Mervyn Hicks | |||||||
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OVERALL STATISTICS | |||||||
BIRTH | AGE | SIGNED ON | FROM | ||||
DEBUT | LAST MATCH | LEFT | |||||
CAREER | APPEARANCES (SUBS) | ||||||
TRIES | GOALS | DGOALS | PTS | ||||
Biography of Mervyn Hicks |
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HERITAGE NO : 818 Mervyn Hicks by Alex Service Born in Cross Keys, Mervyn Hicks showed from an early age that he was destined for great things on the rugby field. He represented the Welsh Youth XV in 1960 as a strong-running lock forward and captained the team. After a string of further impressive performances he was watched and duly signed by scouts from Doncaster RLFC and signed for the Yorkshire outfit for £1000, a not inconsiderable sum in those days. He played as a centre with the Dons, although it was clear that his days in the threequarter line would soon be numbered. He was certainly destined for greater things and his sheer strength and power attracted Warrington, who signed him for £6000. Merv was to become a second-rower, who, at over six feet and 17 stones could also operate equally effectively in the front row and was a match for anyone on his day. He joined the Saints half-way through the 1963-64 campaign and was a member of the first Great Britain Under 24 team to play against the French. The game took place in Toulouse on 3rd April 1965, when Merv was in the second row and kicked four goals in the visitors 17-9 victory. Doug Laughton, his team mate at Saints was at loose forward. A rough and tough second rower, Merv added steel and power to a dominant forward pack that helped to lead Saints to the League Leaders trophy in 1964-65. Merv was one of a number of former welsh rugby union players when he signed for the Knowsley Road club, including Cen Williams, Kel Coslett, John Mantle and John Warlow. Indeed, the pack also included other former rugby union players in Ray French and the mighty Cliff Watson. Merv played a Test match for Great Britain against New Zealand in 1965 The Saints went on to win four trophies in 1965-66, but Merv decided to begin a new life in Australia with his wife and two young sons and joined Canterbury Bankstown, known as the Berries, now the Bulldogs. Merv enjoyed five successful seasons at Belmore, including a Grand final appearance, when the Berries lost 12-10 to a strong South Sydney outfit. In 1971 Merv joined the North Sydney Bears as Captain-Coach, a tough assignment indeed, with the team not enjoying the best of times. Merv himself did suffer from injury on several occasions. A return to England beckoned which lasted for four years with spells at Hull, Leeds and Bradford Northern before returning Down Under once more. His rugby league career was to end with a three-year stint with the Bowral Blues in Group 6 of the New South Wales Country Rugby League. He continued to coach Bowral after retiring as a player and was also linked with Riverina in the country championship, alongside his career in hotel management. Despite persistent knee trouble, an unfortunate legacy of his playing days, Merv has remained in Australia, is in good health and has attended a Saints Past Players Dinner when he once returned to Blighty to visit relatives. Mervyn sent this message on April 29th 2009: To all the Saints supporters all over the world: I was so lucky to have been a part of the best team that I played for in my whole career, with the likes of Alex Murphy, Cliff Watson, Tommy Bishop ,Tom Vollenhoven, Len Killeen and all the other Welsh players like myself that made up the team. It was a team in