Interview with JPR Williams

With the Six Nations about to start, Welsh Rugby fans are gearing up for an exciting tournament and their expectations are high for the Welsh team. The Village Directory have spoken to Welsh Rugby Legend JPR Williams to get his views on how the game has changed from when he played to the present day.

01. Would you prefer to play in today’s professional game or in the era in which you played?

1. “I preferred the game in which I played. There is too much enforcement on size and power today and smaller players are not getting picked.”

02. The game today, it is felt, is more like watching rugby league, how do you feel about this?

1. “That is true. Due to the fact that the players are far too close to each other. In our times players would have to be 10 meters behind game line meaning 20 meters apart. Confrontational defences are more dominant.”

03. Do you feel that in your era there was more rucking and mauling and would you agree that there is very little of this in today’s game?

1. “It was much looser in our time and it was illegal to take someone out off the ball. Players nowadays will clear out, so there is more potential for injury as there is more risk of getting hit.”

04. Do you think that crowd attendances can continue to pay the wages of professional rugby players today? Do you think this is sustainable long term?

1. “Our regions are a disaster from a spectator numbers point of view compared to English clubs who get crowds in excess of 25,000. Twickenham often has sell outs in excess of 75,000. We’ll be losing money if we don’t get over 10,000 spectators at a regional level to make it viable.”

05. If you were playing professional rugby today, would you stay loyal to one club or would you go to a club offering more money?

1. “As it is your job I would go to the club that offered the most money. That’s why most players go to France.”

06. If you were the full back in the Welsh team now, would you be happy with the way Wales is performing?

1. “Gerald Davies and JJ Williams agree that nowadays there is a lot more ball that is aimlessly kicked down the field from the opposition, which in our day would have allowed us to counter attack and run the ball back from our 22 yard line which is the best place to attack from as the defences are the least organised. As I said earlier I preferred the game from my own era as it was a more expansive game.”

07. How do you think this year’s Six Nations game will go?

1. “England and Ireland are the current favourites with Wales being in a period of transition. We do however have England and Ireland at home which is a great advantage, let’s hope that some of the England players play as they did 4 years ago which would give us further advantage. Most importantly we need the crowd to get behind Wales with some real encouragement as many of the English players have never played in the Millennium stadium before. Let’s hope the roof is shut as the atmosphere will be electric!”

We would like to thank JPR for giving us his opinions and to wish Wales the very best of luck for the Six Nations!