Ray Prosser
| Full name | Thomas Raymond Prosser | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | Desperate Dan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 2 March 1927 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Pontypool, Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft (183 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 15 st 4 lb (214 lb; 97 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | George Street School, Pontypool | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position(s) | Prop | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Amateur team(s) | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Points) |
| ? ? 1957-58 ? |
Pontypool United Pontypool RFC Barbarian F.C. Monmouthshire |
() | |
| National team(s) | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Points) |
| 1956–1961 1959 |
Wales British Lions |
22 1 |
((3) (0)) |
| Teams coached | |||
| Years | Team | ||
| 1969-1987 | Pontypool RFC | ||
Thomas Raymond 'Ray' Prosser (born 2 March 1927) was a Welsh international rugby union prop who played club rugby for Pontypool and was capped 22 times for Wales. Prosser also represented the British Lions in their 1959 tour of Australia and New Zealand, and played invitational rugby for the Barbarians. He is often remembered more for his coaching of an extremely successful Pontypool side during the 1970s and 1980s.
Prosser played much of his club rugby for Pontypool, whom he joined in the late 1950s. At club level he was placed mainly in the second row, but later switched to the front row during his international career. Prosser was an enthusiastic student of rugby and believed in regular playing and training. His playing style was robust and aggressive, whose work rate in the scrum and mauls was tireless. Prosser was often seen as over-vigorous, if not dirty, in some aspects of his play; especially in line outs where he would sometimes use his arms illegally on his opposite jumper.
Prosser was first selected for Wales during the 1956 Five Nations Championship, replacing Neath's Courtney Meredith in a game against Scotland. Under the captaincy of Cliff Morgan, Wales won the game 9-3, but Prosser lost his place to Meredith in the next game of the tournament in Ireland. After Wales lost the Welsh game against Ireland, Prosser was back in favour with the selectors and was part of the team that beat France in the last game of the competition. The victory over the French gave Wales the Championship trophy, making Prosser a Five Nations winning player.
During the 1957 Five Nations Championship, Prosser was rewarded with a position in the Welsh squad that would see him represent his country in the competition for the next three years without missing a game. It was during the 1957 campaign that Prosser scored his only international points, when he scored a try in a win over France. As well as representing Wales over six Five Nations Championships, Prosser faced two touring Southern Hemisphere teams; Australia in 1958 and South Africa in 1960.
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