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| Birth name | Haydn Tanner | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | (1917-01-09)9 January 1917 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Penclawdd,Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 5 June 2009(2009-06-05) (aged 92) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Gowerton Grammar School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | University College, Swansea | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Haydn Tanner (9 January 1917 – 5 June 2009)[2] was aWelsh internationalrugby union player who represented bothWales and theBritish and Irish Lions. At club level, he played for several top-flight teams, includingBristol,Cardiff,Swansea,London Welsh and theBarbarians.
Tanner was educated atGowerton Grammar School and was still a schoolboy when he played atscrum-half forSwansea against theAll Blacks at St. Helens in 1935. Swansea won the game by 11 points to 3, with Tanner and his cousinWillie Davies outstanding. The New Zealand captain,Jack Manchester, is said to have passed back the message to New Zealand: "Tell them we have been beaten, but don't tell them it was by a pair of schoolboys".
In December the same year, Tanner won his first cap forWales at the age of 18 years and 11 months, making him one of the youngest players to appear for Wales. The match was again against the All Blacks and Tanner was again on the winning side. He went on to win 25 international caps, 12 as captain, despite his career being interrupted by the Second World War.
Tanner touredSouth Africa with the British and Irish Lions in 1938 and played in only one test owing to injury. In 1948 he was captain of theBarbarians againstAustralia. His last international match was againstFrance in 1949.
He was undoubtedly one of the greatest scrum-halves to ever play the game and, according to the 1950 Lion,Bleddyn Williams, he was "the greatest": "Among all the scrum-halves I've seen and played with, he would reign supreme," said Williams. "He had a superb pass – the best I ever played with. His service was even better thanGareth Edwards."
After retiring from rugby, he became an industrial chemist working in the wood pulp trade for Thompson and Norris. He later became a buyer for Reed International and travelled extensively. He attended the Harvard Business School and became purchasing director for Reed Paper and Board UK. He retired in November, 1980.[3] Having moved toSurrey, he became the coach of Esher and became a member of London Welsh.[4]
Tanner died in his sleep on 5 June 2009, aged 92.[5][6]