Gareth Edwards
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Gareth Edwards, born 12 July 1947 in Pontardawe, Wales, is a former Welsh rugby union scrum half, considered by many to be the greatest player in the history of the game. He won a scholarship to the elite Millfield Public School. He is known in rugby circles merely as 'Gareth', such is his fame and the regard in which he is held.
Between 1967 and 1978 Edwards won 53 caps for Wales, including 13 as captain. He is Wales' youngest ever captain, gaining his first captaincy at the age of 20. During his era the Welsh side dominated the Five Nations Championship, winning the title seven times, including three grand slams. He also played ten times for the British Lions, playing for the legendary 1971 Lions team that was the last such team to defeat the All Blacks.
Edwards was blessed with extreme pace and married this with strength, agility and guile, scoring twenty tries in internationals. His try for the Barbarians against the All Blacks in 1973 at Cardiff Arms Park is often said to be the greatest ever, with the move starting deep with Phil Bennett inside his own 22, and passing through five other pairs of hands before Edwards finished it with a diving score in the corner. In a poll of international rugby players conducted in 2003 by Rugby World magazine, Edwards was declared the greatest player of all time. He now commentates on the game for the BBC and S4C, commentating for the latter in the Welsh language, his mother tongue.
A statue of Gareth Edwards stands in the St David's shopping centre, Cardiff.it:Gareth Edwards