348:, and he continued to play sporadically for the R.A.F., Bedford and the Barbarians as well as in Service Internationals. He continued with Bedford after the war until finally retiring at the end of the 1947–48 season. In all he made 317 appearances for the club and scored 25 tries. In International Rugby his record was three caps, scoring one try. After retiring, Dancer became landlord of the Seven Wives pub in
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and was a popular member of the club's annual Easter Tours to South Wales. The
Barbarians' management had a strong influence on the selection of the Lions' touring squads, and when the party was announced for the 1938 tour to South Africa Beef was an obvious selection. South Africa, under the
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forward and he helped
Bedford to develop into one of the leading English club sides during the late 1930s. Several of his team-mates gained international honours but Dancer, despite playing representative rugby for the
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against an Old
Bedford Modernian XV on Easter Monday 1928, but it was not until the 1931–32 season that he joined the club on a permanent basis. Dancer was a tough and mobile
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328:, were a formidable team, and they comfortably won the first two tests at Johannesberg and Port Elizabeth. Dancer's greatest game came in the third test at
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311:(RFU) to the professional code at the time, it is possible that such negotiations ultimately counted against him.
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383:'100 Years of the Blues- The Bedfordshire Times Centenary History of Bedford R.U.F.C. (Bedford, 1986), p.41.
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where he showed a natural aptitude for the game. After leaving school he played most of his club rugby for
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rugby union footballer who played in the 1930s and 1940s. He played in all three test matches of the
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and in various
England trials, never won a full England cap. In a newspaper interview given to the
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in 1983 he revealed that he had been offered contracts by the professional
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British & Irish Lions rugby union players from
England
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On the outbreak of War in 1939 Dancer enlisted in the
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16:English rugby union player
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419:"Gerald Thomas Dancer"
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438:, p. 142.
315:The Lions
48:, England
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200:(Points)
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66:publican
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268:Bedford
252:English
42:Bedford
352:(then
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301:Leeds
185:Years
143:Years
86:Years
405:p.41
303:and
284:prop
248:Beef
220:1938
195:Apps
190:Team
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148:Team
96:Apps
91:Team
33:1911
450::
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410:^
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174:()
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44:,
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228:3
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