Wales captain Rhys Williams hailed ahead of record-breaking milestone

Wales coach John Kear said he couldn’t speak highly enough of Rhys Williams, who will captain his country in his record-breaking appearance.

The Salford winger will become Wales’ record appearance holder with 31 on Sunday, surpassing Ian Watson and Jordan James, when he captains his country against France in Albi.

Williams already holds the record for most tries for Wales, with 22 to his name.

Wales head coach full of praise for Rhys Williams

The Flintshire-born winger has earned the plaudits of his Wales head coach John Kear ahead of his milestone appearance.

Kear said: “I feel very proud and privileged to be involved with that man.

“I think I took over in 2014 and there were amateur players in that tournament and the one player who has always been there is Rhys Williams. He always puts his hand up, he is a very proud Welshman.

“He is absolutely exemplary in camps in regards to a role model and his performances on the field are always so consistent.

“Being the record try scorer is a feather in his cap and I will be so proud of him on Sunday when he steps on that field and he breaks the men’s Welsh senior caps record.

“He is a credit to his family, the clubs and the nation he has represented. I can’t speak any more highly of him. He is a top bloke and is getting what he deserves.”

Williams has made more than 300 career appearances for Wales, Warrington, Crusaders (loan), Castleford (loan), Swinton (loan), Central Queensland Capras, London Broncos and Salford.

Wales will play their first game in more than 1,300 days when they travel to France this weekend. Their last game was a win over Ireland in 2018.

Kear says he hopes to have another warm-up game prior to the World Cup this autumn. They are in a group alongside Tonga, Papua New Guinea and the Cook Islands.

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