Above pic – Elliot Kear – Wales’ 47th captain, leads his side onto the field against Scotland in 2018.
To play for Wales is one thing, to captain Wales is another.
Whether a player has captained Wales 18 times, like current record holder Jim Sullivan, or just the once like a number have done, it’s a great honour to lead the team out and stand in the centre for the photographs or coin toss.
From Tom Llewellyn, who captained Wales in the first ever international rugby league match between two full nations anywhere in the world when Wales beat New Zealand 9-8 in Aberdare on New Years Day 1908, Wales have had 46 captains.
THE WALES CAPTAINS ROLL OF HONOUR
| Captain # | Name | Times as Captain | Debut as Captain |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Jim Sullivan | 18 | Test # 19 – 12/04/1926 England |
| 26 | David Watkins | 13 | Test # 85 – 16/02/1975 France |
| 37 | Lee Briers | 13 | Test # 135 – 03/11/2002 New Zealand |
| 44 | Craig Kopczak | 13 | Test # 162 – 20/10/2012 France |
| 14 | Ted Ward | 9 | Test # 51 – 20/09/1947 England |
| 30 | Jonathan Davies | 9 | Test # 109 – 17/10/1991 Papua New Guinea |
| 12 | Trevor Foster | 7 | Test # 42 – 27/02/1943 England |
| 27 | Bill Francis | 6 | Test # 96 – 20/02/1977 France |
| 31 | Dai Young | 6 | Test # 111 – 27/11/1992 England |
| 35 | Iestyn Harris | 6 | Test # 128 – 19/10/2000 South Africa |
| 41 | Jordan James | 6 | Test # 149 – 17/10/2009 England |
| 2 | Bert Jenkins | 5 | Test # 2 – 20/04/1908 England |
| 11 | Gus Risman | 5 | Test # 40 – 09/11/1940 England |
| 17 | Richard Williams | 5 | Test # 64 – 14/10/1950 England |
| 6 | Ben Gronow | 4 | Test # 13 – 10/12/1921 Australia |
| 18 | Jack Evans | 4 | Test # 66 – 15/04/1951 France |
| 28 | John Bevan | 4 | Test # 104 – 31/01/1981 France |
| 7 | Danny Hurcombe | 3 | Test # 17 – 07/02/1925 England |
| 19 | Bryn Goldswain | 3 | Test # 70 – 06/04/1952 France |
| 23 | John Mantle | 3 | Test # 79 – 07/11/1968 England |
| 38 | Paul Atcheson | 3 | Test # 136 – 26/10/2003 Russia |
| 45 | Peter Lupton | 3 | Test # 167 – 17/10/2014 Scotland |
| 47 | Elliot Kear | 3 | Test #177 – 27/10/2018 France |
| 1 | Tom Llewellyn | 2 | Test # 1 – 01/01/1908 New Zealand |
| 3 | Chick Jenkins | 2 | Test # 5 – 09/04/1910 England |
| 4 | Johnny Thomas | 2 | Test # 10 – 15/02/1913 England |
| 25 | Gordon Lewis | 2 | Test # 83 – 25/01/1970 France |
| 34 | Neil Cowie | 2 | Test # 126 – 15/10/1999 Ireland |
| 39 | Damian Gibson | 2 | Test # 139 – 17/10/2004 Ireland |
| 5 | Gwyn Thomas | 1 | Test # 12 – 19/01/1921 England |
| 9 | Joe Thompson | 1 | Test # 24 – 18/01/1930 Australia |
| 10 | Emlyn Jenkins | 1 | Test # 30 – 10/04/1935 England |
| 13 | Doug Phillips | 1 | Test # 50 – 12/04/1947 France |
| 15 | Dai Jenkins | 1 | Test # 56 – 22/09/1948 England |
| 16 | Ralph Morgan | 1 | Test # 62 – 12/11/1949 France |
| 20 | Billy Banks | 1 | Test # 76 – 13/12/1953 France |
| 21 | Tommy Harris | 1 | Test # 77 – 01/03/1959 France |
| 22 | Lewis Jones | 1 | Test # 78 – 17/02/1963 France |
| 24 | John Warlow | 1 | Test # 80 – 09/03/1969 France |
| 29 | Trevor Skerrett | 1 | Test # 108 – 14/10/1984 England |
| 32 | Paul Moriarty | 1 | Test # 124 – 26/06/1996 England |
| 33 | Kelvin Skerrett | 1 | Test # 125 – 19/06/1998 England |
| 36 | Keiron Cunningham | 1 | Test # 134 – 29/07/2001 England |
| 40 | Ben Flower | 1 | Test # 148 – 10/10/2008 England |
| 42 | Ian Watson | 1 | Test # 153 – 06/10/2010 Italy |
| 43 | Gareth Thomas | 1 | Test # 156 – 23/10/2010 France |
| 46 | Rhodri Lloyd | 1 | Test # 174 – 21/10/2016 Jamaica |