the full sense of the word. I can never remember an argument within the team, we stuck together both on and off the field and I can honestly say it was the most rewarding time of my whole rugby career. The trophies and medals pale into insignificance when I remember the joy of beating the other teams in the league. At the end of each game we always spent time together having a drink in the old storeroom of the Club House with Fred Harrison, the Steward of the Club and then on to mingle with the supporters. I still see Cliff and Tommy on odd occasions and it is always good to reminisce. Thank you to everyone connected to Saints during my time there. It was a sensational experience both for me and my wife but now also for my children and grandchildren who have a special place in their heart for the Club. Merv Hicks |
SEASON STATISTICS | ||||
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Season (Official Matches) | Tries | Goals | DGoals | Matches |
1963~64 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
1964~65 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 33 |
1965~66 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 27 |
TOTALS: | 13 | 2 | 0 | 67 |
Season (Other Matches) | Tries | Goals | DGoals | Matches |
1964~65 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
1965~66 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
TOTALS: | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
ALL MATCHES |
Date | Match | Pos | Opponents | Comp | Venue | FT | FTO | T | G | DG | ||
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28th Mar 1964 | 1 | W |
12 | Salford | WDC | H | 24 | 13 | VIEW | |||
4th Apr 1964 | 2 | L |
12 | Widnes | L | H | 6 | 10 | 1 | VIEW | ||
15th Apr 1964 | 3 | W |
11 | Whitehaven | WDC | A | 3 | 0 | VIEW | |||
18th Apr 1964 | 4 | W |
12 | Liverpool City | WDC | A | 32 | 7 | 1 | VIEW | ||
22nd Apr 1964 | 5 | W |
12 | Wigan | L | A | 22 | 13 | 1 | VIEW | ||
25th Apr 1964 | 6 | W |
12 | Widnes | L | A | 19 | 8 | VIEW | |||
27th May 1964 | 7 | L |
12 | Castleford | L | A | 10 | 11 | VIEW | |||
14th Aug 1964 | -- | W |
12 | Swinton* | Fr Gallie Cup | H | 22 | 2 | VIEW | |||
22nd Aug 1964 | 8 | W |
12 | Leigh | L | A | 19 | 6 | 1 | VIEW | ||
24th Aug 1964 | 9 | W |
11 | Rochdale Hornets | L | H | 28 | 4 | 1 | VIEW | ||
29th Aug 1964 | 10 | W |
12 | Widnes | L | H | 29 | 6 | VIEW | |||
31st Aug 1964 | --NPS | W |
15 | Whitehaven | L | A | 15 | 5 | VIEW | |||
5th Sep 1964 | 11 | W |
13 | Liverpool City | LC1 | A | 41 | 11 | 1 | VIEW | ||
12th Sep 1964 | 12 | W |
12 | Blackpool Borough | L | H | 37 | 5 | VIEW | |||
14th Sep 1964 | 13 | W |
12 | Barrow | LC2 | A | 22 | 11 | 1 | VIEW | ||
19th Sep 1964 | 14 | W |
11 | Rochdale Hornets | L | A | 17 | 6 | VIEW | |||
26th Sep 1964 | 15 | W |
12 | Featherstone Rovers | L | A | 30 | 15 | VIEW | |||
29th Sep 1964 | 16 | W |
11 | Warrington | LCSF | A | 10 | 8 | VIEW | |||
3rd Oct 1964 | 17 | W |
15 | Workington Town | L | H | 32 | 6 | VIEW | |||
10th Oct 1964 | 18 | W |
11 | Blackpool Borough | L | A | 31 | 9 | VIEW | |||
17th Oct 1964 | 19 | W |
12 | Featherstone Rovers | L | H | 25 | 12 | 1 | VIEW | ||
24th Oct 1964 | 20 | W |
12 | Swinton | LCF | N | 12 | 4 | 1 | VIEW | ||
31st Oct 1964 | 21 | W |
12 | Oldham | L | H | 22 | 6 | VIEW | |||
7th Nov 1964 | 22 | W |
12 | Warrington | L | H | 26 | 10 | VIEW | |||
14th Nov 1964 | 23 | W |
11 | Hull Kingston Rovers | L | A | 25 | 12 | VIEW | |||
19th Dec 1964 | 24 | W |
12 | Leigh | L | H | 10 | 7 | VIEW | |||
1st Jan 1965 | --NPS | W |
15 | Swinton | L | A | 11 | 5 | VIEW | |||
9th Jan 1965 | 25 | W |
