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NICK WILLIAMS:
THE CHALLENGE AHEAD
“Saracens were very impressive against Toulouse,
they play very wise and disciplined rugby and are
very tough to play against. Look across the board
at their team and it is difficult to find a weakness. As
a team we have trained well this week, on Monday
we had our heads in the analysis room and had a
look at how they play.
“They have a great defensive team, they have one
or a maximum of two at every ruck
when they are defending - they have
poachers in their squad like Jacques
Burger, Will Fraser and Kelly Brown.
Saracens have an international
forward pack and their backline isn’t
too shabby either, Brad Barritt being
the cornerstone there. Our coaches
have been putting their heads
together and we’re looking at ways to
negate their threats and to try and put
our mark on the game early. We need
to get the details right to give them a
real contest.”
Having missed out on game time last
weekend, it will be even more important to start
Europe off with a win at home...
“We have to win all of our home games, it’s a no
brainer,” says Williams. “Rory (Best) has been
talking up big time this week about our discipline,
which has probably been the worst aspect of
our season so far. We need to put that in gear
otherwise Owen Farrell is going to take us for a
ride with his boot. 50/55 metres out, we have to
have our heads screwed on and make sure we
aren’t making silly mistakes because we know the
damage he can do.
“Two years ago is two years ago and it hasn’t been
mentioned once this week, it’s a new team, a new
season, new personnel, so we are looking forward
to it.”
Billy Vunipola was one of eight Saracens players to
play for England in the RWC 2015, however lining
up opposite him doesn’t phase Williams:
“It’s why we play the game, we like to play against
the big teams and the big players. He is playing
outstanding rugby at the moment and he has got
great people around him that give him the chance
to do what he has been doing.
“He is a very strong boy and a
great off-loader, but you can’t really
lock down on one person with a
team like Saracens. You need to
try and pick some weaknesses,
maybe take some charges off him
by cutting him early but we know
he is a very dangerous player, one
of a lot of them in their squad.”
Nick’s contribution to the Ulster
squad this season has been pretty
impressive – he has notched up
five starts, two tries, 53 carries, 166
metres gained, made 45 tackles,
30 passes and picked up one man of the match
award…
“They are all just numbers at the end of the day, I
have always believed rugby is a team sport and I
wouldn’t be able to achieve these stats if it wasn’t
for the boys around me, they give me the chance to
express myself.
“My family is happy and I’ve always told people if
my family is happy, it makes me want to play, not
just for the lads but for the Ulster crowd as well.
It’s great to have all that data but at the end of the
day it’s just about getting that little egg shaped ball
over the white line, as long as I’m doing my job and
getting better at it and playing within the perimeters
of the game and how the coaches want to play, I’ll
be happy!”
NICK WILLIAMS
Following the postponement of Ulster’s first ERCC game against Oyonnax
last weekend due to the tragic events in Paris, Nick Williams believes
the the squad is feeling fresh ahead of the Saracens challenge this
weekend…