Throughout the month of October, Cardiff Rugby will be celebrating the contributions of notable players with African and Caribbean heritage who have pulled on the famous Blue & Black jersey.
Each year in the UK, BHM is used as an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the contributions of Black people to British society and beyond. This year the focus is on “Reclaiming Narratives,” marking a significant shift towards recognising and correcting the narratives of Black history and culture
At Cardiff Rugby we pride ourselves on being an inclusive, diverse and welcoming club for all people of all backgrounds. We remain fiercely committed to championing equality and opportunities for all, while supporting societal change.
In this latest edition, we take a look at Colin Dixon, someone who never actually played a first team game for the Blue & Backs but is undoubtedly one of the greatest players produced in the city of Cardiff.
Like so many who went before him, Dixon came from Tiger Bay. He was born in Loudoun Square in December, 1943, and went to the same school as Billy Boston and Johnny Freeman.
His talent was immediate to see and he rose through the ranks to star for Cardiff Youth.
However, Dixon switched to rugby league at just 17-years-old, after failing to win a Welsh Youth Cap.
The promise of £250, plus £250 for the next three seasons from Halifax was enough to tempt Dixon north and he never regretted his decision.
He was signed as a scrum-half but soon switched to centre and then second-row, where he enjoyed an impressive 20-year league career.
During his time at Halifax he scored 177 tries in 738 first-class matches and is now in the Halifax RL Hall of Fame.
In 1968, he was sold to the ambitious Salford club for a then world-record fee of £12,000, plus a player valued at £3,000 in part exchange. He immediately thrived in a star-studded team featuring fellow Welshmen David Watkins and Maurice Richards, twice winning the Championship in 1974 and 1976.
He enjoyed one further season with Hull Kingston Rovers. On the international stage he played 15 times for Wales and won 14 caps for Great Britain, playing in the World Cup-winning squad in 1972 and touring Australasia in 1974.