Grand Slam coach Rowlands dies aged 85

Clive Rowlands was inducted to the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame in 2013

Former Wales scrum-half, captain, coach, manager and Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) president Clive Rowlands has died at the age of 85.

As a player Rowlands captained Wales in each of his 14 Test appearances from 1963-1965.

At club level, Rowlands played for Pontypool, Llanelli and Swansea before turning to coaching.

Rowlands, who earned the nickname 'Top Cat' in rugby circles, was renowned for his passionate motivational methods and during his coaching stint Wales won 18 of his 29 games.

After coaching he moved into rugby administration, managing Wales when they finished third at the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987.

Two years later he filled a similar role as the British and Irish Lions beat Australia 2-1.

He was also president of the WRU in 1989-90, a period of controversy in the game.

• Rowlands' part in the game that 'almost killed' Test rugby

Away from sport Rowlands was a keen promoter of the Welsh language, and a regular and insightful commentator on rugby matters on BBC Radio Cymru.

He successfully overcame serious illness twice in his life.

Rowlands spent two years in a sanatorium as a child recovering from tuberculosis, a disease which claimed his sister Megan's life, and in the early 1990s he overcame bowel cancer.

A qualified teacher, he played club rugby at scrum-half for Abercraf, Pontypool, Llanelli and Swansea.

In spite of his success and fame in Wales, Rowlands' heart was in his tiny home village of Upper Cwmtwrch in the Swansea Valley, where he lived until his death.