Просмотр кода страницы Английская Википедия:Gareth Edwards

{{Английская Википедия/Панель перехода}}
{{short description|British Lions & Wales international rugby union footballer}}
{{other people||Gareth Edwards (disambiguation)}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox rugby biography
|                   name = {{br entries | {{pre-nominal styles|country=GBR|KB}} | Gareth Edwards | {{small|{{post-nominals|country=GBR|CBE}}}}}} 
|                  image = Gareth Edwards.jpg
|                caption = Edwards in 2009
|              birth_name = Gareth Owen Edwards
|            birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1947|7|12}}
|           birth_place = [[Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen]], [[Swansea]], [[Glamorgan]], Wales         
|            ru_position = [[Scrum-half (rugby union)|Scrum-half]]
|        ru_amateuryears = 
|        ru_amateurclubs = 
|            ru_amupdate = 
|        ru_nationalteam = {{nowrap|[[Wales national rugby union team|Wales]]<br />[[British & Irish Lions|British Lions]]}}
|       ru_nationalyears = 1967–1978<br />1968–1974
|        ru_nationalcaps = 53<br />10
|      ru_nationalpoints = (88)<br />{{0}}(3)
|            ru_ntupdate = 
|           ru_clubyears = 1966–1978
|            ru_proclubs = [[Cardiff RFC]]
|            ru_clubcaps = 195
|          ru_clubpoints = (426)
|          ru_clubupdate = 
|         ru_currentclub = 
|            ru_province = 
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| ru_sevensnationalyears = 
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|  ru_sevensnationalcomp = 
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|          ru_coachclubs = 
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|         ru_coachupdate = 
|             occupation = 
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|                 school = [[Millfield]]
|             university = [[Cardiff Metropolitan University#School of Education|Cardiff College of Education]]
}}
'''Sir Gareth Owen Edwards''' [[Order of the British Empire|CBE]] (born 12 July 1947) is a [[Welsh people|Welsh]] former [[rugby union]] player who played [[Rugby union/scrumhalf|scrum-half]] and has been described by the [[BBC]] as "arguably the greatest player ever to don a Welsh jersey".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/2369877.stm|title=The state of the Union|publisher=[[BBC Sport]]|first=Bryn|last=Palmer|date=6 November 2002|access-date=27 March 2020}}</ref>

In 2003, in a poll of international rugby players conducted by ''[[Rugby World]]'' magazine, Edwards was declared the greatest player of all time. In 2007, former [[England national rugby union team|England]] captain [[Will Carling]] published his list of the '50 Greatest Rugby players' in ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', and ranked Edwards the greatest player ever, stating; "He was a supreme athlete with supreme skills, the complete package. He played in the 1970s, but, if he played now, he would still be the best. He was outstanding at running, passing, kicking and reading the game. He sits astride the whole of rugby as the ultimate athlete on the pitch".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/international/england/2320582/Will-Carling-My-50-top-rugby-players.html|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|location=London|title=Will Carling – My Top 50 Rugby players|date=13 August 2007|access-date=27 March 2020}}</ref>

Edwards was prominent in the [[Wales national rugby union team|Wales national team]] that was to the fore in European rugby in the '60s and '70s. He is one of a small group of Welsh players to have won three [[Grand Slam (rugby union)|Grand Slams]] including [[Gerald Davies]], [[J. P. R. Williams|JPR Williams]], [[Ryan Jones]], [[Adam Jones (rugby union, born 1981)|Adam Jones]], [[Gethin Jenkins]] and [[Alun Wyn Jones]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/17416299|publisher=BBC Sport|title=Six Nations: Wales' Gethin Jenkins and Ryan Jones hail third Grand Slam|date=17 March 2012|access-date=27 March 2020}}</ref>

