William Edward Osborne Williams (15 December 1866 – 22 June 1945) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cardiff and London Welsh. Williams was capped for Wales five times over a period of four years.

Rugby career

Williams was educated at

St John's School, Leatherhead Seek those things which are above , established = , closed = , type = Public SchoolIndependent school Co-educational day, weekly and flexi boarding , religious_affiliation = Church of England , p ...

. He first came to prominence as a rugby player while representing Cardiff, a team he captained after

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.Marshall, Francis ''Football; the Rugby union game'' (1892) Cassell and company Ltd. pg 265 Williams was first selected for the Welsh national rugby team in a game against Scotland as part of the

1887 Home Nations Championship The 1887 Home Nations Championship was the fifth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship, Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 8 January and 12 March. It was contested by England national rugby union team, England, ...

. Williams was one of three new Welsh caps chosen for the match, along with half-back

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and full-back Hugh Hughes. The game was a one-sided affair with Scotland scoring 12 tries without reply. Despite the crushing defeat the selectors kept faith with the squad, making few changes. Williams was reselected for the next game of the Championship, played at Birkenhead, which Wales won, mainly thanks to a drop goal from Arthur 'Monkey' Gould. Williams didn't play during the 1888 Championship, but played one game during the

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tournament. Under the captaincy of

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, Williams found himself part of another away loss to Scotland, but this time was not in the squad that faced Ireland in the last game of the Championship. Williams played two more games for the Wales team, both in the

1890 Home Nations Championship The 1890 Home Nations Championship was the eighth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 1 February and 15 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Table Results ...

. The opening game of the tournament saw Wales lose to Scotland, but Williams' last international match was a historic first win for the Welsh team over England. Williams may well have played in more international games, but while playing for Cardiff in an encounter against

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay Europe Ireland *Newport, County Mayo, a town on the ...

in November 1890, Williams sustained a serious injury which ending his rugby career.Davies (1975), pg 35. Williams had only just be given the captaincy of Cardiff, and his vice-captain, D.W. Evans was promoted to captain after Williams' retirement.

International games played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 473. * 1890 * 1887 * 1887, 1889, 1890

Bibliography

* * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, William 1866 births 1945 deaths Welsh rugby union players Rugby union forwards Cardiff RFC players Wales international rugby union players London Welsh RFC players People educated at St John's School, Leatherhead