Family and footy:

When Niall Williams runs onto AT&T Park in San Francisco tomorrow morning, she’ll be doing so under the watchful eye of her two daughters.

They’ll be at home in New Zealand, watching from afar as their mum goes on another quest for a gold medal, potentially her fifth this year alone.

Should she return with another golden medal, they’ll be ecstatic, but then they’ll bring her back to earth.

‘‘I came home from the Commonwealth Games and Japan, we’d won both tournaments, and the girls were like, ‘yay, a gold medal’,’’ Williams said. ‘‘Straight away they threw the gold medal on the floor and said, ‘Mum, can you come colour in with us’.

‘‘That’s my reality and I love that. It’s the balance I need in my life. I love being a mum and a professional rugby player.’’

Since making her debut for New Zealand at the end of 2015 at the Dubai Sevens, Williams has cemented herself as one of the key cogs of the national team.

As you’d expect from someone with her family name, Williams, sister of All Blacks midfield back Sonny Bill Williams, has more than a little flair in her game, but playing at centre, it’s the contact she loves most.

Coming from a touch background, and having to learn all about the contact area in rugby, it comes as something of a surprise that Williams is now regarded as one of the best defenders in the game.

Her tackling is fierce, as is her ability to then get up and win the turnover. It’s the part of the game Williams enjoys most, and family is the reason for it.

‘‘If I could just tackle all day and not do anything on attack, just be the connection, pass the ball, then I’d do that because we’ve got enough strike players.

‘‘I love making more of an impact on defence. It’s where the competitive side of me comes out. I’ve had that from a young age, especially with two older brothers and a twin sister, everything was a competition.’’

When Williams first came into sevens, she was on a training contract. Balancing home life and her sevens commitments was tough, and asked a lot of her partner and family.

They’re still helping her out now, playing an important role since Williams and her family moved to Tauranga in February