Les Williams will go down as one of the most committed Scarlets off the field of all time.
Les has dedicated 60 years of service as a volunteer to ensure the history and heritage of the club has been meticulously recorded and preserved.
Trimsaran born Les, now 78, has announced he will retire as club historian at the end of this season after covering a staggering 2,500-plus games over six decades.
To honour and mark his long-standing commitment, a special private event was held at Parc y Scarlets this week with players, coaches, staff and legends of the club all present to honour and thank Les for his contribution.
The Scarlets media centre, where Les has spent many hours arming journalists with Scarlets heritage and playing stats, will now be re-named the Les Williams Press Room in honour of his service to the club.
Recently awarded an outstanding contribution to sport award at the Carmarthenshire Sports Awards, Les has diligently recorded every match in Scarlets history since 1875 as well as every player that has worn the famous jersey.
He has authored an unrivalled archive of statistics and notes that the club and its media colleagues have relied on.
He first became involved with the club in 1965 at the age of 17 and went on to hold a variety of voluntary posts, including the editor of the official Scarlets matchday programme, which was twice voted the best in the UK.
During the 1970s, the great Carwyn James would ask Les to make a note of the number of scrums, line-outs, penalties etc that were won and lost during the match and Les would hand Carwyn the details on a bit of paper at the end of each match – in-game analysis that was way before its time.
He helped organise events for the club’s centenary and 150 year anniversary as well as being part of the team that delivered the last game at Stradey Park in 2008. He also wrote rugby questions for “A Question of Sport” in the 1990s.
He regularly attends the club’s Sporting Memories group, where he has brought along old programmes containing the names of relatives of many of the group’s members, sharing personal stories and memories from his time at the club.
Managing Director Jon Daniels said: “Les Williams has been the guardian of our history and heritage for 60 years. His commitment and service to our club as a volunteer over such a huge period of our history has been both remarkable and unprecedented.
“Since 1965, Les has covered more than 2,500 of our games which is staggering. He has recorded every game, every player and every result from our 152 year history – creating a seamless and accurate chartered history that we all rely on as staff, stakeholders, players and media.
“His Scarlets commitment has spanned six decades from taking notes for Carwyn James on scrums, penalties handwritten and handed to the great coach at the end of the game, to being editor of match day programmes, organising centenary and 150 year celebrations and the club’s last game at Stradey Park in 2008 as well as recently updating our roll of honour of all Llanelli and Scarlets players who have worn the jersey from 1875 onwards which is an incredible piece of work and one we are indebted to him for.
“In a pretty crazy rugby world, having Les knock on your door to bring you another gem he has unearthed from our history that has relevance today, reminds you that we are a rugby business rooted in our community and our heritage – our past is as important and incremental to us as our future. “
Scarlets’ Heritage Director Rupert Moon added his thanks to Les Williams. He said: “Without his knowledge, expertise and selfless dedication we wouldn’t have our full history on record. We have been able to chart our history, every game ,every player thanks to the 60 years of continuous voluntary service given to this club by the great Les Williams.
“Les is unique, a mild-mannered, unassuming character that does not want the limelight, but one that when referred to on our history has a very strong opinion. We are incredibly lucky to have him as part of this club and he has been invaluable to us.”
Les’ all-time Scarlets team
15 Terry Davies
14 Ieuan Evans
13 D Ken Jones
12 Terry Price
11 Ray Williams
10 Phil Bennett (vc)
9 Dwayne Peel
1 Brian Butler
2 Norman Gale
3 Barry Llewellyn
4 Delme Thomas (capt)
5 RH Thomas
6 Derek Quinnell
8 Scott Quinnell
7 Gareth Jenkins