John Rees Glyn Stephens (16 April 1922 – 4 February 1998) was a Welsh international rugby union player who played club rugby for

Tonmawr RFC Tonmawr are a Welsh rugby union club based in Tonmawr, Neath Port Talbot in South Wales. Tonmawr are a feeder club to the Ospreys regional team. Tonmawr have a tradition of producing players who go onto represent the Ospreys region - these play ...

and Neath. He won 32 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 ...

and was selected to play in the British Lions on the 1950 tour of Australia and New Zealand. He was the son of a past Welsh rugby international, Glyn Stephens, who was also president of the Welsh Rugby Union. Born in 1922 in Neath, Stephens played under-14s rugby for Wales and then after being accepted to Llandovery College, he played for Wales Secondary Schools. During the Second World War Stephens played scratch rugby for many clubs while working as a miner. Initially a number eight, Stephens would later switch to the second row.

International career

Stephens made his official debut for the senior Wales team against England in 1947 under the captaincy of

Haydn Tanner Haydn Tanner (9 January 1917 – 5 June 2009) was a Welsh international rugby union player who represented both Wales and the British and Irish Lions. At club level he played for several top-flight teams, including Bristol, Cardiff, Swansea, Lond ...

. Stephens had turned out against the French team in the 1945/46 'Victory' internationals, but his first capped games were during the 1947 Five Nations Championship. The 1947 England game at the

Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park ( cy, Parc yr Arfau Caerdydd), also known as The Arms Park, is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. It is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green. The Arms Park was host to the British ...

saw Wales lose 9–6 though Stephens did manage to score a try in the game, one of only two he would manage in his long career. During the 1947/48 season, Stephens lost his position to the returning Les Manfield, but Stephens was back for Wales's final game of the 1948 Championship game against Ireland. Over the next two years he would drop in and out of the Welsh squad, often through injury sometimes through selection choices, but in 1950 he and

Bleddyn Williams Bleddyn Llewellyn Williams MBE (22 February 1923 – 6 July 2009), was a Welsh rugby union centre. He played in 22 internationals for Wales, captaining them five times, winning each time, and captained the British Lions in 1950 for some of the ...

were chosen to represent the British Lions of their tour of Australia and New Zealand.

International matches played

Wales * 1947, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1957 * 1947, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957 * 1947, 1948, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957 * 1953 * 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957 * 1951

British Lions

During the 1950 Lions tour, Stephens was chosen for the opening match against a joint Tasman regional team. During the game he injured his shoulder and would not be fit enough to play until the eleventh game of the tour. Although he played in two Australian tests, Stephens was not deemed to be fit enough to face the New Zealand All Blacks. * Australia 1950

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Rees 1922 births 1998 deaths Barbarian F.C. players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales Neath RFC players Rugby union number eights Rugby union players from Neath Wales international rugby union players Wales rugby union captains Welsh rugby union players