Ivor Preece (15 December 1920 – 14 March 1987) 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 ...

footballer who represented and captained England Schools,

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

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

. He is the only Coventry RFC player to have achieved this accolade. He was selected to play with the

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

, on their tour to New Zealand and Australia in 1950. Born in

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

(now in the

West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

), he attended Broad Street School, Foleshill,

playing in the schools successful side winning the Coventry F.C Shield one of the oldest trophies played for in schoolboy rugby throughout the world being established in 1897. Once his playing career was over he still dedicated himself to the game of

serving as president for Coventry Schools, Warwickshire RFU,

Coventry R.F.C. Coventry Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union club based in Coventry, England. The club enjoyed great success during the 1960s and 70s, with many players representing their countries. Coventry's home ground is the Butts Park Arena, ...

and

Broadstreet RFC Broadstreet Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in the city of Coventry, West Midlands, England. The club currently play in Midlands Premier; at the fifth tier of the English rugby union system, following their relegation from Nati ...

from 1970 until his death in 1987. Preece's son,

Peter Preece Peter Preece is a former rugby union international who represented England from 1972 to 1976. Educated at King Henry viii School, Coventry Early life Peter Preece was born on 15 November 1949 in Meriden. His father, Ivor Preece, was also a r ...

, was also an England rugby union international who played for Coventry - he was capped 12 times between 1972 and 1976.

honoured Preece by naming their ground the

Ivor Preece Field The Ivor Preece Field on Rugby Road, Binley Woods, Warwickshire is the home ground of Broadstreet Rugby Club, designed by SR Davis architects with the sports ground designed by Peter Jones Associates, Quantity Surveyors Bucknall Austin, proj ...

after him.

International matches played

England * 1948, 1950, 1951 * 1948, 1949, 1950 * 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951 * 1950, 1951

British Lions

* 1950

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...

1950 British Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia The British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia in 1950 was the first post-war tour made by the Lions; there had not been one since 1938. The 1950 team was the first to be nicknamed "the British Lions", rather than just "British I ...

References

External links

*http://www.lionsrugby.com/6567.php *http://www.lionsrugby.com/6012.php?player=17293&includeref=dynamic *https://web.archive.org/web/20090330100811/http://www.broadstreet-rugby.co.uk/the-club/history/ivor-preece.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Preece, Ivor 1920 births 1987 deaths English rugby union players English rugby union coaches Rugby union fly-halves Rugby union players from Coventry British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England England international rugby union players English people of Welsh descent