Geoff Wheel dead at 73: Welsh rugby legend dies after battle with Motor Neuron disease
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Former Wales international Geoff Wheel has passed away at the age of 73, it has been announced. Wheel was an iconic figure of the 1970s and early 1980s for Welsh rugby, winning 32 caps for his country, winning four Triple Crowns and two Grand Slams along the way.
![[Wheel (competing at lineout) was part of two Grand Slam winning Welsh sides, and also won four Triple Crowns]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/26/17/93499247-14206651-image-a-27_1735235815466.jpg)
The news was confirmed by his former club, Swansea RFC, with a statement claiming that his Motor Neuron disease had 'not prevented him attending matches' until this season. In a touching message to one of their great former players, Swansea stated that Wheel passed away in the early hours of Boxing Day, on Thursday December 26.
'Geoff was a player and man loved and respected by all who knew him,' a Swansea RFC statement read. 'A fearsome competitor on the field of play, Geoff was a mild mannered, shy and thoughtful person in private,committed to the club he served from 1970 to 1983, twice as captain, as a player and for many years on the All Whites Former Players Association (AWFPA) committee, being at the time of his passing the President of the AWFPA.'.
Welsh rugby legend Geoff Wheel (third right, red shirt) has passed away at the age of 73. Wheel (competing at lineout) was part of two Grand Slam winning Welsh sides, and also won four Triple Crowns. The statement added: 'Geoff’s two seasons as captain of Swansea marked a hugely successful period for the club. In 1979-80 they won the Western Mail Championship, Sunday Telegraph Anglo-Welsh Championship, Daily Mail Anglo-Welsh Championship, Sunday Telegraph Team of the Season and were WRU National Sevens winners.
