The former Wales rugby fullback J P R Williams has just carved an unexpected philatelic niche for himself by becoming the first living Briton to admit to being deliberately featured on a British stamp. Self-imposed Royal Mail rules have, until 2002, forbidden living Britons to feature on GB stamps unless they are members of the Royal Family and they are still not allowed to be a main "hero image", or if shown individually to be: "neither immediately identifiable nor a public figure"

However, the Sports Centenaries stamp set of 1980 included a 13½p stamp for the Welsh Rugby Union's centenary. It showed an action study off a French player being left for dead by a ball-carrier who looked suspiciously like J P R Williams on a typical burst through the line.

Now, 23 years later J P R has revealed that the figure in full flight, ball tucked under the right shoulder, was indeed he. J P R explained: "Yes, it was taken from an action picture of me. I'm sorry, I don't know who the defender was in the background but French sides of the 70's and 80's were certainly our greatest rivals. I'm not sure if the break led to a try!"