Jack Matthews

Jack Matthews

Jack Matthews was born in Bridgend on 21 June 1920 and educated at Bridgend County School, University College, Cardiff, and the Welsh School of Medicine. While still at school he played occasionally for Bridgend, Aberavon and Neath before joining Cardiff in 1945. He had already played in a Wales international trial at the age of 18 and a year later, in 1940, for Wales in a war-time Red Cross international against England and five further Victory internationals in 1946. After the war the newly-qualified Dr Jack Matthews captained Cardiff for two seasons from 1945 to 1947 and again in his final full season at the club in 1951/52. He formed one of the most enduring and admired centre partnerships for Cardiff, Wales and the British Isles with B.L.Williams [q.v.]. He scored 54 tries in 180 matches for Cardiff and gained 17 full caps for Wales between 1947 and 1951. Three of his caps in 1948 were on the left wing and he captained Wales in his final international against France in Paris in 1951. On the 1950 British Isles tour of Australasia he played in 20 matches, including all six tests, and captained the side in three provincial matches including the victory over a Combined XV at Gisborne on his 30th birthday. In 1980 he was again with the British Isles as the team doctor on the tour of South Africa. He captained the Barbarians in the Mobbs Memorial Match of 1952 and against Newport in 1953 when he was in semi-retirement. Dr Jack Matthews was the oldest surviving Wales' international before he died on 18 July 2012, aged 92.