'He's going to be something special': Nic White verdict on Bok rival

Australia scrum-half Nic White has tipped South Africa scrum-half Grant Williams to “be a talent for the next while,” after facing him in the opening two rounds of the Rugby Championship.

The Wallaby, who hung up his boots after the British & Irish Lions series only to postpone his retirement until the end of 2025, went head-to-head with Williams in South Africa in the first two rounds of the Championship, though he only lasted minutes of the second Test.

Joining the Behind the Ruck Podcast recently, the 35-year-old was asked by Juan de Jongh to assess the next generation of Springbok scrum-halves coming through.

Despite now being the age of 29, Williams, alongside Morne van den Berg, 27, and Jaden Hendrikse, 25, are seen as the new wave of scrum-halves that are set to take over from elder statesmen like Faf de Klerk and Cobus Reinach.

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The Sharks No.9, who can also play on the wing, is likely to start against the All Blacks on Saturday at Eden Park, and has received a vote of confidence from the Wallaby in the build-up.

“Grant Williams, wow, he’s a talent isn’t he?” White said. “Unbelievable, he’s lightning, he gets away from the breakdown like that [clicks fingers], he’s gone three steps.

“Certainly, in that first game, he was firing some passes with some serious width that was troubling our defence. You’ve got his pass mixed with [Manie] Libbok’s pass and before you know it, they’ve cut out eight, nine, 10 defenders and they’re running up edges.

“I think there were question marks over his kicking, but he’s silenced that in the last two weeks massively. His kicking game was good, his passing game is lightning quick, he’s fit; I think Grant Williams is going to be a talent for the next while.

“I had a little moment with him in the sheds after, we got to swap jerseys and get a photo together because I was pretty keen to swap jerseys with a guy like him because I think he’s going to be something special over the next bit of time.”