Lewis spent almost 18 years at the coal face of Welsh rugby and assisted in the development of coaching at all levels throughout Wales, including National Squads. He was also responsible for the development of referees and their advisors and assessors.
“Malcolm was a key figure in the vital early development of coaching in Wales working alongside firstly Ray Williams and then John Dawes. He was their rock and he was a great servant to both the game in Wales as a whole and particularly the WRU,” said WRU President, Dennis Gethin.
“He spent the majority of his life in rugby, either playing, teaching, coaching or assessing, and his commitment to the cause of Welsh rugby was exemplary. He will be sorely missed, but his contribution will never be forgotten.”
Educated at Caerphilly Grammar School (1946-53) and then St Luke’s College (1955-58) his early sporting successes were all in football, captaining the Welsh Boys’ Clubs and playing for St Luke’s College, Devon County, Somerset County, and Bristol City.
His rugby career saw him play for Bristol and Coventry and he also appeared at full back for the Western Counties against the touring South Africans at Kingsholm, Gloucester, in 1960. After leaving St Luke’s he taught PE at Wellsway School, Keynsham, and then became Head of the PE Department at Bishopston Secondary School, Bristol.
From there he moved on to Coventry Technical College, where he lectured in PE, before taking over the role as Head of Faculty of PE at Sidney Stringer Community College, Coventry. After 15 years working as a teacher he returned to Wales to work with Ray Williams at the WRU in 1973, becoming the Union’s Assistant Coaching Organiser.
He remained in that role until November, 1990, working throughout the great Golden Era of the 1970s and helping to install a proper coaching footprint throughout the country. After leaving the WRU, he returned to teaching for a while, taking over as Head of PE at St John’s College, Cardiff.
During his time at the WRU he followed in the footsteps of Ray Williams in receiving a Churchill Scholarship which enabled him to visit Australia and New Zealand during the 1970s. Talking about his trip some years later, Lewis explained: “When you go into the hot seat of rugby, such as New Zealand and South Africa at this moment, you’re going to hear a lot of sense, and you’re going to pick up a lot of ideas, and what you’ve got to do then is come back and implement them in a Welsh way.”
He continued in his role as a WRU referee assessor and advisor and was never shy in coming forward to express his views on the game he loved so much.
That was the Malcolm Lewis way – honest, forthright and always hoping to make a difference. He will be badly missed and the WRU offers its heartfelt condolences to his wife Maureen and sons David and Paul.
