Brian Richard Williams (9 July 1960 - 7 February 2007) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

international

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player.

Life and career

Williams was born in Penffordd, near

Maenclochog Maenclochog () is a village, parish and Community (Wales), community in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales. It is also the name of Maenclochog (electoral ward), an electoral ward comprising a wider area of four surrounding communities. Maenclocho ...

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The count ...

, into the West Wales farming community. He began playing rugby at

Ysgol y Preseli Ysgol Bro Preseli is a Wales, Welsh 3-18 school in the village of Crymych, Pembrokeshire, Wales. History Prior to the school's opening, pupils from the villages in the north of the county that passed the eleven-plus exam attended schools in eith ...

Narberth RFC Narberth RFC are a Welsh rugby union club based in Narberth in Pembrokeshire. They are members of the Welsh Rugby Union playing in the WRU Championship and are a feeder club for the Scarlets. The Otters have won the Pembrokeshire County Cup comp ...

and Pembrokeshire RFC, with his brothers John and Anthony. His nephew Andrew is currently a rising star at scrum-half in Narberth's youth set-up, and side player for Wales Under 21 side. Williams was spotted and signed for

Neath RFC Neath Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Castell-Nedd) is a Welsh rugby union club which plays in the WRU Championship. The club's home ground is The Gnoll, Neath. The team is known as the All Blacks because of the team colours: black with onl ...

. During a single major club career which spanned 16 years, Williams played for the club more than 250 times. He made his debut as a first-class player in 1983, against

Bridgend RFC Bridgend Ravens ( cy, Cigfrain Pen-y-bont) (formerly Bridgend RFC) are a semi-professional rugby union club based in Bridgend, South Wales. They currently play in the Welsh Premier Division and are a feeder club to the Ospreys regional team ...

, and went on to become one of the club's most popular players. He played as a

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

, despite his relatively light build (6'1" tall and weighing little more than 14 stone) which belied his incredible strength -

Gareth Llewellyn Gareth Owen Llewellyn (born 27 February 1969), is a Welsh former rugby union player who gained a record 92 caps for Wales as a lock. His record for Wales caps was surpassed by Gareth Thomas in May 2007. His brother, Glyn Llewellyn, also played i ...

said that Williams was "the fittest and most powerful man" he ever played rugby with. Williams was one of three players in Neath's "farming" front row, alongside his near neighbours Kevin Phillips and fellow prop

Jeremy Pugh Jeremy David Pugh (born 4 March 1960) is a former international rugby union player. He played for the Wales national rugby union team in the late 1980s. Pugh played his club rugby for Neath. He first played for Wales in 1987 against the USA. Al ...

, later replaced by neighbour John Davies. Williams played in the Neath side that was Welsh Club Champions in 1986/7, 1988/9 and 1989/90, won the inaugural

Welsh Premier Division The Welsh Premier Division, () known for sponsorship reasons as the Indigo Group Premiership, (''Uwch Gynghrair grŵp indigo'') is a rugby union league in Wales first implemented by the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) for the 1990–91 season. Compe ...

title in 1990/1, and also won the

WRU Challenge Cup The WRU Challenge Cup (currently known as the Specsavers Cup due to sponsorship), or its full name of the Welsh Rugby Union Challenge Cup, is Wales' premier knockout rugby union competition and is organised by the Welsh Rugby Union. On 26 Februar ...

in 1988/9 and 1989/90. Williams featured in the Neath side that set new world records for tries (385) and points (1917) in the 1988-89 season; and played for the club against several international touring sides. His build may have delayed him being selected to play for Wales, and he had to wait for his international debut until 1990, by which time Neath coach Ron Waldron had taken charge of the Welsh team. He made his first appearance for Wales in a Five Nations match against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

on 3 March 1990. He played in five international matches, all defeats, his final international being the Five Nations match against Scotland at

Murrayfield Murrayfield is an affluent area to the west of Edinburgh city centre in Scotland. It is to the east of Corstorphine and north of Balgreen and Roseburn. The A8 road runs east–west through the south of the area. Murrayfield is often conside ...

on 2 February 1991. When Ospreys prop

Duncan Jones Duncan Zowie Haywood Jones (born 30 May 1971) is a British film director, film producer and screenwriter. He is best known for directing the films ''Moon'' (2009), ''Source Code'' (2011), ''Warcraft'' (2016), and ''Mute'' (2018). For ''Moon'', ...

led

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

for the first time in June 2006, he said that he had "always looked up to Brian Williams in the way he played." Williams retired from the first-class game in 1995 to run his dairy farm, having played over 250 games for Neath.

Death

Williams died at the age of 46 in

Llangolman Llangolman () is a village and parish in the southeastern Preseli Hills in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is part of the community of Mynachlog-ddu. There are prehistoric remains nearby and the parish has a history of slate and clay quarrying. His ...

, in Pembrokeshire of a suspected

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

, having been actively involved in a club reunion at

The Gnoll The Gnoll ( cy, Y Gnol) in Neath, Wales is a sports ground, with a capacity of 6,000 (formerly 15,000). It is used primarily for rugby union and rugby league, although it has also been used previously for association football and cricket. The stad ...

rugby ground only four days earlier. He was survived by his wife and two daughters.

References

External links

Neath Rugby in mourning for one of its all time great players
from

Sporting Heroes - Brian Williams

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Brian 1960 births 2007 deaths Narberth RFC players Neath RFC players Rugby union players from Pembrokeshire Rugby union props Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union players