Gareth Llewellyn
Encyclopedia
Gareth Llewellyn was born 27 February 1969 in St. David's Hospital Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...

 whilst his father was serving in Cardiff with the Army, is a Welsh rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 player who gained a record 92 caps for Wales
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...

 as a lock. His record for Wales caps has since been surpassed by Gareth Thomas
Gareth Thomas (rugby player)
Gareth Thomas , known as Alfie, is a retired Welsh professional rugby footballer who played rugby league for the Crusaders RL in the Super League. He also previously played rugby union for the Cardiff Blues and as a fullback, wing or centre.On 26 May 2007, Thomas surpassed Gareth Llewellyn as the...

, Colin Charvis
Colin Charvis
Colin Charvis is a former captain of the Welsh national rugby union team and also played for the British and Irish lions. A back row forward, Charvis was equally adept as a flanker or as the no...

, Martyn Williams
Martyn Williams
Martyn Elwyn Williams is a Welsh international rugby union player. A flanker, he plays for Cardiff Blues and the Wales national rugby union team as an open-side flanker...

 and Stephen Jones
Stephen Jones (rugby player)
Stephen Michael Jones is a Welsh international rugby union player who plays primarily at fly-half for Wales, the British and Irish Lions and Scarlets....

 but Llewellyn remains Wales' most capped lock-forward. His brother, Glyn Llewellyn, also played international rugby union for Wales.

Rugby career

Llewellyn started his playing career at Llanharan RFC
Llanharan RFC
Llanharn Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in Llanharan, South Wales. Llanharan RFC were formally established in 1891-92 when Llanharan was little more than an agricultural hamlet. The earliest photograph on the club house wall is dated 1898...

 and then moved on to play first class rugby at Neath
Neath RFC
Neath Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club which plays in the Welsh Premier Division. The club's home ground is The Gnoll, Neath. The first team is known as the Welsh All Blacks because of the team colours: black with only a white cross pattée as an emblem...

, Harlequins
Harlequin F.C.
The Harlequin Football Club is an English rugby union team who play in the top level of English rugby, the Aviva Premiership. Their ground in London is Twickenham Stoop...

, Ospreys and Narbonne
RC Narbonne
Racing Club de Narbonne Méditerannée is a French rugby union club that play in the second-level Rugby Pro D2, after finishing at the bottom of the 2006-07 Top 14 table....

, and signed for Bristol Shoguns at the beginning of the 2005–06 season.

After excelling in the line-out for Neath in their match against the touring New Zealand
All Blacks
The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....

 All Blacks
All Blacks
The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....

 on 25 October 1989, he made his debut for Wales ten days later against the same opposition and went on to win a total of 92 caps, breaking the record of 87 held by Neil Jenkins
Neil Jenkins
Neil Jenkins MBE is a former rugby union football player and current coach. He played fly-half, centre, or full back for Pontypridd, Cardiff, Celtic Warriors, Wales and the British and Irish Lions. Jenkins is Wales' highest ever points-scorer and is the third highest on the List of leading Rugby...

 in the test against Argentina
Argentina national rugby union team
The Argentina national rugby team, nicknamed Los Pumas, represents Argentina in international rugby union matches. The team, which plays in sky blue and white jerseys, is organised by the Argentine Rugby Union .Argentina played its first international rugby match in 1910 against a touring British...

 on 12 June 2004.

He captained Wales on 7 occasions and appeared in three Rugby World Cups – 1995, 1999 and 2003. Indeed, such was his longevity that he achieved the notable feat of playing international rugby in three different decades and under eight different coaches. Following Wales' Grand Slam in the 2004–05 season, he announced his retirement from international rugby.

Llewellyn's longevity, and in particular his continued presence as a top-tier player over a period of nearly twenty years has earned him the nickname "The Master" amongst supporters. This reflects his status as an elder statesman amongst Welsh second rows.

From the beginning of the 2008–09 season, Llewellyn combined playing with a coaching role at Welsh First Division club Tonmawr
Tonmawr RFC
Tonmawr are a Welsh rugby union club based in Tonmawr, Neath Port Talbot in South Wales. They won the Asda Division One West in 2009-2010 and for the 2010-2011 season were promoted to the Welsh Premiership...

. Since the 2009–10 season he is head coach at South West One West side Thornbury RFC working alongside Bristol's Darren Crompton
Darren Crompton
Darren Crompton is a professional rugby union player for Bristol Rugby. He has played for Richmond, Bath, Cardiff Blues and represented England at many levels. He also has a judo black belt, winning a national gold medal at 13....

 and Rob Higgitt
Rob Higgitt
Rob Higgitt is a Welsh rugby union centre.Born in St Asaph, Denbighshire, Higgitt began his rugby career with Ruthin, for whom his father was the chairman. He played for Ruthin from the age of 6 until he was 18, when he enrolled at the University of Bath...

 formerly of Bristol Rugby
Bristol Rugby
Bristol Rugby is a rugby union club based in Bristol, England. The club currently plays in the RFU Championship and competes in the British and Irish Cup. They rely in large part on the many junior rugby clubs in the region, particularly those from 'the Combination'...

, the Scarlets and Worcester RFC.

External links

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