Born in Melbourne, Australia, to a Welsh father and a Russian mother, he grew up in North Wales, where he attended Grove Park School in Wrexham. A strong second row forward, he played his early senior rugby at New Brighton and was selected for Wales U23 against Canada in 1962.
By that time he had already been given a Wales trial and a year later decided to move to south Wales and join Newport. His debut in Black & Amber came in a defeat to Bristol on 14 September 1963 and he went on to make 167 appearances for the club, scoring 16 tries.
He formed a great second row partnership with Brian Pirce and joined him in the boilerhouse for the drawn game with the touring Australians at Rodney Parade on 23 November 1966.
In his final season at the club, in 1968-69, he was only on the losing side once in 22 appearances as the Price-inspired team won the unofficial Welsh Championship at a canter, losing only four times in 45 games.
His Wales debut came against Scotland at Murrayfield in 1965 in place of the injured Brian Thomas. He packed down alongside Price and helped steer Wales to a 14-12 win in a magnificent match. Scotland and Wales had shared the title inn 1964 and it was a first return to Edinburgh since the game of 111 line-outs, when Wales had pinched the game through the tactical kicking of their captain, Clive Rowlands.
This was a totally different match and the lead changed hands no fewer than four times. It was a victory that put Wales on course for a Triple Crown and the title.
Neath lock Thomas returned for the remainder of the championship, but Morris was able to pick up a second cap against France in Cardiff the following season. Once again he came in for Thomas and had his trusty clubmate, Price, alongside him.
It was another Newport man, wing Stuart Watkins, who stole the show with a near length of the field interception try that earned Wales a 9-8 victory. That made it back-to-back Five Nations titles, allowing Morris to maintain his unbeaten record on the international stage and claim his part in in a Triple Crown and two championship winning campaigns.
He also toured South Africa with the Barbarians in 1969, helping them to 24-21. In all, he played eight times for the Baa-Baas. He quit rugby after the tour to concentrate on his job as a solicitor, although made five appearances for Cardiff in the 1970-71 season.
The Welsh Rugby Union sends sincere condolences to the family and friends of Bill Morris.
Williams John Morris: 2 caps. Cap No: 697. B: Melbourne, Australia 16 June, 1941; D: 15 November, 2023
