Willie Davies (23 August 1916 – 26 September 2002) 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 peop ...

international dual-code

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

fly half who 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

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

and

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

for

Bradford Northern The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is predomi ...

. He won six caps for the

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 ...

rugby union team and nine caps for the

rugby league team. In 2003 he was inducted into the

Welsh Sports Hall of Fame The Welsh Sports Hall of Fame (WSHOF) is a charitable organisation created to commemorate the sporting achievements and preserve the artefacts of Welsh athletes. It was established in 1980 from the memorabilia collection of Welsh radio commentato ...

. He was the cousin of Wales international

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

Rugby career

Davies first played rugby for Wales Secondary Schools, alongside his cousin and future Welsh captain,

. Davies progressed to play club rugby for Swansea and Hedingley, and in 1935 he played for Swansea against the touring

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 ...

team. Alongside Tanner, Davies had an outstanding game in which Swansea were victorious over the supposedly 'unbeatable' All Blacks. Tanner and Davies were credited as orchestrating the Swansea success, even though still teenagers and attending Gowerton county school. The New Zealand captain, Jack Manchester, is said to have passed back the message to New Zealand; "Tell them we have been beaten, but don't tell them it was by a pair of schoolboys". It was at Swansea he was first selected to represent Wales at rugby union. Davies was capped for Wales against Ireland under the captaincy of Joe Rees on 14 March 1936. When Wales won, thanks to a

Vivian Jenkins Vivian Gordon James "Viv" Jenkins (2 November 1911 – 5 January 2004) was a Welsh rugby union player who, having taught Classics and Games at Dover College, went on to have a successful career as a sports journalist. He won 14 caps for Wales an ...

penalty goal, he found himself as part of that year's winning Home Nations Championship team. Davies was back the next season, playing two games in the championship though after the highs of the previous season, Wales lost all their games to end up with the Wooden Spoon. Davies missed the entirety of the 1938 tournament, but was back for the 1939 championship, playing in all three games. In the last match against Ireland Davies scored all seven points with a

try Try or TRY may refer to: Music Albums * ''Try!'', an album by the John Mayer Trio * ''Try'' (Bebo Norman album) (2014) Songs * "Try" (Blue Rodeo song) (1987) * "Try" (Colbie Caillat song) (2014) * "Try" (Nelly Furtado song) (2004) * " Try (Ju ...

and a

drop goal A drop goal, field goal, or dropped goal is a method of scoring points in rugby union and rugby league and also, rarely, in American football and Canadian football. A drop goal is scored by drop kicking the ball (dropping the ball and then kicki ...

for Wales. His drop goal was the last four point drop goal ever scored in the

Five Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) is an annual international men's rugby union competition between the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The current champions ar ...

, and the last for Wales until the end of World War II. During the war, Davies served as a member of the Royal Air Force. In 1939 Davies left rugby union behind when he 'Went North' and joined professional rugby league team

. He was an outstanding player in a great Northern team.

Frank Whitcombe Frank William Whitcombe (29 May 1913 – 17 January 1958), also known by the nickname of "The Big Man", was a Welsh rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1930s and 1940s. He played rugby union (RU) for Cardiff ...

, Willie's Welsh teammate and fellow

Lance Todd Trophy The Lance Todd Trophy is a trophy in rugby league, awarded to the annual Challenge Cup Final's man of the match. Introduced in 1945–46, the trophy was named in memory of Lance Todd, the New Zealand-born player and administrator, who was killed in ...

winner took on the role of 'minder' for Northern's slightly-built, mercurial stand-off when he was targeted by opposing teams. He would later play rugby league for the

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

and

teams. In 1946 he went on tour with Great Britain against Australia and New Zealand. He played in the tour's final Test in New Zealand and at point became a

dual-code rugby international A dual-code rugby international is a rugby footballer who has played at the senior international level in both codes of rugby, 13-a-side rugby league and 15-a-side rugby union. Rugby league started as a breakaway version of rugby in Northern Eng ...

. When the Australians toured Britain the next year, Davies was chosen to represent the British team twice.Willie Davies, Classically perfect rugby league stand-off
The Independent Obituary, 7 October 2002

International matches played

Wales - rugby unionSmith (1980), pg 464. * 1937, 1939 * 1936, 1937, 1939 * 1939

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Willie Davies played, and was

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

winning the

's 8–4 victory over

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

in the 1946–47

Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...

Final during the 1946-47 season at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on Saturday 3 May 1947, played in the 3–8 defeat by

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

in the 1947–48

Final during the 1947–48 season at

on Saturday 1 May 1948, and played in the 12–0 victory over Halifax in the 1948–49

Final during the 1948-49 season at

on Saturday 7 May 1949.

Personal life

He qualified as a games and geography teacher at

Carnegie College of Physical Education The City of Leeds Training College was a teacher training college established in 1907 at Beckett Park in Leeds in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. After merging with the Carnegie College of Physical Education in 1968 it was renamed the City ...

, Leeds and then taught at

Bingley Grammar School Bingley Grammar School (BGS) is a Voluntary aided school for students from the ages of 11–18 and is located on the outskirts of Bingley, West Yorkshire, England. Bingley Grammar School was a specialist school for Business & Enterprise from ...

. He spent most of his teaching career at

Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare, also known simply as Weston, is a seaside town in North Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. It includes the suburbs of Mead Vale, Milton, Oldmixon ...

Boys' Grammar School. He had a son and two daughters.

Bibliography

* *

References

External links

Great Britain Statistics at englandrl.co.uk (statistics currently missing due to not having appeared for both Great Britain, and England)
*(archived by web.archive.org
The Millennium Masters - BacksPhotograph "Willie Davies - Wilie Davies, Northern's great Welsh stand off of the 1940s. - 01/01/1947" at rlhp.co.ukPhotograph "Northern at Fartown - The Northern side that took on Huddersfield in 1948. Bradford won 7-2 at Fartown. - 30/03/1948" at rlhp.co.ukPhotograph "1948 Challenge Cup Final - A world record crowd of 91,465 saw Bradford Northern lose to Wigan by 8 points to 3 in this 1948 Final at Wembley. Here King George VI is seen being introduced to the Bradford Northern side. - 01/05/1948" at rlhp.co.uk
*(archived by web.archive.org
RAF Rugby Union team 16 January 1943
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Willie 1916 births 2002 deaths Bradford Bulls players Dual-code rugby internationals Great Britain national rugby league team players Lance Todd Trophy winners London Welsh RFC players Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Air Force Physical Training instructors Royal Air Force rugby union players Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league players from Swansea Rugby League XIII players Rugby union fly-halves Rugby union players from Penclawdd Swansea RFC players Wales international rugby union players Wales national rugby league team players Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players Welsh schoolteachers