Memorabilia owned by Welsh rugby legend goes under the hammer

Rugby memorabilia including jerseys from some of Wales’ most important matches collected by one of the nation’s most iconic players, the late JPR Williams will be going under the hammer this month.

On 10 April, Welsh fine art auction house Rogers Jones & Co will be selling the collection from the Welsh great who died just over a year ago.

The memorabilia, which has been entered by JPR’s family comprises 29 jerseys that the legendary full-back wore for important matches or that he kept after swapping with opposite International full-backs.

The most valuable of the jerseys is JPR Williams’ match-worn 1973 Barbarians RFC jersey which was worn against the All Blacks in one of the most famous matches of all time, often regarded as the ‘greatest match’.  This jersey alone is expected to realise over £20,000.

Historical prices

The auction follows the sale of Sir Gareth Edwards’ jerseys which was sold by the same auction house in 2023.

Sir Gareth’s Barbarians jersey from the same match made a whopping record price of £240,000 – a world record for an item or rugby memorabilia.

The incredible price for that jersey was down to the ‘greatest try’ which was scored by Sir Gareth at the start of the match. JPR Williams was the second Barbarian to touch the ball in the build up to the try after Phil Bennett’s famous side-stepping. JPR also scored a magnificent try in the match to help seal the victory against the might All Blacks.

Also being offered is JPR’s British Lions match-worn jersey from 1971 when the Lions won a series for the first and only time in New Zealand. One of the decisive moments in the series was when JPR kicked a rare drop-goal in the final test which ended in a drawn match to seal the Lions series win. This iconic jersey is being offered with an estimate of £6000-12000. Sir Gerald Davies’ 1971 Lions jersey sold at Rogers Jones & Co two years ago for £10,500.

Another special jersey in the collection is JPR’s Wales jersey from when he won his 50^th cap, that one is estimated at £3000-6000.

Other match-worn jerseys include JPR’s London Welsh, his Bridgend jersey, special centenary match jerseys and more. Whilst there are other jerseys from players whom he swapped with, including Springbok players, All Blacks, France and England (whom JPR never lost against in eleven full cap matches).

Museum-worthy pieces

The whole collection is expected to realise more than £70,000.

Auctioneer, Ben Rogers Jones, shared his thoughts on who might buy these items: ‘‘Genuine artefacts which relate to icons such as JPR have been sought after for years. And the values depend on what the item is, the person they relate to and the occasion.

“If you are, for instance, a Beatles fan, then you would surely love to own a Sgt Pepper costume or a pair of John Lennon’s glasses. If you loved Marily Monroe, then that white dress from The Seven Year Itch.

“So, the obvious choice for rugby fans is collecting the jerseys which the players ran out in. Such jerseys not only represent the player who wore them but can also symbolise key moments in sporting history such as famous tries or drop-goals.

“They can also remind us of seminal championships or a test series.  It is all about nostalgia and reliving sporting history.

“As for who buys these items? We hold the two highest auction records for rugby jerseys. A 1905 All Blacks jersey for £180,000 and Sir Gareth’s 1973 Barbarians jersey for £240,000. Both went to a well-known collector based in London.

“But other jerseys which normally sell for hundreds or thousands, rather than hundreds of thousands, sell to collectors around the world. Normally, French collectors buy French jerseys, New Zealanders buy All Blacks jerseys and so forth. But they nearly always go to private individuals’’

Many supporters would think it a shame that these items do not go to museums, and surprisingly Ben agreed, saying: ‘’I would absolutely agree with that. In my opinion Wales is especially poor at commemorating our many achievements as a sporting nation.

“There is a World Rugby Museum at Twickenham and New Zealand have a museum in Palmerston North. You would think that there would be something similar in Cardiff as it is considered a rugby capital. But sadly not!”

Although, he added: “It is not a complaint of course – we are grateful that famous rugby jerseys are being appreciated and are achieving good prices. Though, JPR’s family are auctioning the collection primarily because it is a great way of retelling his amazing story. And we are honoured to be that story-teller.

“However, there really should be a rugby museum in Wales where people can pay homage to our great rugby history. For me, our amazing rugby heritage is important to inspire the next generation. And we really do need that inspiration at the moment.”

The auction takes place in Cardiff at the company’s saleroom. For further details, visit www.rogersjones.co.uk