Garry John Adey (13 June 1945 – 17 August 2023) was an English rugby union Number 8 for

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...

and . Adey made 381 appearances for

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

between 1965–81. He played twice for in 1976. Adey was a member of a very successful

side which won the John Player Cup 3 times in consecutive years from 1979–81. Adey was Executive Chairman of The Adey Group which has been established for over 90 years, in the steel fabrication and steel stockholding business.

Playing career

Born in Loughborough, Leicestershire on 13 June 1945, Adey made his debut for

on Wednesday 8 March 1967 in a 14–6 win against Loughborough Colleges at Welford Road. Adey was used sparingly at lock for the rest of the season and the following two seasons featuring only 28 times across all three seasons. Adey moved to number 8 in 1969 scoring tries in wins over Fylde and Moseley, by the end of the season he was firmly established as Leicester's premier number 8 having played 20 of the last 26 games. Adey won his two international caps for in the

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

. He made his debut on 6 March 1976 against at Twickenham, and played the final round against . England were whitewashed in the competition and finished bottom. Adey played every game as Leicester went to the

1977–78 John Player Cup The 1977–78 John Player Cup was the seventh edition of England's premier rugby union club competition at the time. Gloucester won the competition defeating Leicester in the final. The event was sponsored by John Player cigarettes and the final w ...

final, the first national final in the club's history, where they lost 6–3 to Gloucester. Adey was again a cup ever present in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

, scoring tries in the first round win against Northampton Saints and the second round win against Broughton Park. Adey started the final as Tigers won their first national cup, a 15–12 win against Moseley. Adey missed the semi-final in 1980 but returned for a third cup final appearance in a row in the 1980 final, a 21–9 win against London Irish. After the 1980 final, to celebrate Leicester's centenary Adey was part of a tour to Australia and

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

playing against Queensland Reds and against a Fijian Chairman's XV. In November 1980 Adey announced his retirement after an ankle injury suffered against Cambridge University but returned after injuries to others to play the final three games of the season, including a fourth successive final and third win. This time a 22–15 win over Gosforth.

Death

Adey died in August 2023, at the age of 78.

Sources

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adey, Garry 1945 births 2023 deaths English businesspeople English rugby union players England international rugby union players Leicester Tigers players Rugby union players from Loughborough Rugby union number eights