Kevin Bowring, Welsh rugby’s first professional coach, has died after suffering a heart attack at the age of 70.

The Neath-born flanker became a legendary figure at London Welsh, where he made 268 games as a player and captained the club for three seasons.

He was picked for a Wales B squad, played three times for the Barbarians and also represented Middlesex County.

His coaching career began when he was just out of his teens when he helped out with the Youth team at his first rugby club, Briton Ferry.

Then, after hanging up his boots at the age of 32, he took on the role of director of physical education and head of games at Clifton College and was invited to take part in the WRU’s U17 and U18 development camps in Aberystwyth.

The WRU’s coaching director at the time was the former London Welsh, Wales and British & Irish Lions captain John Dawes, who invited Bowring to coach Wales U20 in 1989-90.

He then went on to take charge of Wales U21 for three years and then won nine of his 13 games in charge of Wales A over a further three years. He also coached the Wales Sevens side.

He was named as the caretaker coach for the autumn international against Fiji on 11 November 1995, which Wales won 19-15, and was then given a £50,000 pa four-year contract to take the team through to the home World Cup in 1999.

Having answered the WRU’s advert for what would become the first professional Wales coach he was given the job.

He ended his 29-match career over his two-and-a-half years in-situ in credit with 15 wins and 14 defeats.

Bowring was appointed as England’s head of elite coach development in 2001 and stayed with the RFU until retirement in 2016, when he continued to mentor coaches.