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Cen Williams

OVERALL STATISTICS

BIRTHAGESIGNED ONFROM
01-11-1940
N/A
30 -06-1963
Cardiff RU- Wales
DEBUTLAST MATCHLEFT
23-03-1963 v Bramley
Doncaster
1969- when he Retired
CAREERAPPEARANCES (SUBS)
1962-1968
112 (4)
TRIESGOALSDGOALSPTS
34
0
0
102

Biography of Cen Williams



HERITAGE NO : 804
Cennyd Williams by Dave Dooley:

One of Alex Murphy`s team-mates in the RAF XV, Cen Williams was a classy Welsh centre who played rugby union for Cardiff and toured with the Barbarians. He turned professional with St.Helens and scored two tries on his debut against Bramley on 23rd. March 1963. He played centre to the great Tom Van Vollenhoven on a number of occasions, but was forced to retire after a cartilage operation in 1969. Cen is the brother of the famous Welsh rugby union centre Bleddyn Williams.

Following his brace of tries on debut he bagged another pair in the same season in the away fixture at Halifax. His smart play produced a regular place in the team during the next season, 1963/4. That campaign produced a brace of tries against Hull KR and a starting place in the Western Divisional Championship Final victory over Swinton. Moreover, both Vollenhoven and Killeen benefited from his silky skills. Nine tries from 26 matches continued his run in the first team in the 1964/5 season but the next three seasons saw only sporadic outings in the first team as competition for the centre berths reached red-hot proportions. Cen`s next major Final was the 1968 Lancashire Cup Final when the Saints ran riot in the second half to crush Oldham by 30 points to 2. On that day he played on the left wing. In all this fine centre`s play led to 34 tries in a career of 108 matches at the Saints - an impressive strike record!

The following obituary of Cen was written by Alex Service

Cenydd Williams: end of a rugby dynasty

Welsh centre Cenydd Owen Williams, [Heritage Number #804] who played 115 matches for St Helens RFC from 1963-69, scoring 34 tries, passed away on Saturday 22nd March at the age of 86.

He was the sixth of eight brothers who all played for Cardiff RFC. Cen was the last survivor of this incredible sporting brotherhood spanning five decades, which included two Welsh captains, Bleddyn [the ‘Prince of Centres’] and Lloyd, and four who played for the Barbarians, including Cen himself. All the brothers were born in the same house in Taff’s Well, a small mining village to the north of Cardiff. Their father, Arthur, was a dock worker and the family also included four sisters.

Cen signed for the Saints from Cardiff RFC and made a good impression in his first match against Bramley at Knowsley Road on 23rd March 1963, in a 38-0 success. “Most reassuring was the display of ex-Cardiff centre Ken Williams in his senior debut,” wrote the Liverpool Daily Post correspondent. “He got two tries with acceleration which enabled him to pull away from the opposition.” It was also the first home fixture since Saints had played Hull on 22nd December, courtesy of the infamous ‘Big Freeze.’

Cen was one of several signings from rugby union circles in the early 1960s, such as Ray French, Cliff Watson, Keith Northey, Len Killeen, and Peter Harvey, who first played against him in the 15 a side code. “I was a member of a select XV playing up at Hartlepool against the RAF. Cen was fly-half that day and absolutely destroyed us,” he recalls. “He was a ‘surprising player’ fleet footed, who could step either way with good movement. A class act. When we became team-mates at Saints I found him a quiet, unassuming guy and when he retired, you would often see him watching from the terraces at Knowsley Road.”

Another team-mate during his National Service in the RAF XV was Alex Murphy, who recommended that the Saints’ Board take a look at him. They were suitably impressed, and Cen took the professional ticket for a £6,000 fee, after 115 matches for Cardiff RFC, a year after he had married his wife Jean, a teacher, in Taff’s Well.

Cen’s first full season was his most successful, with 35 appearances and 8 tries with the team picking up the Western Division Championship after beating Swinton 10-7 at Central Park, Wigan at the end of the campaign. Cen was centre to Tom van Vollenhoven in a backline that all came from rugby union. He played against the Australian tourists in 1963 and the Other Nationalities when the floodlights were opened at Knowsley Road. He scored a try when Saints beat the New Zealand tourists 28-7 on 15th September 1965 but competition in the centres was intense during the ‘four cups’ season of 1965-66 with Alex Murphy being switched from the halves.

Cen was Tom van Vollenhoven’s centre during the Flying Springbok’s last appearance at Knowsley Road on 24th April 1968 when Warrington were beaten 20-0 on an emotion-charged evening and in total partnered him on 47 occasions [3rd on the list behind Duggie Greenall and Ken Large] He played some sparkling rugby in what was to be his final season, 1968-69, which included a 30-2 Lancashire Cup final victory against Oldham at Central Park. Cen played on the left wing and scored a try that evening, with the great Frank Myler as his centre. A knee injury eventually forced his retirement and his final appearance in the red vee was against Doncaster on 19th April 1969 at Knowsley Road. Once again, he was on the wing as Saints won 57-5, with John Walsh booting over 12 goals. It seemed quite fitting that there were five of his fellow countrymen in the Saints’ team that day: John Mantle, Frank Wilson, Bobby Wanbon, Graham Rees and John Warlow.

