Cyril Towers was a champion centre whose style of running Rugby, coupled with his speed, tenacity and vision made him one of Australia's greatest players. He was born in country Victoria and moved to Melbourne and Roma before settling in Sydney. He attended Randwick Boys High School and Waverley College before joining the Randwick Club. In his early coaching he was encouraged to run the ball, a style of play that heavily influenced NSW and Australian Rugby.

He played a total of 233 first grade games for Randwick and played his first of 82 matches for NSW in 1926 against New Zealand, which NSW won 26-20. As all the Waratahs games of the 1920's have been given retrospective Test match status, this was also the first Test he played for Australia. He was a member of the famous 1927-28 Waratahs who toured the UK, France and North America, thrilling spectators and commentators with their “running Rugby” and winning four of their five internationals. 

In 1929 he played in two of the three Tests against New Zealand, with the series won 3-0 by Australia. The next year he pulled off a try-saving tackle that sealed Australia's 6-5 win against the British Lions at the SCG. 

Unfortunately for Towers, a personality clash with the team manager saw him left out of the 1933 tour to South Africa. It was a highly controversial decision that saw him play just four more Tests. 

However these included the two-Test series against New Zealand in 1934, when Australia won the Bledisloe Cup for the first time, as well as his last two Tests as Wallaby captain in 1937 against the Springboks. 

In his second last Test he scored his 10th Test try to make him Australia's equal highest try scorer. Amazingly he remains NSW's all-time leading tryscorer with 49 tries. 

After his Test career he become a well-respected Rugby commentator on ABC radio, while his sons-in-law Jake Howard and Roy Prosser and grandson Pat Howard also went on to become Wallabies.