Grant Williams has put himself into Springbok World Cup squad contention, writes SIMON BORCHARDT in SA Rugby magazine. But his former coach, Sean Everitt, believes his best is still to come.
Williams underlined his status as one of the fastest men in South African rugby during the Sharks’ Champions Cup quarter-final clash in Toulouse.
After a scything counter-attacking run from flyhalf Curwin Bosch, the Sharks scrumhalf received possession just outside Toulouse’s 10m line. He left fullback Thomas Ramos for dead, before stepping flyhalf Romain Ntamack and streaking away to score a try under the posts that would have made any winger proud.
A week later, Williams dotted down twice in a URC match against Benetton in Durban to take his tally for the season to nine in 14 matches – the joint-sixth most after 17 rounds of the tournament and the most by a South African.
Just how fast is Williams?
When asked by SA Rugby magazine, the man himself insists he doesn’t know his times. Sean Everitt, who coached him for seven years at the Sharks, offers a bit more.
‘Grant and [Springbok wing] Makazole Mapimpi were always in a tussle over who was the quickest over 40m,’ he says. ‘Running in a straight line is different to running on the field, but there isn’t a 9 in the world who’s quicker than Grant.’
Williams’ speed explains why he played on the wing for Paarl Gimnasium and switched to scrumhalf only after joining Durban club College Rovers in 2017. It was there where he caught the eye of Everitt, a Sharks junior head coach and senior assistant coach at the time.
‘My initial impression of Grant was, here’s a scrumhalf with pace,’ Everitt recalls. ‘I like that in a 9 because I believe the space on a rugby field is around the fringes of scrums and lineouts. If the opposition lets you through there, it’s usually a try. And if Grant keeps the opposition honest around the fringes, then space opens up elsewhere. A big plus for him is that his pace gives him the ability to provide support on the inside of the outside backs and finish from there, too.’
Williams’ humility is evident again when he almost reluctantly acknowledges the other strengths of his game – ‘my breakdown speed and moving the ball’ – before quickly adding that he needs ‘to improve in everything that I do – passing, running, kicking, scanning, awareness’.
The 26-year-old also isn’t keen to discuss the possibility of being selected for the Springboks’ World Cup squad this year. He lists ‘other quality 9s’ who are in contention – Faf de Klerk, Sharks teammate Jaden Hendrikse, Cobus Reinach and Herschel Jantjies’ – before adding, ‘If it happens, it happens; if it doesn’t, I’ll just have to keep working hard.’
Williams was called up to the Springbok squad for the first time in August 2021 after Hendrikse broke a leg during a Rugby Championship match against Argentina in Port Elizabeth. Less than a year later, Williams came off the bench in the 68th minute of the second Test against Wales in Bloemfontein – ironically on the wing – to make his Bok debut.
It’s a topic he’s more comfortable talking about.
‘Every South African kid dreams of playing for the Springboks and I didn’t expect it to happen so soon in my career. It was an amazing feeling. It was massive for my family, too, as they know the journey I travelled to get to that point.’
While Williams has tasted just 12 minutes of Test rugby, he’s been part of several Springbok camps.
‘I’ve learned a lot from them all,’ he says. ‘Probably the biggest thing I’ve learned is that preparation is everything. A player like Faf prepares so well for matches and analyses opposition teams. The coaches have also been amazing, by giving me tips and feedback on how to get better.’
Williams certainly got better as the 2022-23 season progressed. He wore the Sharks No 9 jersey at the start of it when Hendrikse was on Springbok duty and again at the business end after a shoulder injury ruled Hendrikse out for 10 weeks.
‘Grant’s been in great form this season, but I don’t think we’ve seen the best of him yet,’ says Everitt. ‘The more he plays at 9, the better he will get. He’s got an incredible future ahead of him.
‘It’s great to see players get rewarded for the hard work they put in. Grant was one of the hardest working players I coached at the Sharks. He and Jaden are both early birds – up at 5:30am and on the outer fields [at Kings Park] kicking and passing – and they work well together.’
It remains to be seen whether Williams’ hard work and red-hot form will result in World Cup squad selection, with just three scrumhalf spots up for grabs.
Experience wins World Cups so, barring injury, Faf de Klerk and Cobus Reinach should be on the plane to France. The third scrumhalf berth in the Boks’ World Cup squad should be taken by Hendrikse, Williams or Herschel Jantjies.
Hendrikse is the clear favourite, despite his latest injury setback that will sideline him until at least mid-June. He started seven Tests in 2022, including four in a row in the Rugby Championship, and while he lost the No 9 jersey after the Boks’ defeat to Ireland in Dublin, he ended the year on the Bok bench.
The 23-year-old’s biggest strength is his game management, and he’s a better kicker than Williams, which could be a deciding factor for Bok coaches Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber.
Jantjies burst on to the Bok scene in 2019 and went to the World Cup in Japan, but his star has dimmed since then. This season, he fell behind Paul de Wet in the Stormers scrumhalf pecking order, starting just four of out of 18 league-stage URC matches, and three out of five in the Champions Cup.
‘We have an embarrassment of talent at 9 in South Africa. Rassie and Jacques have a selection headache, and whichever scrumhalves miss out on the Springbok World Cup squad can consider themselves unlucky,’ says Everitt before rating Williams’ chances.
‘Grant’s in great form, and the fact he can play two positions could count in his favour considering the Boks tend to favour a six-two split on the bench.’
– This is an edited version of an article that appeared in the June 2023 issue of SA Rugby magazine. The August 2023 issue is on sale now.