Jack Matthews (rugby player)
| Nickname | The Iron Man | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 21 June 1920 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Bridgend, Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 18 July 2012 (aged 92) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.61 m (5 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 93 kg (205 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Bridgend County School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | Welsh National School of Medicine | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation(s) | General practitioner | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position(s) | Centre | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Amateur team(s) | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Points) |
|
1949 |
Bridgend RFC Cardiff Medicals RFC Cardiff RFC Newport RFC Army Barbarian F.C. Hampshire |
() | |
| National team(s) | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Points) |
| 1947–1951 1950 |
Wales British Lions |
17 6 |
((12) (0)) |
Jack Matthews, OBE (21 June 1920 – 18 July 2012) was a Welsh physician and rugby union international centre who played first-class club rugby for Cardiff and Newport. Along with Bleddyn Williams, Matthews formed a centre partnership which is regarded as one of the finest in the game. He was also a devastating tackler, once described as “a cross between a bulldozer and a brick wall”. Matthews won 17 caps for Wales and six with the British Lions, though his career was curtailed by the Second World War. Matthews was a general practitioner by profession and travelled with the 1980 Lions on their tour of South Africa as the team doctor.
Born in Bridgend, South Wales in 1920, Matthews attended Bridgend County School before matriculating to the Welsh National School of Medicine. From a youth he was a keen sportsperson, and in 1937 he won the Welsh AAA junior 220 yards title. A year later, after spending three seasons in the Welsh Secondary Schools rugby team, he played in a senior Wales trail, at just eighteen years old. In 1939 he came second in the Senior Men's AAA 100 yards and third in the 220 yards.
With the outbreak of the Second World War, Matthews applied to join the Royal Air Force, but was required to train as a doctor at the Welsh School of Medicine. Matthews was later commissioned into the Royal Army Medical Corps.Bleddyn Williams, an RAF trainee and later Matthew's centre partner for Wales, played with Matthews for the first time whilst stationed in South Wales. The duo were part of a South Wales team that faced an Ack Ack XV in 1942. Williams was later switched to and trained as a glider pilot, attached to the Glider Pilot Regiment.
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