John Charles Bevan (born 28 October 1950) is a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

international rugby footballer of the 1970s and 1980s. He is one of two John Bevans who played for Wales during the 1970s.

Rugby career

His début for Wales came on 16 January 1971 during the

Five Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) is an annual international men's rugby union competition between the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The current champions ar ...

when Wales played England. He crowned the win with a try as Wales ran out 22-6 winners. He played in all of the other games in the tournament, but did not score again, as Wales went on to win the championship and the

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 ...

. Starting his career in

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 ...

, he played for the

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 ...

club and after being capped for Wales in 1971, Bevan toured Australia and New Zealand with the British Lions. He played in 14 matches including the first test and scored a total of 18 tries. The 17 scored in New Zealand equalled the record of Tony O'Reilly. He was a speedy

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

(number 11) from

Tylorstown Tylorstown (Pendyrus) is a village and community located in the Rhondda valley, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It is neighboured by the villages of Blaenllechau, Ferndale, Penrhys, Pontygwaith and Stanleytown. History B ...

South Wales and was also immensely strong. His powerful bullocking running style was all the more appropriate as he shared the initials JCB with a renowned British manufacturer of

bulldozers A bulldozer or dozer (also called a crawler) is a large, motorized machine equipped with a metal blade to the front for pushing material: soil, sand, snow, rubble, or rock during construction work. It travels most commonly on continuous track ...

. He is chiefly remembered for his role in the Barbarians' victory over New Zealand in 1973, during which he scored a try. During his short international career Bevan scored 5 tries for Wales. In September 1973, Bevan switched to

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 112 ...

, and joined

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

for the then massive signing on fee of £12,000 (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £199,700 in 2015). He made 332 appearances for the Warrington club in which he scored 201 tries usually on the . He played for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and

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 is ...

. John earned the nickname "The Ox", after 13 seasons, Bevan retired from the professional game. John Bevan's

Testimonial match A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, particularly in association football in the United Kingdom and South America, where a club has a match to honour a player for servic ...

at Warrington took place in 1983.

International honours

John Bevan won 17-caps for Wales (RL) while at Warrington 1975...1982, scoring 5-tries in total for 15-points, and won 6-caps for Great Britain (RL) while at Warrington on the 1974 Great Britain Lions tour against Australia (two matches), and New Zealand (two matches), and in 1978 against Australia (two matches), scoring 5-tries in total for 15-points.

Challenge Cup Final appearances

John Bevan played , i.e. number 5, in

's 24–9 victory over

Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Rovers are a professional rugby league club in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England, who play in the Championship (rugby league), Championship. Featherstone is a former coal mining town with a population of around 16,000 and Rover ...

in the

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...

Final during the 1973–74 season 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 Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on Saturday 11 May 1974, in front of a crowd of 77,400, and played , and scored a

try Try or TRY may refer to: Music Albums * ''Try!'', an album by the John Mayer Trio * ''Try'' (Bebo Norman album) (2014) Songs * "Try" (Blue Rodeo song) (1987) * "Try" (Colbie Caillat song) (2014) * "Try" (Nelly Furtado song) (2004) * " Try (Ju ...

in the 7–14 defeat by

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census had a population of 61,464. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on t ...

in the

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

Final during the 1974–75 season at

on Saturday 10 May 1975, in front of a crowd of 85,998.

County Cup Final appearances

John Bevan played left-, i.e. number 4, and scored a

's 26–10 victory over

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, 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 nor ...

in the

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

County Cup The county football associations are the local governing bodies of association football in England and the Crown dependencies. County FAs exist to govern all aspects of football in England. They are responsible for administering club and player ...

Final during the 1980–81 season at

Knowsley Road Knowsley Road in Eccleston, St Helens, Merseyside, was the home ground of St. Helens from 1890 until its closure in 2010. St Helens Town FC played their home fixtures at Knowsley Road from 2002 until 2010. For a period, the venue also hosted ...

, St. Helens, on Saturday 4 October 1980, played left-, i.e. number 4, in the 16–0 victory over St. Helens in the

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

Final during the 1982–83 season at

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

on Saturday 23 October 1982.

BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final appearances

John Bevan played , i.e. number 5, in

's 0–0 draw with

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

in the

BBC2 Floodlit Trophy The BBC 2 Floodlit Trophy (also known as the BBC 2 Television Trophy) was a competition for British rugby league clubs held between 1965 and 1980. It was designed specifically for television, and the then director of BBC2, broadcaster David Att ...

