Cliff Williams (rugby union, born 1898)

Last updated

Cliff Williams
Birth nameClifford Williams
Date of birth(1898-04-20)20 April 1898
Place of birth Llangennech, Wales
Date of death28 May 1930(1930-05-28) (aged 32)
Place of death Cardiff, Wales
SchoolLlangennech School
Occupation(s)police officer
Rugby union career
Position(s) Hooker
Amateur team(s)
YearsTeamApps(Points)
Llangennech RFC ()
?-1925 Llanelli RFC ()
1925–1927 Cardiff RFC ()
– Glamorgan Police RFC ()
– Royal Navy ()
– Bargoed RFC ()
International career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1924–1925 Wales 2 (0)

Clifford Williams (20 April 1898 – 28 May 1930) [1] was a Welsh international rugby union hooker who played club rugby most notably for Llanelli and Cardiff. Williams played two matches for Wales, against New Zealand in 1924 and England in 1925.

Contents

Personal history

Williams was born in Llangennech in 1898, becoming a collier on leaving school. He served in the Royal Navy during the First World War, and on return to civilian duties he joined the Glamorgan Constabulary. He died at the age of 32, shortly after his marriage. [2]

Rugby career

Williams first played rugby as a schoolboy, representing Llangennech School, before progressing to the Llangennech club. He switched to first-class side Llanelli, and while at the club he was first selected for the Wales national side in a game against the 1924 touring New Zealanders. Initially the Aberavon forward, Bob Randall, had been the preferred choice as hooker, but withdrew with a knee injury, allowing Williams to take his place. [3] The match was a one-sided affair with Wales outclassed in speed and combination, but the Welsh forwards worked tirelessly against a much heavier pack. [4] The game ended 19–0 to New Zealand. [5]

Just three days later, on 2 December, Williams faced the New Zealand 'All Blacks' again, this time as part of his club team Llanelli. Williams, along with Albert Jenkins and Ernie Finch, who were also part of the Wales team that faced New Zealand, inspired the team in a close encounter. [6] It was only some poor Llanelli kicking that cost the club team a victory over an exceptional touring side. [7]

Williams won his second and final cap in the England encounter of the 1925 Five Nations Championship. The next season, Williams switched club to Cardiff, spending two years and making 39 appearances for the 'Blue and Blacks'. His time with the Royal Navy and Glamorgan Constabulary, saw him represent the rugby teams of both.

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry John</span> Welsh rugby union player (1945–2024)

Barry John was a Welsh rugby union fly-half who played in the 1960s and early 1970s during the amateur era of the sport. John began his rugby career as a schoolboy playing for his local team Cefneithin RFC before switching to the first-class west Wales team Llanelli RFC in 1964. Whilst at Llanelli, John was selected for the Wales national team—as a replacement for David Watkins—to face a touring Australian team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cardiff RFC</span> Welsh rugby union club, based in Cardiff

Cardiff Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, shortly after which relocating to Cardiff Arms Park where they have been based ever since.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhys Gabe</span> British Lions & Wales international rugby union footballer

Rhys Thomas "Rusty" Gabe born as Rees Thomas Gape, was a Welsh rugby union player who played club rugby for Llanelli, London Welsh and Cardiff and gained 24 caps for Wales, mainly as a centre.

Jim Lang was a Welsh international rugby union number 8 who played club rugby for Llanelli and Swansea. Whilst with Llanelli he faced two touring Southern Hemisphere teams, the South Africans in 1931 and New Zealand in 1935.

Ernie Finch was a Welsh international rugby union wing and played club rugby for Llanelli and county rugby for the Western Counties. Finch is most notable as the player who scored an excellent solo try against the 1924 touring New Zealand 'Invincibles' in their match against Llanelli.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dai Parker</span> British Lions & Wales international rugby union footballer

Dai Parker was a Welsh international rugby union prop who played club rugby for Swansea. He won ten caps for Wales and was selected to play in the 1930 British Lions tour of New Zealand and Australia.

David Percy Marmaduke Lloyd was a Welsh international rugby union wing who played club rugby for Llanelli. Lloyd played for Wales on four occasions during the 1890 and 1891 Home Nations Championships.

The 1969 Wales rugby union tour was a series of rugby union games undertaken by the Wales national rugby union team to Australia, Fiji and New Zealand. The tour took in four matches against regional and invitational teams and three tests; two to New Zealand and one to Australia. This was the second official Wales tour to the southern hemisphere and the first to Australasia and Melanesia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Towers (rugby union)</span> Wales international rugby union player

William Hunter Towers was an English-born rugby union forward who played club rugby for Swansea and county rugby for Durham. He was capped twice for Wales and was part of the Welsh team that faced the first overseas tourists, the New Zealand Natives.

Griffith 'Giotto' Griffiths was a Welsh international rugby union half-back who played club rugby for Llanelli and international rugby for Wales.

Quentin Dick Kedzlie was a Scottish-born international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cardiff and international rugby for Wales. In his later life he became the chairman of the South Wales Baseball Association.

Tom Morgan was a Welsh international rugby union centre who played club rugby for Llanelli and international rugby for Wales. Morgan was a collier by profession.

Daniel Griffiths was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Llanelli and international rugby for Wales. Morgan was a collier by profession.

Edward John Roberts was a Welsh international rugby union fullback who played club rugby for Llanelli and international rugby for Wales.

George Rosser Evans was an international rugby union half-back who played club rugby for Cardiff and international rugby for Wales. Rosser is notable for facing the touring New Zealand Māoris, the first touring Southern Hempishere rugby team, when they lost to Cardiff in 1888.

David "Dai" Westacott was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cardiff. Westacott played a single international game for Wales 8n as part of the Glamorgan county team in 1905.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Powell (rugby union)</span> Welsh rugby union player

John "Jack" Anderson Powell was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cardiff and London Welsh. Powell played a single international game for Wales, in 1906, and faced the Original All Blacks as part of the Glamorgan county team in 1905 and the South African team as a member of the Cardiff team in 1907.

Glamorgan County RFC is a Welsh rugby union club that manages an invitational team, known as Glamorgan that originally played rugby at county level. The team is made up of amateur players from sports clubs in the Glamorgan region and historically played matches against other county teams from Wales and England, and during the 20th century was a key fixture for touring international teams. Today the club manages Glamorgan's premier rugby union tournament, the Glamorgan County Silver Ball Trophy, and arranges invitational Glamorgan teams to face Welsh rugby clubs during celebrations, such as anniversaries.

Richard Jenkin David was a Welsh international rugby union scrum-half who played club rugby for Cardiff, and county rugby for Glamorgan. He was capped for the Wales national team on only one occasion, but faced two national touring teams with Cardiff. Later in his career he 'Went North' joining professional rugby league team Wigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Alf Brown</span> Welsh rugby union player

John "Jack" Alf Brown, colloquially known as John Alf or "Big John", was a Welsh international rugby union forward player who played club rugby for Cardiff and county rugby for Glamorgan. Brown was capped seven times for Wales and although he missed facing the first touring South African team in 1906 with Wales, he faced the tourist with both Cardiff and Glamorgan.

References

  1. ↑ Cliff Williams player profile ESPN Scrum.com
  2. ↑ Jenkins (1991) p. 167
  3. ↑ Billot (1972) p.67
  4. ↑ Billot (1972) p.68
  5. ↑ "New Zealand tour – Swansea, 29 November 1924, Wales (0) 0 – 19 (11) New Zealand". ESPNscrum. Retrieved 29 April 2011.
  6. ↑ Billot (1972) p.70
  7. ↑ Billot (1972) p.69
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.