11 | Liverpool City | L | H | 23 | 3 | VIEW | |||
16th Jan 1965 | 26 | L |
12 | Warrington | L | A | 4 | 6 | VIEW | |||
27th Jan 1965 | -- | W |
11 | Other Nationalities* | Fr Opening of Floodl | H | 19 | 2 | VIEW | |||
6th Feb 1965 | 27 | W |
12 | Castleford | CC1 | H | 22 | 9 | VIEW | |||
13th Feb 1965 | --NPS | L |
15 | Workington Town | L | A | 3 | 4 | VIEW | |||
16th Feb 1965 | 28 | W |
12 | Salford | L | H | 12 | 6 | VIEW | |||
20th Feb 1965 | 29 | W |
11 | Huddersfield | L | H | 28 | 6 | VIEW | |||
27th Feb 1965 | 30 | L |
12 | Wigan | CC2 | A | 2 | 7 | VIEW | |||
13th Mar 1965 | 31 | W |
13 | Oldham | L | A | 15 | 9 | VIEW | |||
16th Mar 1965 | --NPS | L |
15 | Wakefield Trinity | L | H | 2 | 9 | VIEW | |||
20th Mar 1965 | 32 | L |
12 | Wakefield Trinity | L | A | 4 | 5 | VIEW | |||
23rd Mar 1965 | 33 | L |
11 | Wigan | L | H | 6 | 10 | VIEW | |||
27th Mar 1965 | 34 | L |
11 | Salford | L | A | 8 | 11 | VIEW | |||
9th Apr 1965 | 35 | W |
12 | Liverpool City | L | A | 11 | 0 | VIEW | |||
16th Apr 1965 | 36 | W |
12 | Wigan | L | A | 16 | 8 | 1 | VIEW | ||
19th Apr 1965 | 37 | W |
12 | Swinton | L | H | 16 | 5 | VIEW | |||
21st Apr 1965 | 38 | W |
12 | Huddersfield | L | A | 20 | 6 | VIEW | |||
24th Apr 1965 | 39 | W |
11 | Barrow | Ch1 | H | 23 | 7 | 1 | VIEW | ||
30th Apr 1965 | 40 | W |
12 | Hull Kingston Rovers | Ch2 | H | 24 | 6 | VIEW | |||
14th Aug 1965 | -- | L |
11 | Swinton * | Fr Gallie Cup | A | 9 | 11 | VIEW | |||
20th Aug 1965 | 41 | W |
11 | Halifax | L | H | 15 | 4 | VIEW | |||
24th Aug 1965 | 42 | W |
11 | Rochdale Hornets | L | A | 17 | 9 | VIEW | |||
28th Aug 1965 | 43 | W |
13 | Castleford | L | A | 19 | 15 | VIEW | |||
30th Aug 1965 | 44 | W |
12 | Whitehaven | L | H | 30 | 5 | 1 | VIEW | ||
4th Sep 1965 | 45 | W |
13 | Warrington | L | A | 11 | 2 | VIEW | |||
10th Sep 1965 | 46 | L |
11 | Swinton | LC1 | H | 7 | 8 | VIEW | |||
15th Sep 1965 | 47 | W |
11 | New Zealand | Tour | H | 28 | 7 | VIEW | |||
18th Sep 1965 | 48 | W |
11 | Castleford | L | H | 21 | 6 | 1 | VIEW | ||
27th Sep 1965 | 49 | W |
15 | Widnes | L | A | 9 | 4 | VIEW | |||
1st Oct 1965 | 50 | W |
12 | Oldham | L | H | 23 | 17 | VIEW | |||
5th Oct 1965 | --NPS | W |
15 | Leigh | FT1 | H | 25 | 19 | VIEW | |||
9th Oct 1965 | 51 | W |
11 | Barrow | L | H | 18 | 14 | VIEW | |||
16th Oct 1965 | 52 | W |
13 | Salford | L | A | 15 | 11 | VIEW | |||
23rd Oct 1965 | 53 | W |
11 | Workington Town | L | H | 43 | 4 | 1 | VIEW | ||
30th Oct 1965 | 54 | W |
11 | Barrow | L | A | 15 | 10 | 1 | VIEW | ||
9th Nov 1965 | 55 | W |
11 | Huddersfield | L | H | 11 | 4 | VIEW | |||
13th Nov 1965 | 56 | W |
11 | Workington Town | L | A | 7 | 3 | VIEW | |||
16th Nov 1965 | 57 | W |
11 | Leeds | FT2 | H | 21 | 9 | VIEW | |||
19th Nov 1965 | 58 | W |
11 | Rochdale Hornets | L | H | 19 | 7 | VIEW | |||
7th Dec 1965 | 59 | W |
11 | Swinton | FTSF | H | 9 | 5 | VIEW | |||
14th Dec 1965 | 60 | L |
11 | Castleford | FTF | H | 0 | 4 | VIEW | |||
17th Dec 1965 | 61 | W |
8 | Blackpool Borough | L | H | 21 | 9 | VIEW | |||
8th Jan 1966 | 62 | L |
8 | Oldham | L | A | 9 | 13 | VIEW | |||
29th Jan 1966 | 63 | W |
13 | Halifax | L | A | 5 | 2 | VIEW | |||
1st Feb 1966 | 64 | W |
13 | Widnes | L | H | 9 | 4 | VIEW | |||
5th Feb 1966 | 65 | W |
15 | Blackpool Borough | L | A | 25 | 11 | VIEW | |||
14th Feb 1966 | 66 | W |
11 | Leigh | L | H | 17 | 2 | VIEW | |||
19th Feb 1966 | 67 | L |
11 | Wakefield Trinity | L | A | 12 | 20 | VIEW |
*Unofficial Match. **Non Playing Sub. |
WINS : 61 | LOSSES : 14 | DRAWS : |
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GALLERY |
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