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'You've got to get the feet moving': What Tamaiti Williams thought of his All Black debut
By Ben Smith
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.”
