Cliff Morgan
Encyclopedia
Cliff Morgan is a former Welsh
rugby union
player who played for Cardiff RFC
and earned 29 caps for Wales
between 1951 and 1958.
in 1951, playing opposite his own hero Jack Kyle
. He was part of the Grand Slam
winning Welsh side of 1952 and was made captain of Wales in 1956 in the light of his success on the legendary 1955 British Lions tour to South Africa
. During that tour, which ended in 2-2 drawn Test series, it was the mercurial Morgan who emerged as the general who marshalled a talented Lions backline that included Jeff Butterfield
and Arthur Smith
in the centre, with Cecil Pedlow and Tony O'Reilly
on the wings. Morgan’s try in the first Test at Ellis Park, in front of a world-record crowd (then) of 100,000, helped secure a sensational 23-22 victory at the end of a match that some still consider the most exciting ever played. The Springboks levelled the series in the second Test. Then, with Lions skipper Robin Thompson
injured ahead of the third Test in Pretoria, Morgan was made captain and duly inspired his team and controlled the game to ensure a 9-6 win that meant the series could not be lost. The South African newspapers dubbed him “Morgan the Magnificent” and the level to which his influence was thought key was reflected in the frenzy of coverage his injured ankle received as the fourth test came around. Although he played, he was not fully fit and the Lions could not prevent the Springboks squaring the series. But his reputation was already made and the memory of that tour proved long-lived. His last game of first-class rugby was for the Barbarians on the 28th May 1958 at the RFUEA Ground
, Nairobi
, versus East Africa.
) on the long-running TV quiz A Question of Sport. In radio he found a natural outlet for his love of music, presenting for a time the BBC Radio 2 series These You Have Loved.
Off-air, his enduring influence in the world of sport and beyond helped him rise to join the ranks of leading BBC Executives. In 1974 he became Head of BBC Radio Outside Broadcasts, and from 1976 to 1987 he was Head of Sport & Outside Broadcasts for BBC Television. There he supervised coverage of the biggest broadcast events such as football World Cups, Commonwealth and Olympic Games, as well as Royal Weddings and other national ceremonial occasions.
After his retirement from BBC Television in 1987, he returned to radio where his warm, mellifluous voice, together with his natural conversational style and his wide range of contacts in sport and entertainment, proved a boon to popular BBC Radio 4 series such as Sport on Four
(1977–1998), My Heroes (1987–90) and Down The River. In 1988 he was the subject of ITV's This Is Your Life
He has contributed to numerous publications about rugby and lent his voice to many popular rugby videos. Among his books, he edited Rugby The Great Ones (1970), wrote perceptive short profiles to accompany John Ireland’s illustrations for the anthology Rugby Characters (1990), and in 1996 produced his autobiography, Cliff Morgan: Beyond the Fields of Play (with Geoffrey Nicholson).
was created in 1997, Cliff Morgan was among the inaugural inductees, alongside his Lions contemporary Tony O’Reilly and Welsh rugby legends Gareth Edwards
, Barry John
and JPR Williams.
In 2009, he was inducted along with O'Reilly into the IRB Hall of Fame
, an honour Edwards had received two years earlier.
For his contribution to broadcasting, he was honoured with an OBE and a CVO.
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
player who played for Cardiff RFC
Cardiff RFC
Cardiff Rugby Football Club is a rugby union football club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, but soon relocated to Cardiff Arms Park where they have been based ever since...
and earned 29 caps for Wales
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
between 1951 and 1958.
Rugby career
Morgan was from a mining family and joined Cardiff Rugby Club straight from school in 1949, playing at fly-half. Blessed with natural balance and strength, together with an astute line-kicking ability and searing acceleration, he quickly made an impact. He also played club rugby in Ireland for Bective Rangers in the 1955-56 season, with the club being dubbed the "Morgan Rangers" as a result. He won his first cap for Wales against IrelandIreland national rugby union team
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
in 1951, playing opposite his own hero Jack Kyle
Jack Kyle
John Wilson Kyle OBE , commonly referred to as Jack Kyle or Jackie Kyle, is a former rugby union player who played for Ireland, the British Lions and the Barbarians during the 1940s and 1950s...
. He was part of the Grand Slam
Grand Slam (Rugby Union)
In rugby union, a Grand Slam occurs when one team in the Six Nations Championship manages to beat all the others during one year's competition...
winning Welsh side of 1952 and was made captain of Wales in 1956 in the light of his success on the legendary 1955 British Lions tour to South Africa
1955 British Lions tour to South Africa
In 1955 the British Lions rugby union team toured Southern and Eastern Africa. The Lions drew the test series against , each team winning two of the four matches. They won the first test by a single point and the third by three points and lost the second and fourth matches by wider margins...
. During that tour, which ended in 2-2 drawn Test series, it was the mercurial Morgan who emerged as the general who marshalled a talented Lions backline that included Jeff Butterfield
Jeff Butterfield
Jeffrey Butterfield was an England, British and Irish Lions, Northampton and Barbarians Rugby player and businessman....
and Arthur Smith
Arthur Smith (rugby player)
Arthur Robert Smith was a wing of extraordinary ability and intelligence. He captained both Scotland and the British Lions. He won 33 caps for Scotland and was never dropped until his retirement in 1962, although he did miss the odd match due to injury...
in the centre, with Cecil Pedlow and Tony O'Reilly
Tony O'Reilly
Sir Anthony Joseph Francis O'Reilly is an Irish businessman and former international rugby union player. He is known for his involvement the Independent News & Media Group, which he led from 1973 to 2009, and as former CEO and Chairman of the H.J. Heinz Company. He was the leading shareholder of...
