'Not over': The forgotten England prop tipped for a future recall
Rob Baxter is tipping forgotten England tighthead Harry Williams to fight his way into Test level contention again once he fully gets back into the swing of things at Exeter. The prop was last capped coming off the bench in the February 2021 Guinness Six Nations loss at home to Scotland, that 18-minute run off the bench as backup to Will Stuart being the last of the 30-year-old’s 19 caps.
Until that capped appearance against the Scots, Williams’ first since August 2019, he had existed in the ‘nearly’ zone with England as he was often picked in squads by Eddie Jones and then released back to Exeter in the midweek before Test games.
The twice-capped Joe Heyes has lately filled that fringe role with England as the third tighthead behind Kyle Sinckler and Stuart – and Williams’ cause for recognition wasn’t helped by his need for a December elbow operation which kept him out of the Exeter selection until a bench comeback in last Sunday’s win over Sale.
That was his first run since November 26 at Bath and Baxter reckons the 14-week layoff will now stand to Williams as it was his first lengthy injury break from the game in quite some time. Not only does he envisage the tighthead – who has been at Exeter since 2015 – bouncing back to hit top form, the Chiefs coach eventually sees his player doing enough to get selected by England at some stage in the future.
Asked by RugbyPass what he made of having Williams back in the mix last weekend after his four-month absence, Baxter said: “He is doing okay. To be fair to Harry, I am hoping that now he is back in the mix he will be one of the players who will benefit from this new emerging Exeter because the way we are playing will suit him more – the way we are talking, the way we are expressing ourselves and how we are going to attack set-piece will suit Harry.
“He has got some form to find and he will admit that but he has had an extended injury period where he has also been able to work on some other things because he has not had an extended injury period for quite some time. Now he has had that break and it’s like anything, it gives you a renewed hunger and a renewed direction and I’m hoping that will add to his form now and I wouldn’t think his international career is over by any means.
“I think we have got two or three tightheads here who, with a bit of form or who put in a bit of an upwards performance from where they are, could easily be in and around the front row (debate) that comes with England and Harry could certainly be one of those guys. I don’t see it being an issue going forward that he couldn’t get back there.”
While England were losing to Ireland in the Guinness Six Nations on Saturday in London, Williams was 130 miles away in Worcester taking another step forward in his comeback as he started in the surprise Exeter loss at Sixways. Baxter reckons the more club games the merrier towards getting his front-rower up to top speed as quickly as possible.
“Because of the nature of the injury he has not been able to get back to contact and scrummaging until quite late with it being an elbow injury and him being a tighthead prop. The challenges around the last bit have been contact and set-piece, so what he has been able to do is get all other elements of his body in tip-top nick, injury-free and niggle-free.
“What you have got to hope now is that gives him an extended period of being strong and robust and being able to play plenty of minutes. Really, the end-stage of where his development (following an injury) comes is happening now, it’s live and it’s in-game.
“With the A-League having disappeared, you don’t really get a chance for these guys to find their feet, they come in and play a game of Premiership rugby so I’m expecting a nice, steady, upward performance from Harry as he gets to assess his game.”
Comments on RugbyPass
I certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
2 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
3 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to commentsRyan Coxon has been very impressive considering he was signed by WF as injury cover whilst Uru has been a standout for QR, surprised neither of those mentioned
3 Go to comments