Anthony George "Charlie" Faulkner (born 27 February 1941) was a rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 player of the 1970s and later a rugby coach.

He was born Anthony George Faulkner in Newport

Newport

Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...

, Monmouthshire

Monmouthshire (historic)

Monmouthshire , also known as the County of Monmouth , is one of thirteen ancient counties of Wales and a former administrative county....

 in February 1941.

Wales caps

He played his rugby as a Prop forward for Pontypool RFC

Pontypool RFC

Pontypool Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team based in the town of Pontypool. Pontypool RFC has a long history within Welsh rugby and is one of the most notable clubs, being present at the formation of the Welsh Rugby Union in 1881, but disbanding before the turn of the 19th century...

 in their heyday in the 1970s and attained 19 caps for Wales, making his international debut in 1975 at the age of 34, was a 1977 British Lion

British and Irish Lions

The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...

 and later coached Newport.

The Pontypool Front Row

With Bobby Windsor

Bobby Windsor

Robert William Windsor , known as Bobby and nicknamed "The Duke", is a former rugby union player who gained 28 rugby union caps for Wales as a hooker between 1973 and 1979...

 and Graham Price

Graham Price

Graham Price MBE is a former Welsh rugby union player who won 41 caps for as a prop forward.- Education :...

 he became part of the Pontypool Front Row

Pontypool RFC

Pontypool Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team based in the town of Pontypool. Pontypool RFC has a long history within Welsh rugby and is one of the most notable clubs, being present at the formation of the Welsh Rugby Union in 1881, but disbanding before the turn of the 19th century...

also known as the Viet Gwent (a play on Viet Cong) and immortalised in song by Max Boyce

Max Boyce

Maxwell Boyce MBE is a Welsh comedian, singer and former coal miner. He rose to fame during the mid-1970s with an act that combined musical comedy with his passion for rugby union and his origins in the mining communities of South Wales...

.

He was a Judo Black Belt and a steelworker by trade - both factors conjoining to make him a formidable scrummager who was mobile in the loose, able to score tries even at international level.