Allan Glen Bateman (born 6 March 1965) is a Welsh former

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 ...

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 ...

footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. He is a dual-code rugby international centre who represented 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 ...

at rugby union, and

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 ...

at rugby league.

Life and career

Born in Caerau near Maesteg in the north of the Llynfi Valley, Bateman was a precocious rugby talent playing for his Primary and Junior school team, Plasnewydd (coached by David Rogers), and the Maesteg Town team in the 1970s. He excelled at both rugby and soccer, being a very fast sprinter, and also possessing a very large lung capacity which allowed him to recover from physical exertion rapidly. He was an outstanding player for Maesteg Comprehensive School where he was coached by Peter Williams, brother of Wales and British Lions superstar J.J. Williams (also from the Llynfi Valley), and by Wales back row international Gareth Williams. He began his senior rugby career for Maesteg RFC "The Old Parish" at their Llynfi Road ground. As a

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

for

Neath Neath (; cy, Castell-nedd) is a market town and community situated in the 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 population of 19,258 in 2011. Historica ...

, Bateman gained four 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 ...

in 1990 before moving to

with

Warrington Wolves The Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league club based in Warrington, England, that competes in the Super League. They play rugby at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, having moved there from Wilderspool in 2004. Founded as Warrington ...

. Bateman played right- in

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

's 12-2 victory over

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 pre ...

in the 1990–91 Regal Trophy Final during the 1990–91 season at

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley ...

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 popul ...

on Saturday 12 January 1991, and played right- in the 10-40 defeat by

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the 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 north-east and Warrington ...

in the 1994–95 Regal Trophy Final during the 1994–95 season at Alfred McAlpine Stadium,

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence i ...

on Saturday 28 January 1995. He returned to

after it went professional in 1996 to gain a further 31 Wales caps and one for the

in 1997. In rugby league he played for Wales 13 times and Great Britain twice. He also had a successful spell in Australian rugby league with the Cronulla Sharks. During his short stint at Northampton Saints he was a key figure in their Heineken Cup triumph in 2000. He became known as "The Clamp" in his rugby league days because of the ferocity of his tackling. He follows in a tradition of rugby talents from the Llynfi Valley including

Chico Hopkins Ray "Chico" Hopkins (born 8 July 1946) is a Welsh international rugby player who was also a member of the British Lions. Background Ray Hopkins was born in Maesteg, Wales, and he later worked as a National Coal Board fitter at their worksho ...

, J. J. Williams and Gwyn Evans. Career Record in Rugby Union for Wales: Played 35: Won 22, Lost 13 Test Points: 50 Tries: 10. Following his retirement from professional rugby, Bateman continued to play for his hometown club of Maesteg. Putting his education to good use, he now works in the Hematology Department of Princess of Wales Hospital but still plays at an amateur level for local club

Heol-y-Cyw Heol-y-Cyw is a little village in Bridgend County Borough, Wales, located near Bridgend, in the community of Coychurch Higher. The village, and its surroundings, had a population of 538 in 2011 census. Amenities Heol-y-Cyw has one Nonconformis ...

International honours

Allan Bateman won Rugby League caps for Wales while at Warrington, Cronulla, and Bridgend Blue Bulls 1991...2003 14-caps 5(6?)-tries 20(24?)-points.

References

External links

Great Britain Statistics at englandrl.co.uk (statistics currently missing due to not having appeared for both Great Britain, and England)Warrington’s World Cup heroes - Allan BatemanRugby legend Allan Bateman makes shock playing return 16 years after his Wales retirement… and proves class is permanentThe new life of Allan Bateman and the truth about being asked to throw a Wales match
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bateman, Allan 1965 births Living people Bridgend Blue Bulls players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks players Dual-code rugby internationals Great Britain national rugby league team players Maesteg RFC players Neath RFC players Northampton Saints players Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Maesteg Rugby union players from Maesteg Wales international rugby union players Wales national rugby league team players Warrington Wolves players Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players Richmond F.C. players