Gareth Powell Williams (6 November 1954 – 12 May 2018) was a
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 ...
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 who played club rugby for
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 ...
. In 1980, he toured
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
with the
British Lions as a replacement for the injured
Stuart Lane.
He had suffered with
multiple system atrophy
Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a rare neurodegenerative disorder characterized by autonomic dysfunction, tremors, slow movement, muscle rigidity, and postural instability (collectively known as parkinsonism) and ataxia. This is caused by progr ...
since 2012 and had been bed-bound since 2017. He died in May 2018.
He was the brother of
Owain Williams.
Notes
1954 births
2018 deaths
Barbarian F.C. players
Bridgend RFC players
British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales
Glamorgan County RFC players
People educated at Ysgol Brynteg
People from Bedlinog
Rugby union flankers
Rugby union players from Merthyr Tydfil County Borough
Wales international rugby union players
Welsh rugby union players
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