Liam's Electric But He Must Sharpen Focus At Saracens

LIAM Williams’ move to Saracens from the Scarlets is one of this summer’s biggest transfers, and one of the big talking points is what the Lions Test fullback on the recent tour to New Zealand will add to the European champions, especially in attack.

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Williams finished the tour as a success story after a very indifferent start, where he seemed overwhelmed at first, before making the improvements that earned him a place in the starting line up for the entire Test series.

Perhaps it was a bad attack of the nerves, but when Williams came on as a replacement for Jared Payne in the final half-hour of the Blues game he wasn’t at the races. He made a complete mess of the two high balls that came his way, and although he was yellow-carded for a dangerous challenge after badly mistiming the second of them, he could just as easily have been binned for the first.

It was unusual to see a player of Williams’ skill and calibre caught up in the emotion to the extent that he was. When you have the amount of ability he has, usually you do not get it so wrong, but because of the nerves and emotion that came with wearing the Lions jersey for the first time he reminded me of a golfer who had completely lost his timing.

Williams looked more settled when he played on the wing in the important victory over the Crusaders, but it really started to click when he showed his counter-attacking flair from full-back in the big midweek win over the Chiefs before the first Test. By the time he had set up a try for Jack Nowell with an electric break the idea had begun to crystallise in Warren Gatland’s mind that he could be capable of turning the tables on the All Blacks with his running from deep.