Williams has a bone to pick

Johnny Watterson talks to Welsh legend JPR Williams about the dwindling fortunes of Welsh rugby, and finds him as strong in the tackle as ever.

Few images have remained so well defined with the passage of time. JPR Williams, socks around his ankles, Christmas tree sideburns, surges from full back into the three-quarter line and lunges into the tackles.

Recent Welsh rugby history - massive, like Williams's reputation - has, over the last number of years, contrived to embarrass the present. As every player in a red shirt is judged through the prism of the 1970s and names such as Barry Johns, Gareth Davies, Gareth Edwards, Gerald Davies and Williams, so Welsh rugby continues to rage with passion but perish on the scraps of relatively little success.

In the opinion of the orthopaedic surgeon Williams, poor coaching and a lack of administrative vision has reconstructed the game and produced a brand of rugby that has drifted from its moorings in the towns and hamlets of Wales. It clearly needs surgery.

"The reason Wales are where they are is multifactorial," he says. "The demise of the grammar school system. So many other sports. The fact that it is no longer every boy's wish to play for Wales in rugby.

"The grammar schools produced intelligent guys who could read the game. They didn't rely totally on coaching. We've come to a time now where coaching is dominant. Guys have to use their heads more, think about the game.

"I also think we've sold our soul. Graham Henry does not understand the Welsh psychology towards rugby. People in Wales want to see exciting rugby, but he's not doing that. He's playing a boring style of rugby. People want to see flair, they want to see excitement.

Success alone is not the Welsh public's position. They want to the see the outhalf making a break, not just kicking the ball up the field. That is what was instilled into me when I was playing. It is rugby league they play now. People running into people. That's not exciting rugby."

Williams's tenure in the number 15 shirt spanned from 1969 to 1981. During that aristocratic Welsh decade he earned 63 caps and assisted Wales to three Grand Slams, five Triple Crowns and six outright championships.

Picked for the Lions between 1971 and 1974, where successful tours to New Zealand and South Africa destroyed the Southern Hemisphere's aura of invincibility, he collected a record eight caps for the full back position. Around then, Williams became the best full back in the world.

But far from dwelling on the past, even if the fearless monochrome stills of him in action represent some of the most definitive sports iconology of the 1970s, Williams seeks radical change. He remains unafraid of tackling hard.

"There are too many players being paid more than they are worth," he says. "The Welsh club structure is wrong. Ireland are very, very lucky. They landed on their feet with the IRFU running the show for the four top teams.

"It's a small game in Ireland and they've maximised talent. Here most clubs are run by millionaire owners. You can't have two masters. It's a big problem because rugby is our national game. We have Cardiff, Swansea, Llanelli, Newport, Bridgend, Neath, Pontypridd, Caerphilly, Ebbw Vale, all trying to outdo each other without anyone looking after the future of the Welsh side."

Gerald Davies also sees the governance of the sport at fault. A fellow traveller with Williams in the 1970s, the brilliant winger describes the Welsh as a team that now walks on to the pitch more in hope than belief.

"There have been losses to Welsh rugby along the way," he says. "There is truth in the changing educational system having an effect. I think we should also look to the demise of heavy industry, tough men of steel in the forwards, and also the lack of recognition of the need to change the administration of the game. Wales have failed to recognise the need for financial and structural changes.

"There is deep disappointment that things are not getting better. Remember, Welsh supporters travelled up to London for two years (while Cardiff Arms was demolished and the Millennium Stadium built) to support an ordinary team. And they filled Wembley. It seems to me now that the question for Graham Henry is to ask himself what needs to be done."

Williams is less circumspect about the New Zealand helmsman, who has faced much criticism since he took over as Welsh coach, not least because of his use of the granny rule and league converts like Iestyn Harris.

"I think he (Henry) should speak to players more than he does. His man-management is hopeless. This aspect of his management was found out on the Lions tour to Australia last year. He was very, very unpopular there. That was obvious. He has only ever coached Auckland to Super 12s and even I could have done that with the international players he had on the side at the time.

"I do still think we have good players in Wales but I firmly believe that those players are struggling for direction. I'm glad young players have come in for this match because in the under-age groups at 18, 19 and 21 we compete with the best in the world. After that the players lose their way."

It is true that when Henry came into the position, it was he rather than the traditional bearer of the burden, the outhalf, who shouldered the country's hopes. Wins over England, South Africa and France further strengthened his position as the messiah before the doleful status quo was again established. And in the great full back's eyes, even a win over Ireland won't change the underlying problems.

"Where the world looks now is at the World Cup," says Williams. "If you want to see how rugby has changed, you look there. England has clubs interested in their own end but they seem to have sorted it out. They've lost in the championship in the last three years but they are still one of the best sides in the world.

"Australia won the last World Cup purely on defence. The laws are now so biased towards favouring the defensive sides. I think that is very, very negative. I believe they (IRB) have to change the laws to prevent that from happening."

An outstanding tennis player, Williams won junior Wimbledon in 1966, beating future English Davis Cup captain David Lloyd in the final. But playing rugby had a more authentic ring. And if JPR Williams is anything, it is genuine. "Underage, we're as good as anyone," he says as a matter of fact. "But we haven't gone forward at all."