A number of figures from rugby union have sadly passed away in 2020.

Below, we remember those who gave so much to the game and their communities.

André Abadie. France international prop, who played twice as his country won the Five Nations in 1968. 

Roger Austry. Former international referee from France. Awarded the Coq d'Or in 2002 for his career achievements, Austry refereed the French Championship final between Bègles and Toulouse in 1969 and during the Five Nations three years later.

Paul Bayvel. Golden Lions and South Africa scrum-half. Bayvel made his Springbok debut in the second test against the British and Irish Lions in 1974 and went on to win 10 caps for his country.

Steve Blackmore. Prop who played 169 games for Cardiff RFC between 1982-1996. Blackmore appeared four times for Wales, and played in the bronze final win over Australia at Rugby World Cup 1987.

Logie Bruce-Lockhart. Fly-half who played five times for Scotland between 1948-1953, helping his country to a famous 8-5 win over France in 1950. Bruce-Lockhart played in two Varsity matches for Cambridge and was also a schoolmaster, journalist and writer.

Michel Celaya. Former France captain who won 50 caps and helped the team to its first outright Five Nations Championship title in 1959. A forward, Celaya spent his entire club career at Biarritz and later coached the club.

Peter Cronje. Golden Lions and Sharks centre who played seven tests for South Africa. His third and final try for his country, scored against the British and Irish Lions in 1974, was the first four-point try scored by a Springbok.

Éric de Cromières. Became ASM Clermont Auvergne president in 2013 and oversaw a period of success in which the club won the Top 14 and European Challenge Cup while reaching the final of the European Champions Cup twice.

Corra Dirksen. A winger who scored three tries in 10 test appearances for South Africa between 1963-1968. All of those scores came against France in 1967, with his second in the first test considered one of the best ever scored by a Springbok.

Christophe Dominici. Scored 25 tries in 67 tests for France between 1998-2007. Arguably his finest moment came in the RWC 1999 semi-final when he helped to inspire Les Bleus’ 43-31 defeat of tournament favourites New Zealand.

Garrett Fitzgerald. Former player and coach who served as Munster CEO for 20 years between 1999-2019. During that time Munster won three PRO14 titles and two European Champions Cups.

Greg Growden. Australian journalist who covered every men’s Rugby World Cup for the Sydney Morning Herald and ESPN. 

Andy Haden. Played 117 times for the All Blacks, including 41 tests. The outspoken second-row played his club rugby for Auckland, and enjoyed spells at Harlequins and Algida Rome in Europe.

George Hastings. Primarily a prop, the versatile forward also played in the second- and back-rows for Gloucester. Hastings won 13 caps between 1955-1958, all in the front-row, scoring one try and kicking a conversion and two penalties.

Raymond Hunter. Won 10 test caps for Ireland and toured South Africa with the British and Irish Lions in 1962. Also represented Ireland at cricket, taking 33 wickets and scoring 800 runs in 28 matches.

Iain Laughland. Known affectionately as ‘Logie’, Laughland won 31 test caps for Scotland between 1959-1967, captaining his country on two occasions. He was also a gifted, and innovative proponent of sevens and a skilled administrator.

Terry Lineen. Played 12 tests for the All Blacks before his career was cut short at the age of 24 by a shoulder injury suffered against South Africa in Bloemfontein in August 1960. Lineen wore the silver fern a total of 35 times between 1957-1960.

Victor Luaces. Deputy Secretary of the Unión Argentina de Rugby between 2014-2018 and Sudamérica Rugby Honorary Secretary. Luaces played a pivotal role in the foundation of the Súper Liga Americana de Rugby.

Jean-Pierre Lux. A member of France’s Five Nations Grand Slam-winning team in 1968, Lux won 47 caps for Les Bleus and scored 12 tries. He later held roles on the boards of both the Ligue Nationale de Rugby and the Fédération Française de Rugby, and served as president of European Rugby Cup between 1999-2014.

George Mackie. Former Scotland number eight, who won four caps for his country between 1975-1978. His debut came in a 10-3 victory against Australia at Murrayfield in December, 1975.

Dougie Morgan. The scrum-half played 21 tests for Scotland, and captained the team during the Five Nations in 1978. He also made two appearances for the British and Irish Lions during the 1977 tour of New Zealand. Morgan coached Scotland between 1993-1995, leading them to the quarter-finals of Rugby World Cup 1995.

Arthob Petersen. Former Springbok manager, who held the post on four separate occasions between 1997-2009. In 1992, he was elected as a member of the executive committee of the South African Rugby Football Union, the forerunner to SA Rugby.

Ray Prosser. A prop who played 22 times for Wales between 1956-1961, and appeared in the final British and Irish Lions test against New Zealand in 1959. A proud Pontypool player, Prosser went on to coach the club for almost 20 years, bringing success on the pitch and producing a long line of international forwards for Wales.

André Quilis. A flanker who played five times for France between 1967-1971. Quilis went on to coach Perpignan, Nîmes and Montpellier.

Mat Ratana. Head coach of East Grinstead RFC. Born in Hawke’s Bay, Ratana moved to London in 1989 and spent the next 30 years working for the Metropolitan Police either side of a five-year spell back in New Zealand between 2003-2005.

Mike Slemen. England’s most-capped winger (31) when he retired from test rugby in 1984. Slemen scored a try in the 30-18 defeat of Scotland that secured a Five Nations Grand Slam in 1980, and toured South Africa with the British and Irish Lions that summer. Went on to coach the England backs under Geoff Cooke.

Jock Steven. Scottish Rugby President between 1993-1994, Steven represented the Barbarians during his playing career and was also an unused travelling reserve for Scotland. In 1988, he was team manager for the unbeaten Scotland Development XV tour of Zimbabwe.

Arthur Summons. A fly-half who won 10 caps for Australia between 1958-1959. Summons switched to rugby league in 1960, and captained and coached his country.

Alan Sutherland. A tall, powerful number eight who played 54 matches for New Zealand between 1968-1976, 10 of which were tests. A member of the Marlborough team that won the Ranfurly Shield in 1973, he later moved to South Africa.

Eddie Tonks. New Zealand Rugby Chair between 1990-1995, Tonks was first elected to the board in 1986 and was made a life member in 2004. He was involved in the preparations for the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987 and also served as World Rugby Chairman.

Matthew J Watkins. Centre who played 18 tests for Wales, and also represented his country at sevens. He revealed in 2013 he had a rare form of pelvic cancer and fundraised for cancer charities following retirement.

Grant Weatherstone. Scotland winger who won 16 caps and scored three tries between 1952-1959. Weatherstone also represented the Barbarians and was selected for the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa in 1955, but withdrew through injury.

JJ Williams. Having represented Wales as a sprinter at the Commonwealth Games in 1970, Williams became an iconic figure on the wing for his nation’s rugby team. He won 30 caps for Wales between 1973-1979, scoring 12 tries, and added five more in seven tests for the British and Irish Lions.

Dennis Young. Hooker who played 22 tests for New Zealand between 1956-1964. A talented tap dancer in his youth, Young also represented Canterbury 139 times.

John Young. A talented athlete as well as a rugby player, Young played nine tests for England on the wing between 1958-1961, scoring two tries. In 1959 he was selected to tour New Zealand and Australia with the British and Irish Lions. Following retirement he became an England selector.

Hiroki Yuhara. The hooker was capped 22 times by Japan and was a member of the squads that travelled to RWC 2011 and RWC 2015, playing one match at the former. Following retirement he was working as forwards coach at Toshiba Brave Lupus.

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