David "Dai" Rees Prosser (13 October 1912 – 6 May 1973) was a Welsh dual-code 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 ...

, and professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1930s and 1940s, and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

ed rugby league in the 1960s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) 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 ...

and

Glamorgan County RFC Glamorgan County RFC is a Welsh rugby union club that manages an invitational team, known as Glamorgan that originally played rugby at county level. The team is made up of amateur players from sports clubs in the Glamorgan region and historically ...

, and at club level for

Glynneath RFC Glynneath RFC are a Welsh Rugby Union club playing in WRU Division 1 West Central of the WRU National Leagues. The Club has won a number of honours over the years, including the locally famous Invincibles of the 1961–62 season captained by Bas ...

, Neath RFC and Swansea RFC as a

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

, and representative level rugby league (RL) for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

and

, and at club level for

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

and

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

as a , and coached club level rugby league for

Background

Dai Prosser was born in

Neath Neath (; cy, Castell-nedd) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a po ...

, Wales, he was a Bombardier in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and he died aged 60 in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

Playing career

International honours

Dai Prosser won 8 caps for Wales (RU) in 1936–1944 while at Glynneath RFC in 1934 against Scotland, and Ireland, won caps for Wales (RL) while at York, and Leeds, and won a cap for Great Britain (RL) while at Leeds in 1937 against Australia at Fartown Ground,

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

Championship final appearances

Dai Prosser played right- in

' 2–8 defeat by

Hunslet Hunslet () is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is southeast of the Leeds city centre, city centre and has an industrial past. It is situated in the Hunslet and Riverside (ward), Hunslet and Riverside ward of Lee ...

in the Championship Final during the 1937–38 season at

Elland Road Elland Road is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the home of Premier League club Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the 14th largest football stadium in England. The g ...

on Saturday 30 April 1938.

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Dai Prosser played left- in Leeds' 19–2 victory over Halifax in the

1940–41 Challenge Cup The 1940–41 Challenge Cup was the 40th staging of rugby league's oldest knockout competition, the Challenge Cup. The competition was re-introduced after a season’s absence. The competition was won by Leeds who beat Halifax 19–2 in the fina ...

Final during the 1940–41 season at

Odsal Stadium Odsal Stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, is the home of Bradford Bulls Rugby League team. It has also been used by the Bradford Dukes speedway team, BRISCA F1 and F2 stock cars, the football team Bradford City, following the Valley ...

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

, in front of a crowd of 28,500, played left- in the 15–10 victory over Halifax in the

1941–42 Challenge Cup The 1941–42 Challenge Cup was the 41st staging of rugby league's oldest knockout competition, the Challenge Cup. First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals Final References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1941-42 Challenge Cup Challeng ...

Final during the 1941–42 season at Odsal Stadium, Bradford, in front of a crowd of 15,250, he missed the 15-16 aggregate defeat by

Dewsbury Dewsbury is a minster and market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Hudder ...

in the two-legged

1942–43 Challenge Cup The 1942–43 Challenge Cup was the 42nd staging of rugby league's oldest knockout competition, the Challenge Cup. All four rounds, including the final, were played as two-legged ties. The tournament took place over consecutive weeks in March ...

Final during the 1942–43 season at

Crown Flatt Crown Flatt, currently known as the Tetley's Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a rugby league stadium in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of the Dewsbury Rams, who play in the Championship. The ground occupies the site of th ...

and Headingley,

, and played left- in the 8–4 defeat by

Bradford Northern The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is predomi ...

in the

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...

Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...

Final during the 1946–47 season at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on Saturday 3 May 1947, in front of a crowd of 77,605. During Dai Prosser's time at Leeds, they appeared in four Challenge Cup Finals winning two (1941 and 1942), and losing two (1943 and 1947), he appeared in three of these Challenge Cup Finals, and was on the winning side twice.

County Cup Final appearances

Dai Prosser played right- in

's 9–2 victory over

Wakefield Trinity Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, that plays in the Super League. One of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, between 1999 and 2016 the c ...

in the

1936 Yorkshire Cup Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

Final during the 1936–37 season at Headingley,

on Saturday 17 October 1936, and played right- in

' 14–8 victory over

in the

1937–38 Yorkshire Cup The 1937–38 Yorkshire Cup was the thirtieth occasion on which the Yorkshire Cup competition had been held. The Yorkshire Cup competition was a knock-out competition between (mainly professional) rugby league clubs from the county of Yorksh ...

Final during the 1937–38 season at Belle Vue,

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

on Saturday 30 October 1937.

Testimonial match

Dai Prosser's shared Testimonial match with David "Dai" Jenkins, Jr. at Leeds took place in 1949.

Other notable matches

Dai Prosser played left- for

Northern Command XIII Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

against a

Rugby League XIII The Rugby League XIII was an invitation team run along the same lines as the Rugby Union Barbarians team. Particularly in the Second World War, when international fixtures were restricted to England V Wales. The Rugby League would play representat ...

at Thrum Hall, Halifax on Saturday 21 March 1942.

Club career

Dai Prosser made his début for

against

in the Championship during the 1936–37 season on Saturday 14 November 1936, and he scored his first

try Try or TRY may refer to: Music Albums * ''Try!'', an album by the John Mayer Trio * ''Try'' (Bebo Norman album) (2014) Songs * "Try" (Blue Rodeo song) (1987) * "Try" (Colbie Caillat song) (2014) * "Try" (Nelly Furtado song) (2004) * " Try (Ju ...

for Leeds against

during the 1937–38 season.

Coaching career

Dai Prosser was the assistant-

Joe Warham Joe Warham (1920 – 4 September 2013, Leeds, Yorkshire) was a rugby league footballer, coach and administrator, having been associated with Leeds Rugby League Football Club (now Leeds Rhinos) for more than fifty years. Warham was born in Warri ...

' 25–10 victory over

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

in the Championship Final during the 1960–61 season at

on Saturday 20 May 1961, in front of a crowd of 52,177.

Family

Dai Prosser was the younger brother of the rugby union, and rugby league footballer;

Glyn Prosser Glyn Prosser (27 November 1907 – 13 November 1972) was a Welsh international rugby union flanker who played club rugby for Neath, and was capped four times for Wales. An aggressive wing forward, Prosser is best known for being a member of the ...

References

External links

Team – Past Players – O - P at swansearfc.co.ukProfile at swansearfc.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prosser, Dai 1912 births 1973 deaths Army XIII rugby league players British Army personnel of World War II British Army soldiers Dual-code rugby internationals Glamorgan County RFC players Glynneath RFC players Great Britain national rugby league team players Leeds Rhinos coaches Leeds Rhinos players Neath RFC players Northern Command XIII rugby league team players Rugby league players from Neath Rugby league props Rugby union players from Neath Rugby union props Swansea RFC players Wales international rugby union players Wales national rugby league team players Welsh rugby league coaches Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players York Wasps players