John Peter Rhys Williams (born 2 March 1949) is a former Welsh

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

player who represented

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

in international rugby during their Golden Era in the 1970s. He became known universally as J. P. R. Williams (or sometimes just as JPR) after 1973 when J. J. Williams (also John) joined the Welsh team. Playing in the position of full back, he was noted for his aggressive attacking style. With his long sideboards and socks around his ankles, "JPR" was an iconic figure on the legendary 1970s Wales team. However, despite playing full back throughout his international career, his favourite position was flanker, where he played for Tondu at the end of his career. He is one of a small group of Welsh players to have won three Grand Slams including Gerald Davies, Gareth Edwards, Ryan Jones, Adam Jones, Gethin Jenkins and Alun Wyn Jones. An orthopaedic surgeon by profession, Williams has continued to be involved in rugby since retirement, currently serving as president of the Bridgend Ravens.

Early life

Williams was born just outside

Bridgend Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the medieval bridge over the River Og ...

, Wales, and was educated at Bridgend Boys Grammar School (now Brynteg Comprehensive School) and then Millfield School in Somerset, as was his Wales teammate Gareth Edwards. As well as being a

player, Williams was also a successful

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball c ...

player at youth level, before fully committing to rugby. He won the 1966 British Junior title at the

All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, also known as the All England Club, based at Church Road, Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, London, England, is a Gentlemen's club, private members' club. It is best known as the venue for the Wimbledon ...

in Wimbledon, beating David Lloyd 6–4, 6–4; this is often erroneously cited as being a Junior Wimbledon victory, including in J.P.R.'s autobiography, when in fact it was won by Vladimir Korotkov.

Rugby career

Williams' focus moved from

to rugby union, which was an amateur sport, in order to pursue a career in

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, and Health promotion ...

. He quickly attracted attention and was consequently first capped by Wales in 1969, aged 19. He went on to earn 55 caps for Wales, five as captain, and eight for the

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...

. He played club rugby for

, London Welsh and Tondu. He also played a few games for shortly after the 1974 Lions tour. Williams had many high points in his career, being a key player in a Welsh side that won Grand Slams in 1971, 1976, and 1978, and is particularly remembered for his record against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. In 10 tests between Wales and England he scored five tries – exceptional for a fullback – and was never on the losing side. He was also outstanding for the

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

, winning the 1971 series against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

with a long-range drop-goal. In the 1974 'invincible' series against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

he again played a major role. He is known for developing the role of the fullback, in particular attacking from a defensive position often following an audacious jump for a high ball. He is also remembered for his part in The greatest try ever scored. Williams chose not to go on the

1977 British Lions tour to New Zealand In 1977 the British Lions rugby union team toured New Zealand. The Lions played 26 matches, including four internationals against the All Blacks. They lost the series against the All Blacks by three matches to one. The team played as the Briti ...

, after being advised by his consultant to focus on his medical career. In the same year he was appointed MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) for services to Rugby. Williams was one of the inaugural inductees of the International Rugby Hall of Fame in 1997. Williams retired from international rugby union in 1981 and continued his career as an orthopaedic surgeon. However, he continued to play club rugby for many years, playing throughout the 1980s and 1990s for

and then for Tondu Thirds into his fifties. He finally retired in March 2003.

Non-rugby career

Williams has represented several cricket teams, particularly the

Lord's Taverners The Lord's Taverners is the UK's leading youth cricket and disability sports charity. Its charitable objective is to empower and positively impact the lives of young people facing the challenges of inequality.'. It was founded in 1950 by a group ...

team, between 1976 and 2004. Williams studied medicine at

St Mary's Hospital Medical School St Mary's is the youngest of the constituent schools of Imperial College London, founded in 1854 as part of the new hospital in Paddington. During its existence in the 1980s and 1990s, it was the most popular medical school in the country, wit ...

, qualifying as a physician in 1973. He became a Fellow of the

Royal College of Surgeons The Royal College of Surgeons is an ancient college (a form of corporation) established in England to regulate the activity of surgeons. Derivative organisations survive in many present and former members of the Commonwealth. These organisations ar ...

in 1980. In 2012 was chosen by Move Sports to be the ambassador of the 2012 Portugal Rugby Festival. He was the subject of ''

This Is Your Life This Is Your Life may refer to: Television * ''This Is Your Life'' (American franchise), an American radio and television documentary biography series hosted by Ralph Edwards * ''This Is Your Life'' (Australian TV series), the Australian versio ...

'' in 1979 when he was surprised by

Eamonn Andrews Eamonn Andrews, (19 December 1922 – 5 November 1987) was an Irish radio and television presenter, employed primarily in the United Kingdom from the 1950s to the 1980s. From 1960 to 1964 he chaired the Radio Éireann Authority (now the RTÉ A ...

at Thames Television's Teddington Studios. In January 2006, in a party of 16 Welsh men and women, he climbed

Mount Kilimanjaro Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It has three volcanic cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world: above sea level and ab ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

for charity, helping to raise more than £200,000 for the

NSPCC The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) is a British child protection charity. History Victorian era On a trip to New York in 1881, Liverpudlian businessman Thomas Agnew was inspired by a visit to the New Y ...

's 'Full Stop' Campaign.

Welsh honours and statistics

* First cap: 1 February 1969, Murrayfield,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

( 3 –

17) * His fifty-five caps comprised 37 wins, four draws, and 14 defeats * Member of three Grand Slam-winning teams: 1971, 1976, 1978. * Member of six Triple Crown-winning teams: 1969, 1971, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979 * Scored 36 points (five four-point tries and one three-point try; three penalty goals and two conversions) * Captained Wales five times (1978–79 – Championship and Triple Crown Season) * Final cap: 7 February 1981, Murrayfield,

( 15 –

6) (Source)

References

External links

* at The International Rugby Hall of Fame
Profile
at ESPN Scrum
100 Welsh Heroes: #24 J.P.R. Williams
Paul Doyle, ''The Guardian'', 6 October 2006
J.P.R. Williams, full back
BBC News, 18 March 2005

''The Observer'', 6 November 2005 {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, J. P. R. 1949 births Living people 20th-century surgeons 20th-century Welsh medical doctors 21st-century Welsh medical doctors Alumni of St Mary's Hospital Medical School Barbarian F.C. players Bridgend RFC players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales British orthopaedic surgeons Conservative Party (UK) people Crawshays RFC players Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons London Welsh RFC players Members of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Millfield People educated at Ysgol Brynteg Physicians of St Mary's Hospital, London Rugby union fullbacks Rugby union players from Bridgend Tondu RFC players Wales international rugby union players Wales rugby union captains Welsh rugby union players World Rugby Hall of Fame inductees