Keith Alun Rowlands

Keith Alun Rowlands

Keith Alun Rowlands was born in Brithdir on 7 February 1936 and educated at Cowbridge Grammar School, Aberdare Boys' School and London University. He played at lock for London Welsh, Llanelli and Cardiff. His 149 games for Cardiff included the match against New Zealand in 1963 and the victory over Australia in 1966; he was club captain for two seasons from 1965 to 1967. He won five caps for Wales between 1962 and 1965. His performance on his international debut against France in 1962 earned him immediate selection for that summer's British Isles tour to South Africa. As a Lion, he was a great success, playing in 18 of the 22 fixtures, including three tests. After serving on the committees of Cardif (where he was chairman in 1974-75) and the Welsh Rugby Union, he was appointed the first general secretary of the International Rugby Board in 1988. He was a director of the Rugby World Cup tournaments in 1991, 1995 and 1999 and president of the WRU from 2004. He still held the latter office when he died suddenly on 18 November 2006, aged 70.