Here's a prediction: this young fella will make a big impression on the Premiership this season. Olly Barkley and Shontayne Hape will be under pressure to hang on to their shirts at Bath if this 21-year-old continues to take his chances.
When I first met Ben Williams just over a year ago, he told me that Mike Tindall had been his inspiration as a schoolboy.
And when you look at the strapping young centre's frame – all 6ft 2in and 15 stone of it – the obvious conclusion is that he, too, styles himself as a hard-tackling, crash-ball back, just like the England star whom he idolised as a teenager.
There may have been a strand of truth in that description of Williams' game 13 months ago. And while he clearly likes to run hard and take the contact, Williams is a far more rounded athlete than that.
The 21-year-old, who is in his first season as a full first-team squad member having graduated from Bath's academy, also has a decent boot on him. He proved that to good effect on Friday night, putting in an assured, deft kick over the top of the Northampton defence that gave Bath a rare platform from which to test the Saints.
And that was not his only act that caught the eye at Franklin's Gardens. After coming on as a replacement for Olly Barkley in the 56th minute, Williams was like of shot of ProPlus direct into the back-line's bloodstream. He ran on to the ball with the kind of zip and panache that England caps Barkley and Shontayne Hape had been lacking all evening. His hands were good too, with the livewire centre hanging on to a couple of testing passes. And his support play ensured he was in the right place to finish off Bath's best move of the night.
In that regard, you have to feel a bit sorry for him. Of all the moments to score his debut Premiership try, Williams does it when his side is 31-3 down and on the receiving end of a total drubbing from a Saints side playing as though possessed by the very devil. It wasn't exactly a Roy of the Rovers moment.
But that's the way Williams likes to be: quiet, understated and business-like. There are no histrionics.
"I like to be under the radar and I like to play my own game," he explains in a quiet, soothing voice after the match. "When I come on I have my own style and I'm generally happy with the way it went today."
Williams' humble, low-key approach perhaps isn't surprising when you consider his medical history. He's had more than his fair share of injuries, with his legs in particular spending plenty of time under the doctor's gaze. Maybe all those hours in the rehab room have served to ground him, making him acutely aware of how fragile a rugby player's lot can be.
Williams, the son of a professional footballer, was a gifted soccer player himself in his youth. When his weekends got so chock-a-block with rugby one hour and football the next, he chose the former.
Those gifts with the boot are something that he's been working hard to develop with the oval ball. And in that regard, he's certainly got the edge over Hape, who has no kicking game to speak of.
"It's always nice to add to your game rather than being one-dimensional," says Williams. "Some people may have the perception that I'm one-dimensional, but although it was a loss against Northampton, it was very positive for me."
Indeed it was. On a night of negatives for Bath, Williams – who made one start in the Premiership for Bath last season – definitely got a big plus mark next to his name.
"I worked very hard during pre-season on parts of my game – including my kicking game – and hopefully that showed against Northampton.
"My aim this season is to keep pushing those guys who are starting each week and if I can keep coming off the bench and having a crack then that's what I'll keep doing."
Williams may prove an experiment worth pursuing sooner rather than later in either centre channel, possibly even at the expense of his highly decorated team-mates. And here's a thought. Imagine how he'd operate alongside that other recent Bath experiment at centre, Matt Banahan. Now that really would be a terrifying prospect for any defence.
No comments:
Post a Comment