David Duckham, rugby union player who became one of England’s greatest backs and excelled for the Lions and Barbarians – obituary
Though he shone for the Lions he was unfulfilled playing for his country: ‘We had some fine players back then but absolutely no self-belief’
David Duckham, who has died aged 76, was one of the most exciting backs ever to play rugby union for England – a long-legged blond bombshell whose sidestep and blistering pace made him a swashbuckling figure during an era of early 1970s English rugby that was mediocre in style, outlook and achievement.
Criminally under-used by his country – on average he is thought to have received fewer than three passes per game in his 36 matches for England – Duckham was, by contrast, allowed to express himself more freely on the fabled 1971 British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand, where he shone in what is still the Lions’ only series victory against the All Blacks.
Encouraging Duckham’s natural instincts on that trip was the Lions’ progressive Welsh coach, Carwyn James, who was also in charge of the Barbarians when Duckham became one of the stars of the “greatest game ever played”, against New Zealand at Cardiff Arms Park in 1973. Although the defining moment of that match was Gareth Edwards’s incredible try in the corner, Duckham was responsible for many of the most exhilarating aspects of a wonderful encounter, including several mesmerising runs and an incisive break in the build-up to the final try.
At a time when Wales were laying down the template for running rugby, Duckham was the only English back to appear in that Barbarians XV, afterwards earning himself the nickname “Dai” from Welsh fans who felt he played like one of their own. It was, he said, the finest tribute he ever received.
For his club side, Coventry, who were then a major force in the domestic game, Duckham was also able to operate in a more carefree manner, captaining his side to two RFU Knockout Cups during a 12-year career of nearly 200 appearances in which he became a club legend.
Unfortunately most of his less satisfying experiences came with England, who finished bottom of the Five Nations table in six of the eight years he played for them. “In one sense I was really grateful my career overlapped a great period for rugby in the British Isles,” he said. “My game was all the better for playing with some of the legends during the 1971 Lions tour. But on the other hand I felt my least fulfilled when playing for England. We had some fine players back then but absolutely no self-belief.”
Lack of confidence was exacerbated by inconsistent selection and a dearth of tactical imagination. “The main plan back then was for the fly-half to kick the ball to gain ground, so I didn’t see it too often stood out on the wing,” he said, though adding with typical honesty: “Even so, my return of 10 tries from 36 games was disappointing and you could say I was a lazy player who didn’t look for the ball enough. If I had my time again I’d have been a lot more industrious.”
David John Duckham was born on June 28 1946 in Coventry. Educated at King Henry VIII School in the city, he was captain of the athletics team and an excellent sprinter at 100 and 220 yards, taking part in England schoolboy trials. But he also excelled at rugby, and after leaving school to work for Barclays Bank spent three years playing for Old Coventrians before being recommended to Coventry, where several international players were in the team.
His England debut came two years later in 1969 in a Five Nations match against Ireland in Dublin, where he ran in from 60 yards for one of the best tries of his career – though typically in a losing cause. Quickly establishing himself as one of England’s best three-quarters, he became a rare point of excitement at Twickenham – when he got the ball. Comfortable playing on either wing, 6ft 1in tall, with fair locks and an imposing physique, his swerves, sidesteps and breathtaking acceleration made him one of the most thrilling sights on a rugby field.
On the Lions tour in 1971 Duckham scored 11 tries in 17 games, six of them in one match against West Coast-Buller, which remains a Lions record. Although he was not picked for the first Test 10 days later, which the Lions won 9-3, he started the final three matches against New Zealand on the wing.
The Lions lost the second Test 22-12 but Duckham was at the core of what proved to be a crucial victory in the third match in Wellington, a classic 13-3 win that took them 2-1 up. With the final Test ending in a pulsating 14-14 draw, the series victory was theirs and Duckham became part of a set of winners who have been revered ever since.
The Barbarians game against the All Blacks two years later was essentially a match-up of the same teams, with the visitors eager for revenge. Duckham took no part in Edwards’s famous end-to-end try, which involved many hands – “I just stood and applauded.”
But he had plenty to offer throughout the rest of the match and was responsible for several daring forays, sidestepping his way from the 25-yard line to beyond halfway in the first half, crashing through from his own half shortly afterwards and, a few minutes from time, conjuring up a scintillating 20-yard burst before the ball found its way to JPR Williams to dive over for a 23-11 Barbarians victory.
“I have a video of the game that my three daughters bought me as a Christmas present,” he said. “They laugh at the hair and the sideburns, but I watch it when I want to cheer myself up.”
Duckham missed the subsequent 1974 Lions tour of South Africa due to a bad groin injury (“my biggest regret, as I tend to think of ’73 and ’74 as my vintage years”). Two years later, having become, at the time, England’s most capped three-quarter and second all-time highest try-scorer, he appeared in his last international match against Scotland at Twickenham. Appointed MBE the following year, he continued to play for Coventry until 1979.
Outside rugby, after eight years with Barclays he took up an offer to work in PR in the construction industry, later running his own corporate hospitality company and, after a triple heart bypass in his mid-40s, becoming director of marketing at Bloxham School in Oxfordshire. He was also a popular, assured and humorous speaker on the after-dinner circuit. His autobiography, published in 1980, was titled Dai for England.
David Duckham is survived by his wife, Jean, whom he married in 1970, and by his three daughters.
David Duckham, born June 28 1946, died January 9 2023