Ex-Wallabies duo highlight Jeremy Williams’ impact against England

Former Wallabies Cameron Shepherd and Morgan Turinui agree Jeremy Williams was one of Australia’s best against England, with the lock and Fraser McReight impressing despite the 25-7 Autumn Nations Series defeat.

Williams was named in the starting side for just the fifth time this year, having made another seven appearances off the pine, with coach Joe Schmidt pairing the Western Force skipper with Nick Frost for the Test at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium.

While the result didn’t go the Wallabies’ way, Williams proved reliable at the set-piece and made a difference around the park. The 24-year-old made nine tackles and carried the ball six times, which caught both Shepherd and Turinui’s attention.

Shepherd believes Williams was Australia’s best on the night, while prop Taniela Tupou and winger Harry Potter also made the top three. While Turinui didn’t rank Williams as the Wallabies’ Player of the Match, the lock did place second behind McReight.

“I’ve gone with Jeremy Williams, and I know everyone’s going to be going ‘Fraser McReight, Fraser McReight’, yeah he was brilliant,” Shepherd said on Stan Sport’s Between Two Posts.

“But what I really loved from Williams was, without his attitude in that engine room on the weekend, and yes [Tupou] was great, I think the Wallabies would have been in real strife.

“He brought so much energy, the amount of little one percenters around the field that it won’t show up on the stats, and most people probably would’ve missed… it was constant for me every single time as I watched the game, I saw a big play and it was something that I thought was probably not going to be noticed by many. It was always Jeremy Williams.”

Stan Sport panellists Turinui and Sean Maloney both sung the praises of McReight, who made a team-high 13 tackles and won five turnovers. McReight was a shining light for the Wallabies, starring yet again at openside flanker.

Turinui gave McReight three votes from the England Test, two to Williams, and one to Frost who continues to impress as a regular in the run-on side. Forst played the full 80 minutes while Williams was replaced in the 67^th minute.

“For all the reasons that ‘Shep’ mentioned, Fraser McReight,” Turini added.

“I thought he was excellent. He was busy.

“When Michael Hooper talks about the guy’s decision-making on when to go, when not to go, how good his body position is over the ball, I think there’s no better compliment from a better person.”

Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt was asked about the performances of McReight and Potter post-game, with the winger scoring the team’s sole try in the contest. Potter intercepted a pass before running 95 metres to the house for a score in the 33^rd minute.

Schmidt acknowledged that both men “played really well” during a tough Test for the Wallabies, describing Potter’s performance as “super” while highlighting McReight’s impressive work at the breakdown in particular.