Cen worked at Carborundum in Rainford for many years and was a member of Ashton Golf Club, as well as watching the Saints when he could at Knowsley Road.

PLAYER HONOURS

SEASON STATISTICS

Season (Official Matches)TriesGoalsDGoalsMatches
1962~637 0 0 8
1963~648 0 0 35
1964~65 9 0 0 26
1965~66 3 0 0 7
1966~67 2 0 0 12
1967~68 2 0 0 7
1968~69 3 0 0 20
TOTALS:34 0 0 115
Season (Other Matches)TriesGoalsDGoalsMatches
1964~650001
1965~66 0001
1967~68 0001
1968~691001
TOTALS:1004

ALL MATCHES

DateMatchPosOpponentsCompVenueFTFTOTGDG
23rd Mar 1963 1
W
 3 Bramley L H 38 0 2 VIEW
1st Apr 1963 2
W
 3 Workington Town L H 29 0 1 VIEW
6th May 1963 3
W
 3 Oldham L H 22 8 VIEW
13th May 1963 4
W
 3 Widnes L H 14 6 VIEW
18th May 1963 5
W
 3 Bramley L A 21 9 2 VIEW
25th May 1963 6
W
 3 Halifax L A 33 5 2 VIEW
27th May 1963 7
W
 3 Hull Kingston Rovers L H 16 15 VIEW
30th May 1963 8
W
 3 Oldham L A 24 9 VIEW
24th Aug 1963 9
L
 3 Huddersfield L H 7 10 VIEW
28th Aug 1963 10
W
 3 Castleford L H 20 11 VIEW
31st Aug 1963 11
W
 3 Keighley L A 18 6 VIEW
2nd Sep 1963 12
W
 3 Hunslet L A 15 7 VIEW
7th Sep 1963 13
W
 3 Swinton LC1 A 12 2 VIEW
14th Sep 1963 14
W
 3 Hull Kingston Rovers L H 40 5 2 VIEW
16th Sep 1963 15
W
 3 Workington Town LC2 H 28 4 VIEW
21st Sep 1963 16
L
 3 Halifax L A 5 13 VIEW
23rd Sep 1963 17
W
 3 Warrington LCSF A 21 14 1 VIEW
28th Sep 1963 18
L
 3 Australia Tour H 2 8 VIEW
12th Oct 1963 19
W
 3 Leeds L A 10 2 VIEW
30th Nov 1963 20
W
 4 Liverpool City WDC H 16 0 VIEW
7th Dec 1963 21
W
 4 Wakefield Trinity L A 8 7 VIEW
14th Dec 1963 22
L
 4 Halifax L H 12 13 VIEW
28th Dec 1963 23
W
 4 Workington Town L A 5 0 VIEW
1st Jan 1964 24
L
 4 Swinton L H 6 8 VIEW
4th Jan 1964 25
W
 4 Salford WDC A 15 5 1 VIEW
11th Jan 1964 26
L
 4 Hunslet L H 10 12 VIEW
15th Feb 1964 27
W
 4 Barrow WDC A 14 10 VIEW
29th Feb 1964 28
W
 3 Warrington L A 17 10 VIEW
14th Mar 1964 29
W
 3 Workington Town L H 14 8 VIEW
21st Mar 1964 30
W
 3 Whitehaven WDC H 50 7 1 VIEW
27th Mar 1964 31
W
 3 Wigan L H 11 5 VIEW
28th Mar 1964 32
W
 3 Salford WDC H 24 13 1 VIEW
4th Apr 1964 33
L
 3 Widnes L H 6 10 VIEW
8th Apr 1964 34
L
 3 Featherstone Rovers L A 12 19 VIEW
11th Apr 1964 35
W
 3 Wakefield Trinity L H 24 10 VIEW
15th Apr 1964 36
W
 3 Whitehaven WDC A 3 0 VIEW
18th Apr 1964 37
W
 3 Liverpool City WDC A 32 7 1 VIEW
22nd Apr 1964 38
W
 3 Wigan L A 22 13 VIEW
25th Apr 1964 39
W
 3 Widnes L A 19 8 VIEW
1st May 1964 40
W
 3 Oldham WDCSF H 22 11 VIEW
6th May 1964 41
W
 3 Hull L A 17 9 1 VIEW
16th May 1964 42
W
 3 Swinton WDCF N 10 7 VIEW
27th May 1964 43
L
 3 Castleford L A 10 11 VIEW
22nd Aug 1964 44
W
 4 Leigh L A 19 6 VIEW
24th Aug 1964 --NPS
W
