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Tim Nanai-Williams secures a second Pro D2 medical joker lifeline

Tim Nanai-Williams on duty for Samoa at Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan (Photo by Francois Nel/World Rugby via Getty Images)

Veteran Samoa international Tim Nanai-Williams is back in the game after an injury comeback delay allowed him to return to Beziers just months after the club released him at the end of the 2023/24 season. Overlooked by his country for 2023 Rugby World Cup squad selection, the 35-year-old originally joined the Pro D2 outfit last September as a medical joker after exiting Toulouse, where he had spent two seasons.

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Prior to that he had been with Clermont, another Top 14 club, for three seasons after featuring for the Super Rugby Chiefs and Black Rams Tokyo. Despite starting in 10 of his 17 appearances last term and scoring two tries, Beziers opted not to keep Williams on for the 2024/25 second-tier campaign in France.

However, a delay in the comeback of Romain Uruty, the player Nanai-Williams covered for last season after he injured his ACL, has paved the way for his medical joker return. He had been unable to pick up a contract elsewhere and was available to immediately join up with his old club ahead of this Friday’s latest Pro D2 fixture away at Aurillac.

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A club statement read: “To compensate for the absence of Romain Uruty for a few more weeks, the club has called upon the experienced and versatile Samoan international Tim Nanai-Williams, who returns to our ranks as a medical joker.

“At 35, Tim has played for some of the great Top 14 teams, having played for Clermont and Toulouse. Having won the Challenge Cup (2019, with ASM) and the French championship title (2023, with Toulouse), he is a real Swiss army knife capable of playing in the full-back back, winger, centre or even fly-half positions who will strengthen our three-quarter line.”

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Hellhound 2 hours ago
Pat Lam blasts 'archaic' process that lost the All Blacks Tony Brown

Now you are just being a woke, jealous fool. With the way things are run in NZ, no wonder he couldn't make a success there. Now that he is out shining any other New Zealanders, including their star players, now he is bitter and resentful and all sorts of hate speeches against him. That is what the fans like you do. Those in NZ who does have enough sense not to let pride cloud their vision, is all saying the same thing. NZ needs TB. Razor was made out to be a rugby coaching God by the fans, so much so that Foz was treated like the worst piece of shitte. Especially after the Twickenham disaster right before the WC. Ad then he nearly won the WC too with 14 players. As a Saffa the way he handled the media and the pressure leading up to the WC, was just extraordinary and I have gained a lot of respect for that man. Now your so called rugby coaching God managed to lose by an even bigger margin, IN NZ. All Razor does is overplay his players and he will never get the best out of those players, and let's face it, the current crop is good enough to be the best. However, they need an coach they can believe in completely. I don't think the players have bought into his coaching gig. TB was lucky to shake the dust of his boots when he left NZ, because only when he did that, did his career go from strength to strength. He got a WC medal to his name. Might get another if the Boks can keep up the good work. New exciting young talent is set to join soon after the WC as dangerous as SFM and Kolbe. Trust me, he doesn't want the AB's job. He is very happy in SA with the Boks. We score, you lose a great coach. We know quality when we see it, we don't chuck it in the bin like NZRU likes to do. Your coaching God is hanging on by a thread to keep his job🤣🤣🤣🤣

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