JPR Williams

A legendary figure for Wales and the Lions, the great full-back redefined the game

-  Alex Spink

IEUAN EVANS is thinking about the late JPR Williams, recalling “the iconic star from the 1970s that I grew up worshipping”.

He is about to wax lyrical about the legendary full-back, whose era-defining rugby career spanned three decades at the highest level.

He wants to mention, too, JPR’s time in tennis that brought a Junior Wimbledon title and had Dan Maskell, then the BBC’s voice of the sport, tipping the Welshman for stardom. But his mind is drawn to a more personal memory from an altogether different place.

“I had the misfortune to play JPR at squash,” says Evans, 15 years his junior. “To say he gave me the runaround... I don’t think I took a point off him.

“People rightly talk about the staggering rugby player JPR was but actually he was more than that. He was a staggering sportsman. What always shone through about him was his sheer competitiveness. He was exceptional at whatever he turned his hand to. He wanted to win – and generally did.”