Edwards was appointed a [[Member of the Order of the British Empire]] (MBE) in the [[1975 Birthday Honours]] for services to Welsh rugby football;<ref>United Kingdom list: {{London Gazette |date=6 June 1975 |supp=y |issue=46593 |pages=7382 }}</ref> he was promoted to [[Order of the British Empire|Commander]] (CBE) in the [[2007 New Year Honours]], "for services to sport, particularly rugby."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/6217133.stm|publisher=[[BBC News]]|title=Sporting stars head honours list|date=30 December 2006|access-date=27 March 2020}}</ref><ref name=GB>United Kingdom: {{London Gazette |issue=58196 |date=30 December 2006 |pages=7  |supp=1 }}</ref>
He was [[Knight Bachelor|knighted]] in the [[2015 Birthday Honours]], for services to sport and for charitable services.<ref name=GBR>United Kingdom: {{London Gazette |issue=61256 | date=12 June 2015 |pages=B2| supp=y}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/33109354|publisher=BBC Sport|title=Queen's Birthday Honours: Gareth Edwards receives knighthood|date=12 June 2015}}</ref>

==Early life==

Edwards was born a miner's son in [[Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen]], [[Glamorgan]], Wales. He attended Pontardawe Technical School for Boys (now [[Cwmtawe Community School]]), where he was taken under the wing of sports teacher Bill Samuels.

He won a scholarship to the elite [[Millfield]] Public School in [[Somerset]]. Apart from rugby, Edwards showed promise in a wide range of sports, playing for [[West Wales Football Association|West Wales Youth]] football team, and signing for [[Swansea City A.F.C.|Swansea Town]] at the age of 16. He also showed prowess in [[gymnastics]] and [[Sport of athletics|athletics]].<ref name="irb.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.irb.com/history/halloffame/newsid=2027707.html|title=2007 IRB Hall of Fame – Inductee: Gareth Edwards|work=[[World Rugby|International Rugby Board]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713054615/http://www.irb.com/history/halloffame/newsid%3D2027707.html|date=1 December 2007|archive-date=13 July 2011}}</ref>

==Playing career==

===Wales===
[[File:Painting at Cardiff Arms Park 2008.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Image of Edwards on a wall at [[Cardiff Arms Park]], 2007]]

Edwards won his first international [[Cap (sport)|cap]] for [[Wales national rugby union team|Wales]] on 1 April 1967 at the age of 19 against [[France national rugby union team|France]] in [[Paris]].<ref name=sportingheroes>{{cite web|url=http://www.sporting-heroes.net/rugby/wales/gareth-edwards-3267/international-rugby-union-caps-for-wales_a02954|title=Gareth EDWARDS – Wales|work=Sporting Heroes|access-date=27 March 2011}}</ref> Wales lost 20–14 to eventual championship winners France. Between 1967 and 1978 Edwards won 53 caps for Wales, including 13 as captain. All his caps were won in succession; he never had a dip in form or an injury that would allow anybody else to take his place. He scored twenty tries in internationals.

Edwards is Wales's youngest ever captain, first taking the captaincy at the age of 20 in February 1968 against [[Scotland national rugby union team|Scotland]] – a game which the Welsh side won 5–0.<ref name=sportingheroes/> Edwards was very fortunate in playing with two of the best outside halves the game has ever seen: [[Barry John]] and [[Phil Bennett]]. In the early part of his career, Edwards and his club teammate Barry John appeared inseparable, always knowing what the other was doing. During his era the Welsh side dominated the [[Six Nations Championship|Five Nations Championship]], winning the title seven times, including three grand slams. In 1969, Edwards was named Player of the Year in Wales.

In 1974 Edwards was named BBC Wales Sports Personality of the year. He followed up this success by receiving the MBE in 1975.

He was the subject of ''[[This Is Your Life (British TV series)|This Is Your Life]]'' in 1976 when he was surprised by [[Eamonn Andrews]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2021}}

Edwards' long successful international career came to an end on 18 March 1978 in the same way as he had started his career – against France in the [[1978 Five Nations Championship|Five Nations Championship]]. However, unlike on his debut, Edwards celebrated with a 16–7 winning finish in front of a home crowd at the [[Cardiff Arms Park|Arms Park]] in [[Cardiff]]. Wales also sealed the Grand Slam and a third consecutive [[Triple Crown (rugby union)|Triple Crown]] – a record, given that no team had ever won it more than twice in a row. To crown his achievements he was named Rothmans Player of the Year 1978.

