James Williams (born 24 February 1997) is an English

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player who plays as a fly-half or

inside centre In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16– ...

for

Bristol Bears Bristol Bears (officially Bristol Rugby Club or Bristol Rugby) are a professional rugby union club based in Bristol, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded as Bristol Football Club in 18 ...

in the Premiership.

Club career

Birmingham Moseley

Williams began his career at Birmingham Moseley in the

National League One National One (last season known as National League 1 and previously known before September 2009 as National Division Two), is the third of three national leagues in the domestic rugby union competition of England. It was known as Courage Leagu ...

, after an outstanding campaign in his first season at

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

where he was awarded the coach's award, he was signed by

Hartpury Hartpury is a civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It has an area of about , about 270 homes and a population of about 700 people, increasing to 1,642 at the 2011 census. The village is about north of Gloucester. Geographically the parish ...

. While at Worcester Warriors he spent time on loan at his former club, playing in 25 matches starting 24.

Hartpury University

At his first season at

he made 23 appearances in his first season, he was soon signed to Premiership side Worcester Warriors. In 2020 after 2 years in the Premiership he rejoined

for 2 seasons. In the 2021/22 season he was the Championship top points scorer with 150 points. He was named in the GKIPA Championship Team of the Season. Due to his impressive performances he was signed by

. While at

he spent some time on loan at his former club featuring 7 times.

Worcester Warriors

He made his only appearance for

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...

starting at inside centre in the Premiership Rugby Cup, he played 80 minutes in the 34–22 loss against

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

. At Worcester he spent time on loan at Birmingham Mosely.

Sale Sharks

In 2019 he joined fellow Premiership side

Sale Sharks Sale Sharks is a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Originally founded in 1861 as Sale Football Club, now a distinct amateur club, they adopted the n ...

, making his debut in the Premiership Rugby Cup. Coming off the bench in a win over Saracens. He made two further appearances in the Champions Cup, starting in losses against

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With ...

and

Glasgow Warriors Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and became t ...

Sale FC

While at

, Williams spent time on loan at

side Sale FC, scoring 42 points in 9 appearances.

Bristol Bears

Williams made his return to the Premiership fold starting in the Premiership Rugby Cup against the Exeter Chiefs. He made his first full Premiership appearance against

, starting at inside centre he slotted 2 penalties however it wasn't enough in the end with

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

losing 20–19. Williams impressive first season was rewarded with being called up to Pat Lam's

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less c ...

side.

International career

Williams featured for the

in a 2023 Rugby World Cup warm-up against

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

with invitational side falling 28–14, with Williams converting the

only two tries.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, James 1997 births Living people Bristol Bears players Worcester Warriors players Sale Sharks players Hartpury University R.F.C. players Rugby union centres Rugby union fly-halves English rugby union players Moseley Rugby Football Club players