Fantastic rugby player and top bloke
IT was with great interest that I read the article titled “New move to honour cross-code pioneers” (Western Mail, July 27).
This refers to the rugby players who “supped with the devil” by leaving Wales and going north to play rugby league. Back home they were treated like lepers. They were banned for life from entering their old club houses, going to watch rugby union matches.
Most of the players, who went from Cardiff were black and because of their colour would never have won a Wales cap. By going professional they could set up their families for a good future. Who can blame them going anyway? It’s a better game. No messy line-outs, no continuously collapsing scrums. It’s faster, more skillful and because there are only 13 players per side, as opposed to 15 in union, you have to be fitter to play the game.
You rightly mentioned great black players like Billy Boston, Clive Sullivan, Colin Dixon and Roy Francis.
Another local boy was Frank Wilson. Frank, who hailed from Llandaff North, played on the wing for Cardiff RFC from 1964 to 1968. When Cardiff went on tour to South Africa in 1967 they didn’t take Frank because of the apartheid regime. Shame on them for going. He scored a try for East Wales in the 3-3 draw with the 1967 All Blacks. It was the only game the tourists didn’t win.
Not only was Frank a fantastic player he was also a top bloke. I was 16/17 years old and we both worked for GKN Steelworks. He gave me lifts home, got the Cardiff RFC team to sign books and stuff for me and if I saw him at the Arms Park, he’d come over to talk to me. For a 16/17-yearold that’s a massive deal.
In 1968 Frank went north. I was devastated. In eight seasons at St Helens he scored 176 tries in 310 matches and won the Challenge Cup at Wembley. At the end of his career he came home to play for the Cardiff City Blue Dragons. He also won 14 caps for the Wales rugby league team.
I look forward to seeing how this team of experts find a way to honour our groundbreaking sports stars.
Kevin J Wilkinson Rumney, Cardiff