Gethin Rhys Williams (born 23 February 1980 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 ...

) is 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 ...

player who played for

Cardiff Blues Cardiff Rugby ( cy, Rygbi Caerdydd) are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby competitions. Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arms ...

and won 44 caps for the

Wales national rugby union team The Wales national rugby union team ( cy, Tîm rygbi'r undeb cenedlaethol Cymru) represents Wales in men's international rugby union. Its governing body, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), was established in 1881, the same year that Wales played thei ...

as a full-back and winger. During the 2005-2006 season Williams was the captain of the Cardiff Blues. Educated at Ysgol Iolo Morganwg (the Welsh-medium primary school in Cowbridge) and Cowbridge Comprehensive School, Rhys Williams is a versatile back, who has played at wing, centre and full back for Cardiff Blues, although full-back is his preferred position. He played here when helping

Cardiff RFC Cardiff Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Caerdydd) is a rugby union club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876Parry-Jones (1989), pg 59 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, shortly after ...

win the Welsh-Scottish League title in 1999-2000. He represented Wales at all age levels from Under 16 to Under 21, and played in the Youth World Cup in 1999 when Wales reached the final, losing to New Zealand along with fellow Cardiff Blues player Jamie Robinson. He made his debut for the full national side in a

Six Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) is an annual international men's rugby union competition between the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The current champions ar ...

match 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 ...

in Dublin in 2000, playing at full-back. In the early part of the 2005 Six Nations, Williams was out of the Wales side with thumb ligament damage, but came on as a substitute against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

when Gareth Thomas was injured. He did well enough to earn a place in the starting lineup as a winger in the following match against

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 ...

, with Kevin Morgan moving to full-back. Williams scored two tries, including an 80-metre effort following an interception. He missed the final match of the campaign against Ireland through injury.

Testimonial

In the 2007/2008 season, Rhys Williams celebrated a testimonial year, having spent 10 seasons playing for Cardiff.

References

External links

Cardiff profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Rhys 1980 births Living people Rugby union players from Cardiff Wales international rugby union players Rugby union fullbacks Rugby union wings Commonwealth Games rugby sevens players of Wales Cardiff Rugby players Cardiff RFC players Rugby sevens players at the 2006 Commonwealth Games