 14 Rochdale Hornets L H 28 4 VIEW
29th Aug 1964 --NPS
W
 14 Widnes L H 29 6 VIEW
31st Aug 1964 45
W
 3 Whitehaven L A 15 5 1 VIEW
5th Sep 1964 46
W
 3 Liverpool City LC1 A 41 11 2 VIEW
12th Sep 1964 47
W
 3 Blackpool Borough L H 37 5 1 VIEW
26th Sep 1964 48
W
 3 Featherstone Rovers L A 30 15 VIEW
29th Sep 1964 49
W
 3 Warrington LCSF A 10 8 VIEW
3rd Oct 1964 --NPS
W
 14 Workington Town L H 32 6 VIEW
10th Oct 1964 50
W
 3 Blackpool Borough L A 31 9 1 VIEW
31st Oct 1964 --NPS
W
 14 Oldham L H 22 6 VIEW
1st Jan 1965 --NPS
W
 14 Swinton L A 11 5 VIEW
9th Jan 1965 51
W
 3 Liverpool City L H 23 3 VIEW
16th Jan 1965 52
L
 3 Warrington L A 4 6 VIEW
23rd Jan 1965 53
W
 3 Whitehaven L H 16 3 1 VIEW
27th Jan 1965 --
W
 14 Other Nationalities* Fr Opening of Floodl H 19 2 VIEW
6th Feb 1965 --NPS
W
 14 Castleford CC1 H 22 9 VIEW
13th Feb 1965 54
L
 4 Workington Town L A 3 4 VIEW
16th Feb 1965 55
W
 4 Salford L H 12 6 VIEW
20th Feb 1965 --NPS
W
 14 Huddersfield L H 28 6 VIEW
27th Feb 1965 --NPS
L
 14 Wigan CC2 A 2 7 VIEW
13th Mar 1965 56
W
 3 Oldham L A 15 9 VIEW
20th Mar 1965 57
L
 3 Wakefield Trinity L A 4 5 VIEW
23rd Mar 1965 58
L
 3 Wigan L H 6 10 VIEW
27th Mar 1965 59
L
 3 Salford L A 8 11 VIEW
30th Mar 1965 60
W
 3 Hull Kingston Rovers L H 8 2 VIEW
5th Apr 1965 61
W
 3 Barrow L A 21 14 2 VIEW
9th Apr 1965 62
W
 3 Liverpool City L A 11 0 VIEW
16th Apr 1965 63
W
 3 Wigan L A 16 8 VIEW
17th Apr 1965 64
W
 3 Widnes L A 14 2 VIEW
19th Apr 1965 65
W
 3 Swinton L H 16 5 VIEW
21st Apr 1965 66
W
 3 Huddersfield L A 20 6 VIEW
24th Apr 1965 67
W
 3 Barrow Ch1 H 23 7 1 VIEW
30th Apr 1965 68
W
 3 Hull Kingston Rovers Ch2 H 24 6 VIEW
15th May 1965 69
W
 3 Wakefield Trinity ChSF H 10 5 VIEW
14th Aug 1965 --
L
 3 Swinton * Fr Gallie Cup A 9 11 VIEW
4th Sep 1965 --NPS
W
 14 Warrington L A 11 2 VIEW
10th Sep 1965 --NPS
L
 14 Swinton LC1 H 7 8 VIEW
15th Sep 1965 70
W
 4 New Zealand Tour H 28 7 1 VIEW
18th Sep 1965 71
W
 4 Castleford L H 21 6 VIEW
27th Sep 1965 72
W
 4 Widnes L A 9 4 VIEW
1st Oct 1965 73
W
 4 Oldham L H 23 17 1 VIEW
5th Oct 1965 74
W
 4 Leigh FT1 H 25 19 1 VIEW
9th Oct 1965 75
W
 4 Barrow L H 18 14 VIEW
16th Oct 1965 --NPS
W
 14 Salford L A 15 11 VIEW
11th Apr 1966 76
L
 3 Swinton L A 6 20 VIEW
24th Sep 1966 77
D
 4 Rochdale Hornets L A 17 17 VIEW
30th Sep 1966 78
W
 4 Whitehaven L H 35 12 1 VIEW
7th Oct 1966 79
W
 4 Blackpool Borough L H 25 6 1 VIEW
14th Oct 1966 80
W
 14 Wakefield Trinity L H 18 15 VIEW
18th Oct 1966 81
W
 4 Swinton FT1 H 11 9 VIEW
22nd Oct 1966 82
W
 3 Salford L A 30 3 VIEW
28th Oct 1966 --NPS
W
 14 Leeds L H 16 3 VIEW
1st Nov 1966 --NPS
D
 14 Barrow FT2 A 11 11 VIEW
2nd Nov 1966 83
L
 3 Leigh L A 5 29 VIEW
