J J Williams, stalwart of the great Wales rugby side that dominated the 1970s – obituary

J J Williams, who has died aged 72, was one of the fastest wing-threequarters in international rugby union and a key figure in the great Welsh teams that won four consecutive Triple Crowns and two Grand Slams in the 1970s. He also broke try-scoring records for the British and Irish Lions on tours of South Africa in 1974 and New Zealand in 1977.

He became known as J J to distinguish him from another John, the legendary full-back, J P R Williams, with whom he was to play many times for Wales and the Lions. His pairing with Gerald Davies, who played on the opposite wing for Wales, is regarded as one of the speediest and most elusive combinations in the history of rugby.

Sir Bill Beaumont, a former England captain and now chairman of the World Rugby Board, said: “ J J was a great finisher, one of a generation of Welsh superstars. The last thing I wanted to see as an Englishman was J J or Gerald running with the ball.” Williams scored 12 tries for Wales.

He was a dual sports international, representing Wales as an athlete at the 1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh and Great Britain at the World Student Games in Turin in the same year. He had earlier been British schools champion at 100 and 200 metres and became Welsh sprint champion in 1971.

But he had already played for Welsh schools as a fly-half and decided it was time to exchange his running spikes for rugby boots. He went on to win 30 consecutive caps on the wing for Wales and score 352 tries in a career of 438 matches.

John James Williams was born in Nantyffyllon, near Bridgend, on April 1 1948, the son of Albert Glydwr Williams, a bus driver in Maesteg, and his wife Elizabeth. His older brother Peter, who was a lock forward and later a highly regarded coach in Wales, died nine days before him.

J J was educated at Maesteg Grammar School and at Cardiff College of Education, now part of Cardiff Metropolitan University, where he met his wife Jane (née Davies).

He scored 99 tries in 100 games for Bridgend before moving to Llanelli in 1972, then coached by Carwyn James, also the successful Lions coach, in the hope of achieving international recognition. In his first season at Stradey Park he was in the team that famously beat the All Blacks, and won his first cap for Wales as a replacement against France in the following year.

Williams reached his peak as a player on the Lions’ unbeaten tour of South Africa in 1974, where the baked-hard grounds suited what one commentator described as his “gazelle-like acceleration”. Sir Ian McGeechan who played in the centre alongside him on the tour, said he was “dazzlingly fast”, while Phil Bennett, his Welsh colleague, said: “He knew no one could catch him and they couldn’t even get close.”

He scored two tries in two of the Tests, which is still a Lions record. In a provincial game he equalled David Duckham’s record of scoring six tries in a match. J J specialised in the chip-kick over a defender, who would have to turn and then stood no chance against the winger’s speed in the race to the try line.

He kept a picture of him scoring one his tries, because the background showed black South Africans in the crowd rising to cheer him. He described “the joy in their faces, arms raised in a victory salute. Their jubilation stemmed from the all-white Springboks being hammered.” He was said to be a favourite of Nelson Mandela and his fellow prisoners on Robben Island.

In 1977 he showed he could adapt to the muddy grounds of New Zealand by sliding in for a crucial Test match try, bringing his tally to five, one short of the Lions record held by the Irishman Tony O’Reilly.

He had an uneasy relationship with the Welsh Rugby Union. Before a match against England at Twickenham he was approached by the WRU chairman in the dressing-room and made to repay £1.10p which he claimed J J had overcharged on his expenses for petrol to attend a training session.

After his triumphant tour of South Africa he was approached by the rugby league cub Widnes, who offered him £13, 500 to change codes. When the WRU heard about this approach they banned him from playing for Llanelli. The ban lasted for only one match when they realised they would be punishing themselves by stopping one of their greatest stars from playing.

Williams, who was known for speaking his mind, commented on this episode: “The WRU made me feel I was committing some crime, when all I had done was to decline a fortune that would have bought me three houses in Wales at that time. They should have been rushing to shake my hand instead of my throat.”

He retired from rugby at the age of 30 to set up a commercial and industrial paint company at Pyle, near Bridgend. He had previously been sports coach at Maesteg comprehensive school – a job taken over by his brother Peter. He was also a straight-talking and sometimes outspoken commentator on rugby for the BBC.

The paint company became very successful and Williams later fronted a consortium to buy the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. He created the Wales Former Players’ Association and set up a room at the stadium in Cardiff for them to congregate and watch international matches, for which he was appointed MBE. He was also a trustee of the NSPCC in Wales.

He leaves a widow and three children, all of whom have been involved in athletics. James was captain of Cardiff Amateur Athletics Club, specialising in the 1500 metres and the steeplechase. Kathryn was a British junior international at 400m hurdles and worked for Sport Wales for 20 years. Rhys won the bronze medal in the 400m hurdles in the 2006 European championships.

J J Williams, born April 1 1948, died October 20 2020