Jim Williams (born 8 December 1968) is a former international

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 it ...

player and coach. He was most recently assistant coach to the Australian national rugby union team. Williams has been head coach of the Greater Sydney Rams in the National Rugby Championship since 2015, succeeding Brian Melrose

Early life

Born in

Young Young may refer to: * Offspring, the product of reproduction of a new organism produced by one or more parents * Youth, the time of life when one is young, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood Music * The Young, an American roc ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Williams played

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

as a boy. He began rugby union after joining the

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

at age 17. He played for Young RFC, then moved to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

where he played for Wests Bulldogs.

West Hartlepool, England

Williams moved to England in 1994 and played one season with

West Hartlepool West Hartlepool was a predecessor of Hartlepool, County Durham, England. It developed in the Victorian era and took the name from its western position in the parish of what is now known as the Headland. The former town was originally formed ...

Australian rugby

On returning to Australia, Williams played Sydney club rugby while remaining on the fringes of the

NSW Waratahs The New South Wales Waratahs ( or ;), referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian professional rugby union team representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby competition. The Riverina and other southern parts of the sta ...

team. It wasn't until he changed to the back row that he was able to find enough form to be picked up by Eddie Jones at the

ACT Brumbies The ACT Brumbies (known from 2005–2022 as simply the Brumbies) is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT), The team competes in Super Rugby and named for the feral horses which inh ...

in 1998. It was his form playing for the Brumbies that led to his selection for the Australian squad for the 1999 Rugby World Cup.

Munster & Ireland

After missing

Wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and so ...

selection in 2001, Williams accepted a two-year deal with Munster, and soon captained the Irish club. He played 30 Heineken Cup matches for Munster, and scored 15 points. Williams played until 2005 when he was appointed assistant coach.

Wallabies assistant coach

He continued in coaching roles at Munster until 2008 when new Wallabies coach

Robbie Deans Robert Maxwell Deans (born 4 September 1959) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player, currently the head coach of Japanese club Panasonic Wild Knights. He was head coach of the Australian national team between 2008 and 2013. Deans h ...

offered him the Assistant Coach role. At the start of Australia's international rugby season in June 2008 Williams took up his new role alongside fellow assistant Michael Foley. Williams left the Wallabies in 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Jim Munster Rugby players Munster Rugby captains Munster Rugby non-playing staff Australian rugby union players Australia international rugby union players Australia international rugby sevens players Australian rugby union coaches Footballers who switched code Indigenous Australian rugby union players ACT Brumbies players Rugby union flankers 1968 births Living people Commonwealth Games medallists in rugby sevens Male rugby sevens players Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games rugby sevens players of Australia Rugby sevens players at the 1998 Commonwealth Games People from Young, New South Wales Rugby union players from New South Wales Medallists at the 1998 Commonwealth Games