Unlucky Bev had just the two caps

It was remiss of this column not to note the passing of former Bristol and England prop Bev Dovey last month aged 85.

Dovey, below, a mobile handling front rower and more than decent scrummager, was one of those talented individuals who got messed around by the England selectors in the 1960s.

Having played a fine hand on debut in Cardiff in 1963 – England’s last win there for 28 years – he also played in England’s muddy 0-0 draw in Dublin three weeks later when the England front row, unsurprisingly, got little change out of an Ireland front row of Ray McLoughlin, Ronnie Dawson and Syd Millar. The England selectors chose to drop Dovey and young lock Mike Davis from the side and Dovey was never seen again in an England shirt. England narrowly won their final two games against France and Scotland to win a title that could so easily have been a Grand Slam.

Ason of the Forest – the Forest of Dean – Dovey kept knocking on the England door only to be rebuffed. In 1966-67 he skippered the England Possibles and in 1967 he captained the South of England to a win over England at Exeter before the national team departed on tour. Aregular for Western Counties teams that played major tourists, he lined up against South Africa and New Zealand and led the Division to a win over Australia. In 1969 he was still a Western Countries regular and played in their 9-6 defeat to the Boks at the County Ground Exeter.

The selectors were not for turning so it was ‘just’ the two caps. The road not taken.