Isaac Andrew Owens AFM (7 November 1918 – 15 October 1998) 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 it ...

, 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 11 ...

footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s. He played club level rugby union (RU) for Blaengarw RFC (in Blaengarw,

Bridgend Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the medieval bridge over the River Og ...

), and

Maesteg RFC Maesteg is a town and community in Bridgend County Borough, Wales. Maesteg lies at the northernmost end of the Llynfi Valley, close to the border with Neath Port Talbot. In 2011, Maesteg had a population of 20,612. The English translation of Mae ...

, and armed forces rugby union for the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

, as a number eight, 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 i ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, and at club level for

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 popula ...

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the town centre the River Calder joins th ...

( Heritage № 301), and

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 ...

, as a .

Playing career

Rugby union

Owens, who was born in Pontycymer near Bridgend, originally played rugby union for Blaengarw RFC, before switching to Maesteg. Although switching to rugby league in 1943 Owens was part of the 1945 British Empire Forces rugby union team that played France, during a period when the strict guideline between amateur and professional were relaxed. Owens, playing at number eight, scored two tries in that game helping the British to a 27–6 victory.

Rugby league

Owens changed codes in 1943 and joined Leeds. He also played two games for

Oldham RLFC Oldham R.L.F.C., also known as the Roughyeds, is a professional rugby league football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. The club currently competes in the RFL League 1, the third tier of British Rugby League. Formed in 1876 as Oldh ...

( Heritage № 476) as a wartime guest. His international début came in March 1945 when he won the first of 12 caps for

in an 18–8 defeat by England at

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the 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 north-east and Warrington t ...

. In 1946 he was selected for the

, and played in all four tests (three against Australia and one against New Zealand) on the tour to Australia and New Zealand scoring a try in the third test against Australia.1946 Great Britain Lions tour. Following his return from the tour there was speculation that Owens was going to move to Australia to play for Newtown but Owens turned the move down. Owens played in one Challenge Cup final being on the losing side at Leeds lost 4–8 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 pre ...

in the 1946–47 Challenge Cup Final 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 original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

on Saturday 3 May 1947. Before the start of the 1948–49 season Owens asked for a transfer from Leeds and in October 1948 he signed for Castleford for a fee of £2,750. Owens only played seven games for Castleford before moving to Huddersfield in January 1949, again for a fee of £2,750. During Owens' second season with Huddersfield ( 1949–50), the team reached both the Championship Final, and the final of the Yorkshire Cup but lost both; the Championship 2–20 to Wigan and the Cup to 4–11 to Bradford Northern. At the end of the 1951–52 season Owens retired aged 33, and returned to Wales.

Wartime service

Ike Owens served in the

as a

Parachute Jump The Parachute Jump is a defunct amusement ride and a landmark in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, along the Riegelmann Boardwalk at Coney Island. Situated in Steeplechase Plaza near the B&B Carousell, the structure consists of a , open- ...

Instructor 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 opposing ...

at No. 1 Parachute Training School RAF based at

RAF Ringway The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

near

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. He was awarded the

Air Force Medal The Air Force Medal (AFM) was a military decoration, awarded to personnel of the Royal Air Force and other British Armed Forces, and formerly to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for "an act or acts of valour, ...

in the

1945 Birthday Honours The King's Birthday Honours 1945, celebrating the official birthday of King George VI, were announced on 14 June 1945 for the United Kingdom and British Empire.United Kingdom and British Empire: The recipients of honours are displayed here as t ...

References

External links

Great Britain Statistics at englandrl.co.uk (statistics currently missing due to not having appeared for both Great Britain, and England)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Owens, Ike 1918 births 1998 deaths Castleford Tigers players Footballers who switched code Great Britain national rugby league team players Huddersfield Giants players Leeds Rhinos players Maesteg RFC players Oldham R.L.F.C. players People from Pontycymer Place of death missing Recipients of the Air Force Medal Royal Air Force airmen Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Air Force rugby union players Rugby league locks Rugby league players from Bridgend County Borough Rugby union players from Bridgend County Borough Wales national rugby league team players Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players