Known throughout rugby as ‘Nugget’, Martyn Williams became one of the defining players of Cardiff’s professional era.
Williams made 226 appearances for Cardiff across 13 seasons after joining from Pontypridd in 1999. He scored 48 tries and 240 points and became the club’s first captain in the professional era, holding the role for three consecutive seasons.
His consistency was legendary, with former Cardiff coach Dai Young once saying: ‘Martyn has never ever played poorly. Some games he’s good, some games he’s very good.’
Williams went on to win 108 Welsh caps, including 100 Tests, becoming the first Welsh forward to reach a century of caps. He was also a British Lion on three tours – 2001, 2005 and 2009 – appearing in four Tests and scoring two tries.
He represented the Barbarians seven times and was awarded the MBE in 2012 for services to rugby.
