Roy Mathias (born 2 September 1949) is a Welsh dual-code international

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

and professional

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 ...

, and footballer who played in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. He played representative level

(RU) 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 ...

, and at club level for

Felinfoel RFC Felinfoel RFC is a Welsh rugby union club representing the town of Felinfoel, Llanelli, West Wales. Felinfoel RFC is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for Llanelli Scarlets. Club honours * WRU Division Two West - 20 ...

and

Llanelli RFC Llanelli Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Llanelli) is a Welsh rugby union club founded on 30 March 1872. The club's historic home ground was Stradey Park in Llanelli, but they moved in 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent Pembe ...

, as a

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is exp ...

, i.e. number 11 or 14, and representative level rugby league (RL) for

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

, and at club level for St. Helens and Cardiff City (Bridgend) Blue Dragons, as a , or , i.e. number 2 or 5, or 13, during the era of contested

scrum Scrum may refer to: Sport * Scrum (rugby), a method of restarting play in rugby union and rugby league ** Scrum (rugby union), scrum in rugby union * Scrum, an offensive melee formation in Japanese game Bo-taoshi Media and popular culture * ...

Background

Mathias was born in

Llanelli Llanelli ("St Elli's llan (placename element), Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of ...

, Wales.

Rugby union career

Mathias won a

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

playing Right-

Wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is exp ...

, i.e. number 14 for

(RU) while at

in the 11–6 victory over France at

Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park ( cy, Parc yr Arfau Caerdydd), also known as The Arms Park, is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. It is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green. The Arms Park was host to the British ...

on Saturday 4 April 1970.

Rugby league career

International honours

Mathias won

s for

(RL) while at St. Helens in the

1975 Rugby League World Cup The 1975 Rugby League World Championship (also referred to as the World Series) was the seventh tournament for the Rugby League World Cup. The format differed from that employed in previous competitions; no single country hosted the matches, whi ...

against France, England, Australia, New Zealand, Australia, New Zealand, and France, and won a

for

(RL) while at St. Helens in 1979 against Australia.

World Club Challenge Final appearances

Roy Mathias played , i.e. number 5, in St. Helens' 2–25 defeat by the

1975 NSWRFL season The 1975 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the 68th season of Sydney's professional rugby league football competition, Australia's first. Twelve teams, including six of 1908's foundation clubs and another six from across Sydn ...

premiers,

Eastern Suburbs Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby league, Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won ...

in the unofficial

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phil ...

World Club Challenge The World Club Challenge is an annual rugby league competition between the winners of the Australasian National Rugby League (NRL) and the European Super League, for the de facto club world championship of the sport. The first such match was pl ...

Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is used for Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australian rules football and occasionally for rugby league, rugby union and association fo ...

on Tuesday 29 June 1976.

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Roy Mathias played , i.e. number 5, in St. Helens' 20–5 victory over

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 census had a population of 61,464. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the northern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form t ...

in the

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 a ...

Final during the 1975–76 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 on Saturday 8 May 1976.

County Cup Final appearances

Roy Mathias played as an

interchange Interchange may refer to: Transport * Interchange (road), a collection of ramps, exits, and entrances between two or more highways * Interchange (freight rail), the transfer of freight cars between railroad companies * Interchange station, a rai ...

/ substitute, i.e. number 15, (replacing

Gary Bottell Gary may refer to: *Gary (given name), a common masculine given name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name *Gary, Indiana, the largest city named Gary Places ;Iran *Gary, Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan Province ;Unit ...

) in St. Helens 0–16 defeat by

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the Borough of Warrington, 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 populati ...

in the

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C., Un ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a Historic counties of England, historic county, Ceremonial County, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significa ...

County Cup The county football associations are the local governing bodies of association football in England and the Crown dependencies. County FAs exist to govern all aspects of football in England. They are responsible for administering club and play ...

Final during the 1982–83 season at

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

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 ...

on Saturday 23 October 1982.

BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final appearances

Roy Mathias played , i.e. number 5, and scored 2- tries in St. Helens' 22–2 victory over

Dewsbury Dewsbury is a minster and market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Hudder ...

in the

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

BBC2 Floodlit Trophy The BBC 2 Floodlit Trophy (also known as the BBC 2 Television Trophy) was a competition for Great Britain, British rugby league clubs held between 1965 and 1980. It was designed specifically for television, and the then director of BBC Two, BBC2 ...

Final during the 1975–76 season at

Knowsley Road Knowsley Road in Eccleston, St Helens, Merseyside, was the home ground of St. Helens from 1890 until its closure in 2010. St Helens Town FC played their home fixtures at Knowsley Road from 2002 until 2010. For a period, the venue also hosted ...

, St. Helens on Tuesday 16 December 1975, and played in the 7–13 defeat by

in the

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 – ...

Final during the 1978–79 season at

, St. Helens on Tuesday 12 December 1978. The record for the most tries in a

Final is 2- tries, and is jointly held by; Roy Mathias,

Peter Glynn Peter Glynn (born 7 January 1954) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He played at representative level for England, and at club level for St. Helens and Salford, as a , or , i.e. num ...

, Gerald Dunn and

Stuart Wright Stuart Wright may refer to: * Stuart A. Wright, American sociologist * Stuart P. Wright (1903–1982), American athlete * Stuart Pearson Wright (born 1975), English portrait artist * Stuart Wright (rugby league) RL Record Keepers' Club Stuart ...

Honoured at St. Helens R.F.C.

Roy Mathias is a St Helens R.F.C. Hall of Fame inductee.

References

External links

Great Britain Statistics at englandrl.co.uk (statistics currently missing due to not having appeared for both Great Britain, and England)Profile at saints.org.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathias, Roy 1949 births Living people Cardiff City Blue Dragons players Dual-code rugby internationals Felinfoel RFC players Great Britain national rugby league team players Llanelli RFC players Rugby league locks Rugby league players from Llanelli Rugby league utility players Rugby league wingers Rugby union players from Llanelli St Helens R.F.C. players Wales international rugby union players Wales national rugby league team players Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players