Nick Williams (born 2 December 1983) is a retired

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. A number 8, Williams played for North Harbour and the

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

in his native New Zealand, before moving to Europe and playing for

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

Aironi Aironi Rugby (, "herons") was an Italian professional rugby union team competing in the Pro12 and the Heineken Cup, representing the Italian regions of Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna. It lost its status as a regional side at the end of the 2011–12 ...

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

and

Cardiff Blues Cardiff Rugby ( cy, Rygbi Caerdydd) are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby competitions. Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arms ...

before retiring in 2020.

Career

Williams initially played rugby league, changing to rugby union in his late teens. He then progressed to play for North Harbour as well as representing New Zealand in Under 21's. He then went on to play for the

in the Super 14, and was selected for the

Junior All Blacks The All Blacks XV is the second national rugby union team of New Zealand, after the All Blacks. New Zealand's second national team has had numerous names in its history: Junior All Blacks, New Zealand XV, New Zealand A, New Zealand B, All Blacks ...

. Williams played for

in the

Celtic League The Celtic League is a pan-Celtic organisation, founded in 1961, that aims to promote modern Celtic identity and culture in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man – referred to as the Celtic nations; it places part ...

and

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

for two seasons. He made 19 appearances for

and scored four tries, including a hat-trick against the

Newport Gwent Dragons Dragons RFC ( cy, Dreigiau) are one of the four professional rugby union regional teams in Wales. They are owned by the Welsh Rugby Union and play their home games at Rodney Parade, Newport and at other grounds around the region. They play in ...

. He joined

on a one-year deal for the 2010/11 season. On 22 June 2012, Williams signed for

on a two-year deal after leaving Aironi. On the signing, David Humphreys the Ulster Director of Rugby, said Williams would add a great deal to the Ulster squad. On 23 December 2015, Williams would join Welsh team

on a three-year contract from the 2016–17 season. Williams retired from rugby in August 2020.

Honours

;Munster *

(1): 2008–09 ;Cardiff Blues *

European Rugby Challenge Cup The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception ...

(1): 2017–18 ;Junior All Blacks *Pacific Nations Cup (1):

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

;Individual * Pro12 Player of the Season (1): 2012–13"Nick Williams on move again after inspirational stint at Ulster", Independent, David Kelly, 24 December 2015. * IRUPA Players' Player of the Year (1): 2013

Personal life

As one of eight children, Nick grew up in

Grey Lynn Grey Lynn is an inner suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, located to the west of the city centre. Originally a separate borough, Grey Lynn amalgamated with Auckland City in 1914. Grey Lynn is centred on Grey Lynn Park, which was not part of the ...

, Auckland. Williams is the older brother of Clermont Auvergene back

Tim Nanai-Williams Tim Nanai-Williams (born 12 June 1989) is a New Zealand-born Samoan rugby union player. He currently plays for Stade Toulousain in the Top 14. He has also represented New Zealand and Samoa in sevens rugby. Early life and education Nanai-Wi ...

. He is the first cousin of Blues centre

Sonny Bill Williams Sonny Bill Williams (born 3 August 1985) is a New Zealand heavyweight boxer, and a former professional rugby league and rugby union player and as of recently is working for Stan Sports. He is only the List of dual-code rugby internationals#New ...

and the second cousin of boxer Joseph Parker.

References

External links

Munster ProfileAironi Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Nick 1983 births Living people People educated at Northcote College New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent Blues (Super Rugby) players North Harbour rugby union players Munster Rugby players Ulster Rugby players Aironi players Rugby union number eights New Zealand expatriate rugby union players Rugby union players from Auckland