Lionel Geoffrey Wilson (25 May 1933 – 17 September 2017) was a South African

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 ...

player who played 27 tests for the

Springboks The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabokoboko), is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...

. He made his debut against the

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, ...

on 13 August 1960 in the

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Tran ...

. The match ended in a draw 11-11. He played in 60 games for

Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: * Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provin ...

. Wilson was born to Billy and Doris Wilson in Cape Town, he was their second child. He grew up in Plumstead and Wynberg and attended

Wynberg Boys' High School Wynberg Boys' High School is a public English medium boys high school situated in the suburb of Wynberg of Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Founded in 1841, it is one of the best academic schools in Cape Town, it is the ...

. He was married to Pam Walker. He emigrated to New Zealand in 1976, he returned to South Africa before moving back again to New Zealand. He died on 17 September 2017 at his home in Napier, New Zealand.

References

1933 births 2017 deaths Alumni of Wynberg Boys' High School Rugby union fullbacks South African emigrants to New Zealand South Africa international rugby union players South African people of British descent Rugby union players from Cape Town Western Province (rugby union) players {{SouthAfrica-rugbyunion-bio-stub