William Rex Willis

William Rex Willis

William Rex Willis was born in Ystrad on 25 October 1924 and educated at Llandaff Cathedral School and Pangbourne. In 1950 he shot to prominence having succeeded Haydn Tanner [q.v.] at scrum-half in the Cardiff and Wales teams and gaining selection for the British Isles tour of Australia, New Zealand and Ceylon. On that tour he played in 13 games, including two tests, and established himself as the number one player in the position. In 1953 he was in the Cardiff and Wales teams that beat New Zealand, in half-back partnership with Cliff Morgan [q.v.]. In 1954 he captained Wales against France and the following year against Scotland. He finished his international career with 21 caps. He captained Cardiff in 1952/53 and also led the Barbarians against New Zealand in 1954. In his professional life he owned several cinemas in South Wales. He was also a long-serving member of the Barbarian committee from 1961 to 1985. Rex Willis died on 19 December 2000, aged 76.