He was selected for the 1974 British Lions tour to South Africa, and at the time played club rugby for Llanelli RFC.
[5] David was a keen rugby player as a youth, and represented his school, Hawthorn Secondary Modern before joining Pontypridd.
This was the first of two encounters for David against the same touring All Blacks as he also played flanker in the Barbarian side of 1973 who were victorious against New Zealand at Cardiff Arms Park.
In between the two victories, the Wales national team also faced the New Zealanders, and many critics felt that David's robust style of play and heavy tackling, which he took to the All Blacks with Llanelli, should have been rewarded with his first international cap.
David was forced to pull out of the Wales team for the opening game of the 1974 Championship, against Scotland, through injury.
On the tour David scored five tries against the regional teams, including two in the opening game against Western Transvaal.
[9] With Pontypridd, David won the Welsh Club Championship in the 1975/76 season, and regained his international place with Wales.