{{Short description|Wales international rugby union player}} {{About|the 19th-century rugby union player|other people|List of people with surname Williams}} {{Infobox rugby biography | name = T. Williams | image = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_place = | death_place = | height = | weight = | position = [[Rugby union positions#Forwards|Forward]] | amatyears1 = 1885-? | amatyears2 = | amatteam1 = [[London Welsh RFC]] | amatteam2 = [[Swansea RFC]] | ru_amclubcaps = | ru_amclubpoints = | ru_amupdate = | repteam1 = [[Wales national rugby union team|Wales]] | repyears1 = 1888 | repcaps1 = 2 | reppoints1 = 0 | ru_ntupdate = | coachteams1 = | coachyears1 = | ru_coachupdate = }}
'''T. Williams''' was a [[rugby union]] forward who played club rugby for [[Swansea RFC|Swansea]] and [[London Welsh RFC|London Welsh]] and played international rugby for [[Wales national rugby union team|Wales]].<ref>[http://www.ospreysrugby.com/ospreys_squad_view.php?player_id=101431 T. Williams player profile] Ospreysrugby.com</ref> Very little is known of Williams and he is often confused with his contemporary [[Tom Williams (rugby union, born 1859)|Tom Williams]] who also played for Wales around the same period, and who also had connections with London Welsh.
==Rugby career== Williams' first notable connection to rugby occurred on 24 October 1885, when he turned out for the very first match for the [[London]] exile team, London Welsh. The team contained six players who were, or would soon, be capped for Wales, Williams, [[Arthur Gould (rugby union)|Arthur 'Monkey' Gould]], [[Martyn Jordan]], [[Thomas Judson]], [[Charles Taylor (rugby union)|Charles Taylor]] and [[Rowley Thomas]].<ref name="Jones6">Jones (1985), pg 6.</ref> Williams became a regular player for London Welsh, and was one of the team's players to be included in an 'exiles' team, along with players from [[London Scottish F.C.|London Scottish]], to face a London XV in a charity match at [[The Oval]], in the presence of the [[Edward VII of the United Kingdom|Prince of Wales]].<ref name="Jones8">Jones (1985), pg 8.</ref>
By 1888, Williams was playing for Swansea, and on 4 February he earns his first international cap when he is selected for the team to face Scotland, as part of the [[1888 Home Nations Championship|Home Nations Championship]].<ref>[http://www.espnscrum.com/wales/rugby/player/821.html T. Williams player profile] Scrum.com</ref> Under the captaincy of [[Tom Clapp]], Williams came into a very inexperienced pack to face a team that Wales had yet to beat in a rugby international. Williams was one of seven new Welsh caps in the match, which included Swansea teammates [[John Meredith (rugby union)|John Meredith]] and [[William Howell (rugby union)|William Howell]]. Wales won an historic match, beating Scotland for the first time, thanks to a debut try from [[Thomas Pryce-Jenkins]], who was at the time playing club rugby for London Welsh. Williams was reselected for the very next match, his second and final international for Wales. Played away from home at [[Lansdowne Road]], Wales were beaten by Ireland two goals to nil.
Towards the end of 1888, the world's first touring Southern Hemisphere rugby team, the [[1888-1889 New Zealand Native football team|New Zealand Natives]], challenged several Welsh teams. The Māoris had already been beaten by [[Llanelli RFC|Llanelli]] and Wales, and on 24 December, they faced Swansea in a match played in continuous heavy rain.<ref name="Billot19">Billot (1972), pg 19.</ref> Williams lined up in the pack with his team captain [[William Towers (rugby union)|William Towers]], but the squad was missing two of their influential backs, Whapham and [[David Gwynn|Gwynn]].<ref name="Billot19"/> Swansea had only lost one match that season before the game, and after a clear New Zealand victory, the Swansea team was criticised for its "Boundless complacency".<ref name="Billot19"/>
== Bibliography == * {{cite book |last=Billot |first=John |title=All Blacks in Wales |year=1972 |publisher=Ron Jones Publications |location=Ferndale }} * {{cite book |last1=Jones |first1=Stephen |last2=Beken |first2=Paul |title=Dragon in Exile, The Centenary History of London Welsh R.F.C. |year=1985 |publisher=Springwood Books |location=London |isbn=0-86254-125-5 }} * {{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=David |last2=Williams |first2=Gareth |title=Fields of Praise: The Official History of The Welsh Rugby Union |year=1980 |publisher=University of Wales Press |location=Cardiff |isbn=0-7083-0766-3 }}
== References == {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, T.}} [[Category:Wales international rugby union players]] [[Category:Welsh rugby union players]] [[Category:Rugby union forwards]] [[Category:Swansea RFC players]] [[Category:London Welsh RFC players]] [[Category:Year of birth missing]] [[Category:Year of death missing]] [[Category:Missing middle or first names]] [[Category:19th-century births]]