Rio Dyer (born 21 December 1999) is a Welsh professional

rugby union player 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 ...

who primarily plays

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 ...

for

Dragons A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

in the

United Rugby Championship The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...

. He has also represented

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 ...

at international level, having made his test debut against

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 count ...

during the 2022 Autumn Internationals.

Club career

Dyer began his career playing for the

Risca RFC Risca Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club based in Risca, Monmouthshire. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Newport Gwent Dragons. Club history Risca RFC was formed in 1875 when a group of w ...

and

Pill Harriers RFC Pill Harriers RFC are a Welsh rugby union club based in Newport in South Wales. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Newport Gwent Dragons. Club origins At the end of Jeddo Street, Baldwin Street and Ma ...

youth sides, as well as for

Newport High School Old Boys RFC Newport High School Old Boys (NHSOB) are a Welsh rugby union club based in Caerleon on the northern outskirts of Newport in South Wales. They currently play in the Welsh Rugby Union Division Two and is a feeder club for the Newport Gwent Drago ...

. While part of the Dragons Academy, Dyer made his professional debut on 27 January 2018, against

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

in the

Anglo-Welsh Cup The Anglo-Welsh Cup (), was a cross-border rugby union knock-out cup competition that featured the 12 Premiership Rugby clubs and the four Welsh regions. It was a created as a replacement for the RFU Knockout Cup, which featured only English clubs ...

. His first appearance in the

Pro14 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...

came against

Benetton Rugby Benetton Rugby, also known as Benetton Treviso ( or ), is an Italian professional rugby union team based in Treviso, Veneto competing in the United Rugby Championship, the European Rugby Challenge Cup and European Champions Cup. Treviso rugby t ...

the following month. Dyer was named man of the match on 4 January 2020, as the Dragons beat regional rivals Ospreys 25–18, with Dyer scoring a try in the victory. In March 2020, Dyer signed his first professional contract with the Dragons. He signed an extension in January 2022. On 23 October 2022, Dyer again claimed a man of the match award against the Ospreys, scoring twice and propelling the Dragons to a 32–25 win. On 17 January 2024, Dyer signed a long–term contract extension with the Dragons.

International career

Dyer was a Wales U20 international. He missed the 2019 Six Nations Under 20s Championship to participate in the

World Rugby Sevens Series The World Rugby Men's Sevens Series is an annual series of international rugby sevens tournaments run by World Rugby featuring national sevens teams. Organised for the first time in the 1999–2000 season as the IRB World Sevens Series, the com ...

, but rejoined the U20 side for the

2019 World Rugby Under 20 Championship The 2019 World Rugby Under 20 Championship was the twelfth edition of the premier age-grade competition for rugby. The tournament was held in Argentina for the second time, having been hosted there in 2010. Defending champions France won the un ...

. On 18 October 2022, Dyer was named in the Wales squad for the 2022 Autumn series. Dyer started against New Zealand on 5 November 2022, and scored the first try for Wales. Dyer scored his second try for Wales in the final match of the series, a loss against Australia. Owing to his continued good form, Dyer continued his involvement with the national side, and was named in the Welsh squad for the

2023 Six Nations Championship The 2023 Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) was the 24th Six Nations Championship, an annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland a ...

. Dyer started the first two matches against Ireland and Scotland, but was dropped for the match against England, following

Louis Rees-Zammit Louis Rees-Zammit (; born 2 February 2001) is a Welsh rugby union wing who currently plays for Gloucester in the English Premiership and for Wales at national level. In 2021, Rees-Zammit was selected to tour with the British and Irish Lions. E ...

returning to fitness. Recalled to the starting team against Italy, he scored his third try for Wales, and secured his first win for the national side. The following week Dyer scored again, against France, securing a try bonus point for Wales as they avoided a wooden spoon finish. Dyer was named in the Wales squad for the

2023 Rugby World Cup The 2023 Rugby World Cup is scheduled to be the tenth men's Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It is scheduled to take place in France from 8 September to 28 October 2023 in nine venues across the cou ...

, and appeared in all matches as Wales made the quarter final round.

International tries

References

External links

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Dragons profileWRU profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dyer, Rio 1999 births Living people Dragons RFC players Rugby union players from Newport, Wales Welsh rugby union players Rugby union wings Wales international rugby union players People educated at Bassaleg School 2023 Rugby World Cup players