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It is 110 years since Wales first met the Wallabies and in the two teams that met at Cardiff Arms Park on 12 December, 1908, there were many players who later became embroiled in the Great War.

Pride of place on this weekend of all weekends, as the world prepares to mark the 100^th anniversary of the ending of World War 1 on the 11^th hour of the 11^th day of November, 1918, has to go to the Welsh duo of Johnny Williams and Phil Waller. They paid the ultimate price for serving King and Country and were among 13 Welsh internationals who lost their lives in the global conflict. The Australians lost 10 of their internationals.

Williams, who was the second of three Welsh internationals to be killed in France in July, 1916 – Dick Thomas      at Mametz on 7 July, Williams on 12 July also at Mametz and Dai Watts two days later at Bazentin – was the Ieuan Evans or Shane Williams of his era. He scored a record 17 tries in his 17 Welsh appearances, surpassing the previous best of 16 scored by Willie Llewellyn. However, less than a fortnight after reaching 17 tries in February, 1911, he had to share the record with his fellow Cardiff wing Reggie Gibbs when he joined him on the same total.

Their joint record remained intact until 19 December, 1953, when Ken Jones joined them with his famous try in the win over New Zealand. Gareth Edwards then finally overtook them with his 18^th try in the win over Ireland in Dublin in 1976 – a week short of 65 years later!

Williams also went on the 1908 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia, top scoring with 12 tries in 20 appearances, including two Tests, in New Zealand and Australia. He played through three Triple Crown and Grand Slam campaigns in 1908, 09 and 11 and lost only twice in a Welsh shirt.

That was a good enough record to earn him a place in the World Rugby Hall of Fame in 2015, a posthumous inductee along with one of his opponents in the 1908 clash with Australia, Tom Richards. ‘Rusty’ Richards not only played for Australia, but also for the Lions on their 1910 tour to South Africa.

One of his team mates on that trip was Newport forward Waller, who made his debut as a teenager against the Wallabies. Like Williams, he perished in France, killed by a stray shell as he was driving away from the front to go home for some much needed leave. He had been on the winning side in each of his six successive internationals, including a Triple Crown and Grand Slam in 1909.

A number of other players from both teams also served during WW1, with Richards being awarded a Military Cross for his efforts. Although twice wounded , he led a raid at Bullecourt in 1917 that earned him this citation for his MC: “For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He was in charge of bombing party and despite strenuous opposition succeeded in extending the line 250 yards and holding a strong post. He set a splendid example throughout.”

Wales’ 9-6 win over the Wallabies was their sixth in a row and Billy Trew’s team went on to notch 11 straight wins between 9 March, 1907, and 1 January, 1910 – a record that has never been broken by any other Welsh team.
Trew was another triple Grand Slammer, along with Dicky Owen and Tom Evans, and one of the greatest of all Welsh captains.

The Welsh full back that day was Bert Winfield, who completed a hat-trick of southern hemisphere scalps having played in the 1905 win over New Zealand and the 1906 triumph by Cardiff over the Springboks. He served in the 16th Battalion (City of Cardiff) of the Welsh Regiment during WW1 and also played for Wales at golf.