Daily Mail - 04.03.2020

(^) Daily Mail, Wednesday, March 4, 2020
Liam Williams on sudden end
to his stint with shamed club
...and the personal toll it took
It was horrIble
to be stuck In
sarrIes storm
EXCLusivE
InterVIew
by Will
Kelleher
by wIll kelleher
in Cardiff
if you beat England, it’s an easier trip to the Co-op to buy your milk!
SAM WARBURTON may have seen
the Wales-England rivalry
become friendlier in recent
years, but he has called on his
players to make themselves
heroes at Twickenham on
Saturday.
The Lions captain on two tours,
who also led Wales for six years
as he won 74 caps, is now part
of head coach Wayne Pivac’s
back-room team.
And Warburton is no stranger to
the white-hot atmosphere of
the cross-border clash. Having
won twice at Twickenham, in
2012 and at the 2015 World Cup,
Warburton wants his squad to
follow his example.
‘There are great memories
going to Twickenham and
hopefully we can replicate
them,’ he said.
‘If the boys do get a win, it will
be one of the highlights of their
careers. It’s a fantastic place
to go. I always got on really well
with the England boys on the
Lions tour. I know that’s not
what Welsh fans want to hear —
they want to hear of a huge
rivalry. But I really
liked the English lads.
‘Rather than the
personal rivalries,
the players
get energised
over the history of
the game and the
occasion.
‘That does
mean a lot. To
represent Wales at Twickenham
and get a win down there is
massive and you know how
much it means to the
country.
‘It’s a much easier
trip to the Co-op to
get your milk
because everyone
is so happy,’ added
Warburton (left).
‘As players we all
know each other,
so the
personal
rivalry has gone, but the
national rivalry is still there.
‘I remember in 2012 when we
won, Ryan Jones told me, Dan
Lydiate and Taulupe Faletau to
enjoy it because away wins at
Twickenham are rare.
‘I thought, “Ah, don’t worry,
we’ll come back and do this
again”. But you learn the hard
way that it’s a tough place to go.
‘I’ve always thought it was my
favourite place to play outside
our own stadium.
‘People who say Twickenham
‘It’s irrelevant
to me. I still
have my
trophies’
ENGLAND v WALEs
3 DaYs to Go
7676
and quite abrupt how it all ended,’
he says. ‘Two weeks before the
Six Nations, I had to put my
house on the market and find a
new one here in Wales quickly.
‘That was the worst part. I called
my girlfriend Sophie as soon as I
had to make the decision, and she
was upset.
‘She was a bit scared about
moving house. I said, “Leave it to
me”. We thought we had six
months left in London to spend
time with our friends before the
end of the season. That was the
hardest part.’
Williams had intended to go
back to Wales this summer,
regardless of Saracens’ relega-
tion. ‘My early move had nothing
to do with the issues at Saracens.
It was to do with the injury.
‘I was going to be signed for a
year but only play a few games, so
I said, “I’m happy to go back”,
and home being home, it was
e a s i e r. I ’ m n o t g e t t i n g a n y
younger, so it was time to come
home, maybe start a family and
pass knowledge on to the younger
guys. Hopefully Scarlets can go
and win the Challenge Cup.
‘In the Six Nations, I wouldn’t
have been with Sarries anyway.
There would have been a handful
of games left afterwards, so I
understand their reasoning for
letting me go back to Wales.’
Williams has now moved into his
new home and is a Scarlet again.
His return is a huge boost to
Welsh rugby. He — like the rest
of the Sarries players — is not
at fault for the murky financial
dealings at the club. And Williams
does not feel bitter.
Nor does he believe his three
trophy wins in north London are
tainted. ‘I don’t know what was
going on behind the scenes, or
how and how much people were
getting paid,’ he says.
‘It’s totally irrelevant to me. I
still have my trophies, we still
won the league twice and the
Champions Cup.
‘It was amazing — the ethos,
what they stand for. I became a
better player, playing week-in
week-out with their Lions and
other guys at Saracens. The
E u r o p e a n C u p w i n a g a i n s t
Leinster was the best. I had never
won that.
‘I did what I set out to do, and
had a great two and a half years
living in London. I made some
life-long friends and we’ll always
keep in touch whether it’s via
WhatsApp, FaceTime or playing
them on Call of Duty online.
‘I speak to the boys all the time.
Saracens is not a great place to
be at the moment, but it is what
it is. They’re going down to the
Championship and I’m sure they
have a good enough squad to get
them back up.’ Amid all the
domestic dramas, Williams has
been on the long road to recovery
from injury.
Days before Wales’s semi-final
defeat by South Africa at the
World Cup, he was tackled by
Ryan Elias and James Davies in
training. The collision snapped
two of Williams’s ankle ligaments
and tore another.
‘It was s***, but life goes on,’ he
says of missing the semi-final in
Japan, which he watched on
crutches before flying home in
October for surgery.
‘I’m not a very good watcher. At
training I’ve been running on my
l
IAM WILLIAMS is
h e r e t o e x p l a i n
the human side to
the Saracens salary
cap saga.
The Wales and Lions full-back is
the highest profile player to leave
the disgraced Premiership club,
after Saracens were hammered
b y a £ 5. 3 6 m i l l i o n f i n e a n d
105-point deduction for breaking
financial rules.
It was confirmed last week that
Williams will re-join the Scarlets
a f t e r s e c u r i n g e a r l y r e l e a s e
from the relegated English and
European champions.
Williams, 28, has not played
this season after damaging ankle
ligaments in the week of the World
Cup semi-final. But he is fit for
Wales’s trip to Twickenham in the
Six Nations this Saturday.
Now Williams has opened up to
Sportsmail about a horrible four
months in which he was in the eye
of a storm. ‘It was a tough time
wIllIams the welsh wonDer
aGe 28 Po sItIons WiNG, FuLL BACK he IGht 6ft 2in we IGht 13st 5lb
TEAM GAMES TRIES
SCARLETS 106 29
2011-17
SARACENS 31 21
2017-20
WALES 62 14
2012-present
B&I LIONS 3 0
2017
136
dAYS since Williams’ last
appearance, in the
World Cup quarter-final win over
France in Oita on October 20. His
ankle ligament injury ruled him
out of the 19-16 semi-final defeat
by eventual winners South Africa.
90.5
THE WELSHMAN won
19 of his 21 Premiership
games, a win rate of 90.5 per
cent. It is the third highest rate
in history for players with at
least 10 appearances in the
competition, behind only
Leicester’s Jono Stuart (93.8)
and Sarries’ own Gregg
Botterman (92.9).
n 2017 Pro12
n 2018 Premiership
n 2019 Premiership
n 2019 European Champions Cup
n 2019 Six Nations (Grand Slam)
CAREER
HONOuRs