Robert Clive Burgess (25 November 1950 - 2 May 2006) was an international

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 ...

flanker who played 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 ...

from 1977 to 1982. Burgess was a popular player who had many nicknames some of which were ''Budgie'', ''Animal'' and ''The Steel Claw'' thanks to his fearless nature and rugged appearance. He played his club rugby for Ebbw Vale RFC, Croesyceiliog RFC and Brescia Rugby Burgess is unusual as he first started playing rugby at the age of 20 after leaving the Merchant Navy. This did not prevent him from being

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...

for the Wales B team against France in 1976 and his first full cap came in a

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-scoring debut 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 1977. He was a key member of the 1977

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winning side and on his recall from the international wilderness in 1981, was promptly voted Welsh Player of the Year. He was renowned for his mauling strength and won nine caps between 1977 and 1982. Born in Manmoel on 25 November 1950, Robert Clive Burgess joined Ebbw Vale from Croesyceiliog RFC and was a superb servant to the Eugene Cross Park club, for whom he made more than 200 appearances, before finishing his career in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

with

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...

. Former

Welsh Rugby Union The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; cy, Undeb Rygbi Cymru) is the Sports governing body, 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 ...

Chief Executive Steve Lewis said, Burgess died in May 2006 leaving behind a widow and two daughters.

Family

His uncle, Ron Burgess was a

international footballer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burgess, Clive 1950 births 2006 deaths Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union players Rugby union players from Caerphilly Ebbw Vale RFC players Rugby union flankers Rugby union number eights