Ian Malcolm Williams (born 23 September 1963 in Sydney,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

) is an Australian former rugby union player who played as wing. He played for both Australia and Japan. He is nicknamed Peabody.

Career

Williams attendeded Epping Boys High School and Cranbrook School in Sydney. Before playing rugby, he played for Australia Under 19 baseball team and won the Combined Associated Schools 100 metres sprint crown with a time of 10.8 seconds. He played for the

Australian Schoolboys rugby union team The Australian Schoolboys & U18 rugby union team is the national team for schoolboy rugby union & U18 players in Australia. Considered to be the pinnacle of schoolboy & U18 rugby in Australia, the team plays in fixtures against other national ...

, and was the sprint champion of Combined Associated Schools. He then started his senior career in

Eastwood Eastwood may refer to: Places ;in Australia *Eastwood, New South Wales **Eastwood railway station **Electoral district of Eastwood *Eastwood, South Australia ;in Canada * Eastwood, Ontario *Eastwood, Edmonton, Alberta, a neighborhood ;in the Ph ...

. His debut against another country was in a match against Fiji, playing for Sydney in 1983. Sydney won the match 38 to 14, with a try scored by Williams. He debuted for the New South Wales representative team against an early-season tour of the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

, where New South Wales suffered a loss of 10 to 37. Williams debuted for the Wallabies in the 1984 tour of the British Isles, where originally he was not part of the Australian squad, but was called up as replacement after

Brendan Moon Brendan Moon (born 10 October 1958) is an Australian former rugby union wing who played for the Queensland Reds in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Moon played 100 games for Queensland and also played in the premiership winning Brothers Old Boy ...

injured an arm during the match against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Williams played only four matches in the tour, which was known as the Grand Slam Tour, with the Wallabies defeating England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. He made his test debut for Australia in the match against

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, at

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, on 31 October 1987. He last cap for Australia was against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

, on 21 July 1990, during the 1990

Bledisloe Cup The Bledisloe Cup is an annual rugby union competition originally staged between the national teams of Australia's Wallabies and New Zealand's All Blacks that has been contested since the 1930s. The frequency that the competition is held has va ...

. Williams also played in

The Varsity Match The Varsity Match is an annual rugby union fixture played between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge in England. The event began in 1872 with the first men's match, with interruptions only for the two World Wars. Since 1921, the game has ...

for

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

, which he also attended before finishing his studies. Later, he moved to Japan, where he played for

Kobe Steel Kobe Steel, Ltd. (株式会社神戸製鋼所, ''Kabushiki gaisha Kōbe Seikō-sho''), is a major Japanese steel manufacturer headquartered in Chūō-ku, Kobe. KOBELCO is the unified brand name of the Kobe Steel Group. Kobe Steel has the low ...

, where he was part of the squad of the club's golden age. With Kobe Steel, Williams won six

Japan Company Rugby Football Championship The Japan Company Rugby Football Championship (全国社会人ラグビーフットボール大会 ''Zenkoku Shakaijin Ragubi- Futtobo-ru Taikai'') is a former Japanese rugby union competition that ran from 1948 to 2003. Teams from companies or the ...

s and six

All-Japan Rugby Football Championship The All-Japan Rugby Football Championship (日本ラグビーフットボール選手権大会 ''Nihon Ragubi- Futtobo-ru Senshuken Taikai'') is played at the end of the season and is doubling as the title playoff in the Top League. The first champ ...

s. In 1993, Williams was called up to the Japan team by coach Osamu Koyabu. His only cap for Japan was against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, in

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 16 October 1993, where after Japan's defeat against Wales for 55–5, he would not be called up again for the national team.Kobelco Steelers: Le mythique club japonais
/ref>

References

External links

1963 births Living people Rugby union players from Sydney Australian rugby union players Japanese rugby union players Australian expatriate sportspeople in Japan Rugby union wings Australia international rugby union players Japan international rugby union players Kobelco Kobe Steelers players Alumni of the University of Oxford Oxford University RFC players Australian expatriate sportspeople in England People educated at Cranbrook School, Sydney {{Australia-rugbyunion-bio-stub