John Denning Robins

John Denning Robins

John Denning Robins was born in Cardiff on 17 May 1926 and educated at Llandaff Cathedral School and Wellington School in Somerset. After National Service in the Royal Navy he completed his education at Carnegie College, Leeds, and Loughborough College. Whilst teaching in Birkenhead he played for the local Birkenhead Park club and later played for several others, including Penarth, Cardiff, London Welsh, Bradford, Sale, Leicester and Glasgow Academicals. During World War Two he played in two Services' internationals for England against Wales and Scotland and in 1948 had an official England trial. But in 1950 he gained the first of his 11 caps for Wales at prop. Later that year he toured New Zealand and Australia with the British Isles. Unusually for a player in his position, he was a successful goal-kicker and with the Lions he scored 39 points in 17 matches, including five tests. He went on to become a distinguished coach with universities at Cardiff, Sheffield and Loughborough. In 1966 he returned to Australasia with the British Isles as "assistant manager" - coach in all but name. John Robins died on 21 February 2007, aged 80.