White says he would not be where he is without Bridgend

England prop Julian White, seen as one of the leading tight-heads in world rugby, considered qualifying for Wales by residency in his time with Bridgend.

"There'd been no England interest and I thought about it," White told the BBC.

"At the end of the day I'm not Welsh and I wanted to give it a go in the Premiership. Luckily it worked out."

Leading the campaign to convince White to opt for red was none other than Wales legend JPR Williams.

The former Grand Slam winning full-back of the 1970s was a coach at Bridgend and quickly identified White's ability.

"He was a rare breed - an out-and-out scrummaging tight-head prop," Williams told BBC Wales Sport.

I don't think we can take any credit for his scrummaging ability! JPR Williams

"We were very keen to keep him in Wales and get a Welsh qualification out of him.

"But he decided to go to play for Saracens, who actually hadn't given him a better contract than we did at Bridgend.

"He felt he ought to give it a try to get in the England side. Of course, the rest is history and he's ended up an MBE after winning the World Cup."

White's unlikely sojourn in south Wales came after a spell playing Super 12 rugby in New Zealand with the Canterbury Crusaders.

After returning to Britain he suffered a serious leg injury in a car accident - which Williams later operated on - but was pleased that the Ravens took an interest in him.

"If I hadn't gone to Bridgend I wouldn't be where I am now, they gave me the chance when I was injured," said the 24-cap man.

"I really enjoyed my time there. My girlfriend's from Wales and Bridgend is a great club, although they were struggling financially when I was there."

The 31-year-old moved to Saracens in 1999 and won his first England cap a year later.

Now winning a place in the national side ahead of Phil Vickery, White had an outstanding autumn Test series and is favourite for a Lions starting spot next summer.

"It went well for me, but it was a gamble and it could easily have gone the other way," he added.

White has been itinerant since he left Bridgend, moving from Saracens to Bristol before joining Leicester Tigers in 2003.

August 2003: Wales 9-43 England

He returned to Cardiff that summer with England, destroying Wales prop Iestyn Thomas as Clive Woodward's second-string team warmed up for the World Cup with a 43-9 win over Wales' first-choice XV.

"That was a long time ago and it's not realistic to expect us to go to the Millennium Stadium and just drive Wales off the ball as we did that day," said White.

"There have been a lot of changes in Wales with a lot of talented players coming through.

"Gethin Jenkins is a very good loose-head and they have two experienced hookers [Mefin Davies and Robin McBryde] to choose from.

"At home Wales are going to fancy their chances. There have been a lot of changes in the England side, but we've just got to get our game right."