Mark Gerarde Ring (born 15 October 1962) played

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 ...

for

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 ...

Pontypool Pontypool ( cy, Pont-y-pŵl ) is a town and the administrative centre of the county borough of Torfaen, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire in South Wales. It has a population of 28,970. Location It is situated on the Afon Lwyd ri ...

and

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 ...

between 1982 and 1996. He was regarded as among the most gifted players of his generation but his career was hampered by serious injury.

Club career

A great entertainer, Ring was noted for his cheek, flair and individual skill. He first came to attention as outside half for the Cardiff RFC Youth team where he gained selection for Wales Youth, scoring a try on debut v England. He made his senior debut as an 18-year-old during his Youth season against Cote Des Basques in Biarritz for whom

Serge Blanco Serge Blanco (born 31 August 1958) is a former rugby union footballer who played fullback for Biarritz Olympique and the French national side, gaining 93 caps, 81 of them at fullback. His alternative position was wing. He was generally nicknamed ...

scored three tries. He played in and won three Welsh Cup Finals and played for Cardiff when they defeated the 1984 Australian Tourists who completed the Grand Slam of Tests but yet again, failed to defeat a Cardiff team who still remain unbeaten against every Australian Touring team who ever crossed these shores. He became a great crowd favourite with his hometown club but also spent a few seasons at

where he formed a notable half back partnership with

David Bishop David Bishop may refer to: *David Bishop (writer) (born 1966), New Zealand novelist, playwright and comics writer *David Bishop (runner) (born 1987), British Scottish international middle-distance athlete *David Bishop (gymnast) (born 1990), New Ze ...

in 1987–88. He returned to Pontypool in 1992. He was a Club Championship winner for both Cardiff and Pontypool. He played more than 250 games for Cardiff and scored 94 tries and 677 points.

International career

Ring made his Senior Wales debut against England as a 20-year-old and went on to gain 32 International Caps between 1983 and 1991. The highlight of his international career came in 1988 when he was part of a Triple Crown winning Welsh side. The majority of his caps were won in the centre position but he played in his favoured outside half role throughout the 1991 World Cup. He played in two World Cups (1987 and 1991) Wales finished third in 1987 but failed to qualify from their group in 1991, having been defeated by

Western Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); a ...

. Ring played two Test Matches for The Barbarians losing against the 1988 Australians and defeating the 1990 Argentinian Touring Team where he formed a Centre partnership with New Zealand Centre Craig Innes. Ring was selected for two World XV Touring Squads, one to celebrate the Western Province Centenary in 1983 and the other to celebrate the South African Rugby Board's Centenary in 1989. He captained Wales on two occasions when Wales toured Namibia in 1990, though not in any of the Tests. Ring was Wales' Rugby Writers Player of the Year in 1985.

Coaching career

Mark Ring ended his top flight club career in 1996 after the first Heineken Cup Final, when Cardiff were beaten by

Stade Toulousain Stade Toulousain () ( oc, Estadi Tolosenc), also referred to as Toulouse, is a professional rugby union club based in Toulouse, France. They compete in the Top 14, France's top division of rugby, and the European Rugby Champions Cup. Toulou ...

. He moved into coaching, first at

West Hartlepool West Hartlepool was a predecessor of Hartlepool, County Durham, England. It developed in the Victorian era and took the name from its western position in the parish of what is now known as the Headland. The former town was originally formed in ...

as Player/Director of Rugby and then moved on to a similar role at Penzance and Newlyn Pirates. He later moved back to Cardiff where he was an attached coach under former playing colleague David Young. Whilst still employed as a Development Officer with Cardiff's Capital Rugby Scheme he moved to

Caerphilly Caerphilly (, ; cy, Caerffili, ) is a town and community in Wales. It is situated at the southern end of the Rhymney Valley. It is north of Cardiff and northwest of Newport. It is the largest town in Caerphilly County Borough, and lies wit ...

, where he worked under Terry Holmes and alongside Tony Faulkener. Following Holmes' departure Ring won plaudits as Head Coach of Caerphilly whom he took to the third tier European Final at the Madjedski Stadium, losing to Castres Olympique. He later moved to Ireland to coach a feeder team for Munster called Old Crescent in AIL Division 2. He then returned across the water and to coach Tetbury RFC in Gloucestershire Division Two as well as coaching the University of Glamorgan team in Treforest. He then spent four seasons at Welsh Premier Division side

Cross Keys Cross Keys or Crosskeys may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Crosskeys, Wales ** Crosskeys railway station ** Crosskeys College, a campus of Coleg Gwent * Crosskeys Bridge, a swing bridge in Lincolnshire, England * The Cross Keys (disambiguatio ...

who went on to defeat Pontypridd in the Welsh Cup Final the week after being defeated by Munster 'A' in the final of the British & Irish Cup in Cork. He later came back to his home town Club as Attack coach at Cardiff and as an attached coach at the Blues under former playing colleague Phil Davies. He currently coaches Old Illtydians RFC in Division 3 East Central of WRU's Swalec League.

Personal life

After working as a

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

, a roofing contractor, labourer and a sales representative, Ring began a new career as a

care worker Care work is a sub-category of work that includes all tasks that directly involve care processes done in service of others. It is often differentiated from other forms of work because it is considered to be intrinsically motivated. This perspectiv ...

in March 2020.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ring, Mark 1962 births Living people Players of British baseball Welsh rugby union coaches Welsh rugby union players Wales international rugby union players Rugby union centres Rugby union players from Cardiff Cardiff RFC players Pontypool RFC players Barbarian F.C. players 1987 Rugby World Cup players 1991 Rugby World Cup players