Gareth Williams (born 5 September 1981) is a Welsh former

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 as a flanker. Born in

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location in ...

but raised in the village of

Tumble, Carmarthenshire Tumble ( cy, Tymbl), is a village situated south of Cross Hands near the towns of Carmarthen and Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, Wales. Tumble, along with Cross Hands is part of the Community (Wales), community of Llannon.Davies (2008), pg 503. The ...

, he played club rugby for

Llanelli Llanelli ("St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. ...

, Carmarthen Quins and

Llandovery Llandovery (; cy, Llanymddyfri ) is a market town and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It lies on the River Tywi and at the junction of the A40 and A483 roads, about north-east of Carmarthen, north of Swansea and west of Brecon. Histo ...

, and was also part of the

Llanelli Scarlets The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup (which ...

regional side for the first season of regional rugby in Wales in 2002–03. At international level, he represented Wales at every level from under-16 to under-21. Williams made his senior debut for Llanelli in November 2000, and made a total of three appearances during the 2000–01 season. In January 2001, he scored two tries in a win over

Abercynon Abercynon (), is both a village and a community (and electoral ward) in the Cynon Valley within the unitary authority of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. The community comprises the village and the districts of Carnetown and Grovers Field to the south, ...

. He made five appearances in the 2001–02 season, and scored another try after coming off the bench in a win over Newbridge. In 2002–03, he divided his time between Llanelli and Carmarthen Quins, playing 16 times for Llanelli and 13 times for Quins, for whom he scored all six of his tries that season. In 2003–04, he again played for both Llanelli and Quins, but was also part of the squad for the Scarlets regional side and made three appearances in the opening months of the season before a run of five starts in February and March 2004, in the absence of Ian Boobyer due to injury. He scored his only try for the region in a 37–20 win at home to

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

on 20 February 2004, also his first appearance at home for the region. In the next two seasons, Williams played exclusively for Carmarthen Quins, before moving to Llandovery, where he played for the next four years, after which he returned to Quins. His last game in senior rugby came in November 2010, in a loss to

Neath Neath (; cy, Castell-nedd) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a po ...

References

External links

*Llanelli RFC profiles
Scarlets and Llanelli RFC in the pre-regional era

Llanelli RFC in the regional eraCarmarthen Quins RFC profileLlandovery RFC profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Gareth 1981 births Living people Rugby union players from Aberystwyth Rugby union players from Carmarthenshire Rugby union flankers Welsh rugby union players Llanelli RFC players Carmarthen Quins RFC players Llandovery RFC players Scarlets players