KIWI prop Angus Williams has spent the last eight weeks in a state of limbo since arriving in the country to play for the Watsonians Super6 franchise just a matter of hours before lockdown killed off rugby in Scotland for the foreseeable future – but he remains focused on making an impact in his mother’s homeland whenever sport does finally return.
It is a fiendishly frustrating situation for the 26-year-old, so it is to his credit that he is so admirably level-headed about his plight, despite spending the best part of two months living alone in a flat in a foreign city, with no work and no rugby to fill in the hours and help integrate him into his new surroundings.
“My flatmate, Harrison Courtney [another New Zealand import], was there for a few days after I arrived, so he showed me the ropes before he was supposed to fly out to New Zealand,” explains Williams.
“But his flight got cancelled so he went to stay with family in Dunbar and since then I have been on my own. It is definitely not ideal because I had heard the boys were going to be in that semi-final [of the domestic section of the Super6 season] and I was hoping to train with them before that game – but it has been fine,” he continues.
“I live right next to a park so I’ve just been keeping busy and doing what training I can do to keep myself fit. I’ve been given a few running routes – one that goes through The Meadows, another one took me up Arthur’s Seat and I’ve been along the Royal Mile which was quite nice – so I’ve seen a bit of the city. It’s a beautiful place.
“I met Harrison, of course, and I’ve had some chats with Fergus Pringle [Watsonians’ head coach], but nothing much else. It is a bit of a weird situation but you’ve just got to make do the best you can, and I’m still looking forward to getting back into the swing of things when it all kicks back off again.”
Williams was born and raised in the coastal town of Whitianga in New Zealand’s North Island, before heading to Dunedin where he played over 100 games for Otago University, during which time he was part of three Otago Metropolitan Premier Club Rugby titles, and earned a
full-time contract with the Otago provincial squad
during the 2019 Mitre Cup campaign.
The Scottish connection comes via his mother, Sue, who was born in Edinburgh and raised near Dumfries, and he is looking forward to visiting both his grandparents when it is safe to do so. “My great grandfather went to George Watson’s College, so there is a long-standing connection there, too,” he says.
Williams clearly fancies a tilt at winning a full-time pro contract with either Edinburgh or Glasgow Warriors, but has no regrets about declining previous opportunities to play in his mother’s homeland. At 26, he is still a young pup by tight-head prop standards, so time is on his side.
“I’d been approached by a Scottish club in previous years but at that stage I was still doing my thing with Otago and the time didn’t seem right,” he says. “Then I had a conversation with my agent about it and he thought it would be a really good opportunity to come over and let them have a look at me, so I just decided to head over and see what it is like, as well as catch-up with some of the family who are over here.
“As my agent pointed out, it is a chance to play a game that suits my strengths. In Europe, there is a lot more emphasis on the scrum and driving maul, it is all just a bit more up-front than back in New Zealand, which is the kind of stuff I enjoy.
“But all I can do at the moment is keep myself busy by trying to stay fit, and I’m doing a lot of facetime with friends and family back home, who have been brilliant at checking in that I am doing alright.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here