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tournament after an injuryplagued buildup.
It was a career unlike any other and Williams left content with what he had achieved in the black jersey. Yet one wonders how much more he would have done had he remained in rugby in 2013.
Williams spent just the one season at the Crusaders, his first in Super Rugby, with the red and blacks seen as the best place for Williams to develop his game ahead of the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand.
It was a mutually beneficial
Williams’ record with the Kiwis wasn’t great – 12 tests for four wins, seven losses and a draw. But the stats don’t tell the full story, while injury prevented him from adding to his tally.
Even early in his career, Williams was among the best in Kiwi sides that often found themselves out-gunned by Australia and Great Great Britain.
Indeed, watching the then19-year-old debutant, New Zealand’s youngest ever test player, take the fight to the starstudded Kangaroos in 2004 was a sight to behold.
He never managed to taste victory against the Kangaroos, the closest being a 16-16 draw in his rookie season. And unless he decides to resume his test career at the Wolfpack, his time with the Kiwis will always he remembered for a last-minute U-turn to play at the 2013 World Cup, which ended with the dismal 34-2 defeat to Australia in the final.
No stranger to outrageous signings, Toulon president Mourad Boudjellal still took a big risk when he opened the door for Williams to switch codes, despite having no background in union.
A runner-up finish in the 2009-10 European Challenge Cup was the closest Williams came to winning any silverware during his 33-game stint in the south of France. But he clearly left an impression with Boudjellal, who reportedly offered Williams $5 million over three years to extend his stay before he decided to pursue a place in the All Blacks.
Williams faced a steep sevens learning curve in his bid to play at the Rio Olympics. But while he did manage to tick another box in his stunning list of sporting accomplishments, it ended in disaster.
After impressing then-coach Gordon Tietjens enough throughout the World Series to make it to Rio, Williams was struck down by a season-ending Achilles injury in the first game against Japan.
New Zealand went on to lose that match and failed to win a medal, while Williams’ setback began a run of recurring injuries that marred his final few seasons in New Zealand.