Reginald William David Marques (9 December 1932 – 29 September 2010) was an English

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 ...

international lock forward. At club level he represented

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, the Army and most notably

Harlequin F.C. Harlequins (officially Harlequin Football Club) is a professional rugby union club that plays in Premiership Rugby, the top level of English rugby union. Their home ground is the Twickenham Stoop, located in Twickenham, south-west London. Foun ...

He played international rugby with

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and in 1959 he was selected to tour New Zealand and Australia with the British Lions.

Personal history

Marques was born in

Ware, Hertfordshire Ware is a town in Hertfordshire, England close to the county town of Hertford. It is also a civil parishes in England, civil parish in East Hertfordshire district. Location The town lies on the north–south A10 road (Great Britain), A10 road ...

in 1932, and was educated at

Yardley Court Yardley Court is an independent day preparatory school for boys in Tonbridge, Kent, England, founded in 1898 by Mr and Mrs A.L.Bickmore. It now forms part of Somerhill, a public school in the British sense of the term. There are currently around ...

and

Tonbridge School (God Giveth the Increase) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = , president = , head_label ...

where he played in the rugby first XV alongside

Colin Cowdrey Michael Colin Cowdrey, Baron Cowdrey of Tonbridge, (24 December 19324 December 2000) was an English first-class cricketer who played for Oxford University (1952–1954), Kent County Cricket Club (1950–1976) and England (1954–1975). Univers ...

. Marques completed his national service with the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

before matriculating to Cambridge University. After retiring from rugby he joined the family firm making street lights. David Marques was the brother of Robin Marques. In 1964 Marques was a member of the 1964

America's Cup The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one f ...

challenger team, aboard the

Sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin , meaning 'above'. The roles of a sovereign vary from monarch, ruler or ...

. He was also a magistrate, a governor for

Haileybury College Haileybury may refer to: Australia * Haileybury (Melbourne), a school in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia **Haileybury Rendall School, an offshoot in Berrimah, North Territory, Australia China * Haileybury International School, an international ...

and a church warden for 23 years. He was married with three children.

Playing career

Marques came to note as a rugby player when he represented Cambridge University, playing in four Varsity Matches. He later played for the Army, but it was his eleven years spent with Harlequins that he was best known. In 1956 he was selected to play for invitational tourists the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less c ...

, playing against the 1958 Australians and then travelled with the Barbarians on their tours to Canada and

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 ...

. 1956 was also the year in which Marques was first selected to play for the England national team, facing Wales as part of the

1956 Five Nations Championship The 1956 Five Nations Championship was the twenty-seventh series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the sixty-second series of the northern hemisphere ru ...

. Marques played a total of 23 matches for England, including two touring parties, the 1958 Australians and the 1961 South Africans. During the

1957 Five Nations Championship The 1957 Five Nations Championship was the twenty-eighth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the sixty-third series of the northern hemisphere rug ...

and 1958 Five Nations Championship Marques became a member of two

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

winning teams. As a forward player, Marques was never in the position to be a prolific scorer, but he scored his one and only international try in the

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

encounter with Ireland. In 1959 he was chosen to tour

Australia and New Zealand Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...

with the British Lions. He played in 18 matches of the tour, including two Tests, the Second Test against Australia and Second Test versus New Zealand. Marques made an impression on the British Lions tour from the moment he arrived. When he stepped off the plane on its arrival at Australia, he was dressed as a stereotypical British gent in white shirt, military tie, dark suit, bowler hat and rolled umbrella. Another event of the tour that showed Marques's personality was when he was kicked in the face during an off-the-ball incident by

Albie Pryor People * Albert Axelrod (1921–2004), American Olympic medalist foil fencer * Albie Booth (1908–1959), American Hall-of-Fame college football player * Albie Grant (1943–2004), American basketball player * Albie Hecht, American television produc ...

. Instead of retaliating, he got to his feet and shook his aggressor's hand; when he was asked by fellow Lion,

Bill Mulcahy William Albert Mulcahy (born 7 January 1935 in Rathkeale, County Limerick, Ireland) is a retired Irish rugby union player. He represented UL Bohemians R.F.C. University College Dublin R.F.C., Bective Rangers, Skerries RFC, Leinster, Ireland and ...

, why he hadn't punched Pryor, Marques replied, "You wouldn’t understand, Bill. I wanted him to feel a cad."

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marques, David 1932 births 2010 deaths People from Ware, Hertfordshire Barbarian F.C. players English rugby union players England international rugby union players People educated at Tonbridge School Rugby union locks British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players Harlequin F.C. players Rugby union players from Hertfordshire