Final during the 1974–75 season at

The Willows, Salford The Willows was a rugby league stadium in Weaste, Salford, England. It had a final capacity of 11,363 with 2,500 seats. History In 1900, Salford agreed a 14-year lease on of land belonging to the Willows Estate Company, named after the abunda ...

on Tuesday 17 December 1974, and played , and scored a

in the 5–10 defeat by

in the

Final replay during the 1974–75 season at

Wilderspool Stadium Wilderspool Stadium was a rugby league stadium in Warrington, England. The ground was Warrington RLFC's old ground before moving to the Halliwell Jones Stadium. History In 1898, Warrington RLFC moved to the Wilderspool Stadium. A 10-year lea ...

on Tuesday 28 January 1975.

Player's No.6/John Player Trophy Final appearances

John Bevan played , i.e. number 5, and scored a

's 27–16 victory over

Rochdale Hornets The Rochdale Hornets are a professional rugby league club from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England, competing in the Championship, the second tier of European rugby league. The Rochdale Hornets are one of the original twenty-two rugby clubs ...

in the 1973–74 Player's No.6 Trophy Final during the 1973–74 season at

on Saturday 9 February 1974, played , and scored a

in the 9–4 victory over

in the 1977–78 Players No.6 Trophy Final during the 1977–78 season at

, St. Helens on Saturday 28 January 1978, and played left-, i.e. number 4, and scored 2- tries in the 15–5 victory over Barrow in the 1980–81

John Player Trophy The John Player Trophy was a golf tournament on the European Tour that was played in England. It was played twice. The first event in 1970 at Notts Golf Club in Nottinghamshire was the 36-hole qualifying event for the John Player Classic. In 19 ...

Final during the 1977–78 season at

, St. Helens on Saturday 24 January 1981.

Captain Morgan Trophy Final appearances

John Bevan played , i.e. number 5, in

's 4–0 victory over

in the 1973–74 Captain Morgan Trophy Final during the 1973–74 season at

The Willows The Willows may refer to: Places * The Willows, El Paso, Texas, USA * The Willows, Queensland, a town in Australia * The Willows, Salford, home of Salford Rugby League club in Salford, England, UK * The Willows, Saskatoon, a residential community ...

on Saturday 26 January 1974, in front of a crowd of 5,259.

Coaching

Bevan was appointed head coach of Irish province

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

for the 1997–98 season only.

Career Records

John Bevan is one of fewer than twenty Welshmen to have scored more than 200-tries in their rugby league career.Robert Gate (1988). "Gone North – Volume 2". R. E. Gate.

Personal history

He has taught at many schools including: Ferndale Boys School, Culcheth High School, English Martyrs School and

Arnold School Arnold School was an independent school in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, established on the Fylde coast in 1896 during the Victorian expansion of public boarding schools in England. The school was in the United Church Schools Trust group o ...

in Blackpool. In September 2000, after having stepped down as Director of Coaching for the

Welsh Rugby Union The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; cy, Undeb Rygbi Cymru) is the Sports governing body, governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby. The WRU is responsible for the running ...

, John Bevan joined the teaching staff at

Monmouth School Monmouth School for Boys is a public school (independent day and boarding school) for boys in Monmouth, Wales. The school was founded in 1614 with a bequest from William Jones, a successful merchant and trader. The School is run as a trust, t ...

as a teacher of Religious Education and Director of Rugby Coaching. He currently coaches teams throughout the school, including the 1st XV who are unbeaten since he has been there. His catchphrase of "my granny could do better than that" meaning anything from tackle, to run, is perhaps the main reason for Monmouth's record of 123 games unbeaten. He remains a rugby legend and an inspiration to the boys.

Honoured at Warrington Wolves

John Bevan is a Warrington Wolves Hall of Fame inductee.

References

External links

*
Warrington’s World Cup heroes – John Bevan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bevan, John Charles 1950 births Living people Barbarian F.C. players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales Cardiff RFC players Dual-code rugby internationals Great Britain national rugby league team players Lancashire rugby league team players Munster Rugby non-playing staff People from Tylorstown Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Rhondda Cynon Taf Rugby league wingers Rugby union players from Tylorstown Rugby union wings Wales national rugby league team captains Wales national rugby league team players Warrington Wolves players Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union coaches Welsh rugby union players Welsh schoolteachers Wales international rugby union players