===British and Irish Lions===

Edwards also played ten times for the [[British & Irish Lions]], playing for the [[1971 British Lions tour to New Zealand|1971 Lions]] team that was the only such team to win a series in New Zealand, and for the unbeaten [[1974 British Lions tour to South Africa|1974]] side in [[South Africa national rugby union team|South Africa]].

===Cardiff RFC===

He made his debut for [[Cardiff RFC]] against [[Coventry R.F.C.|Coventry]] on 17 September 1966 and he played 12 seasons for Cardiff, scoring 69 tries in 195 games.

===Other===

Edwards also played for Cardiff College, Wales Secondary Schools, East Wales, Wales, [[Barbarian F.C.|Barbarians]], Wolfhounds, Irish President XV, World XV in South Africa in 1977, the combined England and Wales against Scotland and Ireland at the RFU centenary in 1971, first Wales Sevens team SRU centenary in 1973, and the RAF (though not in the Services) on tour in [[Cyprus]] 1972.<ref name="irb.com"/>

==''That Try''==
{{BLP sources section|date=January 2023}}
{{Main|Barbarians vs New Zealand, 1973}}
Edwards' try for the [[Barbarian F.C.|Barbarians]] against the [[New Zealand national rugby union team|All Blacks]] in 1973 at [[Cardiff Arms Park]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/may/15/rugby-union-gareth-edwards-barbarians-all-blacks-new-zealand-1973|title=My favourite game: Gareth Edwards and the Baa-Baas stun All Blacks |work=The Guardian |date=15 May 2020}}</ref> often referred to simply as "that try",<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-union/21205137|publisher=BBC Sport|title=The greatest try ever scored?|date=26 January 2013|access-date=27 March 2020}}</ref> is regarded as the greatest try ever. The move starts with a deep kick from the New Zealand winger. The ball dropped towards [[Phil Bennett]] near to his goal line. Bennett sidestepped and evaded three tackles, in turn passing the ball to JPR Williams. It next passed through four pairs of hands ([[John Pullin]], [[John Dawes]], [[Tommy David]] and [[Derek Quinnell]]) before Edwards, slipping between two teammates and seemingly intercepting the last pass, finished with a diving try in the left-hand corner.

In a [[United Kingdom|UK]] poll conducted by [[Channel 4]] in 2002 British rugby supporters voted Edwards's historic try for the Barbarians No. 20 in the list of the [[100 Greatest Sporting Moments]].

==Post-playing career==

[[File:Sculpture of rugby union player Gareth Edwards.jpg|thumb|upright|The sculpture of Gareth Edwards in St David's Centre]]
[[File:Welsh Government video - Gareth Edwards talks about his vaccine experience.webm|thumb|Video of Edwards talking to the First Minister of Wales, [[Mark Drakeford]]]]
When he wrote his autobiography he was branded a "professional" and was temporarily prevented from coaching or being involved in any way with the sport of rugby union.

From 1978 until 1982 Edwards was a team captain on the TV quiz show ''[[A Question of Sport]]'' along with [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]] and [[England national football team|England]] footballer [[Emlyn Hughes]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/question_of_sport/qs_history/default.stm|work=[[A Question of Sport]]|title=The history of the show|date=23 November 2008|access-date=27 March 2020}}</ref>

In 1997, Edwards was one of the first fifteen former players inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame along with (among others) former playing partners Barry John and JPR Williams. He is also the subject of a plaque in the Rugby Pathway of Fame in the town of [[Rugby, Warwickshire]], which is credited as the home of the game.

On 21 November 2001, Edwards was voted the "Greatest Welsh Player of all time" at a rugby dinner held at the [[Cardiff International Arena]] by the 'Welsh Rugby Former International Players' Association' and First Press Events company. Voting took place via the [[Western Mail (Wales)|Western Mail]], [[South Wales Echo]], [[Wales on Sunday]] and the nine Celtic Press titles. The public votes were then sifted by a team of experts and a 'crowd' of almost 1,000 packed into the CIA to discover who were the 'Greatest'.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/international/2501349.stm|title=Edwards hailed as greatest|date=21 November 2002|publisher=BBC Sport|access-date=16 March 2012}}</ref>

