Michael Owen had the distinction of becoming the 1,000th player to be capped by Wales when he made his debut against South Africa in the 1st Test of the 2002 summer tour in Bloemfontein.

Wales’s No.1 cap was their first skipper, James Bevan, who led the team at Mr Richardson’s Field, Blackheath on 19th February 1881. Born in Melbourne, Australia he became the first Welsh international on the register because there were no other players with surnames starting with ‘A’ or ‘B’.

His unique position as Wales’s first captain was honoured 126 years later when his name was given to a trophy to be played for between Wales and Australia. The ‘James Bevan Trophy’ was won by the Wallabies in the two Tests in the summer of 2007 when it was first played for.

It took 55 years for Wales to cap the first 500 players; that landmark going to Barney McCall of Newport against England in 1936. The next 500, climaxing in Newport Gwent Dragons' Michael Owen (then at Pontypridd), took a further 66 years.

Players are given a unique cap number by the WRU on their debut. This number is calculated alphabetically for those new caps picked in a team and then by time of appearance for replacements.