Welsh rugby great JPR Williams dies aged 74

Former Wales and British and Irish Lions full-back JPR Williams has died at the age of 74, his former club Bridgend have announced.

Williams, a fearless player known for his aggressive and attacking style, won 55 Wales caps and started all eight Tests on victorious Lions tours to New Zealand in 1971 and South Africa three years later.

The tough-as-teak full-back gained a worldwide reputation for his fearless defensive play, rock-solid safety under a high ball and attacking prowess that saw him excel alongside fellow household names like Gareth Edwards, Barry John, Phil Bennett and Gerald Davies.

Born John Peter Rhys Williams, his universal JPR moniker took effect in 1973 to distinguish him from Wales team-mate John 'JJ' Williams.

As a teenager, Williams showed huge potential as a tennis player, at one stage winning a British junior competition at the All England Club, Wimbledon, beating former Great Britain Davis Cup captain David Lloyd.

But rugby union was to be his calling, which he dovetailed with a career in medicine, qualifying as a physician in 1973 after studying at St Mary's Hospital Medical School, London, by which time he was firmly established as a trailblazing full-back.

"I used to say that I spent half my life breaking bones on the rugby field, then the other half putting them back together in the operating theatre," he said in his 2007 book JPR Given The Breaks – My Life In Rugby. He qualified as an orthopaedic surgeon and was a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons.

During a glittering international career which coincided with Welsh rugby's greatest era, Williams won three Grand Slams in 1971, 1976 and 1978.

He won six Triple Crowns in total - in addition to the Grand Slam campaigns, three more arrived in 1969,