Is Will Rowlands related to Clive Rowlands?

Is Will Rowlands related to Clive Rowlands? – Will Rowlands and Clive Rowlands, the legendary Welsh rugby union footballer and later coach are not related. Though they have the same nationality, it’s just a coincidence that they have the same surname.

Who is Will Rowlands?

Will is an English-born Welsh rugby union player who plays for Dragons in the URC and the Wales national team.

Born on 19 September 1991 in Hammersmith, England, Will attended the Dragon School, Oxford then Rugby School.

He studied Economics & Management at Pembroke College, Oxford, and then studied business, Administration, and Management at Warwick University whilst playing for Wasps Rugby.

Will made his Wasps debut against Leicester Tigers in the Anglo-Welsh Cup in the 2012/13 season. After graduating from the Wasps Academy, he received a first-team deal with the club prior to the 2014/15 season.

After the 2015 Rugby World Cup, he spent much of the 2015/16 season on loan to RFU Championship side Jersey Reds before returning to Wasps to address an injury crisis in the second row. He made his Aviva Premiership debut away at Saracens and has since made six more first-team outings.

He made 18 appearances for Wasps during the COVID-19-affected 2019-20 Premiership Rugby season, scoring two more tries.

He played 19 more times for Wasps in his final season, the 2020-21 Premiership Rugby season, scoring two more tries.

Will left Wasps in January 2021 to join Welsh region Dragons in the Pro14 on a long-term contract for the 2021-22 season.

In contrast to his stint at Wasps, he only appeared in 11 games for the Dragons in his rookie season.

He was named Co-Captain of Dragons RFC alongside fellow forward Harrison Keddie ahead of the 2022-23 United Rugby Championship.

Will made his international debut for Wales as a second-half substitute against France on February 22, 2020.

He was named Wales Player of the Year in 2022 by the Welsh Rugby Writers Association.

Who was Clive Rowlands?

Born Daniel Clive Thomas Rowlands OBE on 14 May 1938 in Upper Cwmtwrch, Clive Rowlands was a former Wales captain, coach, manager, and Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) president.

Clive coached Wales from 1968 to 1974, guiding them to the Triple Crown in 1969 and the Grand Slam in 1971.

From 1963 through 1965, he captained Wales at scrum-half in all 14 Test appearances.

He won 18 of his 29 games with Wales while playing for Pontypool, Llanelli, and Swansea before moving to coaching.

Renowned for his energy and motivational tactics as a coach, he later moved into rugby administration and led Wales to third place in the first Rugby World Cup in 1987.

He played a similar role in 1989 when the British and Irish Lions defeated Australia 2-1 in Australia.

He was also president of the WRU in 1989-90 during a period of controversy in the game in Wales.

Rowlands was an enthusiastic proponent of the Welsh language and a regular and knowledgeable commentator on BBC Radio Cymru.

He battled significant sickness twice in his life, first as a youngster in a sanatorium recovering from tuberculosis, which killed his sister Megan, and secondly in the early 1990s when he overcame colon cancer.

Despite his reputation and success in Wales, Rowlands’ heart was in his modest home village of Upper Cwmtwrch in the Swansea Valley, where lived until his death on July 29, 2023, at the age of 85.

He was married to Margaret and they had two children; a daughter Megan Jones and a son Dewi; and two grandchildren; Emily and Tiaan.

Source: abtc.ng