John Frederick "Jack" Williams (18 November 188228 August 1911) was a Welsh 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 ...

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

who played club rugby for

London Welsh London Welsh Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Cymry Llundain) was a rugby union club formed in 1885. Based in Old Deer Park, Richmond-upon-Thames, London Welsh RFC played in the English Premiership in the 2012–13 and 2014–15 seasons, ...

.Smith (1980), pg 138. He won four caps for

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 ...

between 1905 and 1906 and most notably was a member of the winning Welsh team in the famous '' Match of the Century'' against the

original All Blacks The Original All Blacks (also known simply as "The Originals") were the first New Zealand national rugby union team, New Zealand national rugby union team to tour outside Australasia. They toured the British Isles, France and the United States ...

International career

left, 1905 Wales squad, Williams, back row, second from left Of all the Welsh players who played in the 1905 '' Match of the Century'' "Champions of the World" team, Williams is the most enigmatic. Over his career he achieved by far the lowest number of international caps out of the 1905 team and played the majority of his career outside Wales. It was said that Williams was a good kicker of the ball and "could pick up like a half, pass like a centre and run like a wing". During his club career with London Welsh he captained the club during the 1907/08 season. Williams began playing rugby while in school at

Christ College, Brecon Christ College, Brecon, is a co-educational, boarding and day independent school, located in the cathedral and market town of Brecon in mid-Wales. It currently caters for pupils aged 7–18 years. History Christ College was founded by Roya ...

. After moving to London, he joined Welsh exile club London Welsh, also turning out for English side

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

. Williams made his international debut against Ireland on 11 March 1905 while playing for London Welsh. He was chosen for the 1905 All Blacks game and he proved an excellent choice working well with Harding and Hodges to back up

Dai Jones David John Jones (18 October 1943 – 4 March 2022), known as Dai Jones Llanilar, was a Welsh language television presenter, singer and radio broadcaster. Early life David John Jones was born in Holloway, London, Middlesex, to a family of W ...

in the pack and line out.Smith (1980), pg 162. Williams short international career ended in the disastrous 1906 South African game, where dissent surrounding the pack resulted in a Welsh team without cohesion. The selectors decided a 'clean sweep' was required and very few of that team, including Williams, played for Wales again.Smith (1980), pg 188. In 1908 Williams was chosen to join Harding's Anglo-Welsh team who toured Australia and New Zealand.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 473. *

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

1905 *

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 ...

1905 *

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 ...

1906 *

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 ...

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

British Isles

1908

Later career and death

In 1910, Williams was sent to

Northern Nigeria Northern Nigeria was an autonomous division within Nigeria, distinctly different from the southern part of the country, with independent customs, foreign relations and security structures. In 1962 it acquired the territory of the United Kingd ...

, by the

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created to deal with the colonial affairs of British North America but required also to oversee the increasing number of col ...

to work in the capacity of a commissioner. It was recorded in '' The Sportsman'' that shortly after assuming his post, Williams was shot by a local. The paper went on to state that Williams had recovered from the bullet wound, and that the shooting had been an accident. Williams died the next year, at the age of 28, after contracting

blackwater fever Blackwater fever is a complication of malaria infection in which red blood cells burst in the bloodstream (hemolysis), releasing hemoglobin directly into the blood vessels and into the urine, frequently leading to kidney failure. The disease ...

in Nigeria while on

Colonial Service The Colonial Service, also known as His/Her Majesty's Colonial Service and replaced in 1954 by Her Majesty's Overseas Civil Service (HMOCS), was the British government service that administered most of Britain's overseas possessions, under the aut ...

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Jack 1882 births 1911 deaths Barbarian F.C. players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales British expatriates in Nigeria British shooting survivors Deaths from malaria Glamorgan County RFC players Infectious disease deaths in Nigeria London Welsh RFC players People educated at Christ College, Brecon People from colonial Nigeria Richmond F.C. players Rugby union locks category:Rugby union players from Brecon Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union players