Speed limiters on but Quadzilla still impresses in week one with Aussie sevens

Sun, Jul 21, 2019, 10:00 PM
Iain Payten
by Iain Payten
Trae Williams has spent his first week as an Aussie rugby sevens player. Photo: Stu Walmsley/RUGBY.com.au
Trae Williams has spent his first week as an Aussie rugby sevens player. Photo: Stu Walmsley/RUGBY.com.au

The Ferrari had the speed limiters on for his first week in professional rugby but lightning fast recruit Trae Williams has still impressed Australian sevens coach Tim Walsh.

Williams and the rest of the Australian men’s sevens squad kicked off training full-time last week in Sydney.

While the Aussie men are looking squarely toward the job of qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics at the Oceania Sevens in November in Fiji, Williams’ focus has been more on adjusting to life as a full-time rugby player.

Known as “Quadzilla”, Williams is one of Australia’s fastest ever 100m sprinters but he elected to spurn an Olympics as a runner to sign with the Australian men’s sevens team in May.

A former schoolboy union and league player, Williams is no stranger to footy and while he has a steep learning curve ahead to become world-class, Walsh has been very happy with what he has seen in week one from his new  recruit.

"He is very impressive, his first proper week and he is nowhere near out of place, that’s for sure,” Walsh said.

"He comes in here and he is all business. He has been ultra-professional. He has made a choice to be here, to be part of the team, to learn and to win. He’s an impressive fella, both athletically and as a man.”

Williams travelled with the team to London and Paris for the last two rounds of the World Sevens Series, and after being given work-ons during the sevens' off-season, the Brisbane athlete worked on skills with former Wallaby Steve Kefu.

"We had a look at certain areas of his game when he was in London and Paris and had a few chats and he has clearly gone away in the break and sorted them out,” Walsh said.

Walsh has experienced in turning elite sprinters into gold medal-winning rugby players, having overseen Ellia Green’s transition from the track to the field.

That history will help him get Williams up to speed even quicker, Walsh believes.

"He is already ahead of where an Ellia Green was at the same stage. He has played rugby and rugby league, and obviously he has been an elite athlete for many years, so he has the training ethic,” Walsh said.

"The non-negotiable for the team was to be able to pass left and right 15 metres, make one-on-one tackles, different things like that. But Ellia doesn’t pass heaps either. She will offload but it’s about sticking to strengths and focusing on those.

"Early on we probably tried to add too many layers on Ellia’s game too quickly, whereas we should have just kept it simple.

"I want him to catch the footy and run. It’ll be a big learning curve but he certainly has the aptitude to take everything in and progress.”

All eyes are on him, to be sure, but Williams hasn’t been lighting up the grass at Moore Park in training just yet.

During a heavy conditioning stage of training, the coaching staff are taking it very cautiously with their new recruit.

"It’s a change of stimulus for him so we are not looking for amazing stuff yet. We are easing him into it but we are all very much looking forward to game time and letting him loose, but so far it’s been pretty contained,” Walsh said.

"He is still purring in the garage a bit. He knows his body and his speed, when you are adding repeat efforts and high load intensity, there is a bit to get used to, so we’re taking it easy so far.

"But there are times when we’re doing drills and he’s got a bit of open space and the quads start turning over and it’s 'see you later’. He’s an impressive athlete, no doubt."

The rest of the Australian men’s sevens squad has remained fairly settled, with no massive turnover of personnel. Sydney Uni and former Rebels no.10 Stu Dunbar has joined the squad and Brumbies flanker Tom Cusack will re-join the program in a week’s time.

"It’s been a positive first week. It’s been really good, in the energy and communication and general feel of it,” Walsh said.

Having not finished in the top four in the 2018-19 World Series, the Australian team must now qualify by winning the Oceania Sevens. The main obstacle will be the rising Samoan team.

"We’re not looking too much past it. Obviously we have plans for the bigger picture but as a group, it’s the Oceania campaign. That’s the first mission and the focus,” Walsh said.

The team will have internal trials in late August with top club talent also invited in, before they play in Munich and then, six weeks before Oceania, they’ll travel to a special tournament at the same stadium in Suva, featuring the gold medallists and top Fijian domestic sevens teams.

 

Share
'Brumbies DNA': Wallabies selections on the line for Reds clash - Larkham
'It's pretty hard to leave an environment like this': Jorgensen eager to commit future to Waratahs
Nico Andrade appointed QRU Women’s High-Performance Manager
'I'll always play on the edge': Wright looking to find attacking balance with new-look Brumbies attack