David "Dai" Royston "Roy" Bevan (2 January 1928 – 12 April 2008) was a Welsh

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 1950s. He played club level rugby union (RU) for Oldham RUFC, 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

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 at club level for

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

, and Halifax, as a .

Playing career

International honours

Dai Bevan won

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

s for

(RL) while at Wigan 1953 2-caps, and won a

for

(RL) while at Wigan in 1952 against Australia. Dai Bevan also represented

while at Wigan/Halifax between 1952 and 1956 against France (1 non-

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

match).

Championship final appearances

Dai Bevan played for

during the 1951–52 season, but not in

's 13–6 victory over

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

Rugby Football League Championship The Rugby Football League Championship First Division was the top division of rugby league in England between 1895 and 1996, when it was replaced by the Super League. History 1895–1904: Foundations The first season of rugby league (189 ...

Final during the 1951–52 season at

Leeds Road Leeds Road was a association football, football stadium in Huddersfield, England. It operated from its construction in 1908 until the Kirklees Stadium was opened nearby for the 1994–95 in English football, 1994–95 season. It was the home of ...

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 ...

on Saturday 10 May 1952.

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Dai Bevan played on the in Halifax's 4–4 draw with

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

1954 Challenge Cup Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The ...

Final during the 1953–54 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 on Saturday 24 April 1954, in front of a crowd of 81,841, and played on the in the 4–8 defeat by

in the

Final replay during the 1953–54 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 ...

on Wednesday 5 May 1954, in front of a record crowd of 102,575 or more.

Club career

Dai Bevan made his début for

on Wednesday 2 April 1952, he played his last game for Wigan on Saturday 10 October 1953, he was transferred from Wigan to Halifax, and he played his last game for Halifax during 1956.

Personal life

Bevan's birth was registered during first ¼ 1928 in

Pontypridd () (colloquially: Ponty) is a town and a community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Geography comprises the electoral wards of , Hawthorn, Pontypridd Town, 'Rhondda', Rhydyfelin Central/Ilan ( Rhydfelen), Trallwng (Trallwn) and Treforest (). The ...

district Following his retirement from rugby league, Dai Bevan lived in Middleton near

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

, and became a teacher at Moorclose School (now named Middleton Technical School), he died on 12 April 2008, aged 80, in Heywood near

. The funeral was on Monday 21 April 2008 at Rochdale Crematorium.

References

External links

Statistics at wigan.rlfans.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bevan, David 1928 births 2008 deaths Footballers who switched code Great Britain national rugby league team players Halifax R.L.F.C. players People from Heywood, Greater Manchester Sportspeople from the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale Rugby league players from Pontypridd Rugby league wingers Rugby union players from Pontypridd Wales national rugby league team players Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players Welsh schoolteachers Wigan Warriors players