Johnny Williams (rugby player 1882–1916)

Johnny Williams

Williams in Cardiff jersey
Full name	John Lewis Williams
Date of birth	(1882-01-03)3 January 1882
Place of birth	Whitchurch,Wales
Date of death	12 July 1916(1916-07-12) (aged 34)
Place of death	Mametz, Somme, France
Height	5 ft 8 1⁄2 in (174.0 cm)
Weight	11 st (70 kg)
School	Cowbridge Grammar School
Rugby union career
Position(s) Wing Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 1899–1903 1903–1914 1905 Newport RFC Cardiff RFC London Welsh RFC ? 199 1 ? 444 Provincial / State sides Years Team Apps (Points) 1905 Glamorgan County RFC () National team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 1906–1911 1908  Wales Anglo-Welsh 17 2 (51) (0)
Military career
Buried	Corbie Communal Cemetery Extension
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Rank	Captain

John Lewis Williams (3 January 1882 – 12 July 1916) was a Welsh international wing who played club rugby for Cardiff Rugby Football Club. A three times Triple Crown winner, out of seventeen appearances for Wales he was on the losing side only twice.

Williams began his rugby career professionally with Newport RFC, playing for them from 1899 to 1903. He joined Cardiff RFC after moving to the town, and spent the rest of his career with the team. Shortly after joining Cardiff, he was invited to play for the Wales national rugby union team in 1906. He continued to represent Wales until 1911 becoming the country's top points scorer. Shortly after retiring, he enlisted in World War I, and was wounded in the Battle of the Somme, dying in France on 12 July 1916.

John Lewis Williams was born the son of Edward Lewis Williams in Llwyncelyn, Whitchurch, Glamorgan in 1882. He was educated at Cowbridge Grammar School, where he played association football, rather than rugby.

Having played association football at school, Williams switched to playing rugby with the Whitchurch Village rugby club. From the start of his career, he played on the left wing. In 1899, Williams was invited to play at Newport RFC under the newly appointed captain, Llewellyn Lloyd. Several players had departed, leaving gaps in the backline, and Williams was brought in, alongside Cliff Pritchard and W. Isaacs, while the effective pairing of Lloyd and Lou Phillips at halfback continued. In Williams' first season at Newport, the team scored a total of 416 points compared with the previous season's 192. The following season was Newport's third best on record. However, Williams was injured during the course of the year. Nevertheless, his contributions were noted: against Moseley, despite an early error, he scored a try in the first quarter "after a grand run", and at the beginning of the second half, managed to touch down a second try, just before Yates "grassed him".