Product Description

JPR Williams won his first cap for Wales in 1969, and until his retirement in 1981 was the mainstay of Welsh teams that won six Triple Crowns, three Grand Slams and six Five Nations Championships. Renowned for his power and bravery on the pitch, JPR is a hero to the Welsh and a respected icon of the rugby world. In his autobiography, JPR recalls his childhood in Bridgend and the early signs that he was destined for sporting greatness. He showed initial promise as a tennis player, beating David Lloyd at the age of seventeen to win Junior Wimbledon, but in 1968 decided to abandon any plan of becoming a professional tennis player in order to combine his medical career with amateur rugby. That year he was selected for the Welsh tour of Argentina, and this marked the beginning of his rugby adventure. He relives his early rugby career and remembers the most exciting matches of his playing days, both for Wales and for the British and Irish Lions, including the 1971 win against the All Blacks – the only time the Lions have ever beaten New Zealand in a series – a team in which he was an integral player. His love of rugby was so strong that he was unable to tear himself away from the game, and played amateur rugby well into his fifties with Tondu, the Welsh junior side.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #53750 in Books
• Published on: 2007-08-23
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

About the Author
Born in 1949 in Bridgend, JPR Williams, played international rugby for Wales for twelve years from the age of twenty, and is a Consultant in Orthopaedic Surgery.

Customer Reviews

Strong Narrative but More Context Preferred
I have a colleague in work who has played against JPR (when JPR played flanker for Tondu 3rds) and considers him to be the most arrogant of men. While this arrogance did not come across in the book so explicitly, if the book has a shortcoming it is that it focuses exclusively on its subject and as a result ignores much of the context in which the action happens and indeed many of the other participants in that action. In doing so, it somehow manages to belittle rather than glorify the achievements of the great Welsh teams of the 1970's as the narrative is so strong and focused that it plays and reads with tunnel vision. This is a great pity as a wider context would not only enhance the narrative but add to the chapters detailing JPR's view of the subsequent decline in Welsh rugby. This limited scope is not limited either to the rugby side of the story; JPR's achievements as a surgeon are also somewhat glossed over which is a pity as it would have been better to have recognized his achievements in the field of medicine and to get a clearer idea of how he managed to juggle the two careers. What cannot be taken away of course is the quality that JPR has brought to what he has done though unfortunately the book captures little of the excitement and pleasure he brought to spectators in the process. That quality is captured in his remarkable playing record, both for the British Lions and Wales, while his choice of greatest ever XV is both surprising and intriguing. It is a pity that the book did not leave a stronger sense of the achievements of a remarkable man and the teams of which he was a member.