Liam Williams has hailed the work ethic behind Wales’ transformation from Six Nations also-rans to potential Rugby World Cup quarter-finalists.
It is barely six months since Wales floundered on northern hemisphere rugby’s biggest stage.
Their solitary win – a 29-17 victory over Italy in Rome – spared them the indignity of propping up the table.
The Six Nations campaign also unfolded against a backdrop of major financial and contractual uncertainty in Welsh professional rugby, factors which almost led to a player strike as Wales prepared for a Six Nations appointment with England.
Warren Gatland had returned for a second spell as head coach, but there was little opportunity for him to make an impact amid such off-field chaos.
The World Cup build-up, though, began in late May as Gatland enjoyed 16 weeks of unbroken preparation – highlighted by punishing training camps in Switzerland and Turkey – leading into Wales’ World Cup opener against Fiji.
And Wales will arrive at at the OL Stadium in Lyon on Sunday knowing that victory over Pool C rivals Australia would confirm a last-eight spot one game inside the distance.
“We’ve worked hard as a group, everyone,” said Wales full-back Williams, who wins his 87th cap this weekend.
“The pre-World Cup camps were hell, to be honest, but the boys have just been digging in. We are all on the right page.
“If you had said six months ago that we would have played two pool matches and been at the top of the group with 10 points we would have bitten your hand off. We have just got to go and back that up on the weekend.”
Central to the revival has been Gatland’s ability to get the best out of his players, something that he achieved repeatedly during an 11-year reign sprinkled with Six Nations titles, Grand Slams and World Cup semi-finals.
Williams added: “He doesn’t really change. He has a laugh and joke sometimes, and when it comes down to work, then you just work.
“That is what we have done for the last six months, and every other time I have worked under Warren. It doesn’t change too much.
“Many years ago, he knew how to press the right button for me to get a reaction, to get me back playing well.
“Being one of the older heads now, he doesn’t need to press any more buttons. I think he does with a couple of the younger boys, and he knows what ones to press to get the best out of them.
“He just used to blank me! It used to really get on my nerves.
“If I played well, I would be walking past him with a big smile on my face, and he would just walk past me, kind of thing.
“It would really get me annoyed, then I would train in the week, work incredibly hard and play well again, and he would say, ‘I knew you would play well this week’. Little things like that, I guess.”
Wales’ impressive fitness levels came to the fore during a pulsating 32-26 victory over Fiji, and they now face an Australian side on the brink of elimination if they lose.
“The ball was in play was for 38 minutes (against Fiji) which is I think the highest of this Rugby World Cup so far,” Williams said.
“It was a pretty crazy game, and we were glad to come away with the points in the end.
“The ball wasn’t in play as much in the Australia-Fiji game (Australia lost 22-15) – I think it was 11 minutes down compared to our game.
“They (Australia) have just lost to Fiji, so they are going to be going for blood, but we are taking it like any other game in the pool. We are going to try to win.”
Rees-Zammit relishing Mahomes advice as former rugby star eyes spot on Chiefs roster
Louis Rees-Zammit has likened Patrick Mahomes to an extra coach as he looks to make an impact in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Rees-Zammit shocked rugby union fans in January when he announced he was turning his back on the sport to enter the NFL's International Player Pathway programme.
He was signed by two-time defending Super Bowl champions Kansas City in March and is now looking to earn a place on their roster for 2024, learning the role of running back at the Chiefs' rookie minicamp after attending another training camp alongside Mahomes.
Rees-Zammit has made sure to pick the brains of Mahomes, who has led the Chiefs to six straight AFC Championship games and won three Super Bowl rings since being drafted in 2017.
"It was amazing, all the quarterbacks and receivers were there, we were running routes, we were working in the gym", Rees-Zammit said of his experience at that camp in Texas.
"It was a great two weeks, I definitely learned a lot with Pat and the other boys."
Asked if Mahomes was acting like an extra coach, he said: "100 per cent.
"I'm new to the game so I'm trying to pick everyone's brains and try and pick up the sport as quick as possible because I want to be out there playing.
"The way I can do that is picking the brains of everyone that's currently here and trying to learn the game as quickly as possible."
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has been impressed by Rees-Zammit's attitude, saying: "He's so diligent with everything and wants to be so good at everything. I appreciate that.
"I like the fact he's got shorter steps initially, that's a good thing as a running back. If you're a long strider in there you've got to really work on making it through those tight adjustments you have to make. He seems to have a nice feel."
England and Saracens number eight Vunipola fined after arrest in Mallorca
England international Billy Vunipola has confirmed he has been fined after an incident which saw him arrested in Mallorca on Sunday, with his club Saracens set to launch an internal investigation.
On Monday, widespread reports claimed Vunipola had been tasered by Spanish police in the early hours of Sunday morning, with an altercation taking place after he left a club in Palma.
Saracens later confirmed they were aware of an incident and said they would deal with it internally.
The number eight, who was born in Australia but has represented England 75 times, later released a statement of his own via his club, denying that any violence took place and confirming the police investigation was now closed.
"I can confirm I was involved in an unfortunate misunderstanding when I was leaving a club in Mallorca on Sunday, which got out of hand," that statement read.
"Contrary to media reports, there was no violence, no fight and I did not threaten anybody at any stage, with bottles or chairs or anything else.
"I was charged with resisting the law and, following an 'express trial', I have paid a fine of €240. The Spanish police investigation is now closed, and I am flying back to the UK today.
"I will obviously cooperate with the Saracens internal process and unreservedly apologise for any inconvenience to all involved."
Fraser Brown ‘hugely proud’ of Scotland career as he announces rugby retirement
Fraser Brown declared himself “hugely proud” of his Scotland career as he announced his retirement from professional rugby.
The 34-year-old Glasgow hooker has not played since rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament while playing for the World XV against the Barbarians at Twickenham last May and he has now conceded defeat in his bid to return to action.
Brown won 61 Scotland caps, with the first of them coming against Italy in 2013 and the last in the Six Nations match at home to Ireland in 2023, the same game incidentally in which Stuart Hogg won his final cap. The front-rower went to both the 2015 and 2019 World Cups.
“When you have a serious injury like I did with an ACL at the end of your career, it is always going to be hard to come back from,” Brown told Scottish Rugby.
“That probably made it a little easier to announce my retirement but it’s still a surreal and strange feeling.
“I’m hugely proud to have played so many times for Scotland during my career. To get one cap was great, but then my second one came against the All Blacks at Murrayfield which was such a special occasion.
“To reach 50 caps was a big moment as I had to deal with a lot of injuries throughout my career and to be part of the growth process of the team which has resulted in where they are now has been cool.”
At club level, Brown made 141 appearances for Glasgow after joining from Edinburgh in 2011.
The hooker helped them win the Guinness Pro12 in 2015 with victory over Munster in the final in Belfast, while his last appearance for Warriors proved to be last season’s Challenge Cup final defeat by Toulon in Dublin.
Glasgow head coach Franco Smith paid tribute to Brown, saying: “Fraser is the epitome of a modern professional and someone who should serve as a role model to any young player starting their journey.
“The respect with which he is held, not only within the Glasgow Warriors community but within the wider rugby family, should serve to underline the achievements he has earned throughout his career and the manner in which he has achieved them.
“His work ethic and determination to bring the best out of the people and players around him has been clear to all throughout his career.
“I wish him the very best for whatever comes next and I know he will apply that same work ethic and determination that made him one of this club’s most distinguished Warriors.”
Brown becomes the second experienced Scotland front-rower to announce his retirement in the space of a month after Edinburgh prop WP Nel recently revealed he would be hanging his boots up at the end of this season.
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