Willie Davies

Willie Davies shot to fame when he joined forces with his cousin, Haydn Tanner, to help Swansea beat the 1935 All Blacks while still a teenager at school. He won six caps for Wales before joining Bradford Northern. He became a legendary figure in rugby league, playing for both Wales and Great Britain in the 13-a-side code. He won the coveted Lance Todd man of the match award in the 1947 Challenge Cup final at Wembley.

He appeared in the first leg of the 1944 Challenge Cup final as Bradford Northern beat Wigan 8-3 over the two matches. He then featured in the second leg of the 13-9 aggregate defeat to Huddersfield in the 1945 final before picking up a winners’ medal and the Lance Todd medal in 1947 with an 8-4 win over Leeds. Bradford made it to the next two Wembley finals, losing 8-3 to Wigan in 1948 and beating Halifax 12-0 in 1949 in front of a record 95,050 gate.

Having won six rugby union caps for Wales, Davies picked up nine more for the Wales rugby league team and played in three Great Britain Tests. In 1946 he was one of 11 Welshmen in the Great Britain squad that toured Australia and New Zealand. He played in 14 tour matches, including the 22-9 second Test win over New Zealand in Auckland. He then played in the opening two Tests of the 1947 series against the Kiwis when they toured the UK.

A full biography of Willie Davies will appear here shortly.

William Thomas Harcourt Davies (Rugby Union and League player) Born in Penclawdd on 18 March, 1916; Died in Rustington on 26 September, 2002