Thomas Mervyn Davies (9 December 1946 – 15 March 2012), often known as "Merv the Swerve", was 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 peopl ...

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 won 38 caps for

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 ...

as a No. 8.

Early life

Davies was born in

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of 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 C ...

, where he attended Penlan County School. His father had played club rugby.

Rugby playing career

Tall and slight of frame, he grew a Mexican moustache to make himself appear more aggressive on the rugby field. He was nicknamed "Merv the Swerve".

Club rugby

Davies joined

London Welsh London Welsh Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Cymry Llundain) was a rugby union club formed in 1885. Based in Old Deer Park, Richmond-upon-Thames, London Welsh RFC played in the English Premiership in the 2012–13 and 2014–15 seaso ...

in 1968, later moving to

Wales and Lions international rugby

Davies won his first cap for Wales in 1969 against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, going on to play 38 consecutive matches for Wales and scoring two tries. During this period Wales won two Grand Slams and three Triple Crowns. He went on the

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

tours to

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 coun ...

in 1971 and to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

in 1974, playing in all eight tests.

Colin Meads Sir Colin Earl Meads (3 June 1936 – 20 August 2017) was a New Zealand rugby union player. He played 55 test matches (133 games), most frequently in the lock forward position, for New Zealand's national team, the All Blacks, from 1957 until 19 ...

said Davies was "the one player who probably had the biggest impact on that 1971 Lions Test series," particularly as he prevented NZ winning line out ball via

Brian Lochore Sir Brian James Lochore (3 September 1940 – 3 August 2019) was a New Zealand rugby union player and coach who represented and captained the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks. He played at number 8 and lock, as well as captaining the ...

. Willie John McBride and Ian McLauchlan both said Davies was even better on the 1974 tour. Many expected Davies to captain the 1977 Lions. In a total of 46 international appearances for Wales and the Lions he only ended on the losing side nine times.

Appraisal

Davies key attributes were lineout play, ball handling skill (including offloading in tight situations), commitment, mental strength, and anticipation. In 2001 Davies was inducted into the

International Rugby Hall of Fame The International Rugby Hall of Fame (IRHOF) was a hall of fame for rugby union. It was created in 1997 in New Zealand and is run as a charitable trust with an address at Chiswick in London. Most of the trustees are also inductees. IRHOF acc ...

. In a poll of Welsh rugby fans in 2002, he was voted both Greatest Ever Welsh Captain and Greatest Ever Welsh Number 8. Davies continues to be rated as one of the best No. 8s ever to have played the game.

Retirement

His career was ended by a

subarachnoid hemorrhage Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is bleeding into the subarachnoid space—the area between the arachnoid membrane and the pia mater surrounding the brain. Symptoms may include a severe headache of rapid onset, vomiting, decreased level of cons ...

suffered when captaining Swansea against

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 r ...

in 1976. He had collapsed during a game on another occasion, four years earlier, and had been wrongly diagnosed with

meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion or ...

.Independent Sports
/ref> Following the second incident he was a patient in the

University Hospital of Wales University Hospital of Wales ( cy, Ysbyty Athrofaol Cymru) (UHW), also known as the Heath Hospital, is a major 1,000-bed hospital in the Heath district of Cardiff, Wales. UHW is a teaching hospital of Cardiff University School of Medicine. Const ...

for several months, and received goodwill messages from all over the world. He was a smoker and was diagnosed with

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, mali ...

(adenocarcinoma) in November 2011. He died 4 months later. Davies had a son and daughter by his first wife Shirley; the marriage ended in divorce. He is survived by his second wife Jeni and his three stepchildren, and by his two children from his first marriage.

Sources

*Mervyn Davies & David Roach - ''In Strength and Shadow'' (Mainstream, 2005) *''The Mervyn Davies Story'' (BBC2, September 2007)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Mervyn 1946 births 2012 deaths Rugby union players from Swansea Wales international rugby union players Rugby union number eights British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales Wales rugby union captains Swansea RFC players London Welsh RFC players Barbarian F.C. players World Rugby Hall of Fame inductees Deaths from lung cancer Officers of the Order of the British Empire Surrey RFU players Deaths from cancer in Wales