John David Bevan (12 March 1948 – 5 June 1986) was a Welsh international

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, one of two John Bevans who played for Wales during the 1970s. Bevan was born in Neath. He played for

Aberavon RFC Aberavon RFC ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Aberafan) is a rugby union club located in the Welsh town of Port Talbot, though the club's name refers to the older settlement of Aberavon which lies on the western side of the town. The club was founded in 1876 ...

, the British Lions and The Barbarians. He formed a formidable club half back partnership with

Clive Shell Clive Shell (9 September 1947 – 6 January 2012) was a Wales, Welsh international rugby union player. Shell made his debut for the Wales national rugby union team on 10 November 1973 against Australia where he kissed the ball on his first touch ...

, and was a player got the most out of players outside of him. During his playing career he rivalled

Phil Bennett Philip Bennett (24 October 1948 – 12 June 2022) was a Welsh rugby union player who played as a fly-half for Llanelli RFC and the Wales national team. He began his career in 1966, and a year later he had taken over from Barry John as Llanell ...

for the Welsh No 10 position. Bennett originally held the place but the club performances of Bevan put him in the ascendancy during the 1974–75 season. A fly half, capped four times for Wales, he won his first cap against France in Paris in January 1975, following a sound performance playing for The Barbarians in the drawn game (12–12) against the touring

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

the previous month. During the Paris test, he was one of five Welsh players making their debut (Trevor Evans,

Graham Price Graham Price MBE (born 24 November 1951 in Moascar, Egypt) is a former Welsh rugby union player, who was a member of the famous Pontypool RFC front row known as the "Viet Gwent". He won 41 caps for , and a record 12 for the British and Irish Li ...

Ray Gravell Raymond William Robert Gravell (12 September 1951 – 31 October 2007) was a Welsh rugby union centre who played club rugby for Llanelli RFC. At international level, Gravell earned 23 caps for Wales and was selected for the 1980 British Lions t ...

and

Steve Fenwick Steven Paul Fenwick (born 23 July 1951) is a Welsh former rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for Wales, and at club level for Bridgend RFC, as ...

being the others. Wales won for the first time in Paris for many years by 25–12 points with Bevan producing a remarkable try-saving tackle. England were the next opponents for the unchanged Welsh and were hammered 20–4 at Cardiff Arms Park. Next up were Scotland at Murrayfield where Bevan sustained a dislocated shoulder. He was replaced by Bennett and Wales lost the match 12–10. Bevan’s season was over. In the 1975–76 season Bevan won his place back and was selected to face the touring

Wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and so ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. His ability to make space for others resulted in Wales winning the fixture 28-3, J.J. Williams, scoring three tries. Bevan was picked for the first Four Nations international against England, with the young David Richards on the bench, remarkably at the expense of Bennett who was omitted from the squad. In a twist of fate, both Bevan and Richards obtained injuries and Bennett was recalled. Wales beat England and went on to win the Grand Slam. Bevan never played for his country again. Bevan, a schoolteacher at Dyffryn Comprehensive at

Port Talbot Port Talbot (, ) is a town and community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which dominates the south ...

toured

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

with the British Lions on their 1977 tour but did not play in any of the internationals against the

, although, following a dip in form of the tour captain Phil Bennett, many thought he should have been picked for the final test. Bevan was one of three Aberavon players to make the 1977 tour, Allan Martin lock and Clive Williams prop being the others. After his playing career was cut short by his shoulder injury, he coached

and then the Wales national side from 1982 to 1985. He was forced to retire on the grounds of ill health. Bevan was also a cricketer, an opening batsman who captained Neath Cricket Club and represented his country. He died of cancer aged 38 in 1986, survived by his wife Judith, a son and a daughter.

References

External links

Wales profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bevan, John 1948 births 1986 deaths Aberavon RFC players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales People educated at Neath Grammar School for Boys Rugby union players from Neath Wales international rugby union players Wales national rugby union team coaches Welsh cricketers Welsh rugby union coaches Welsh rugby union players