Jan WEBSTER

Jan Webster is pictured above playing for the Barbarians.

(Fran Cotton is behind him.)

Career Record: Played 11: Won 3, Lost 8.

1972 v Wales (Twickenham) L 12-3 (FN)
1972 v Ireland (Twickenham) L 16-12 (FN)

1972 v South Africa (Johannesburg) W 18-9

1974 v Scotland (Murrayfield) L 16-14 (FN)
1974 v Wales (Twickenham) W 16-12 (FN)

1975 v Ireland (Dublin) L 12-9 (FN)

1975 v France (Twickenham) L 27-20 (FN)

Jan was born on 24th August 1946 in Southport, Lancashire. He moved to Walsall with his parents at an early age

and lived on The Broadway adjacent to Walsall Rugby Football Club. He attended Mayfield Preparatory School and

then Queen Mary’s Grammar School in 1957. He continued his education at the city of Birmingham College of Commerce.

He died in hospital on 6th. February 2019 after suffering a heart attack.

Jan Webster played his rugby for Moseley, a club that produced several England internationals in the 1970s

including John Finlan, Nigel Horton and Sam Doble. A stocky, imaginative player, Jan won 11 caps at scrum-half

for England between 1972 and 1975, but was probably good enough to have won more. Webster was one of

six new players when he made his debut in a defeat by Wales in 1972, and had to come up against none other

than the great Gareth Edwards, one of the finest scrum-halves of all time. Jan also played in a 16-12 loss to Ireland

at Twickenham, but perhaps his greatest performance came in just his third international, a stunning 18-9 victory

against South Africa later in the year. Webster proved to be a constant annoyance to the Springboks all day and set

up the match winner in the second-half when he pumped a garryowen deep into South African territory, dispossessed

the receiver and then laid off to Alan Morley who scored the try.

The following year Jan played in three tests in total, two of which were against New Zealand. The first match at Twickenham

was lost 10-0, but later in the year Jan repeated his Johannesburg heroics as England upset the odds to beat the

All Blacks 16-10 in Auckland. He played in two matches the following year, against Scotland and Wales, his rival Steve Smith

featuring in the other two games. Against Scotland, Jan was part of one of England's best moves of the season when he

tapped a penalty and spun the ball out to Tony Neary. The flanker in turn fed Andy Ripley who sped half the length of the

field, before offloading to Neary again to score the try. The 1975 season proved to be Webster's last, and his career ended

when he was taken off with a cut knee in a 20-4 defeat by Wales. (Jon Collins)