Haydn Morris, the former Wales and British & Irish Lions winger has passed away at the age of 92.
Morris won three caps for his country, scoring two tries, and was part of the 1955 Lions Tour that drew the Test series in South Africa.
Earlier that year he had been part of the Wales team that beat France 16-11 in Paris, scoring a try that helped deny Les Bleus the Grand Slam and earned Wales a share of the Five Nations title.
That performance, along with another try-scoring display against Ireland, earned him a call-up for the 1955 Lions Tour.
He made a flying start, scoring a hat-trick in his debut against Griqualand West in a 24-14 victory. He went onto score nine tries in eight appearances on the Tour, but an ankle injury ruled him out of the remainder of the trip, meaning that he did not feature in the Tests.
“Mountain Ash gave me my rugby training and started my career – I will never forget that,” said Haydn Morris in 2015.
Read more about the life and career of the great rugby man who sadly passed away this week: https://t.co/GirMpxlpF8 pic.twitter.com/p8sq88FtOu
— Welsh Rugby Union 🏉 (@WelshRugbyUnion) January 20, 2021
Morris had learned his trade at Mountain Ash Grammar School and the town’s rugby club before going onto play for Cardiff RFC.
There he played alongside fellow Lions Bleddyn Williams and Jack Matthews, as well as Cliff Morgan, who was one of ten Welshmen who joined him on the 1955 Tour.
A PE teacher, Morris moved to Norwich in the mid-sixties and later worked as the director of sport at the University of East Anglia while he also coached the Norfolk RFC 1st XV for a few years.
