Paul Williams (born 22 April 1983) is a New Zealand-born Samoan 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 its m ...

player who plays for

Stade Français Stade Français Paris Rugby () is a French professional rugby union club based in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The club plays in the Top 14 domestic league in France and is one of the most successful French clubs of the modern era. The ...

in the French

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

. His regular playing positions are Centre, Wing and fullback. He is a son of former

All Black The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

Bryan Williams and the brother of Gavin Williams, who plays internationally for

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 ...

and for French club Clermont.

Playing career

New Zealand

Williams was born 22 April 1983 in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, New Zealand. As one of the most promising young players in New Zealand rugby, Williams was signed by the Highlanders for the

2003 season 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

, aged only 19 and having never played NPC rugby. He quickly showed his ability, earning the starting job at fullback and scoring his first

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

try before suffering a broken leg in his 6th appearance for the side. Williams' broken leg would turn into a nightmare, as it failed to heal properly and required multiple operations, including a re-breaking of the bone in 2004. He was provisionally named in the Highlanders squad for the 2004 season and again for the 2006 season, but dropped out before each season when it became obvious he wasn't fully recovered. Finally healthy in 2006, Williams signed for

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

and made 4 appearances in the

2006 Air New Zealand Cup The 2006 Air New Zealand Cup was the inaugural season of the Air New Zealand Cup, contested by teams from New Zealand. The season ran from July to October 2006. At the end of the regular season, the top team from ''Repechage A'' and ''B'' joine ...

, which were his first competitive games in over three years. Despite the limited game action, he was signed by the

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

for the 2007 season, although he didn't see any game action. Back with Canterbury for the 2007 Air New Zealand Cup, Williams appeared in every match – mainly on the wing – and impressed with his solid performances. This saw him re-signed by the Highlanders for the 2008 season, where he started all 13 matches and earned

consideration for his strong play at fullback. He played for Canterbury in the

2008 Air New Zealand Cup The 2008 Air New Zealand Cup was a provincial rugby union competition involving 14 teams from New Zealand. Matches started on Thursday 31 July 2008, and continued until the final on 25 October 2008. This season was the third of the expanded co ...

, where his excellent form continued as he scored 6 tries in helping his side to the title. In 2009 Williams returned to his hometown of

. He spent the 2009 season and 2010 season with the

Auckland Blues The Blues (known as the Auckland Blues from 1996 to 2000) is a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Auckland, who play in the Super Rugby competition. Like New Zealand's four other Super Rugby teams, the Blues were established by ...

, where he was a consistent player. However, he played off the bench as often as he started. He also played for

in the

2009 Air New Zealand Cup The 2009 Air New Zealand Cup was the 33rd provincial rugby union competition, the fourth since the competition reconstruction in 2006, involving the top 14 provincial unions in New Zealand. It ran for 15 weeks from 30 July to 7 November. It was ...

, and he was named Auckland player of the year in 2009.

Europe

After declaring for

internationally in 2010, Williams signed with the

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 ...

of the

Aviva Premiership Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...

for the 2010–11 season. Williams was a regular starter for the Sharks at fullback, scoring 2 tries in 20 appearances. However, he chose to leave Sale after only one season to sign in France with

for the 2010–11 season.

International career

In May 2008 Williams gained selection for a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

training squad for the 2008 international season, however he never played for the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

. Williams was eligible to play for

internationally as he spent much of his childhood in the country while his father was coaching the Samoan national team. Unlikely to make the All Blacks squad for the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...

, he declared his intention to play for Samoa in 2010 and made his debut against

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

in the

2010 IRB Pacific Nations Cup The 2010 Pacific Nations Cup was a rugby union tournament held between four national sides on the Pacific Rim: Fiji national rugby union team, Fiji, Japan national rugby union team, Japan, Samoa national rugby union team, Samoa and Tonga national r ...

on 12 June.

References

External links

Blues ProfileAll Blacks initial training SquadTimeline of Williams' injury layoff
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Paul 1983 births New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand sportspeople of Cook Island descent New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent Samoa international rugby union players Auckland rugby union players Blues (Super Rugby) players Highlanders (rugby union) players Crusaders (rugby union) players Canterbury rugby union players Sale Sharks players Stade Français Paris players Rugby union fullbacks New Zealand expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in England Expatriate rugby union players in France New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in France Rugby union players from Auckland Living people Ponsonby RFC players People educated at Mount Albert Grammar School Auckland University of Technology alumni 2011 Rugby World Cup players