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 Stuart Lane (born 12 November 1952) is a former international rugby union player. In 1980 he toured South Africa with the British and Irish Lions and at the time played club rugby for Cardiff RFC. British and Irish Lions Lane holds the unfo ...

. 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 {{Wales-rugbyunion-bio-stub