News

Brynaman RFC v Moseley RFC - 28^th April 1973

Commemorative Fixture to Celebrate 50^th Anniversary as Members of the Welsh Rugby Union

Back Row (L-R) : John Elgar Williams (Coach), Hywel Lewis, Eric Griffiths, Colin Jones, John Roberts,Howard Williams, Ralph Jones, John Williams, Garth Morgan, Howie Williams,Vernon Brown (Match Referee), Jimmy Callingham (Trainer) George Llewelyn (Vice-Chairman)

Middle Row: Robert Davies, Alf Knight (President), Heddwyn Stephens (Captain), Ken Rideout (Chairman) Keith Jones

Front Row: John Rees, John Evans (Vice-Captain), Viv Rees (Secretary), Phil Rees, John Beynon

Back Row (L-R) : John Elgar Williams (Coach), Hywel Lewis, Eric Griffiths, Colin Jones, John Roberts, Howard Williams, Ralph Jones, John Williams, Garth Morgan, Howie Williams,Vernon Brown (Match Referee), Jimmy Callingham (Trainer) George Llewelyn (Vice-Chairman)

Middle Row: Robert Davies, Alf Knight (President), Heddwyn Stephens (Captain),

Ken Rideout (Chairman) Keith Jones

Front Row: John Rees, John Evans (Vice-Captain), Viv Rees (Secretary), Phil Rees, John Beynon

Moseley RFC

Back Row (L-R): A.Hill, C.Weston, Nigel Horton*, Sam Doble*, R.Hall, N.Green, A.N.Other, J.Griffiths

Middle Row: B.Ayre, E.Thomas, Jan Webster*, J.Dawson, John Finlan*,

Front Row: A.Protherough, Alwyn Evans, Malcolm Swain*            (* denotes International)

To commemorate Brynaman’s 50^th season as members of the Welsh Rugby Union, this celebratory fixture was arranged against Moseley RFC. During this period the Birmingham based club were one of the most successful first class sides in the English RFU and had recently been crowned ‘Sunday Telegraph English/Welsh Merit Table Champions 1972/73’. Earlier in this same season on the 6^th December 1972, Midland Counties West, who included 9 Moseley players, defeated Ian Kirkpatrick’s touring All Blacks by 16-8 at ‘The Reddings’. Instrumental in facilitating this prestigious encounter was Alwyn Evans an accomplished former Brynaman player and Welsh Schools Cap (1952/53), who was at the time Secretary and Chairman of Selectors of Moseley RFC. Much to their credit the visitors selected a full strength line-up for this fixture which included the following internationals.   

Nigel Horton – Moseley, England & British Lions

Moseley Lock Nigel Horton holds the distinction of being one of a few players to appear for their country in three different decades. In all he made 20 appearances for England between 1969/1980 and was selected for the British Lions Tour of New Zealand in 1977. On this Tour he was tipped by many for Test selection, but broke his thumb against Otago and was forced to return home early.  In retirement Nigel maintained his links with the game through coaching and player development and his role with the rugby equipment ‘Predator’ resulted in him touring again with the Lions in 1997 & 2005 as a scrum machine specialist.

Sam Doble – Moseley & England

Tall with long straw-coloured hair, Sam Doble played three times for England as a fullback with a reputation as a consistent place kicker. He won his call-up after scoring 581 points for Moseley in 1971-72, and made his debut in a remarkable 18-9 win over a formidable South Africa side in Johannesburg, slotting four penalties and a conversion. A 0-10 loss to New Zealand and a  9-25 defeat by Wales followed and subsequently he was not selected again. In 1976 he was dropped by his club for the first time after a marked loss of form. A few weeks later he retired at the age of 31, citing a rib injury as the reason, but it was soon discovered that he was suffering from a rare form of lymphatic cancer. He died in September the following year aged 33. An extremely popular figure, his premature death was widely mourned. He scored 3,651 points in a short career.

Jan Webster – Moseley, England & Barbarians

Moseley Scrum Half Jan Webster was an England International rugby player from 1972 to 1975 winning 11 caps, the most notable of those being against South Africa on 3rd June 1972 at Ellis Park Johannesburg. Here, England inflicted a memorable first ever defeat of the South Africans on their home soil and ran out victors 18-9. This was to be followed in 1973 by beating New Zealand in Auckland to register a first ever home defeat by an England team in New Zealand. For this stunning game Jan was to be named man of the match. He started his international career with his first full England cap against Wales on the 15th January 1972 and ended against Wales on the  15th February 1975. He represented the Barbarians on a number of occasions and was a member of the Staffordshire side who beat Gloucestershire 11-9 in the 1970 County Championship Cup Final.

John Finlan - Moseley, North Midlands, England & Barbarians

Fly half John Finlan made his England international debut, against Ireland in 1966/67 and retained his place for the remainder of that season’s International Championship. He dropped goals in his second and third England appearances against France and Scotland and accrued a total of 13 Caps between 1967 and 1973. He toured Canada with England in 1967 and played against New Zealand, Wales and Ireland in 1967/68.Finlan played in all four of England’s International Championship matches of 1968/69 and won his final two caps against France in 1970 and New Zealand in 1973. Following his playing career John Finlan became an England selector.

Malcolm Swain – Moseley, Wales B & Barbarians

Solihull Teacher Malcolm Swain was a Welshman who was selected for Wales B versus France B at the Cardiff Arms Park on 21^st October 1972. He also played in the Final Welsh Senior International Trial Match in 1975/76. A highly regarded Centre/Wing Three-quarter, he made numerous appearances for Moseley in the 1970’s and was selected for the Barbarians v Leicester on 27^th December 1979.

Despite the quality of the opposition the match ended in a creditable defeat for Brynaman by 35 points to 22, and in hindsight shows  the early potential of the home team squad the bulk of whom later featured in the West Wales Championship winning team of 1976/77.