Dafydd Lockyer is a semi-professional

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 it ...

player for

Pontypridd RFC Pontypridd Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Pontypridd) are a rugby union team from Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. They compete in the Indigo Group Premiership, which they won for four consecutive seasons between 2012 and 2015, and ...

in the

Principality Premiership The Welsh Premier Division, () known for sponsorship reasons as the Indigo Group Premiership, (''Uwch Gynghrair grŵp indigo'') is a rugby union league in Wales first implemented by the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) for the 1990–91 season. Compe ...

and

Abercwmboi RFC Abercwmboi Rugby Football Club is a Welsh Rugby Union club based in the Cynon Valley in South Wales. Abercwmboi RFC play in the Welsh Rugby Union Division Two East Central and is a feeder club In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team ...

. Lockyer also works as an

electrician An electrician is a tradesperson specializing in electrical wiring of buildings, transmission lines, stationary machines, and related equipment. Electricians may be employed in the installation of new electrical components or the maintenance ...

Early career

Born in

Cwmbach Cwmbach is a village and Community (Wales), community (and electoral ward) near Aberdare, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Cwmbach means 'Little Valley' in Welsh language, Welsh (Cwm = valley, Bach = little). Cwmbach has a popul ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, Lockyer played junior, youth and senior rugby for

. In 2001, while still playing at Abercwmboi, Lockyer also represented the Pontypridd Academy, before gaining honours with both Wales Youth and Welsh Schools. Lockyer joined the senior Pontypridd squad in 2003, scoring eight tries in his debut season and making most of his appearances as a winger."Lockyer's Return"
at

, 18 April 2009. Retrieved 23 February 2015

Initial success and move to Neath

Lockyer was called up to regional rugby, with the Celtic Warriors' Academy in the summer of 2004 but the region would be controversially disbanded and Lockyer returned to Pontypridd. The 2004-05 season saw Lockyer establish himself as Pontypridd's

inside centre In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16– ...

and his performances won a call up to that year's Wales under 21s. By 2006 Lockyer was an integral part of Pontypridd's

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the mos ...

victory, and again featured for Wales under 21s. Lockyer was also part of the Cardiff Blues Development squad. Lockyer signed for

Neath RFC Neath Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Castell-Nedd) is a Welsh rugby union club which plays in the WRU Championship. The club's home ground is The Gnoll, Neath. The team is known as the All Blacks because of the team colours: black with onl ...

in 2007 and participated in that club's double-championship-winning side. However, his time at Neath was marked by a number of injuries and his appearances were limited.

Return to Pontypridd

He returned to Pontypridd in 2009 and his second tenure saw unprecedented success for the club. Lockyer would win another cup winner's medal in 2011 and was also named Premiership Player of the Year. The following season saw Pontypridd crowned Premiership champions for the first of four consecutive titles. During this period, Lockyer was again named Premiership Player of the Year in 2013 and won two more cup titles in 2013 and 2014. Lockyer would captain the side for the double winning season of 2013-2014, and also represent The Barbarians against Combined Services, Lockyer was also named Player of the Year by the Pontypridd Supporters' Club in 2015, the year Pontypridd won the WRU Challenge Cup. Lockyer would retain the club's captaincy until his last game in 2020. On 15 December 2018 Lockyer made his 350th appearance for Pontypridd.

Retirement

On 25 August 2021, during the enforced hiatus in Welsh rugby brought about by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, Lockyer announced he was stepping down from the Pontypridd squad, to focus on family and work and to end his playing days back at Abercwmboi RFC.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lockyer, Dafydd 1985 births Living people Pontypridd RFC players Rugby union players from Aberdare Welsh rugby union players Rugby union centres