Tamaiti Patariki Thomas Williams (born 10 August 2000) is 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 ...

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 who plays as a

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinc ...

for

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a 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. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

in the

National Provincial Championship The National Provincial Championship may refer to: * National Provincial Championship (1976–2005), original competition before reform into 14 sides * National Provincial Championship (2006–present) The National Provincial Championship, o ...

competition, 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 ...

in the Super Rugby Pacific competition, and at international level for the

Māori All Blacks The Māori All Blacks, previously called the New Zealand Maori, New Zealand Maoris and New Zealand Natives, are a rugby union team from New Zealand. They are a representative team of the New Zealand Rugby Union, and a prerequisite for playing i ...

and the New Zealand All Blacks.

Early life

Williams was born in

Whangārei Whangārei () is the northernmost city in New Zealand and the regional capital of Northland Region. It is part of the Whangārei District, a local body created in 1989 from the former Whangārei City, Whangārei County and Hikurangi Town coun ...

to father Johnny and mother Natalie. Of

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

descent, he affiliates to the

Ngāpuhi Ngāpuhi (or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland region of New Zealand and centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei. According to the 2018 New Zealand census, the estimated population of Ngāpuhi is 16 ...

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, ...

. He has two sisters, Kenya and Terina. The family moved to

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

when he was only a few months old, where he later schooled at

Aranmore Catholic College The Aranmore Catholic College is a co-educational school for ages 7-12, located in Leederville in Perth, Western Australia. History The College was founded in 1903 by the Sisters of Mercy and was originally known as Arranmore, a name ta ...

, playing both rugby union and

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 ...

for

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. In 2016, the family returned to New Zealand to live in Kāeo in the Far North where he attended Kerikeri High School, playing for their Condor 7s team. This led to Williams earning a scholarship to attend St. Kentigern College, for whom he continued to play rugby. Playing as a loose forward in his school days, Williams subsequently transitioned to the front row where he gained some experience at loosehead prop and has now settled at tighthead prop, though is capable of playing in both positions.

Canterbury

Williams made his debut for Canterbury in Round 1 of the

2020 Mitre 10 Cup The 2020 Mitre 10 Cup season was the fifteenth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on September 11, when North Harbour hosted Canterbury. It involved the top ...

against North Harbour at QBE Stadium, Albany in North Harbour. Canterbury won the match 43-29.

Crusaders

Williams caught the attention of Crusaders' scouts, leading him to decide to move to

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

at the end of 2019 to join their highly successful academy. He was named in the Crusaders squad for the

2021 Super Rugby Aotearoa season The 2021 Super Rugby Aotearoa season (branded as Sky Super Rugby Aotearoa for sponsorship reasons) was a professional club rugby union tournament organised by New Zealand Rugby. Announced on 11 November 2020, the tournament was the second se ...

, making his debut that year, with the team going on to win the Championship. Between the

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

and 2023 Super Rugby seasons, Williams made 31 appearances for the Crusaders and scored 4 tries. The Crusaders won the Championship both years.

Māori All Blacks

On 24 November 2020

coach Clayton McMillan named his squad to play

Moana Pasifika Moana Pasifika is a rugby union team made up of players from various Pacific island nations as well as New Zealand or Australian born players of Pasifika heritage, including Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and the Cook Islands. The team was originally crea ...

on 5 December, which included Williams for the first time. He was the youngest member of the team and made his debut as a replacement during the match which they won 28-21.

International career

In 2022 Williams was included in the All Blacks XV for their Northern tour, where the team played against Ireland A, winning 47-19, and the

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 les ...

, losing 35-31. Williams made his international test debut for New Zealand at Go Media Stadium on 15 July 2023 in a match against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

in The Rugby Championship, coming on as a replacement for Ethan de Groot in the 59th minute, with the All Blacks winning the match 35-20 and retaining the Freedom Cup. Williams appeared for the All Blacks in his first

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

match on 29 September 2023 in the Pool rounds against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

at OL Stadium, coming on in the 49th minute as a replacement for Ofa Tuungafasi. New Zealand won the match 96-17. At the same tournament he also played for the All Blacks in a pool match against

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

at OL Stadium, a quarterfinal match against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and a semifinal match against

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, both played at Stade de France. On 6 October 2023 he scored his first try for the All Blacks in the 73rd minute of the pool match against Uruguay, coming on as a replacement for Ofa Tuungafasi in the 46th minute in a 73-0 win. On 14 October 2023, coming on as a replacement for Ethan de Groot in the 64th minute of the quarterfinal match against Ireland, he was part of the All Blacks' final defensive stand which, in the last three minutes of regular time and two minutes of overtime, saw them successfully defend their 4-point lead against 37 consecutive attacking phases by Ireland to win the match 28-24. Williams contributed to the match with 5 tackles at a 100 percent tackle success rate. This ended Ireland's 2023 Rugby World Cup campaign, their winning streak of 17 international test matches and their 15-month tenure as the

World Rugby World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...

number 1 ranked men's rugby union team. In the 21 October 2023 semifinal match against Argentina, Wiliams came on as a replacement for Ethan de Groot in the 56th minute, with the All Blacks going on to win the match 44-6 to secure a place in the 2023 Rugby World Cup final.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Tamaiti Living people 2000 births Rugby union players from Whangārei New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand international rugby union players New Zealand Māori rugby union players Canterbury rugby union players Rugby union props People educated at Saint Kentigern College Crusaders (rugby union) players Māori All Blacks players 2023 Rugby World Cup players