on the wings. Morgan’s try in the first Test at Ellis Park, in front of a world-record crowd (then) of 100,000, helped secure a sensational 23-22 victory at the end of a match that some still consider the most exciting ever played. The Springboks levelled the series in the second Test. Then, with Lions skipper Robin Thompson
Robin Thompson
Robin Thompson was a rugby union international for Ireland and a former British and Irish Lions captain.Robin Thompson won two Ulster Schools Senior Cup medals with RBAI and played for Ulster Schools...
injured ahead of the third Test in Pretoria, Morgan was made captain and duly inspired his team and controlled the game to ensure a 9-6 win that meant the series could not be lost. The South African newspapers dubbed him “Morgan the Magnificent” and the level to which his influence was thought key was reflected in the frenzy of coverage his injured ankle received as the fourth test came around. Although he played, he was not fully fit and the Lions could not prevent the Springboks squaring the series. But his reputation was already made and the memory of that tour proved long-lived. His last game of first-class rugby was for the Barbarians on the 28th May 1958 at the RFUEA Ground
RFUEA Ground
The RFUEA Ground is a rugby union stadium located on the Ngong Road in Nairobi, Kenya. It was purpose built to be the home of the national team and to serve as the headquarters of the Rugby Football Union of Kenya...
, Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
, versus East Africa.
Broadcasting and television career
Following his retirement from the game in 1958 he found a new career in broadcasting. Although he will forever be remembered for his celebrated commentary on the 1973 Barbarians rugby match against the touring All Blacks at Cardiff ("This is Gareth Edwards... a dramatic start... what a score!",) his broadcasting career was far more wide-ranging and influential than that single event would suggest. During his playing days he had already been spotted by the BBC as a natural talker and communicator, and in 1958 he joined BBC Wales as Sports Organiser in Cardiff. His exceptional ability as a programme-maker and story-teller briefly took him outside the familiar world of BBC Sport in the mid-60s, when he spent two years as editor of ITV’s current affairs programme This Week. Returning to the BBC he then produced established TV sports programmes such as Grandstand and Sportsnight With Coleman, and, from 1970, was himself one of the original team captains (opposite Henry CooperHenry Cooper (boxer)
Sir Henry Cooper OBE KSG was an English heavyweight boxer known for the effectiveness of his left hook, "Enry's 'Ammer", and his knockdown of the young Muhammad Ali...
) on the long-running TV quiz A Question of Sport. In radio he found a natural outlet for his love of music, presenting for a time the BBC Radio 2 series These You Have Loved.
Off-air, his enduring influence in the world of sport and beyond helped him rise to join the ranks of leading BBC Executives. In 1974 he became Head of BBC Radio Outside Broadcasts, and from 1976 to 1987 he was Head of Sport & Outside Broadcasts for BBC Television. There he supervised coverage of the biggest broadcast events such as football World Cups, Commonwealth and Olympic Games, as well as Royal Weddings and other national ceremonial occasions.
After his retirement from BBC Television in 1987, he returned to radio where his warm, mellifluous voice, together with his natural conversational style and his wide range of contacts in sport and entertainment, proved a boon to popular BBC Radio 4 series such as Sport on Four
Sport on Four
Sport on Four was a long running sports programme aired on BBC Radio 4 between 1977 and 1998 on Saturday mornings. It featured many well known BBC sports journalists and was presented for over 10 years by Cliff Morgan. Other presenters/ reporters on the programme included Bryon Butler. Its theme...
(1977–1998), My Heroes (1987–90) and Down The River. In 1988 he was the subject of ITV's This Is Your Life
He has contributed to numerous publications about rugby and lent his voice to many popular rugby videos. Among his books, he edited Rugby The Great Ones (1970), wrote perceptive short profiles to accompany John Ireland’s illustrations for the anthology Rugby Characters (1990), and in 1996 produced his autobiography, Cliff Morgan: Beyond the Fields of Play (with Geoffrey Nicholson).
Illness
After surviving a stroke at the age of 42 Morgan is now having to contend with the fact that cancer of the vocal cords has robbed him of the ability to speak.Awards
When the International Rugby Hall of FameInternational Rugby Hall of Fame
The International Rugby Hall of Fame is a hall of fame for rugby union. It was created in 1997 in New Zealand and is run as a charitable trust with an address at Chiswick in London. Most of the trustees are also inductees. IRHOF accepts new inductees every two years...
was created in 1997, Cliff Morgan was among the inaugural inductees, alongside his Lions contemporary Tony O’Reilly and Welsh rugby legends Gareth Edwards
Gareth Edwards
Gareth Owen Edwards CBE is a former Welsh rugby union footballer who played scrum-half and has been described by the BBC as "arguably the greatest player ever to don a Welsh jersey"....
, Barry John
Barry John
Barry John is a former Welsh rugby union fly-half who played, during the amateur era of the sport, in the 1960s and early 1970s. John began his rugby career as a schoolboy playing for his local team Cefneithin RFC before switching to first-class west Wales team Llanelli RFC in 1964...
and JPR Williams.
In 2009, he was inducted along with O'Reilly into the IRB Hall of Fame
IRB Hall of Fame
The IRB Hall of Fame is a hall of fame operated by the International Rugby Board that recognises special achievement and contribution to the sport of rugby union. The IRB Hall of Fame covers players, coaches, administrators, match officials, institutions and other individuals...
, an honour Edwards had received two years earlier.
For his contribution to broadcasting, he was honoured with an OBE and a CVO.