Heroes'' (1987–90) and ''Down The River''. In 1988 he was a subject of ITV's ''This Is Your Life''. He contributed to numerous publications about rugby and lent his voice to many popular rugby videos. Among his books, he edited ''Rugby The Great Ones'' (1970), wrote perceptive short profiles to accompany John Ireland's illustrations for the anthology ''Rugby Characters'' (1990), and in 1996 produced his autobiography, ''Cliff Morgan: Beyond the Fields of Play'' (with Geoffrey Nicholson). Morgan survived a life-threatening stroke in 1972 at the age of 42. He had been commentating on a Rugby match for BFBS in Germany. He spent three weeks in
RAF Hospital Wegberg The former Royal Air Force Hospital Wegberg, commonly abbreviated to RAF(H) Wegberg, was a Royal Air Force (RAF) military hospital located in Wegberg, near the city of Mönchengladbach, in the then West Germany. It was opened in 1953 to serve th ...
and spoke very highly of his treatment there. He made a full recovery. In retirement, he was afflicted with cancer of the vocal chords and the removal of his larynx, resulting in limited ability to speak. Morgan died at his home in Bembridge, Isle of Wight, on 29 August 2013 at the age of 83.


Awards

When the
International Rugby Hall of Fame The International Rugby Hall of Fame (IRHOF) was a hall of fame for rugby union. It was created in 1997 in New Zealand and is run as a charitable trust with an address at Chiswick in London. Most of the trustees are also inductees. IRHOF acc ...
was created in 1997, Morgan was among the inaugural inductees, alongside his Lions contemporary
Tony O'Reilly Sir Anthony Joseph Francis O'Reilly (born 7 May 1936) is an Irish former businessman and international rugby union player. He is known for his involvement in the Independent News & Media Group, which he led from 1973 to 2009,Dublin, Ireland, ...
and Welsh rugby legends
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 ...
,
Barry John Barry John (born 6 January 1945) is a former Welsh rugby union fly-half who played, during the amateur era of the sport, in the 1960s, and early 1970s. John began his rugby career as a schoolboy playing for his local team Cefneithin RFC befor ...
and
JPR Williams John Peter Rhys Williams (born 2 March 1949) is a former Welsh rugby union player who represented Wales in international rugby during their Golden Era in the 1970s. He became known universally as J. P. R. Williams (or sometimes just as JPR) aft ...
. In 2009, he was inducted along with O'Reilly into the
IRB Hall of Fame The World Rugby Hall of Fame (formerly the IRB Hall of Fame) recognises special achievement and contribution to the sport of rugby union. The World Rugby Hall of Fame covers players, coaches, administrators, match officials, institutions and other ...
, an honour Edwards had received two years earlier. For his contributions to broadcasting, he was honoured with an OBE and a CVO.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Cliff 1930 births 2013 deaths 20th-century Welsh businesspeople Barbarian F.C. players BBC executives BBC sports presenters and reporters Bective Rangers players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales Cardiff RFC players Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Officers of the Order of the British Empire Rugby union fly-halves Rugby union players from Trebanog Wales international rugby union players Wales rugby union captains Welsh rugby union commentators Welsh rugby union players Welsh sports broadcasters Welsh television executives World Rugby Hall of Fame inductees