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GEOFF BECKINGHAM CARDIFF & WALES |
They talk about it in Llanelli all the time, sometimes they talk about it in Newport. In Neath they talk about how it nearly happened and in Swansea they've forgotten all about it. The subject of course is the day 'the home team beat the New Zealand All Blacks' and in Cardiff they've almost forgotten about it but not quite yet. The memory lives on in some of those who are old enough to still remember that day and some of us who born later but were privileged to attend the legendary re-unions of that 1953 team, myself included............. Geoffrey Thomas Beckingham was the hooker and one of the great unsung heroes of that day in 1953, the day that Cardiff beat the New Zealand All Blacks. He was held in great regard by all of his team-mates and provided the quick scrum heels that allowed the backs to create the two tries. Quite remarkably, he stole the opposition put-ins at the unforgettable final set-pieces. All the match reports of the time also note the contributions made by the hooker and his two props in loose play throughout the game. He had won his first two Welsh international caps on merit earlier in 1953 (against England and Scotland) but was not to win his third and final selection for the national team until the very end of career, in 1958 when he was an eleventh-hour replacement for Bryn Meredith against France. Wales' loss was Cardiff's gain as he played against all three touring teams from the Southern Hemisphere and a total of 331 games for the capital club, joining his fellow front-rower JD Evans in the top ten of individual appearances in blue and black. After his playing days he coached both Barry College and Penarth with notable success. A proud son of Barry, he was a municipal gardener throughout his working life. He put his fitness down to the fact there was only one lawn mower for all the town's parks so he was pushing it for 15 hours a day in the height of summer. Geoff was a great character and one of his idiosyncrasies was that he wouldn't be seen wearing a tie. Such was the legend of his tie less persona was the total absence of any ties at his funeral.
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Sadly missed by his family we pay homage to the life and rugby career of Geoff Beckingham through his memorabilia..................
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