Ernest Raymond "Roy" John (3 December 1925 – 30 September 1981) was a and British Lions international

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 ...

lock. He played club rugby for

Crynant Crynant ( cy, Y Creunant) is a village and community in the Dulais Valley in Wales. It lies 7¾ miles north-east from the town of Neath in Neath Port Talbot, situated between the mountains of Mynydd Marchywel to the west, Hirfynydd to the east ...

and

Neath Neath (; cy, Castell-nedd) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a po ...

. John was capped 19 times for Wales and was a member of two

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

winning teams. In 1950 he was selected for the

1950 British Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia The British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia in 1950 was the first post-war tour made by the Lions; there had not been one since 1938. The 1950 team was the first to be nicknamed "the British Lions", rather than just "British I ...

. John was an agile runner for a lock, but was most notable for his excellent ability in line-outs.

Rugby career

John played rugby from a young age and represented his local grammar school as a youth. His first club was Crynant, but by the time he gained his first cap in 1950 he had switched to first-class side Neath. His international debut came on 21 January against England as part of the 1950 Five Nations Championship. John gained his place as his club partner,

Rees Stephens John Rees Glyn Stephens (16 April 1922 – 4 February 1998) was a Welsh international rugby union player who played club rugby for Tonmawr RFC and Neath. He won 32 caps for Wales and was selected to play in the British Lions on the 1950 tour ...

had been forced to withdraw from the team.Smith (1980) p. 320 John was one of five new caps entering a team that had finished bottom of the table in the year's previous tournament. Wales beat England 11–5 and John was reselected for the remaining three matches of the campaign. After wins over Scotland and Ireland to take the Triple Crown, John scored his first and only

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for Wales in a victory over France to give the team the Grand Slam title. Two months after the encounter with France, John was playing for the British Lions team touring Australia and New Zealand. Both he and Stephens were selected becoming the first players to represent the Lions from the Neath club. He played in twenty-two matches of the tour and played in all six Test matches. During the tour he scored two tries, one in the win against a joint Manawatu–

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team, and the other in the second Test against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. During the tour, John was used in three of the Tests as a number 8, both the Australian matches and the third Test to New Zealand at Wellington. During the 1950–51 season John was given the captaincy of the Neath team. John was back in the Wales squad for the 1951 Five Nations Championship playing in all four matches. Despite a resounding win over England in the opening match, Wales ended the competition on third after draw with Ireland and loses to France and Ireland. The same year John faced the 1951 touring South Africa team. First at club level when a joint

Aberavon Aberavon ( cy, Aberafan) is a town and community in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. The town derived its name from being near the mouth of the river Afan, which also gave its name to a medieval lordship. Today it is essentially a distri ...

and Neath team on 17 November, and then a country level with Wales, twice ending on the losing side. Despite losing to the South Africans with Wales, John so dominated the line-out that the Springboks' coach,

Danie Craven Daniël Hartman Craven (11 October 1910 – 4 January 1993) was a South African rugby union player (1931–1938), national coach, national and international rugby administrator, academic, and author. Popularly known as Danie, Doc, or Mr R ...

, ordered his team not to contest them. John continued his unbroken run of Wales appearances with another four games in the

1952 Five Nations Championship The 1952 Five Nations Championship was the twenty-third series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the fifty-eighth series of the northern hemisphere rugb ...

. The pivotal game of the tournament turned out to be the team's first match away to England. England led the encounter in the first half with England scoring two tries when key Welsh player Lewis Jones was off the pitch for treatment. Wales responded strongly in the second half led by their pack with John dominating the line-out. Wales went on to win all three remaining games giving John his second Grand Slam title. 1952 also saw Neath tour Ireland, which John joined despite being on honeymoon there. 1953 saw John complete his fourth full Championship, in which Wales came second, losing just one game to eventual winners England. John's penultimate international came in December 1953, when he was chosen to face the touring New Zealand team. Although John no longer possessed his old agility, a storming response from the forwards saw Wales snatch their last win over the All Blacks that century. John faced the same New Zealand team in late January 1954, when another joint Aberavon/Neath team lost 11–5 to the tourists. John's final international, his nineteenth consecutive game for Wales, was an away match to England, which Wales lost through a last minute try from England's Chris Winn.

Playing style

While a youth at Neath Grammar School, John had played on the wing, at centre and at fly-half before moving into the back row. Despite his height, at 6 ft 3ins, John possessed a swerve and dummy more worthy of a half-back. He was used as a number 8 during the Lions tour, and once as a Wales international played as flanker. Of all his rugby abilities, John is best remembered for his strength in the line-out. John had a powerful standing leap and was reported to be able to leap up and grab onto a rugby crossbar, set at 10 ft 6ins above the ground.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), p. 467 * 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954 * 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953 * 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953 * 1953 * 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953 * 1951 British Lions * 1950, 1950 * 1950, 1950, 1950, 1950

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:John, Roy 1925 births 1981 deaths Barbarian F.C. players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales Crynant RFC players Glamorgan County RFC players Neath RFC players People educated at Neath Grammar School for Boys Rugby union locks Rugby union players from Crynant Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union players