Gareth Owen Llewellyn (born 27 February 1969), is a
Welsh former
rugby union
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
player who gained a record 92 caps for
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
as a
lock
Lock(s) or Locked may refer to:
Common meanings
*Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance
*Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal
Arts and entertainme ...
. 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 .
Rugby career
Llewellyn started his playing career at
Llanharan RFC and then moved on to play first class rugby at
Neath
Neath (; ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a population of 19,2 ...
,
Harlequins,
Ospreys and
Narbonne
Narbonne ( , , ; ; ; Late Latin:) is a commune in Southern France in the Occitanie region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and was ...
, and signed for
Bristol Shoguns at the beginning of the 2005–06 season.
After excelling in the line-out for Neath in their match against the touring
New Zealand All Blacks on 25 October 1989, he made his debut for Wales ten days later against the same opposition and went on to win a total of 92 caps, breaking the record of 87 held by
Neil Jenkins
Neil Jenkins, (born 8 July 1971) is a Welsh former rugby union player and current coach. He played fly half, fly-half, centre (rugby union), centre, or fullback (rugby union), full back for Pontypridd RFC, Pontypridd, Cardiff RFC, Cardiff, Ce ...
in the test against
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
on 12 June 2004.
He captained Wales on 7 occasions and appeared in three
Rugby World Cup
The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World championship, world champions of the sport.
The tournament is administer ...
s –
1995
1995 was designated as:
* United Nations Year for Tolerance
* World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War
This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...
,
1999
1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons.
Events January
* January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers.
* January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
and
2003
2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater.
In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War.
Demographic ...
. He played his last match for Wales in November 2004 against New Zealand. Such was his longevity that he played international rugby in three different decades and under eight different coaches. Following the 2004–05 season, he announced his retirement from international rugby. He was unlucky not to be selected for the Lions squad in 1993 to tour New Zealand.
From the beginning of the 2008–09 season, Llewellyn combined playing with a coaching role at Welsh First Division club
Tonmawr.
Llewellyn takes on Tonmawr task
BBC Sport, 4 August 2008 Since the 2009–10 season he is head coach at South West One West side Thornbury RFC working alongside Bristol's Darren Crompton and Rob Higgitt formerly of Bristol Rugby
Bristol Bears (officially Bristol Rugby Club or Bristol Rugby) are a professional rugby union club based in Bristol, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.
The club was founded as Bristol Football Club in 18 ...
, the Scarlets
The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby c ...
and Worcester RFC.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Llewellyn, Gareth
1969 births
Living people
Rugby union players from Cardiff
Welsh rugby union players
Wales international rugby union players
Rugby union locks
Harlequin F.C. players
Bristol Bears players
Wales rugby union captains
Neath RFC players
Llanharan RFC players
Ospreys (rugby union) players
RC Narbonne players
1995 Rugby World Cup players
1999 Rugby World Cup players
2003 Rugby World Cup players
Welsh expatriate rugby union players in France