The world oval in mourning. JPR Williams, iconic full back of Welsh rugby considered one of the best full backs in the history of this sport, died Monday at the age of 74, announced Monday the Bridgend Ravens club, of which he was a player then president until his death. The club “regrets to announce the death of JPR Williams”, an “icon of the game on a global level”, wrote the club in the blue and white jersey Monday evening on its website.
There are many reactions to the death of the man who was famous for his sideburns. Thus, his family sent the BBC a statement which explains that “JPR died peacefully today at the University Hospital of Wales, surrounded by his beloved wife and four children, after a short illness , courageously fighting bacterial meningitis.” And added: “The family asks for privacy during these difficult times.”
The British and Irish Lions – a selection of the best English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish players who have participated every four years in tours of the southern hemisphere since 1888 – paid tribute to the memory of the man who took part in the victorious tours to New York. Zeeland in 1971 and South Africa in 1974. “One of the greatest Lions of all time. A man who inspired so many others. It is with great sadness to learn that JPR Williams has passed away at the age of 74. All our thoughts are with his family and friends. Rest in peace.”
World Rugby, the international federation, also paid tribute to “one of the greatest players the game has ever seen”: “JPR Williams leaves behind an incredible legacy. All our thoughts are with his family and friends.”
Another iconic Welsh rugby player, scrum-half Jonathan Davies, posted on X (ex-Twitter): “Another legend gone too soon. Thank you for all the memories.” Invited to testify on the BBC, he then added: “I remember watching him grow up. He was a rock in defense with the tackles he made. If you wanted someone behind you in the back, you couldn’t think of anyone better. With the 1974 Lions in South Africa, when fights broke out, he came from the back of the field to fight with the forwards. He was maybe the most competitive guy I ever met.”
And the 61-year-old who became a commentator added: “He was fiercely competitive. It’s very sad, he was just a great rugby player and an incredible character. Whenever you mention who the greatest full-backs of any era were, you hear about greats like Serge Blanco and Christian Cullen, JPR is always up there.”
As for the players, former Welsh center Jamie Roberts, who like JPR Williams had a career in rugby and medicine, hailed him as “a source of inspiration and a model for the rugby-medicine brotherhood. “. Despite his success in rugby, JPR Williams never lost sight of his medical career. From 1977, he reduced the time he devoted to sport to pass his final exams as an orthopedic surgeon. Jamie Roberts obtained his surgeon’s degree in parallel with his (rich) rugby career.
In France, the former flanker of Biarritz Olympique and the XV of France, Serge Betsen, said he was “very sad to learn of the death of JPR Williams”, sending his condolences to the Welsh Federation, the Lions but also the club London Welsh (London team bringing together Welsh players), where he played between 1968 and 1976.
