Former Wales international Geoff Wheel has passed away at the age of 73.
Swansea RFC confirmed that Wheel died in the early hours of Boxing Day, having suffered with motor neurone disease in recent years.
The former Mumbles, Swansea and Barbarians second-row won 32 caps for his country between 1974 and 1982, forming a formidable partnership with Allan Martin.
During his international career, Wheel – known as ‘Ripper’ because of his ability to tear the ball free at mauls – won two Grand Slams, three Six Nations titles, three Triple Crowns and set a record for going 15 consecutive Test matches unbeaten.
For his club, Wheel, affectionately known as ‘Gaffa’, played 323 games for Swansea – winning the Schweppes Cup in 1978 and captaining the All Whites against New Zealand in 1981.
In his two seasons as captain, Swansea won the Western Mail Championship, Sunday Telegraph Anglo-Welsh Championship, Daily Mail Anglo-Welsh Championship, Sunday Telegraph Team of the Season and were WRU National Sevens winners in the first year, while they retained the Sunday Telegraph title and were also winners of the Whitbread Merit Table in the second.
Having made his Wales debut in 1974 against Ireland, he would hold the dubious honour of, along with Ireland’s Ireland’s Willie Duggan, becoming the first players to be sent off in a Five nations international Rugby match in 1977.
A year later, it was Wheel who was adjudged to have barged Andy Haden out of the lineout by English referee Roger Quittenton, with the New Zealand lock’s infamous dive denying Wales victory over the All Blacks in 1978.
In his later years, Wheel played the organ in three churches in his native Swansea, while he was also said to be a dab hand on the ukulele and accordion as well. He was also the president of renowned Welsh choir the Gwalia Singers.
On hearing of Geoff’s passing, Swansea RFC club president Stan Addicott said: “Geoff was respected and much loved by all at Swansea Rugby Club.
“I had the privilege to be his club coach for seven years from the mid-seventies to mid-eighties. His wholehearted, fiery, yet engaging and humorous nature endeared him to his players, while he often shared his musical talent on the accordion and ukulele post-matches with club supporters. He was certainly one of the great characters of his time in welsh rugby and will be greatly missed as a family man, player and friend to many people.”
His passing will be marked by a minute’s silence at the next Swansea RFC home match on December 28, against Aberavon.
