By Graham Thomas
Liam Williams wanted to be Freddie Flintoff or Roger Freestone when he was young – but he will settle for being namesake JPR Williams this weekend.
The current Wales full-back has often been likened to the legendary sideburned figure of the seventies. It is less for his hallmark achievements – JPR played 11 times against England and never lost – but more for his eye-catching physical courage.
Like Williams JPR, Williams L tends to throw himself towards physical danger first and reflect on the consequences later. It is an attitude he grew to develop as a child – hurling himself across muddy goalmouths or diving to catch cricket balls – in imitation of the sportsmen of the time he admired, England cricketer Flintoff and Swans goalkeeper Freestone.
He may play for the Scarlets, but Williams admits: “Yes I’m a Jack, a Swans fan – though I actually had a bet on Arsenal winning the other night, so I couldn’t lose.
“I try to go to the Liberty Stadium when I can or if I’m in London seeing my girlfriend. I used to love going to The Vetch when I was a teenager. I would be standing on the North Bank with my dad and mates in the good old days. It was a bit lively which was great.
“I loved playing all sports – rugby, football, cricket, badminton, anything. I played cricket and could do a bit of both batting and bowling. I used to have a huge arm and could throw the ball for miles. I played for West Glamorgan once when I was about 15 or 16. I would love to have been the next Freddie Flintoff. But when I started playing rugby, my shoulders hurt from smashing people all the time so I couldn’t really throw any more. I don’t play now.”
Cricket and football’s loss was to become rugby’s gain and Williams will win his 30th cap at Twickenham on Saturday. At only 24, the former Waunarlwydd youth player could collect many more, although in which position may depend on how Warren Gatland views matters once Leigh Halfpenny recovers his fitness this summer.
For the moment, though, Williams has made the No.15 shirt his own and in a fearless, breathless style that makes him a fans’ favourite. All those leaps of faith, catching balls as a kid – and then his post-school years spent working as a scaffolder – have been put to good cause.
“As a kid, I was always jumping about playing in goal, or throwing myself around climbing trees. It was the way I was.
“My attitude is if I can do something for the team, then it has to be done. It doesn’t matter if I’m going to get hurt, or if I’m going to hurt someone else. If I have to go up in the air and take that high ball, or have to tackle someone, that’s fine. It doesn’t bother me at all.
“It’s about helping the team. I don’t know whether you’d call that reckless but it’s just me.
“I wasn’t quite that reckless when I started scaffolding, because at first I didn’t really like heights. But I got used to it. I would be over the top of a blast furnace, 300 feet from the ground, just looking down at the floor.
“I got used to it and it didn’t bother me. It just came with the job. It was fine.”
Like Rhys Priestland and Scott Baldwin, Williams often worked early mornings on building sites while most others in the current Wales squad were sat in warm rugby academy offices, watching tapes.
“I don’t know if that makes me different or not. I think I’m different because that’s just my character. I know Rhys worked on a building site when he was young for a while, and maybe Scot.
“But I think I’m just the character I am. I have worked hard to get here and had to quit being a scaffolder, but that wasn’t really a hard thing to do. It’s been a good couple of years for me and I’m just trying to better myself every day.
“Dan Biggar still takes the piss – calls me the scaffolder who’s living the dream. He asks people, ‘have you ever seen a scaffolder who’s living the dream?’ And then points and says, ‘he’s over here.’”
The dream could be made more vivid on Saturday night if Wales repeat their World Cup victory over England and put themselves on course for a third Six Nations title in five years.
Williams played in the win four months ago, but remembers little of it after being kicked in the head by England flanker Tom Wood.
“I don’t remember much because I was groggy. Someone told me we had won and I was over the moon. My head didn’t feel too bad but I was driven back to Cardiff so I wasn’t part of the celebrations.
“I don’t really get nervous before a game, or at least not until the morning of a game. But this is different and I’ll be nervous all week. This is the biggest game you can play in and the one that you really want to be involved in.
“You want to go out there and it give it your all in front of 75,000 people. I don’t have many routines, except for home games when I like to keep my laces undone until I’ve jogged out to the posts and then I do them up there. It’s something I do.
“England are different to the team that played at the World Cup because they have a new head coach. I think they have tweaked a few things. Obviously, we will be looking at them, but if we get our own house in order then there isn’t an international team that we can’t go out and beat.”