John Dawes is pictured above playing for his club, London Welsh, at their Ground
The Old Deer Park, Kew Gardens, London.
He was Welsh national coach from 1974-79,
winning 2 Grand Slams, 4 Championships and 4 Triple Crowns.
Career Record: Played 22, Won 13, Drew 2, Lost 7.
Test Points: 12
Tries: 4.
1964 v Ireland (Dublin) W 15-6 (FN)
1964 v France (Cardiff) D 11-11 (FN)
1964 v South Africa (Durban) L 24-3
1965 v England (Cardiff) W 14-3 (FN)
1965 v Scotland (Murrayfield) W 14-12 (FN)
1965 v Ireland (Cardiff) W 14-8 (FN)
1965 v France (Paris) L 22-13 (FN)
1966 v Australia (Cardiff) L 14-11
1968 v Ireland (Dublin) L 9-6 (FN)
1968 v France (Cardiff) L 14-9 (FN)
1969 v England (Cardiff) W 30-9 (FN)
1969 v New Zealand (Auckland) L 33-12
1969 v Australia (Sydney) W 19-16
1970 v South Africa (Cardiff) D 6-6
1970 v Scotland (Cardiff) W 18-9 (FN)
1970 v England (Twickenham) W 17-13 (FN)
1970 v Ireland (Dublin) L 14-0 (FN)
1970 v France (Cardiff) W 11-6 (FN)
1971 v England (Cardiff) W 22-6 (FN)
1971 v Scotland (Murrayfield) W 19-18 (FN)
1971 v Ireland (Cardiff) W 23-9 (FN)
1971 v France (Paris) W 9-5 (FN)
John Dawes captained Wales to a Grand Slam in 1971.
In that year he won 4 British Lions Caps when he was the first Welsh captain and the
first captain to lead a British side to series victory over New Zealand.
John Dawes was fiirst capped in 1964, when he scored a try on his debut against Ireland,
it took the Welsh
selectors a long time to fully appreciate the skills of the London Welsh playmaker.
One of rugby's thinkers
he had the ability to convert the theories of coaches into practise on the field.
A master tactician, his vision
and exquisite timing of pass ensured wingers playing outside him,
had abundant scoring opportunities.
After his 1964 debut, Dawes toured South Africa and starred
in the 1965 Triple Crown winning side.
However, he was dropped for the whole of the 1966 season.
Critics inexplicably focussed on his lack of pace,
a blinkered view which ignored the full range of his
talents, notably his ability to read a game. In and out of
the Welsh side between 1968 and 1970,
when he had been guiding London Welsh to new heights, he was
eventually recalled for the last game
of the 1970 season. He was fully able to demonstrate how foolhardy
those critics and selectors had been.
Not only did he guide Wales to a Grand Slam in 1971, he then became
the first Welshman to captain
a British Lions touring side on the New Zealand tour of the same year.
The tour was a huge success with Dawes' playmaking skills to the fore. He was the perfect captain,
matching the cerebral skills of coach Carwyn James, and ensuring match tactics were executed effectively.
The series was won 3-1. After the tour, Dawes announced his retirement from international rugby, but he
did lead the 1973 Barbarians to triumph over the touring All Blacks; he figured in the move that
created
'that try' for Gareth Edwards.
He went on to become Welsh coach in the seventies with an incredible
record of four successive
Triple Crowns and two Grand Slams. (John Lovell).
John Dawes Died on 16th April 2021 aged 80.