Face of incurable condition
voted him man of the match by an overwhelming majority.”
Bridgend’s pack bristled with physicality but what set Williams apart was his athleticism and ball-playing skills. In that respect, the ex-Cardiff College of Education student was ahead of his time as a player.
The rugby community has rallied around since he fell ill.
“They’ve Gareth.
“From initial diagnosis, the rugby community — and I include ex-Wales internationals and British and Irish Lions and ex-Bridgend players in that — began a breakfast club down at a nearby Toby Carvery. Local ex-players met weekly for a catch-up. I attended when I was more mobile, but now they been brilliant,” says come over to see me. Every so often, former players from far and wide come down to join them. It’s a real sense of sport breeding friendship.
“A current player, Rhys Webb, who is a Bridgend boy himself, has helped out as much as he can, even raffling a pair of his rugby boots from last year’s Lions tour of New Zealand for the trust and raising £1,000.
“The wider community in Bridgend has been an immense support, too, with various charity events and quiz nights. “It means a huge amount.” The ex-Bridgend Grammar School boy didn’t lose a game on that Lions 1980 tour: six matches played, six wins. His route into the Test XV was blocked only by the excellence of Jeff Squire, Derek Quinnell and John O’Driscoll on that trip, but Williams didn’t stop trying.
“The tour is my memory,” says Gareth.
“I will never, ever forget the moment I was called up and nor will I forget the trip itself. We may have lost the series but we won all the other games and the tour was a happy one.”
If there were challenges later in the year against the All Blacks of Graham Mourie, Mark Shaw, Mexted, Gary Knight, Andy Haden and Graeme Higginson, nothing quite prepares a man for being told he has the beast of a condition that is MSA. All else is dwarfed in comparison.
But the fortitude and dignity one of the Brewery Field’s finest has shown have been remarkable.
“It’s been extremely difficult to fight the condition,” he says.
“We looked to control the symptoms greatest rugby at the beginning of the diagnosis, but in recent years it’s been a challenge to fight day by day.
“You have to stay positive. As hard as it is some days, I try to keep a smile on my face and I’m hugely grateful for the care I receive on a daily basis. Without it, I wouldn’t be as positive or as strong as I am.
“I am lucky in that most of my family is locally based and the support has been out of this world.
“We have pulled together as a team throughout these last few years. Nothing is ever too much for any of them and we know that people are only a phone call away. My wife Claire is incredible and selfless and has given up everything to be my carer. She is the strongest woman I know, looking after me, and protecting my two girls, Nia and Angharad, is her main priority. She is an amazing human being.”
Nia has ran the London Marathon and has completed several half-marathons. Her next 26-mile challenge is in Liverpool in May and her efforts in support of her dad are chronicled at www.justgiving.com/runrunrun1
Life has indeed become a major battle for the former back rower. But he is among the bravest of the brave and his stoicism is quite remarkable.
An inspiration, indeed.