by John Peter Rhys Williams – known simply as JPR and who has died aged 74 – was one of Wales’ most famous players during his country’s golden age in the 1970s.
The tough set-back gained a reputation around the world for his fearless defensive play, rock-solid safety under high balls and attacking prowess alongside the likes of Gareth Edwards, Barry John, Phil Bennett and Gerald Davies. .
The JPR moniker came into effect in 1973 to distinguish him from fellow Wales team-mate John JJ Williams, and it was a rugby career in which he won 55 Test caps over 12 seasons, as an integral part of the British Lions Test and Ireland in 1971 and 1974. teams and taking his place among a small group of Britons to win three Championships.
Always socks around his ankles and long magnificent sideburns, he was as popular with rugby supporters as any of his illustrious peers, and away from rugby circles, he became an orthopedic surgeon and was a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons.
However, given Williams’ prowess as a junior tennis player, it could have been a different story altogether.
Born near the central Glamorgan town of Kilbridge on March 2, 1949, Williams attended Boys’ Grammar School, Drumbridge and then Millfield School in Somerset, emphasizing his tennis ability by playing and winning the British junior tournament at the All England Club, Wimbledon, beating former Great Britain Davis Cup captain David Lloyd.
But it was rugby union that led him to a career in medicine, qualifying as a doctor in 1973 after studying at St Mary’s Hospital Medical School, London, by which time he was established firm as a punctual full-back.
“I used to say that I spent half my life breaking bones on the rugby field, then putting the other half back together in the theatre,” he said in his 2007 JPR book Given The Breaks – My Life In Rugby .
In terms of his club career, JPR was part of the great London England team throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s, hitting everyone with a brilliant brand of rugby that reaped its ultimate rewards. when there were seven players from the Exiles – JPR included. – were selected for the Lions’ 1971 tour of New Zealand, led by Welsh training expert Carwyn James.
Williams went on to play a major role in the four-match Test series, including scoring a decisive goal in the All Blacks’ final, which secured a 14–14 draw and secured the series victory Test 2-1, it was an achievement. which no Lions team touring to New Zealand has matched since.
He had been capped for Wales as a 19-year-old two years earlier, and by the time his decorated international career ended with his retirement in 1981, he had established himself in Welsh rugby folklore. .
Renowned for turning defense into attack through a fearless, physical approach, Wales knew they could rely on a rock-like player who had little reflections on his own security often on his bravery under a high ball.
Self-preservation has never been high on his agenda, as triumphantly demonstrated when he blocked a certain game-changing effort on French winger Jean-Francois Gourdon during the Five Nations in 1976 by marketing it anxiously at the corner. and Gourdon sprinted straight out.
In the current era of rugby, Williams might have conceded a penalty for the shoulder-directed challenge, but perhaps a moment of raw-boned corporal has taken his place in the Welsh rugby history books.
Williams’ high pain threshold was graphically highlighted during the Bridgehead match against the All Blacks on the 1978 tour. Having joined the Welsh club two years earlier, he was a key player in their hopes of disrupting the New Zealand at the Brewery.
But during the game New Zealand prop John Ashworth stamped on, which left Williams needing 30 stitches – administered by his doctor father Peter – before he recovered. back into the action.
That single incident, as ugly as it was, showed a player who seemed to show no pain, whether of the physical or mental kind.
Williams had captained Wales five times by the time he retired from Test rugby – he also went on a second, successful Lions tour to South Africa in 1974 – and held a record amazing that he has never been in a Welsh team that has lost against England in 10 Tests.
He earned an MBE for his contribution to the sport, and his natural prowess meant that he continued to play in the early 50s for village club Tondu, often in the back row, before finally hanging up his boots in 2003.
Like many of his rugby international colleagues, Williams has done a lot for charity, which he demonstrated by climbing Mount Kilimanjaro which saw a six-figure sum raised for the National Society for the Rescue of Children.
Williams, who worked as a consultant at the Princess of Wales Hospital, Bridgehead, is survived by his wife Scilla and four children.
