Rhys Haydn Williams (14 July 1930 – 27 January 1993), born in

Cwmllynfell Cwmllynfell () is the name of a village, community and electoral ward in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. Amenities Cwmllynfell has its own local rugby union team - Cwmllynfell RFC. Also, a bilingual primary school, supermarket, post of ...

, was a Welsh

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 forward who gained 23 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 ...

and ten consecutive caps for the British Lions. At club level he played primarily for

Llanelli RFC Llanelli Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Llanelli) is a Welsh rugby union club founded on 30 March 1872. The club's historic home ground was Stradey Park in Llanelli, but they moved in 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent Pembert ...

, captaining them for a season. He also represented the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less c ...

becoming the most capped Welsh representative of the club. In his later life he became a sports administrator, including the role of vice-president of the

Welsh Rugby Union The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; cy, Undeb Rygbi Cymru) is the Sports governing body, governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby. The WRU is responsible for the running ...

. Rugby historian John Griffiths described Williams as "the finest line-jumper in the world" and "the most accomplished British lock of the 1950s".Griffiths (1990), p.90

Personal history

Williams was born in the small village of

in 1930.Jenkins (1930), p.171 He was educated at

Ystalyfera Ystalyfera is a former industrial village and community in the upper Swansea Valley, on the River Tawe, about northeast of Swansea. It is an electoral ward and a community in the unitary authority of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, comprising a re ...

Grammar School and later matriculated to

University College, Cardiff , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

. After graduating he joined the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

as an education officer.Thomas (1979), p.137 On leaving the forces he later becoming a research chemist for the Steel Company of Wales, and finished his professional career in educational administration as an Assistant Director of Education for

Mid Glamorgan , Government= Mid Glamorgan County Council , Status= Non-metropolitan county (1974–1996) Preserved county (1996–) , Start= 1974 , End= 1996 , Arms= ''Coat of arms of Mid ...

. He died in 1993 in

Whitchurch, Cardiff Whitchurch () is a suburb and Community (Wales), community in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It is approximately 3 miles north of the centre of the city on the A470 road and A4054 road. It falls within the Whitchurch & Tongwynlais ward. ...

Welsh captain, British Lion, Barbarian

While in the RAF, Willimas played in the Inter-Services tournament and for Combined Services. He made his debut in 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. ...

at the age of nineteen, going on to captain the club in the 1957–58 season. He made his debut for Wales in 1954 against

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 ...

and played at international level until 1960, captaining Wales 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 ...

in that year. He played for the

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

, going on the

1955 British Lions tour to South Africa In 1955 the British Lions rugby union team toured Southern and Eastern Africa. The Lions drew the test series against , each team winning two of the four matches. They won the first test by a single point and the third by three points and lost ...

and the

1959 British Lions tour to Australia and New Zealand In 1959, the British Lions rugby union team toured Australia and New Zealand. The Lions won the two test matches against but lost the international series against the All Blacks by three matches to one. They also played two matches in Canada, ...

. On these tours he played in ten consecutive test matches. He also toured Canada and South Africa with the

. Between 1954 and 1959 Williams played 22 matches for the Barbarians, a record number of games for a Welsh player. In the final test against New Zealand in 1959, he won six consecutive line-outs in a critical period of the second half to deny New Zealand the chance to equalise. He was the only forward to be named as 'Player of the Year' in New Zealand during the 1959–1960 season. Andrew Bennett in his book ''Welsh Rugby Heroes'' includes R. H. Williams at No. 4 in his selection of the "all-time greatest" Welsh XV.

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, R. H. 1930 births 1993 deaths Barbarian F.C. players Bristol Bears players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales Combined Services rugby union players Llanelli RFC players Royal Air Force officers Rugby union locks Rugby union players from Cwmllynfell Wales international rugby union players Wales rugby union captains Welsh rugby union players