Williams looking for a style to win games
A style of play to entertain fans and win rugby games is what new attack coach David Williams is looking to develop at Bath Rugby.
Williams, who returns to the Blue, Black and White after eight years of globe-hopping having held a multitude of coaching positions in Super Rugby, the Guinness Pro14 and Japanese Top League, has set out his playing philosophy as the man in charge of the club’s attack and backs.
The South African, who was previously an academy coach at Farleigh House, arrived in July to replace out-going Irishman Girvan Dempsey after another season of underachievement, finishing seventh, and a sense of frustration that the club’s glorious backline on paper could not be unleashed.
Now Williams, along with new fly-half signing Danny Cipriani who comes in for Rhys Priestland, has been tasked to get the likes of British and Irish Lion Anthony
Watson and England stars Joe Cokanasiga, Ruaridh Mcconnochie and Semesa Rokoduguni - not to mention Tom de Glanville - into the game in better positions and more often.
He said: “I have always had a view you play two games at the weekend, the scoreboard game and the performance game or the style game. Yes, sometimes we will win or lose the scoreboard game, but a non-negotiable for this team must be we win the style game.
“We must deliver a style that we believe in that can win you rugby games.
“I think if you have got that mindset then you start to win by design, the results that maybe went against you but the style was there, suddenly now the style allows you to get results and that is what the growth of the team is.”
Williams was clear he is not starting again from scratch, but tapping into the club’s rich heritage of attacking rugby.
He said: “It is not about rebuilding, it is about finding margins [to improve] to make our style come alive.
“I think from the history of the club, what the academy have been trying to produce and watching how Somerset, with the schools of rugby in Dorset and Wilts work with the boys to produce a skill set, it’s all conducive to playing a certain style of rugby which hopefully we are going to see continue to flourish this season and build on what’s come before.”
Williams’ comments were echoed by exciting young centre Ojomoh who looks set to be a key part of Bath’s backline this season after breaking through towards the end of the 2020/21 campaign, so much so he was called in to Eddie Jones’ England training squad this summer ahead of the internationals against the USA and Canada.
Ojomoh said: “We are really focused on our style at Bath now, so we said regardless of the scoreboard if we find a style that works, that we can come to each game week-in, week out with, the results will come. I am hoping with how we look in training the results will be there from the get-go.”