John Graham Willcox (born 16 February 1937 in Sutton Coldfield) is a rugby union international who represented

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

from 1961 to 1964, and the British Lions in 1962.John Willcox Profile on scrum.com
/ref> He also captained his country.

Early life

John Willcox was born on 16 February 1937 at Sutton Coldfield to confectioner's agent Arthur Willcox (1891-1967) and Helen Patience (1905-1971), née Davies; he had a wealthy upbringing. His sister was the eventer

Sheila Willcox Sheila Mary Willcox (12 March 1936 – 9 June 2017) was a British-born eventer who won several national and international three-day events, including the Badminton Horse Trials and the European Championships. She won Badminton three consecutive y ...

. He played rugby as a full-back.

Rugby union career

His club team was Harlequins. Willcox made his international debut on 11 February 1961 at

Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road Stadium ( ga, Bóthar Lansdún, ) was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) that was primarily used for rugby union and association football matches. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for ...

in the

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

match. Of the 19 matches he played for his national side he was on the winning side on 6 occasions. He played his final match for England on 21 March 1964 at

Murrayfield Murrayfield is an affluent area to the west of Edinburgh city centre in Scotland. It is to the east of Corstorphine and north of Balgreen and Roseburn. The A8 road runs east–west through the south of the area. Murrayfield is often con ...

in the

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

match. He took part in the

1962 British Lions tour to South Africa In 1962 the British Lions rugby union team toured Southern and Eastern Africa. Overall the tourists played twenty-five matches, winning sixteen, losing five and drawing four. The Lions were unsuccessful in the test series against , losing by ...

, playing in three test matches. After he retired from playing, he was for many years the rugby coach and a teacher at

Ampleforth College Ampleforth College is a co-educational independent day and boarding school in the English public school tradition located in the village of Ampleforth, North Yorkshire, England. It opened in 1802 as a boys' school, it is situated in the groun ...

References

1937 births Living people English rugby union players England international rugby union players Harlequin F.C. players Rugby union fullbacks British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England Rugby union players from Sutton Coldfield Lancashire County RFU players {{England-rugbyunion-bio-stub