11th Nov 1966 --NPS
W
 14 Castleford L H 13 2 VIEW
18th Nov 1966 84
W
 14 Barrow L H 16 11 VIEW
26th Nov 1966 --NPS
W
 14 Huddersfield L A 15 10 VIEW
2nd Dec 1966 --NPS
L
 14 Castleford L A 7 25 VIEW
9th Dec 1966 85
W
 14 Leigh L H 4 0 VIEW
17th Dec 1966 --NPS
W
 14 Workington Town L A 16 9 VIEW
26th Dec 1966 --NPS
W
 14 Wigan L H 8 3 VIEW
27th Dec 1966 86
W
 4 Warrington L A 9 8 VIEW
2nd Jan 1967 --NPS
D
 14 Swinton L A 9 9 VIEW
21st Jan 1967 --NPS
L
 14 Workington Town L H 5 6 VIEW
27th Jan 1967 87
W
 3 Oldham L H 25 7 VIEW
3rd Feb 1967 88
D
 3 Salford CC1 A 5 5 VIEW
7th Feb 1967 --NPS
L
 14 Salford CC1(rep) H 3 8 VIEW
11th Feb 1967 --NPS
W
 14 Liverpool City L H 23 6 VIEW
17th Feb 1967 --NPS
L
 14 Oldham L A 7 8 VIEW
11th Aug 1967 --
W
 15 Swinton * Fr Gallie Cup A 9 7 VIEW
18th Aug 1967 89
W
 3 Rochdale Hornets LC1 H 7 4 VIEW
17th Feb 1968 90
W
 14 Batley L A 18 12 VIEW
23rd Feb 1968 91
L
 14 Hull Kingston Rovers L A 10 12 VIEW
6th Mar 1968 --NPS
W
 14 Warrington L A 12 6 VIEW
23rd Mar 1968 92
L
 3 Wakefield Trinity L A 3 23 VIEW
30th Mar 1968 --NPS
W
 14 Workington Town L H 18 11 VIEW
12th Apr 1968 --NPS
W
 14 Wigan L H 24 13 VIEW
15th Apr 1968 --NPS
W
 14 Swinton L A 19 16 VIEW
19th Apr 1968 93
W
 3 Halifax Ch1 H 31 2 1 VIEW
24th Apr 1968 94
W
 3 Warrington Ch2 H 20 0 1 VIEW
27th Apr 1968 95
L
 4 Hull Kingston Rovers ChSF A 10 23 VIEW
9th Aug 1968 --
W
 3 Swinton* Fr Gallie Cup H 13 9 1 VIEW
14th Aug 1968 96
W
 2 Wakefield Trinity L A 5 0 VIEW
24th Aug 1968 97
L
 4 Leeds L A 13 20 VIEW
4th Oct 1968 98
D
 1 Salford L A 10 10 VIEW
7th Oct 1968 99
W
 1 Leigh LCSF A 17 6 VIEW
12th Oct 1968 100
W
 1 Leeds L H 28 3 VIEW
14th Oct 1968 101
W
 1 Swinton FT1 H 12 10 1 VIEW
25th Oct 1968 102
W
 5 Oldham LCF N 30 2 1 VIEW
30th Oct 1968 103
L
 5 Rochdale Hornets L A 2 13 VIEW
10th Dec 1968 104
W
 1 Warrington FTSF H 29 6 VIEW
17th Dec 1968 105
L
 1 Wigan FTF A 4 7 VIEW
26th Dec 1968 --NPS
W
 14 Wigan L AB H 11 3 VIEW
1st Jan 1969 --NPS
W
 14 Swinton L A 15 5 VIEW
6th Jan 1969 106
W
 14 Hull Kingston Rovers L A 16 5 VIEW
11th Jan 1969 --NPS
W
 14 Whitehaven L A 9 7 VIEW
14th Jan 1969 107
W
 1 Wigan L H 13 3 VIEW
18th Jan 1969 108
W
 1 Rochdale Hornets L H 17 7 VIEW
25th Jan 1969 109
W
 1 Hull CC1 A 13 3 VIEW
25th Feb 1969 110
W
 1 Oldham CC2 A 15 6 VIEW
1st Mar 1969 111
L
 14 Warrington CC3 A 2 4 VIEW
6th Mar 1969 112
W
 4 Huyton L H 37 6 1 VIEW
11th Mar 1969 113
W
 2 Barrow L H 32 7 VIEW
15th Mar 1969 114
L
 3 Leigh L A 10 12 VIEW
19th Apr 1969 115
W
 2 Doncaster L H 57 5 VIEW
*Unofficial Match. **Non Playing Sub.
WINS : 113 | LOSSES : 31 | DRAWS : 5

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