William David Charles Carling is an English former rugby union player. He was England's youngest captain, aged 22, and won 72 caps from 1988 to 1996, captaining England 59 times. Under his captaincy, England won Five Nations Grand Slam in 1991, 1992 and 1995, and reached the 1991 World Cup final.
The Wales national rugby union team represents the Welsh Rugby Union in men's international rugby union. Its governing body, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), was established in 1881, the same year that Wales played their first international against England. The team plays its home matches at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, which replaced Cardiff Arms Park as the national stadium of Wales in 1999.
The Welsh Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby.
Rugby union in Wales is considered a large part of Welsh national culture. Rugby union is thought to have reached Wales in the 1850s, with the national body, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) being formed in 1881. Wales are considered to be one of the most successful national sides in Rugby Union, having won the most Six Nations Championships after England, as well as having reached 3 World Cup semi finals in 1987, 2011 and 2019, having finished 3rd in the inaugural competition and having finished 4th in 2011 in a repeat of the first third place play-off. The Welsh team of the 1970s is considered to be arguably the greatest national team of all time, prompting many experts in the game to suggest that had the Rugby World Cup existed during this period, Wales would be amongst the list of World Cup winners. As of November 2021, they are ranked 8th in the world.
Gareth Thomas is a Welsh former professional rugby union and rugby league player, who represented Wales in both codes. Nicknamed "Alfie", he was the first Wales rugby union player to play in 100 test matches, and is currently the sixth-most capped Wales player. He is 15th among international try scorers, and is the third-highest Wales try scorer. He also won four rugby league caps for Wales, scoring three tries.
Gareth Owen Llewellyn, is a Welsh former rugby union player who gained a record 92 caps for Wales as a lock. His record for Wales caps was surpassed by Gareth Thomas in May 2007. His brother, Glyn Llewellyn, also played international rugby union for Wales. His son, Max Llewellyn, plays for Gloucester Rugby.
David John Llewellyn is a Welsh professional golfer.
Marika "Dawainavesi" Vunibaka is a Fijian former rugby union player. He represented the Fiji national team on numerous occasions, including at the 1999 Rugby World Cup in Wales and the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia.
Jason Jones-Hughes is a former professional rugby union player. He primarily played as a centre but could also play on the wing. Born in Sydney, Australia, he played internationally for Wales, making his debut at the 1999 Rugby World Cup after a protracted legal battle over his eligibility with the Australian Rugby Union. He earned three caps before poor form and injuries curtailed his international career. At club level, he played for the New South Wales Waratahs, Newport and Munster. He retired in 2004 after a year in Ireland, having suffered a lower back injury.
Sport in Wales plays a prominent role in Welsh culture. Like the other countries of the United Kingdom, Wales enjoys independent representation in major world sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup and in the Rugby World Cup, but competes as part of Great Britain in some other competitions, including the Olympics.
David Fairleigh is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and current assistant coach for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League (NRL). An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative forward, he played the majority of his club football in Australia for the North Sydney Bears, winning 1994's Rothmans Medal. This was followed by a season at the Newcastle Knights, and another in England at St. Helens, with whom he won the 2001 Challenge Cup Final before retiring. Since retiring in 2001 he has spent the last 19 years coaching in the NRL mainly as an Assistant Coach. Teams he has worked at include the Newcastle Knights, Parramatta Eels, New Zealand Warriors, Penrith Panthers and the Nth Queensland Cowboys.
William Morris Llewellyn was a Welsh international rugby union player. He captained Wales in 1905 and London Welsh in 1902. He was a member of the winning Welsh team who beat the 1905 touring All Blacks in the famous Match of the Century. Llewellyn toured with the British Isles to Australasia in 1904 and won three Triple Crown trophies. He played club rugby for many teams, predominantly for Llwynypia and Newport.
George Llewellyn Lloyd was a Welsh international half-back who played club rugby for Newport and county rugby with Kent. He won 12 caps for Wales and captained the team on one occasion against Scotland.
Stewart Marshall "Steve" Llewellyn was a Welsh rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s. He played club level rugby union (RU) for Abertillery RFC, and representative level rugby league (RL) for Wales and Other Nationalities, and at club level for St. Helens, as a wing, with whom he won two Challenge Cup titles and a Championship, later being inducted into the clubs Hall of Fame.
Louis Augustus Phillips was a Welsh rugby player, who played half-back for Newport RFC, and won four caps for Wales. He was also a talented amateur golfer.
Old Scores is a 1991 television film jointly produced by New Zealand and Wales, about the two countries' mutual national sport of rugby union. It is notable for the appearance of many notable Welsh and New Zealand international rugby players in supporting roles. Old Scores was primarily intended as theatrical release in New Zealand but was shown as a television film in Wales.
Arthur Emyr Jones, usually known as Arthur Emyr, is a former Wales rugby union international. A winger, he played club rugby for Swansea RFC where he remains the club's all-time record try-scorer with 155 tries in 212 games and also for Cardiff RFC where he played 5 games and scored 4 tries. He also gained a Senior Wales Athletics vest. He also played for David Hughes Rugby First XV, Menai Bridge Rugby Club and Aberystwyth University.
Ebbw Vale Rugby League Football Club was a professional rugby league club based in Ebbw Vale, Wales playing in the Welsh League and Northern Union. Based at Bridge End Field, Ebbw Vale were one of the first professional Welsh teams, and the last to disband in 1912 after the failure of the Welsh League. Ebbw Vale produced seven players who would go on to represent the Wales national rugby league team, and were seen as the only Welsh team of the time who could challenge the Northern League.
David Wyn Evans is a former international rugby union player who represented the Wales national team on twelve occasions between 1989 and 1995. He played club rugby for Cardiff RFC and Treorchy RFC.
Max Llewellyn is a Welsh rugby union player who plays for Gloucester as a centre. He is a Wales under-20 international. Llewellyn came through the Cardiff academy, and made his professional debut with the club in 2017, before signing with Gloucester in 2023. Llewellyn has represented Wales, making his debut on 5 August 2023.
