ANYONE WHO HAS dipped a toe into French rugby can understand Ali Williams when he says “the whole thing is different.”
The 33-year-old, who will retire at the end of the season, spent the vast majority of his career in his native New Zealand before joining Toulon in 2013, but he’s toured the rugby world and knows how things work across the global game.
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Williams celebrates his quarter-final try against Wasps with teammate Delon Armitage. Source: James Crombie/INPHO
Old friends and past enemies warned him of what was to come on the Côte-d’Azur, but the two seasons since have been a whirlwind nonetheless.
“It’s just crazy some of the stuff that emerges, but then that’s just different cultures, isn’t it? And you just have to respect that,” says Williams as Toulon prepare for Sunday’s Champions Cup semi-final against Leinster.
“I have really enjoyed that change. A lot of people think I’m crazy so that probably helps. A lot of it has been mind-blowing.
“The whole thing is different, the way they look at the game, the way they believe an attribute of one person can compare to another.
Back-to-back Heineken Cup titles and a Top 14 trophy have helped the Kiwi lock love it all the more, particularly given his insatiable appetite for winning. That very attribute is what Toulon look to buy in when they sign up the likes of Williams.
President Mourad Boudjellal is well known as the outspoken public figurehead of the club, but the emotional intelligence of head coach Bernard Laporte has been key to bringing Toulon’s impressive component parts together.
“He is a motivator,” says Williams of the former France coach’s style. “He is one of those guys who can get inside people’s heads or a group of guys’ heads, whether it is through the traditional, standard way or whether it is a French uniqueness.
Williams makes his way through the crowds at Stade Mayol. Source: Billy Stickland/INPHO
“He definitely makes you think and be highly motivated in terms of what you want to achieve. I found the guy very interesting in terms of what I am used to back in New Zealand; you know Joe Schmidt very well and how he operates.
“It is very different, the French, in terms of the emotion and the ability to win not so much being focused around tactics, that’s done during the week; it is very much the emotion of the occasion.”
Laporte has an enviable array of world-class talent to work with, and that in part makes his job as a motivator easier.
Leaders like Williams, Bakkies Botha, Matt Giteau, Carl Hayman and Drew Mitchell don’t need a word in the ear too often; their price tags come with a guarantee of mental power.
The perception in some quarters is that Toulon are beginning to show their age, creaking in certain areas, and Williams jokes that “the zimmer frames basically come off us on Wednesday or Thursday” of match week.