Current captain Elliot Kear scores for Wales 9s v Lebanon 9s in Sydney in 2009. Digital image by Shane Myers � NRL Photos
To play for Wales is one thing, to captain Wales is another.
Whether a player has captained Wales 18 times, like current men’s 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 50 first class men’s side captains, 47 in test matches.
The stats include 180 capped internationals, five “tour” matches in New Zealand in 1975 against regional and representative sides, plus four recognised first class matches against representative sides played in England, Wales and France.
THE WALES CAPTAINS ROLL OF HONOUR
| Captain # | Name | Times as Captain | Debut as Captain |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Llewellyn | 2 | Test # 1 - 01/01/1908 New Zealand |
| 2 | Bert Jenkins | 5 | Test # 2 - 20/04/1908 England |
| 3 | Chick Jenkins | 2 | Test # 5 - 09/04/1910 England |
| 4 | Johnny Thomas | 2 | Test # 10 - 15/02/1913 England |
| 5 | Gwyn Thomas | 1 | Test # 12 - 19/01/1921 England |
| 6 | Ben Gronow | 4 | Test # 13 - 10/12/1921 Australia |
| 7 | Danny Hurcombe | 3 | Test # 17 - 07/02/1925 England |
| 8 | Jim Sullivan * | 19 | Test # 19 - 12/04/1926 England |
| 9 | Joe Thompson | 1 | Test # 24 - 18/01/1930 Australia |
| 10 | Emlyn Jenkins | 1 | Test # 30 - 10/04/1935 England |
| 11 | Gus Risman | 5 | Test # 40 - 09/11/1940 England |
| 12 | Trevor Foster | 7 | Test # 42 - 27/02/1943 England |
| 13 | Doug Phillips | 1 | Test # 50 - 12/04/1947 France |
| 14 | Ted Ward | 9 | Test # 51 - 20/09/1947 England |
| 15 | Dai Jenkins | 1 | Test # 56 - 22/09/1948 England |
| 16 | Ralph Morgan | 1 | Test # 62 - 12/11/1949 France |
| 17 | Richard Williams | 5 | Test # 64 - 14/10/1950 England |
| 18 | Frank Osmond | 1 | Test # 66 - 15/04/1951 France |
| 19 | Gareth Price * | 1 | 19/05/1951 British Empire |
| 20 | Bryn Goldswain * | 4 | Test # 70 - 06/04/1952 France |
| 21 | Jack Evans | 3 | Test # 73 - 15/04/1953 Other Nationalities |
| 22 | Billy Banks | 1 | Test # 76 - 13/12/1953 France |
| 23 | Tommy Harris | 1 | Test # 77 - 01/03/1959 France |
| 24 | Lewis Jones | 1 | Test # 78 - 17/02/1963 France |
| 25 | John Mantle | 3 | Test # 79 - 07/11/1968 England |
| 26 | John Warlow | 1 | Test # 80 - 09/03/1969 France |
| 27 | Gordon Lewis | 2 | Test # 83 - 25/01/1970 France |
| 28 | David Watkins ** | 17 | Test # 85 - 16/02/1975 France |
| 29 | Kel Coslett * | 1 | 01/07/1975 Auckland |
| 30 | Bill Francis | 6 | Test # 96 - 20/02/1977 France |
| 31 | John Bevan | 4 | Test # 104 - 31/01/1981 France |
| 32 | Trevor Skerrett | 1 | Test # 108 - 14/10/1984 England |
| 33 | Jonathan Davies | 9 | Test # 109 - 17/10/1991 Papua New Guinea |
| 34 | Dai Young | 6 | Test # 111 - 27/11/1992 England |
| 35 | Paul Moriarty | 1 | Test # 124 - 26/06/1996 England |
| 36 | Kelvin Skerrett * | 1 | 19/06/1998 Emerging England |
| 37 | Neil Cowie | 2 | Test # 125 - 15/10/1999 Ireland |
| 38 | Iestyn Harris | 6 | Test # 127 - 19/10/2000 South Africa |
| 39 | Keiron Cunningham | 1 | Test # 133 - 29/07/2001 England |
| 40 | Lee Briers | 13 | Test # 134 - 03/11/2002 New Zealand |
| 41 | Paul Atcheson | 3 | Test # 137 - 26/10/2003 Russia |
| 42 | Damian Gibson | 2 | Test # 138 - 17/10/2004 Ireland |
| 43 | David Mills | 1 | Test # 147 - 10/10/2008 England |
| 44 | Jordan James | 6 | Test # 148 - 17/10/2009 England |
| 45 | Ian Watson | 1 | Test # 152 - 06/10/2010 Italy |
| 46 | Gareth Thomas | 1 | Test # 155 - 23/10/2010 France |
| 47 | Craig Kopczak | 13 | Test # 161 - 20/10/2012 France |
| 48 | Peter Lupton | 3 | Test # 166 - 17/10/2014 Scotland |
| 49 | Rhodri Lloyd | 1 | Test # 173 - 21/10/2016 Jamaica |
| 50 | Elliot Kear | 3 | Test #178 - 27/10/2018 France |
* includes one non-test match
** includes four non-test matches