Quote Originally Posted by Jordi Culé View Post
Barry John did play for Llanelli before Cardiff. Think he had a teaching job in Cardiff so that was the that.

Didn't Gareth Edwards attended college in Cardiff.

Rugby still amateur at the time so both would've played where they could, easiest and cheapest for them.
Yes they did (Gareth Edwards did a fortnight as a student teacher while I was in Waterhall school and picked me as captain of the "rest" against the school team because I knew all of the positions which related to what shirt number - he soon realised his mistake when he saw me play!).

During the seventies, London Welsh were, arguably, the best club side in Britain because, as you say, there were either young men whose studies took them to that city or there were some who were a bit older who went to London to work. From memory, JPR, Gerald Davies, John Dawes, John Taylor and Mervyn Davies all played for London Welsh up to the mid seventies and there were others like Jim Shanklin, Mike Roberts and Geoff Evans who were less regular members of the Wales team who played for them.