Benjamin John "Jackie" Bowen (1915 – 26 February 2009) was a Welsh

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...

 international rugby league

Rugby league

Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...

 player. He originally played rugby for Llanelli

Llanelli RFC

Llanelli Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club founded in 1875 and its senior team is one of the leading club sides in Wales. The club began the 2008-09 season at their historic home ground of Stradey Park in Llanelli, but moved in November 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent...

 under the union code

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...

 later switching to league when he joined Wigan

Wigan Warriors

Wigan Warriors is an English rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club's first team squad competes in the engage Super League and the team are the current Challenge Cup holders as of the 27th August 2011....

 and represented the Welsh

Wales national rugby league team

The Wales national rugby league team represent Wales in international rugby league football matches. Currently the team is seventh in the RLIF World Rankings. The team were run under the auspices of the Rugby Football League, but an independent body, Wales Rugby League, now runs the team from...

 league team.

Rugby career

Bowen first played first-class rugby for Llanelli, and was on the brink of winning his first cap for the Welsh union

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...

 team when he switched to league. Bowen was a trialist in 1938 and managed to play in front of the selectors on the side of the 'Probables', but on leaving the field he was approached by officials from Wigan. The club offered him a ten year contract, and when Bowen accepted he severed his links from the union code by becoming professional. Bowen moved to Wigan, but with the outbreak of World War II he joined the British Armed Forces becoming a member of the Welsh Guards. After the war he returned to Wigan, and in 1945 he won his first international cap in a game against England

England national rugby league team

The England national rugby league team represent England in international rugby league football tournaments. The team has now seen a revival, having largely formed from the Great Britain team, who also represented Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The team is run under the auspices of the Rugby Football...

.

Bowen settled in Wigan, marrying local girl Phyllis Brown and becoming a publican in the city. Although capped for his country, he did not receive his actual cap until 2005 when he was awarded it during a half-time presentation on the pitch of the JJB Stadium

JJB Stadium

The DW Stadium is a sports stadium in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, that is home to Wigan Athletic football club and Wigan Warriors rugby league club....

 in a match between Wigan and St. Helens.

External links

• Jackie Bowen obituary lastingtribute.com