Gerwyn Williams (22 April 1924 – 10 February 2009) was a Welsh

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, coach and author.

Biography

Williams was born in

Glyncorrwg Glyncorrwg is a village in the Afan Valley, in southern Wales. Glyncorrwg is also the name of an electoral ward and formerly a community covering the village and surrounding countryside, in Neath Port Talbot county borough. Glyncorrwg is part o ...

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

, the son of Ephraim and Catherin (Hopkins) Williams. He attended Port Talbot County School and

Loughborough College Overview Loughborough College is a large general further education college in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It provides both further education (FE) and higher education (HE) courses on a single campus. The colleg ...

after serving in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Rugby career

Williams began playing rugby in grammar school, and won his first

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

as a U-15 player with Wales against England. He continued at Loughborough, playing on the College XV. As a professional, Williams played fullback for

Llanelli RFC Llanelli Rugby Football Club () is a Welsh rugby union club founded on 30 March 1872. The club's historic home ground was Stradey Park in Llanelli, but they moved in 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent Pemberton. The club song is " ...

and

London Welsh London Welsh Rugby Football Club () was a rugby union club formed in 1885. Based in Old Deer Park, Richmond-upon-Thames, London Welsh RFC played in the English Premiership in the 2012–13 and 2014–15 seasons, after gaining promotion from ...

, as well as on the

Wales national rugby union team 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 agai ...

from 1950 to 1954. He won his first senior cap in the Triple Crown deciding match against Ireland in 1950. In 1952, Williams played on the Grand Slam winning team, and he was the fullback in the last Wales team to beat the New Zealand All Blacks.

Post-rugby career

Williams was forced to retire from rugby due to a recurring collar-bone injury. In his post-rugby career, he became a school PE teacher in Harrow Grammar school, before moving to private education at

Whitgift School Whitgift School is an independent day school with limited boarding in South Croydon, London. Along with Trinity School of John Whitgift and Old Palace School it is owned by the Whitgift Foundation, a charitable trust. The school was prev ...

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

. He was better known for his frequent use of the slipper than any great craft as a maths or geography master. Williams was the author of four rugby union training manuals: * ''Modern Rugby'' (1964) * ''Schoolboy Rugby'' (1966) * ''Tackle Rugger This Way'' (1968) * ''Tackle Rugger'' (1975) He died in

Clare, Suffolk Clare is a market town and civil parish on the north bank of the River River Stour, Suffolk, Stour in the West Suffolk District, West Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. Clare is in southwest Suffolk, from Bury St Edmunds and ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Gerwyn 1924 births 2009 deaths Barbarian F.C. players Devonport Services R.F.C. players Llanelli RFC players London Welsh RFC players People educated at Port Talbot County Boys' Grammar School Royal Navy personnel of World War II Rugby union fullbacks Rugby union players from Neath Port Talbot Taibach RFC players Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union coaches Welsh rugby union players Welsh sportswriters London Counties rugby union players