The former Wales Grand Slam winner and double British & Irish Lions tourist John Taylor was student at Loughborough Colleges when Mantle was captain of rugby there in the early sixties and described him as one of the most talented forwards he had ever seen.
“If only Wales could have held onto him he would surely have become of the greats of Welsh rugby union, rather than rugby league. He was big, powerful, quick and incredibly athletic,” said Taylor.
“He reached the top in the union code at a very young age, but the tragedy was that he left after only two caps at the age of 23 before Welsh rugby had ever had the chance to see the best of him. I have no doubt he could have become a mainstay in the Welsh back row alongside Alun Pask.”
Born in Cardiff on 13 March, 1942, he went to Bedwelty Grammar School and played for Wales Schools U18 in the 1960/61 season in a side that contained two more future internationals in hooker Jeff Young and centre John Uzzell. A talented all-round sportsman, he was captain of his school cricket team and won the Welsh Schools triple jump title.
He also became a Boys Club of Wales football international and was good enough at the round ball game to attract the attention of First Division Wolverhampton Wanderers. He had a number of trials at Molineux and was offered a contract by then manager Stan Cullis when he was 18.
He turned it down to favour of going to Loughborough Colleges to study to become a teacher. Following in the footsteps of Alun Pask, he became captain of rugby at Loughborough and famously led the 1964 team containing a certain Gerald Davies to victory over London Scottish at the Middlesex Sevens.
By then he had already made his senior Wales debut, being drafted into the side to face England at Twickenham in the opening round of matches in the 1964 Five Nations campaign. He played in both Welsh trials pre-Christmas in 1963 and was then on parade in front of the Big Five over the festive period when he toured Wales with the Universities Athletic Union, playing Llanelli, Swansea and Newport in the space of four days.
He came into at the Welsh back row at the expense of Cardiff’s Dai Hayward and was one of three new caps, along with Keith Bradshaw and David Weaver. He packed down with Pask and Algie Thomas.
Wales drew 6-6 and both Mantle and Thomas were dropped in favour of Hayward and Gary Protheroe for the game against Ireland. He was then picked for Wales B in two of the three pre-tour trials ahead of Wales’ first overseas trip to South Africa in the summer of 1964.
The selectors had asked all those in contention for the tour to ‘take it easy’ in the final weekend of the season, and ahead of the third trial at Stradey Park on Tuesday, 28 April, but instead Mantle guided Loughborough to their stunning sevens victory over the champions of the three previous years, London Scottish, scoring a try in the final.
He was picked among the 23 players to make the tour and he played in the 17-6 win over Boland, Four days later he played in the Test match at King’s Park, Durban, a game won 24-3 by the Springboks.
After leaving Loughborough he joined Newport full time and made 18 appearances in the first-half of the 1964-65 season, losing only twice. He played in the 24-23 win by Glamorgan & Monmouthshire over the touring Fijians at Newport in September, 1964, and was then picked in the second row alongside club captain Brian Price in the Wales XV that beat the touring Fijians 28-22 at the Arms Park.
He played for the Probables in their 22-18 Welsh trial defeat by the Possibles in December, 1964, and had turned professional before the final trial at Swansea a few weeks later. His transfer fee to join St Helens was reported to be £6,000. He was still only 22.
He moved seamlessly into rugby league and became one of St Helens greatest signings, scoring 208 points in 435 matches. He helped Saints win four trophies – Lancashire League, League Leader’s Bowl, Challenge Cup and League Championship – in 1965-66. He scored the first try in the Challenge Cup Final victory at Wembley against deadly rivals Wigan in front of a crowd of more than 98,000.
He went on to feature in 19 major finals for St Helens, including two more Wembley triumphs (1972 and 1976) and played in 13 tests for Great Britain between 1966-73. He captained the re-formed Welsh team to victory against England at Salford in 1969 and played 16 times for Wales overall.
After leaving St Helens he played for Salford, Leigh, Barrow, Keighley, Oldham and the Cardiff Blue Dragons. He taught throughout his playing career, working at Grange Park School, Rivington Road, Selwyn Jones High School and Briar’s Hey School.
The Welsh Rugby Union would like to offer its condolences to the family and friends of John Mantle, especially to his wife Lorraine, son Kelvin and daughter Janine.
