'You've got to get the feet moving': What Tamaiti Williams thought of his All Black debut
Tamaiti Williams became All Black No 1209 when he was substituted into the game in the 59th minute against the Springboks for Ethan de Groot.
The 22-year-old prop entered the fray as the Springboks had gained ascendency after emptying their loaded bench which resulted in a rolling maul try to Malcolm Marx.
Suffice to say there was no room for error for Williams as the All Blacks needed their bench to step up and withstand the fire from South Africa.
His first involvement was to secure the ruck following a restart to provide a decent exit platform. Shortly after he was defending a driving lineout maul and making tackles in a long phase of play that ended with a try to Cheslin Kolbe.
That closed the gap to 23-15 with South Africa truly in the game and surging back into the contest.
As the All Blacks tried to get their attack back on track Williams got through the off-the-ball work, shading support runners, cleaning out rucks and trying to disrupt South Africa’s.
Williams had two key cleanouts in the lead up to Will Jordan’s crucial try, one on a double Bok contest from Thomas du Toit and Malcolm Marx, and another again on Marx to snuff out their best poacher.
A third clean on former World Player of the Year Pieter-Steph du Toit came at the ruck right before the fatal switch play by Barrett that sunk hopes of a Bok comeback.
Head coach Ian Foster credited Williams’ performance in what was ‘tough circumstances’ in a high pressure game against one of the more physical sides in Test rugby.
“It was a great way to debut, wasn’t it?” Foster said.
“You look at him this year, you look at Fletcher Newell last year, both their debuts have been against South Africa in pretty tough situations.
“He’s got to be very proud of what he did.”
The 139kg powerhouse didn’t get the chance to carry with room to wind up against the South African defence, but on his first scrum he held his own against Du Toit.
The opposite side collapsed and Williams drove on Du Toit, popped him up, and the Springboks were penalised.
Williams said he felt the difference between Super Rugby and Test level which was much faster than the club game.
“I just had a job to do and did it the best I can,” he told media post-match.
“[The biggest difference] was speed, off the top of my head. Everyone is big, fast, the ball is always in the air so you’ve got to get the feet moving.
“I got hit a few times, felt good actually. It took the nerves away the first time I got hit.
“But it was just special to debut against a team like them.
“It was fun being out there rubbing shoulders with some of the best in the world.”
After being in camp with the All Blacks for the first time, Williams has made an impression on head coach Foster.
Coming in with a heavy load after the Crusaders went through a prop crisis due to injuries, the plan was too ‘take our time’ with the young prop.
But in just the second Test of the year Williams became the second debutant of 2023 and Foster predicted that he would be around for many more to come.
“He had a massive Super season, played huge minutes, both sides of the scrum, and actually he finished strong in that competition,” Foster said.
“He’s had a chance to come in here and absorb it. Sometimes it can be a little bit overwhelming coming into the All Blacks.
“We are just taking our time with him and we’ve got the belief he’s got the right attitude for it.”
Comments on RugbyPass
End to end play, “THE FANS” this game was entertainment of the best. The conditions added to the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsSorry to say, but sadly the sadas were just ordinary and havilli at 10 as an abs selection just won’t cut it. He’s better suited in the centre’s and is a victim of past charge down kicks, he’s too slow under pressure. There’s better talent further north and I don’t mean dmac however I believe razor will sort him out. A feature of his presents on the park is the fact that the guys will follow him.
7 Go to commentsMarler was brilliant throughout both in the scrum and open play. His slap made virtually no contact with Ramos who milked it for a penalty when he could have been a decent sportsman and laughed it off, it was non-violent and shouldn't have been penalised. Smith failed repeatedly to kick when necessary and put up a couple of bombs into the TLS 22 that just handed back possession at key moments to the other side.
3 Go to commentsCros was outstanding and rightly awarded France TVs player of the match award. Mallia was brilliant as usual (the y is below the 6 on a UK keyboard and he deserves better than that). Level also seems to have been scored harshly as he walked the ball into touch under pressure from a Lynagh kick from well outside his own half which should never have led to a 50-22. Agree with BullShark that Dupont, while class at times, seemed to go missing for patches in the second half with props, hookers and wings frequently filling in at 9 as he couldn't get off the deck and up to the next ruck on time. A 7 by his standards at best, his kicking was also too long, too often. Kinghorn's overall contribution was worth well more than a five.
3 Go to commentsThe Harlequins team must be in minus figures. Did the reporter actually watch the game?
3 Go to commentsHow on earth did Walker escape a red card? Not dangerous? Dupont has his face in a mask earlier this season. Shocking decision. What is the point of TMOs? We had the Fassi ‘non-penalty try’ yesterday and now this.
2 Go to commentsCould have been a different result but yet again French tv able to affect the result by not showing the very clear high shot on harlequin centre if this would have been on a French player would have been on screen at least five times
3 Go to commentsAmazing. The losing team’s ratings are higher than the winning team’s. Mallia definitely didn’t deserve a y. What game were you watching? Should have got a w or an x. ADP hardly featured in that second half. At one point I wondered when he’d been subbed. Seems to me as if he gets an automatic 9 just for getting onto the team sheet.
3 Go to commentsI’m sorry. That second half was far from enthralling. It was painful to watch.
2 Go to commentsVery generous! If you’d missed the game, reading this you’d conclude that it was the Quins front row that cost them the game. Marler getting a blanket 6 for his demented contribution to the game. Puzzling.
3 Go to commentsCan’t see Toulouse beating Leinster at this rate.
7 Go to commentsADP was having a very average game until winning that penalty for Toulouse, sticking his big head in the way. “The head of God”?
7 Go to commentsHarlequins doing their best to do as little damage as possible with all the possession. Looks like they skipped catch and pass drills this week.
7 Go to commentsSeeing pictures of Jacques high-fiving it with Irish players breaks my heart. Too soon. I need more time.
1 Go to commentsquins is all over the place. The minute they get the ball they panic. Quins can still win tho just need to win all rucks otherwise just don't bother.
7 Go to commentsGreat wins for the male & female kiwi sides. Ireland not far away..
1 Go to commentsWhy is this dude getting so much coverage? Usually knobs like this get cancelled.
2 Go to commentsWow. What was that? A 3 million word meandering article about what exactly?
2 Go to commentsNice piece of writing. And yes the Sharks pulled a rabbit from the hat and were a little lucky with that penalty try that wasn’t given… however the Sharks (with their resources) should be way more consistent and should be putting teams like Claremont away for breakfast. I expect more from them and hope they kick on now.
8 Go to commentsJust what the Sharks needed to get things going in the right direction Defence on the outside really creates havoc for the whole team and needs to be addressed.
8 Go to comments