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Onllwyn Brace
Birth name David Onllwyn Brace
Date of birth (1932-11-16)16 November 1932
Place of birth Gowerton, Wales
Date of death 4 July 2013(2013-07-04) (aged 80)
Place of death Cowbridge, Wales
Height 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Weight 9 st 11 lb (62 kg)
School Gowerton Grammar School
University Cardiff University
Oxford University
Children Andrew Brace
Rugby union career
Position(s) scrum-half
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
?
1951-1953
?
1953-1957
?
1960-1961
Pontarddulais RFC
Aberavon RFC
Oxford University RFC
Newport RFC
Llanelli RFC
Barbarian F.C.
()
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
1956-1961 Wales 9 (3)

David Onllwyn Brace (born November 16, 1932, died July 4, 2013) was a famous Welsh rugby player. He was a scrum-half, a key position in rugby. Onllwyn played for important clubs like Newport and Aberavon.

He also played for the Welsh national team nine times. He even led the Welsh team as captain twice in the early 1960s. Onllwyn was known for his exciting and unique style of play.

Onllwyn's Rugby Journey

Onllwyn Brace started playing rugby at Gowerton Grammar School. After school, he went to University College, Oxford. He played for the Oxford rugby team in special matches called The Varsity Matches. These games are played against Cambridge University.

Playing for Oxford University

Onllwyn played in the Varsity Matches in 1955 and 1956. In 1955, many people said he was key to Oxford's win. In 1956, he was also a big part of the game, even though Oxford lost that year.

Club Rugby Adventures

Brace first played for Aberavon. But he moved to Newport because Aberavon tried to make him play as an outside-half. This was a different position for him. As a Newport player, Onllwyn was chosen to play against the New Zealand team when they toured in 1954.

Later, Brace played for Llanelli. He was the captain of the Llanelli team for two seasons, in 1958/59 and 1960/61. He was one of 21 former Llanelli captains who walked onto the field before the last match at Llanelli's old home ground, Stradey Park.

Playing for Wales

Onllwyn Brace played his first international game for Wales on January 21, 1956. This match was against England at Twickenham. Wales won the game 8-3. In that match, Brace played against Mike Smith of England. They had been a great half-back team when they played together at Oxford University.

Brace played in all four matches of the 1956 Five Nations Championship. Wales won this championship, only losing one game to Ireland. Onllwyn played nine games for Wales in total. He was also the captain of the Welsh team twice. Both times, he captained Wales against Ireland, in 1960 and 1961.

International Matches Played

Wales

  •  England 1956, 1957
  •  France 1956, 1960
  •  Ireland 1956, 1960, 1961
  •  Scotland 1956, 1960

Life After Rugby: Broadcasting

After his rugby career, Onllwyn Brace became the Head of Sport at BBC Wales. He took over from Cliff Morgan. In 1989, he retired from the BBC. Then, he joined the Merlin Group as a freelance producer. He made sports and gardening shows for the BBC and S4C.

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