Barry John (born 6 January 1945) 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. It was while at Llanelli that John was first selected for the Wales national team, a shock selection as a replacement for David Watkins to face a touring Australian team.
In 1967 John left Llanelli RFC for Cardiff RFC and here he formed a partnership with Gareth Edwards that became one of the most famous half-back pairings in world rugby. From 1967, John and Edwards made an inseparable partnership with rugby selectors, being chosen to play together at all levels of the sport, for Cardiff, Wales, the Barbarians and in 1968 for the British Lions' tour of South Africa. The tour ended prematurely for John when he suffered a broken collarbone in the first Test match against the South African national team.
In 1971 the Wales national team entered what is considered their second 'Golden Age', with a team rich in experience and talent. John was part of the team that won the 1971 Five Nations Championship, the first time Wales had achieved a Grand Slam win since 1952. He then cemented his reputation as one of the sport's greatest players with his pivotal role in the British Lions winning tour over New Zealand in 1971. On the 1971 tour, John played in all four Tests, playing some of his finest rugby and finishing as the Lions' top Test scorer.
John won 25 caps for the Wales national team and five for the British Lions. Possessing excellent balance to his running and along with precision kicking made him one of the great players of the modern era. He retired from rugby at the age of 27, as Wales highest points scorer, citing the pressure of fame and expectation behind his decision.
Rugby career
Early career with Llanelli
Barry John was born in Cefneithin, Carmarthenshire, in Wales. He was educated at Gwendraeth Grammar School in the Gwendraeth Valley, north of Llanelli. He attended Cefenithin Primary, and there he was fortunate to receive skilled rugby teaching. The headmaster, William John Jones, and teacher Ray Williams, were both former Wales international rugby players. Despite his natural talents, he never played at schoolboy level for Wales, but represented both his school and his local village team, Cefneithin RFC. He once played a game for rival team Pontyberem while still a schoolboy, but John recalls in his autobiography that the local resentment at making such a sporting faux pas ensured he never did so again. While still a teenager attending grammar school, he made his first top-flight rugby appearance for Llanelli, on 4 January 1964 in an encounter with Moseley. Although Llanelli lost the encounter, John scored a try and converted it, and played in four more matches for the Llanelli senior team towards the end of the season. He continued to represent Llanelli while at Trinity College, Carmarthen, and gained a reputation as a kicking fly-half with a penchant for putting over dropped goals. During the 1964/65 season, John began to make an impact on the Welsh club scene. His dropped goal against Aberavon on 26 October 1964, only 17 games in, was his 11th of the season.
John gained more attention the following season. A win over Swansea, where he scored two dropped goals, was described by the Llanelli Star as being down to the "genius of one player, Barry John". He almost missed the second away encounter of the season with Swansea when he was 'held to ransom' by his fellow students at Trinity College. He was only released when Llanelli's club chairman, Elvet Jones, promised to make a donation to the college "rag". Llanelli won all four fixtures against Swansea that season, John scoring in all of them. As well as his two dropped goals in the first away fixture, he scored another in the second away game and a try in both the home matches at Stradey Park. In the 1965/66 season John was chosen to play in trial matches for the Wales national team. Although he was not picked, he was chosen as reserve to regular fly-half David Watkins.