Since then it has only happened on eight more occasions, the last being Colin Charvis’ haul against Japan in 2004. The full list is as follows:
Willie Llewellyn v England, 1899
Reggie Gibbs, v France 1908
Maurice Richards, v England, 1969
Ieuan Evans, v Canada, 1987
Nigel Walker, v Portugal, 1994
Gareth Thomas, v Italy, 1999
Shane Williams, v Japan, 2001
Tom Shanklin, v Romania, 2004
Colin Charvis, v Japan, 2004
Sixty years after Llewellyn had tormented the English, another great wing did the same at Cardiff Arms Park. If it had been a tight first half on a windy day in the Welsh capital – it was 3-3 at the break – the second half turned into a tour as Wales not only secured the Triple Crown and the Championship, but also notched a record equalling win against England.
Richards opened his account in the first half and then add three more in a blistering 11 minute spell in the final quarter. That took his tally for the Championship to a Welsh record six, a mark that has since only been equalled by Shane Williams in 2008 with one extra game.
The game also saw Keith Jarrett set a Welsh record for the Championship with 31 points. He notched 12 points with three conversions and two penalties, while the brilliant Barry John added a try and a drop goal for good measure.
WALES 30 – 9 ENGLAND, SATURDAY, 12 APRIL, 1969
England arrived with a chance of sharing the title having recovered from their opening round defeat to Ireland in Dublin by two points with home wins over France and Scotland. Cornish wing Ken Plummer made his debut and it turned into a day to be forgotten.
He had to mark Richards and got nowhere near him all afternoon. He had to wait seven years for the second of his four caps, while skipper Budge Rogers saw his 34 cap career stretching back to 1961 finally come to an end with a record of one win, two draws and four defeats against Wales.
Wales: JPR Williams, Stuart Watkins, Keith Jarrett, John Dawes, Maurice Richards; Barry John, Gareth Edwards (captain); Denzil Williams, Jeff Young, John Lloyd, Delme Thomas, Brian Thomas, Dai Morris, John Taylor, Mervyn Davies
Scorers: Tries: M Richards 4, B John; Cons: K Jarrett 3; Pens: K Jarrett 2
England: Bob Hiller; Ken Plummer, John Spencer, David Duckham, Rod Webb; John Finlan, Trevor Wintle; Dave Powell, John Pullen, Keith Fairbrother, Peter Larter, Nigel Horton, Budge Rogers (captain), Bob Taylor, Dave Rollitt
Scorers: Pens: R Hiller 3
Referee: Paddy D’Arcy (Ireland)
Wales, led by Gareth Edwards, hadn’t lost to England since 1963 and had seen their Grand Slam hopes thwarted in a 8-8 draw in Paris a few weeks earlier. The Triple Crown was still up for grabs in what was to become the first of many in the second ‘Golden Era’ for Welsh rugby.
Watch highlights of the game HERE
It was the sixth cap of nine for Richards before he headed to rugby league. He had toured with the British & Irish Lions in South Africa the previous year, where he played in three of the four Tests and scored five tries in 11 appearances on tour.
MAURICE ON HIS FOUR TRIES
“I remember the game with huge pride. I was not aware of the record. It was low-key in those days. We had a dinner after the match and I drove home after it. The next day was a normal Sunday, apart from a photographer wanting to take a picture of me and my wife, Lesley, and the following day I was at work in the steelworks in Port Talbot.
It was all coming together for Wales in 1969. Clive Rowlands was the coach, an inspirational figure who knew what it took to win, we had a terrific set of forwards, half‑backs of a kind you will never find again and flair behind. Added to that was footballing ability, players who knew how to use the ball strategically. Put it all together and things happen, as it did that day against England. I scored the tries but it was the forwards who won the game. They destroyed England’s pack.
Ken Plummer was not to blame for what happened. I was introduced to him at a Varsity Match some years later; I don’t think he was pleased to see me. I am not sure I touched the ball more than four times: it is about being in the right place. Some tries are down to flair, others to hard work, perseverance and reading the game.
I suppose I could have had five had Barry not intervened. He had a habit of ghosting through tacklers. He did not seem to do anything, but the end product was tremendous; what a player.
In those days, Cardiff played on the Arms Park. Running out on to the Arms Park was special. When I was a kid it seemed the only place where rugby existed. When I was seven my grandfather, Edwin Rees, a professional footballer with Charlton Athletic and Bradford City in the 1920s, and my stepfather took me to see Cardiff play Newport. One of their forwards stooped to pick up the ball and Cliff Morgan darted between his legs to scoop it up. I was hooked.
I lived in the Rhondda and the club was on a pedestal there. I never dared to think about playing for them and it was a difficult decision to leave in 1969. Who knows what I would have gone on to achieve had I stayed, but I count myself fortunate to have played six years for Cardiff and been capped by Wales and the Lions followed by 14 happy years at Salford. I have no regrets.”
As told to Paul Rees in The Guardian in 2019.
MAURICE CHARLES REES RICHARDS
Born in Tonypandy, Richards played for the Welsh Secondary Schools and made his Cardiff debut against Glamorgan Wanderers at the age of 18 as a centre. The following season he made 21 appearances and, in only his seventh game in Blue & Black, lined-up against the 1963 All Blacks.
He was in the side that beat the 1966 Wallabies and got his first taste of South African ruby on the club’s 1967 tour. He scored six tries in his four games, including a hat-trick in the win over Eastern Province.
In the end, he notched 96 tries in 171 games for Cardiff in seven seasons before heading ‘North’ to join Salford for £9,000. Welsh rugby had seen a glimpse of his talent, with his try against the All Blacks on the 1969 summer tour ranking as one of the greatest ever scored by a Welshman, but the Red Devils certainly got the best of him.
He scored a club record 287 tries in an all-time high of 498 games between 1969-1983. He also picked up caps for Great Britain and Wales.
Now 75, he still lives in Manchester.
