A classic centre for Llanelli, Swansea and Cardiff, his career was dogged by knee injuries. With modern day medical techniques and surgery he would probably have more than doubled his cap count.
“Brian was the best centre I ever played with, he was brilliant. He had a unique style and very simple abilities – he had tremendous acceleration and beautiful handling skills,” said former Cardiff clubmate and fellow Welsh international, Brian Davies.
“Cyril was the sporting hero at my school, Amman Valley Grammar School, and he captained the Wales Schools Under 15 team and then played for the Welsh Senior Schools. He was also the county long jump champion.
“He was shy off the field, but full of confidence on it. He was only 5ft 7in tall, and quite stocky, but he could drift past players and then put others into space.
“A number of players got caps through playing outside Cyril because he made them look so good. I remember him playing for Cardiff against the 1960 Springboks – he was utterly brilliant and made a break every time he had the ball.”
Cyril Allen Havard Davies (Cap No 618) was born in Ammanford on 21 November, 1936, and was a star in the making from his youngest days. He played six times for the Wales Schools Under 15 side over two seasons and never tasted defeat.
In 1951, Wales drew with South of Scotland (6-6) and England (11-11) at home and beat England 9-3 in Gloucester. The next year he captained the side to three wins in 1952, beating the South of Scotland 21-3 and England twice, 9-3 in Newport and 15-3 in Moseley.
He graduated into the Wales Senior Schools side in 1953 and played in all three fixtures. After losing 9-0 to Yorkshire Schools, Wales beat France 9-6 in Agen and then England 8-0 in Cardiff, with a side containing other future full caps in Roddy Evans, Howard Norris, Gareth Payne and Meirion Roberts.
He played for home club Ammanford and moved to Cardiff University from school. He made the first of 39 appearances for Cardiff against Penarth in 1955 and the last against the same opposition in 1962.
He played four games for Swansea, two each in the 1954/55 and 1956/57, and helped the All Whites beat Germany 10-0 on 6 September, 1956. His Llanelli debut came at Stradey Park in April, 1956, in a 24-20 win over Leicester.
He won the first of his seven Welsh caps, which were spread over five years, the following season against Ireland at the Arms Park when he formed a new centre partnership with anther debutant, Ebbw Vale’s Graham Powell. The Irish were beaten 6-5 in a game played in such a mud bath the referee ordered the Welsh tem off the field 17 minutes into the second half to change jerseys.
The Wallabies toured in the 1957/58 season and Davies played for both Llanelli and Wales against the tourists. He held his place in the 1958 Five Nations Championship for the games against England, a 3-3 draw at Twickenham, an 8-3 home win over Scotland and a 9-6 triumph at the Arms Park against the Irish.
He then missed the next nine internationals before returning to face the 1960 Springboks after a great performance against them for Cardiff. Wales lost that game 3-0 in a deluge and Davies made his final Welsh appearance the next month in a 6-3 win over England at the Arms Park.
Seven minutes into the second half of the game he damaged his knee and had to leave the field. He was picked to play for the Barbarians against the tourists in their final game in Cardiff on 21 February, 1961, but was forced to pull out on the day of the game and Newport’s Brian Jones took his place in what became an historic 6-0 victory.
After making his final appearance for Cardiff in 1962 he drifted out of the first-class game. In the 1962/63 season, 10 October, he led a Welsh Representative XV against his home town team, Ammanford, to help them celebrate their 75th anniversary fixture.
He was one of six Welsh internationals in the invitation side in a game that contained 20 tries and was won 61-40 by the visitors. He played for Ammanford in the 1964/65 season, until a broken nose ended his playing career, and then became coach at the club, making one final, emergency appearance at the age of 40 against Aberavon Green Stars in 1976.
The Welsh Rugby Union sends heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Cyril Davies.
