Clive Rowlands OBE (born 14 May 1938) is a former

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 ...

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 ...

footballer and later coach. Rowlands was born in Upper Cwmtwrch. As recorded in the preface for the book 'The Children of Craig-Y-Nos', Rowlands was admitted in 1947, as an eight-year-old, to Craig-y-nos TB hospital in Breconshire. He was given a rugby ball as a gift and accidentally kicked it through a glass door, for which he was put in a straitjacket for a week. A teacher by profession, he played club rugby at scrum-half for

Abercraf Abercraf ( en, Abercrave) is a village within the historic boundaries of the county of Brecknockshire, Wales, administered as part of the unitary authority of Powys, and in the community of Ystradgynlais. Between 1965 and 1991, the village was th ...

Pontypool Pontypool ( cy, Pont-y-pŵl ) is a town and the administrative centre of the county borough of Torfaen, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire in South Wales. It has a population of 28,970. Location It is situated on the Afon Lwyd ri ...

Llanelli Llanelli ("St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. ...

and

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 ...

. He captained Pontypool in the 1962 – 63 season, and captained Swansea in the 1967–1968 season Unusually, his first cap for

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 ...

against

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in 1963 was as captain, a position which he retained for his next 13 caps between 1963 and 1965, leading Wales to their first

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victory since 1952. He captained Wales in every game he played including Wales' first match outside of Europe and its first in the Southern Hemisphere; played against

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on 12 May 1964, Wales winning 8-26. In the 1963 Five Nations match against

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, in wet and muddy conditions, Rowlands decided to kick for touch as many times as possible, with the result that there were 111 line-outs in the match and Wales outside-half David Watkins only touched the ball five times. Wales won 6-0 (including a drop goal from Rowlands, his only international points) but the

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eventually responded with a change in the laws in 1970, eliminating the gain in ground for kicks directing into touch from outside the team's own 22. After retiring as a player, Rowlands was coach of the Welsh national team for 29 matches between 1968 and 1974, becoming the youngest person to hold this position. This was a successful period for Wales, including a

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in 1971 and included the tour of

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in 1969. He was manager of 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 ...

tour to

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in 1989, managed the British Isles team versus a rest-of-the-world team in 1986, and also managed Wales in the 1987 Rugby World Cup. He was President of the

Welsh Rugby Union The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; cy, Undeb Rygbi Cymru) is the Sports governing body, governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby. The WRU is responsible for the running ...

in 1989. After recovering from cancer in the 1990s, Rowlands has focused his attention on raising tens of thousands of pounds for cancer charities.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rowlands, Clive 1938 births Living people Abercrave RFC players Llanelli RFC players Officers of the Order of the British Empire Pontypool RFC players Rugby union players from Swansea Rugby union scrum-halves Swansea RFC players Wales international rugby union players Wales national rugby union team coaches Wales rugby union captains Wales Rugby Union officials Welsh rugby union coaches Welsh rugby union players