In a poll of international rugby players conducted in 2003 by ''Rugby World'' magazine, Edwards was declared the greatest player of all time. Surprisingly, Edwards has admitted that All Black scrum-half [[Sid Going]] most likely got the better of him over their seven encounters, "As I say, he was the best I played against and, yes, he probably had the edge on me in the games we played". Edwards does however think that the pack Going was playing behind may have helped, "...I wouldn't have minded playing with the back row the All Blacks had...then Sid might not have come out on top".<ref>{{cite book|title=Century in Black: 100 Years of All Blacks Test Rugby|first=Ron|last=Palenski|page=105|publisher=Hodder Moa|date=14 August 2003|isbn=978-1869589370}}</ref> He now commentates on the game for the [[BBC]] and [[S4C]], commentating for the latter in [[Welsh language|Welsh]], his mother tongue, and he is one of several players to have appeared in the S4C series ''Rygbi a Mwy''. He is also a director at the [[Cardiff Blues]] region, director of Mercedes dealership Euro Commercials Ltd. and President of Cardiff Institute for the Blind.<ref name="irb.com"/> A sculpture of Gareth Edwards stands in the [[St. David's (Cardiff)|St David's Centre]], [[Cardiff]].

In 1990 he set a British angling record when he landed a [[Northern pike|pike]] weighing 45&nbsp;lb 6oz at [[Llandegfedd Reservoir]] near [[Pontypool]]. Edwards held the record for two years. He also enjoys shooting game-birds.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shootinguk.co.uk/shooting/shoot-reports/partridge-shooting-at-prescombe-with-eric-clapton-10050|work=Shooting UK|title=Partridge shooting at Prescombe with Eric Clapton|date=22 November 2012|access-date=27 March 2020}}</ref> Edwards was patron of The Richard Hunt Foundation and in 2010 he was named a Patron of the Jaguar Academy of Sport.

In August 2014, Edwards was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''[[The Guardian]]'' opposing [[Scottish independence]] in the run-up to September's [[2014 Scottish independence referendum|referendum on that issue]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/aug/07/celebrities-open-letter-scotland-independence-full-text|work=[[The Guardian]]|title=Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories|date=7 August 2014|access-date=27 March 2020}}</ref>

In 2019 he appeared, alongside wife Maureen, in the BBC Series ''Gareth Edwards’s Great Welsh Adventure''. The programme returned for a second series in 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0009hyr/episodes/player|title=BBC One - Gareth Edwards's Great Welsh Adventure - Available now|website=BBC}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Welsh Rugby Union]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{cite news| url=http://sport.guardian.co.uk/columnists/story/0,,2048668,00.html |title=This is Gareth Edwards' dramatic finish – what a score |newspaper=The Guardian |date=3 April 2007 |last=Keating |first=Frank}}
*{{cite news|url=http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/5018_2136.php |title=Welsh Rugby Legends Name The Greatest of the Welsh Greats |publisher=ercrugby.com |date=22 November 2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930200230/http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/5018_2136.php |archive-date=30 September 2007 |url-status=dead }}
*{{cite web | title=Gareth Edwards | url=http://www.rugbyhalloffame.com/pages/edwards1997.htm | publisher=rugbyhalloffame.com | archive-url=https://archive.today/20120908064230/http://www.rugbyhalloffame.com/pages/edwards1997.htm | archive-date=8 September 2012 | url-status=dead }}
* {{World Rugby Hall of Fame|704767}}

{{British and Irish Lions 1968}}
{{British and Irish Lions 1971}}
{{British and Irish Lions 1974}}
{{Barbarian RFC Captains in Internationals}}
{{BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year winners}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Gareth}}
[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Barbarian F.C. players]]
[[Category:Bards of the Gorsedd]]
[[Category:British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales]]
[[Category:Cardiff RFC players]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Knights Bachelor]]
[[Category:People educated at Cwmtawe Community School]]
[[Category:People educated at Millfield]]
[[Category:Rugby football people awarded knighthoods]]
[[Category:Rugby union players from Pontardawe]]
[[Category:Rugby union players from Swansea]]
[[Category:Rugby union scrum-halves]]
[[Category:Wales international rugby union players]]
[[Category:Wales rugby union captains]]
[[Category:Welsh rugby union players]]
[[Category:World Rugby Hall of Fame inductees]]
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