David Bishop (rugby, born 1960)

For the Welsh rugby union centre of the 2000s, see David Bishop (rugby player, born 1983).

David Bishop

Personal information
Full name	David Joseph Bishop
Born	(1960-10-31) 31 October 1960 (age 64)
Playing information
Rugby union
Position	Scrum-half
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1980–1981 Ebbw Vale RFC 0 0 0 0 0 1981-88–1996-99 Pontypool RFC 241 171 97 21 981 Total 241 171 97 21 981 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1984 Wales 1 1 0 0 5
Rugby league
Position	Scrum-half
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1988–91 Hull Kingston Rovers 61 24 1 1 99 1993 London Crusaders 1 0 0 0 0 Total 62 24 1 1 99 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1990 Great Britain 1 0 0 0 0 1991–92 Wales 4 1 0 0 4
Coaching information
Club Years Team Gms W D L W% 1996–1999 Pontypool RFC 0 0 0 0
Source: [1]

David Joseph Bishop (born 31 October 1960) is a Welsh former dual-code international rugby union and then rugby league footballer.

Rugby union career

Bishop started his career as a youth player at Cardiff, however left the club due to disciplinary issues. From here he went Ebbw Vale, where as a scrum-half, he played for a season, He made his first-class début for Ebbw Vale where he was outstanding. After a season, he then joined Pontypool in 1981, but not long after broke his neck. Despite being told he would never play again, he was back playing for Pontypool within a year. He only gained one cap for Wales – against Australia during the 1984 Australia rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland which Wales lost 28–9. Despite the loss Bishop was the only player to score a try against them. ^{[2] [3]}

Bishop had played understudy to fellow scrum-half Terry Holmes, and when Holmes switched codes to rugby league in 1985, many expected Bishop to finally be given his chance to play for Wales permanently. However, during a match versus Newbridge, Chris Jarman received a broken jaw in an off-the ball incident. Jarman brought a private prosecution resulting in Bishop being given a suspended jail sentence and an eleven-month ban by the WRU. ^[4] The Welsh selectors instead picked Robert Jones of Swansea RFC. Bishop however gained his revenge in 1987-88 when Pontypool defeated Swansea at Pontypool Park in the cup, the highlight of the game being Bishop's penalty in the mud to seal the win, following which Bishop wiggled his rear end to the stand—where the Welsh selectors were sitting.

Despite repeatedly putting in outstanding performances for Pontypool, Bishop was never picked for Wales again, though his case was not helped by several of Bishop's antics off the field. The 1987–1988 season was the most successful in the club's history when they lost only two games all season and Bishop formed a potent partnership with Mark Ring.

When rugby union became openly professional in 1995, Bishop returned to Pontypool as player-coach. Although Pontypool had been relegated from the top flight of rugby in Wales in 1995. Two highlights during this period were saving Pontypool from relegation from Division 1 with a victory over UWIC and the 16–15 win over Neath RFC in the Welsh Cup in 1999. Pontypool then played Cardiff in the next round of the cup, where they were heavily defeated, but Bishop faced his old adversary Robert Jones for the last time.

Rugby league career

In 1988, Bishop was lured to rugby league and he signed for Hull Kingston Rovers. He enjoyed two successful seasons at Hull KR, and was selected for the 1990 Great Britain Lions tour. He lost his place in the first team after falling out of favour with head coach Roger Millward, ^[5] and subsequently played for London Crusaders. He also won 4 caps for the Wales rugby league team in 1991 and 1992. ^[1]

References

1. "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org (RL)". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
2. "Statistics at en.espn.co.uk (RU)". espn.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
3. "Statistics at wru.co.uk (RU)". wru.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 19 January 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
4. David Bishop ban Archived 24 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine
5. "Rough initiation on 'shooting range' and Roger Millward fallout - David Bishop remembers fiery Hull KR spell". Hull Daily Mail. 28 March 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2025.

External links

• "Cardiff heroes: No dull times with David Bishop". icwales.icnetwork.co.uk. 22 December 2006. Retrieved 7 September 2007.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
• Gallagher, Brendan (7 March 2002). "A cheer for one-cap wonders". The Telegraph. Retrieved 7 September 2007.^{[ dead link ]}
• Cole, Robert (24 March 1997). "Rugby: Bishop keeps battling". The Independent. Retrieved 7 September 2007.^{[ dead link ]}
• Cole, Robert (24 March 1997). "Rugby: Bishop keeps battling". The Independent. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2007.
• Souster, Mark (5 October 2006). "article660848". London: The Times. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2007.