OVER the past few weeks we have been looking at some of the region's best Welsh internationals from the Wales national team's 142 year history. 

Here we take a look at a few more.

Shane Williams

South Wales Guardian: Picture: David Davies/PA WirePicture: David Davies/PA Wire (Image: David Davies/PA Wire)

Shane Mark Williams was born on February 26, 1977, in Glanamman. He started playing rugby in primary school, but was told he was ‘too small’ to play the game, including while he was at Amman Valley Comprehensive School.

He took up football instead, playing for Cwmamman United AFC, where he played in goal as no one else would. He continued with the club up to senior level, occasionally playing rugby, but football was his ‘main’ sport.

He made the switch however, when on the day of Cwmamman United’s cup final, he played rugby at Amman United RFC, scoring five tries in their 82-point victory. He began playing at scrum half for the club, before moving to Neath where he was second-choice scrum half, but it was realised he had to be included in the side and he was turned to a winger. He made 129 appearances between 1998 and 2003.

He signed for the Ospreys in 2003 at the start of regionalised rugby. He made 141 appearances between then and 2014, scoring 293 points. He helped the club win the Celtic League/Pro12 four times and the Anglo-Welsh Cup once. In his final Ospreys match at the Liberty Stadium, he scored twice and scored twice in his final match for the region – in the Pro12 final against Leinster. After leaving the Ospreys, he joined Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars in Japan for a year, taking up a position in the Ospreys backroom staff when he returned from Japan. He played for Amman United during the 2016-17 season, scoring in the 2017 WRU Bowl final.

He made his Waled debut in 2000 against France in the Six Nations as a replacement. He scored his first Wales try against Italy later that tournament, on his first start for his country.

He scored 58 tries for Wales between his 2000 debut and his last match for the country in 2011, on which he scored against Australia. He made 87 appearances in total for Wales, 41 in the Six Nations, starting 40 of them, with only his aforementioned debut coming as a replacement. He made 11 appearances across the 2003, 2007 and 2011 Rugby World Cups (scoring 10 tries which led to him becoming Wales’ record try scorer in the World Cup), 29 in friendlies and six in test matches.

Some of his notable appearances include his 2003 Rugby World Cup performance against England, which cemented him as one of Wales’ first choice winger. He was part of the squad that won the 2005 Grand Slam, scoring tries against Italy, Scotland and England, the latter being the try that helped them to a famous 11-9 win.

When he earned his 50th Wales cap in the 2007 Rugby World Cup against Japan, he scored two tries, which took his then total to five in the tournament, putting him at the top of the try scoring table at the time.

It also put him second in the all-time try scoring list behind Gareth Thomas, but his try against France in the 2008 Six Nations put him as Wales’ top try scorer of all time, and tying with Gareth Thomas in the all-time test try scoring list for all nations at eighth place. In that Six Nations tournament he scored twice against Scotland and twice against Italy. He also scored once against Ireland and France, helping Wales to the Grand Slam. He was named player of the tournament and later that year, became the first Welshman to be named IRB Player of the Year.

He moved to joint fifth try scorer of all-time by the end of the 2009 Six Nations after scoring against Scotland and Italy.

He equalled Gareth Edwards’ championship try scoring record of 18 in the win against Scotland in the 2010 Six Nations when he scored the winning try in Wales’ comeback, surpassing this in the France match later that tournament when he hit 50 tries for Wales and 19 in the championship overall. He would end up extending this tally to 22.

He played in four British and Irish Lions matches, scoring two test tries in the 2009 tour to South Africa. In the 2005 tour to New Zealand, he scored five tries in the tour match against Manawatu, equalling the single-game Lions record for most tries. He faced off against the ACT Brumbies in June 2013 for the British & Irish Lions in Australia.

Conway Rees

John Conway Rees was born in Llandovery on January 13, 1870. He worked as a teacher after studying at Llandovery College and Oxford’s Jesus College. He was the first Welshman to captain Oxford University RFC.

He represented Wales for the first time in the Home Nations Championship against Scotland in 1892 and against England in both 1893 and 1894. He was a member of the squad that won the Triple Crown for the first time in 1893.

Clive Rowlands

South Wales Guardian:

Clive Rowlands was born on May 14, 1938 in Upper Cwmtwrch. He was fond of rugby from a young age with a story in The Children of Craig-y-Nos book stating he was admitted to the hospital in 1947 at the age of eight and was given a rugby ball as a present, but accidentally kicked it through a glass door of the TB hospital, being punished with a week in a straitjacket.

He played rugby for Abercraf, Pontypool, Llanelli and Swansea during his career, captaining Pontypool in 1962-63 and Swansea in 1967-68.

He has a very distinct Welsh debut, when he made his first appearance against England in 1963 and captained the side. He went on to captain the team for his next 13 appearances between 1963 and 1965, including his Wales’ first Triple Crown victory since 1952.

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In the Scotland match in the 1963 Five Nations Championship, he kicked to touch so many times that there was 111 line outs in the match. He scored a drop goal in that game.

He was also captain for Wales’ first match outside of Europe, in the 26-8 victory against East Africa in Nairobi.

In his 14 appearances for Wales, he captained the team on every occasion, and scored three points. He played in 12 Five Nations Championship games and two friendlies between 1963 and 1965.

On retiring from playing, he became coach of the Welsh team between 1968 and 1974, leading the team through 29 matches, with 18 wins and four draws and a Grand Slam in 1971.

He went on to manage Wales in the 1987 World Cup, was president of the WRU in 1989 and managed the British and Irish Lions when they toured Australia in 1989.

Jack Evans

Jack Evans was born John Evans on February 23, 1871, in Ammanford. He played for his hometown club before moving to Llanelli.

In 1896, he was chosen to play for Wales for the first time against Scotland. He was one of four new players in the pack chosen for their rough physical style of play. He would play again against Ireland in that championship and then played in Wales’ only game in the 1897 Home Nations Championship. That was his final game and he later switched codes to rugby league.

Eddie Morgan (Pontardawe)

Morgan Edward Morgan was born in Pontardawe from December 18, 1913.

He played rugby as a prop, first for Abercrave RFC, moving to play for Swansea RFC by 1937.

He played for Wales for the first time against England in the 1938 Home Nations Championship. He was one of four new caps in the pack and helped in the first Welsh win over the English in five years. He was then selected and played in each of the remaining games in the tournament 0 winning against Ireland but losing to Scotland.

That same year, he would be picked for the British Lions in their tour of South Africa. He played in 14 games, including the first two tests, where he picked up two Lions caps.

He played his fourth and final match for Wales in the 1939 Home Nations Championship in the loss to England.

Next week, we will look at more international stars from the region.