Ray Cale

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William Raymond Cale - known as Ray Cale (born 18 July 1922 in Usk, Wales - died 23 May 2006) was a dual code rugby international for Wales with the international rugby union and rugby league teams.

Contents

[edit] Rugby union

Cale was born in Usk. He learnt rugby union at Ebbw Vale and Newbridge. In 1947, he played for a combined Pontypool, Blaenavon and Talywain side against the Australian national rugby union team.

Cale made his Welsh debut against England at Cardiff Arms Park in 1949 as a backrower. He played three Five Nations matches in the 1949 season. Wales came last in the championship.

In 1950, he switched to Pontypool RFC. Cale played in all four Five Nations matches the following season when Wales won a grand slam defeating England, Scotland, Ireland and France. He was known for his strong tackling and robust play. He scored a try against England at Twickenham and forced an error that led to Malcolm Thomas scoring a match winning try against Ireland.

He was a controversial omission from the British and Irish Lions team that toured Australia and New Zealand later that season [1]. He was deemed to be "too rough" a player for the tour [2].

[edit] Rugby league

He joined St Helens RFC the following season. His strong defensive game and robust running style allowed him to adapt easily to rugby league. In 1951, he played against the touring New Zealand national rugby league team for St Helens. He was a losing finalist in the 1952 Lancashire Cup match against the Leigh Centurions but was an integral member of championship winning side in the 1952/53 season. In 1953, he played for St Helens in the Rugby League Challenge Cup losing to the Huddersfield Giants 15-10 at Wembley Stadium [3].

He played 128 games for St. Helens and four games for Wales in the professional game. His career in rugby league ended in 1953-54.

Cale died in June 2006.

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Wales Grand Slam hero Cale dies (HTML). BBC news (bbc.co.uk) (2005-06-07). Retrieved on 2006-06-08.
  2. ^ 1950 Grand Slam Hero dies (HTML). Wales Rugby Union (2005-06-05). Retrieved on 2006-06-08.
  3. ^ 1950 Grand Slam Hero dies (HTML). Wales Rugby Union (2005-06-05). Retrieved on 2006-06-08.

[edit] References

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