Sydney John Dawes OBE (29 June 1940 – 16 April 2021)[1] was a Welsh rugby union player, playing at centre, and later coach.

He is credited with being a major influence in these teams' success, and in the attractive, attacking, free-flowing rugby they played.

He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1972 New Year Honours List for services as Lions captain.

[3] He was educated at Lewis School Pengam, and later at University College of Wales, Aberystwyth where he earned a degree in chemistry.

Dawes was appointed captain, and effectively also as coach, for the 1965–66 season, leading the club in a period of great success in the late 1960s.

He initially significantly increased fitness levels, and then led the club in an open, running, quick-passing, attacking style of rugby, including an overlapping full-back, and relatively skilled forwards.

One 1968–69 performance was described by journalist John Reason[7][8] as "one of the most brilliant exhibitions of club football it has been my privilege to see", and by journalist Terry O'Connor[9] as "the finest display by a club team I can remember", further describing London Welsh "switching attacks with speed and handling skill".

[1] He was selected for Wales' first overseas tour later the same year and played in the Welsh rugby team's first match outside of Europe and its first in the Southern Hemisphere.

[4] Colin Meads, New Zealand’s captain, said that Dawes could not be omitted from any contemporary world XV because of his influence on the overall team.

This was one of the most successful periods in the history of Welsh rugby, with the team winning the Five Nations Championship four times in the five seasons between 1975 and 1979, including two Grand Slams.

[10] In 1972 Dawes moved from teaching to a management post with the North London Polytechnic and then to a property development company.