Wales and British & Irish Lions prop Courtenay Meredith has died at the age of 97.
Meredith was part of the Lions team that toured South Africa in 1955, playing in all four Tests of the 2-2 drawn series.
Born in Pontypridd, Meredith played his club rugby for Neath and was part of the last Wales side to beat New Zealand, playing in the 13-8 win over the All Blacks in 1953.
He earned selection for the 1955 tour of South Africa and played in an all-Welsh front row alongside Billy Williams and Bryn Meredith.
The trio were the last all-Welsh front row to play for the Lions until 2009 when Gethin Jenkins, Matthew Rees and Adam Jones also took on the Springboks.
On the Tour, Meredith bit through his tongue during the third Test at Loftus Versfeld, asking fellow Welshman Clem Thomas whether he should go off.
According to the WRU website, Thomas recalled: “I took one look at his tongue and could see the hole in it. It looked horrendous, but he was playing so well, and doing such a good job on their front row, that I told him everything was fine and he should play on.
“He was spitting out blood for most of the second half and then had to have a number of stitches after the game. If he had gone off we wouldn’t have won.”
Renowned for his scrummaging, Meredith was capable of playing at both loosehead and tighthead, making his international debut against Scotland in Edinburgh, with his final Test appearance also coming at the same ground.
The thoughts of everyone at The British & Irish Lions are with Courtenay’s family and friends.
