Williams relishing another wrestle with Kitshoff
RED Rose tight-head Harry Williams believes facing off against highlyrated South African scrummager Steven Kitshoff over the summer will stand him in good stead ahead of their prospective rematch at Twickenham on Saturday week.
With England on a revenge mission following their 2-1 series defeat to the Springboks in June, Williams has seen off Dan Cole and is ready to challenge Kyle Sinckler for the starting No.3 jersey on the back of a fine start to Exeter’s campaign.
Williams, 27, said: “I feel I’ve got gradually better as the season’s gone on. I was a bit rusty after coming back off tour but my match fitness is back now and I’ve been getting some decent minutes on the pitch.
“I learnt a lot on that England tour. Before going to South Africa I hadn’t really played a lot because of injury and I wasn’t going in 100 per cent confident, but in the end it turned out to be a pretty cool experience.
“Although we were gutted not to get the series win, I loved it in South Africa and the squad gelled really well.”
Williams added: “I scrummaged every time against Kitshof so that was great because he’s a very good player who played well in the Rugby Championship. You want to play against the best people you can and test yourself, so while he had a few good scrums, I had my share of little victories as well.
“I think I did alright and as the Tests went on I thought I did better. I got more game time behind Kyle Sinckler as the tour progressed – 20 minutes, then 25 and 35 – so I was happy with that and it shows the coaches put more trust in me.
“It set me up well for the season and, having had some time off, I had a real fresh mindset coming in. I’ve still got that now and can’t wait to get back with the national team.”
Williams, who made his England debut in Argentina last year and now has 11 caps, feels his game is developing and is determined to put more heat on Sinckler.
As Autumn contests against the three Southern Hemisphere giants loom, former Jersey man Williams added: “It’s massive for me. Last year was really good experience and I’ll just hope to do my justice against these sides if I get a chance to play.
“I feel privileged that England have kept including me and hopefully I can put in performances to keep being picked.”