Western Force captain Jeremy Williams says he’s thrilled to be back with the “Force family” after the return of the Wallabies into pre-season training this week.
Williams along with Wallabies Carlo Tizzano, Ben Donaldson, Brandon Paenga-Amosa, Dylan Pietsch, Hamish Stewart, Harry Potter and Nic White were back at Force HQ on Monday following last week’s camp in Sydney.
The eight players hadn’t linked up with Force training all pre-season due to Wallabies duties, including the Northern Tour where Williams impressed, including scoring in the famous win over England at Twickenham.
Force 2025 Super Rugby Memberships are on sale NOW for seven home games + Super W games from $170 per adult, while there’s FREE Junior Force Memberships for one child under 15 with a paying adult.
Williams, 24, said he was excited about what he’s seen on the training paddock since his return this week, with a month until the side’s Super Rugby Pacific Round 1 clash with Moana Pasifika at HBF Park (tickets on sale Thursday 23 January).
“It’s been good. I’ve been really enjoying back in Perth,” Williams told reporters. “It’s been a while since I’ve been back.
“I’m really enjoying meeting all the new faces and seeing all the old faces as well. It looks like the boys have been working really hard in pre-season. Hopefully we can come back and add to that.”
Among the new faces are Wallabies Paenga-Amosa and Pietsch who joined in the off-season, along with internationally capped players like Darcy Swain, Nic Dolly, Matt Proctor and Harry Johnson-Holmes among others.
“We’ve got a lot of depth at the moment,” Williams said. “There’s a lot of competition for positions.
“I think that’s what you want going into training sessions and going into Super Rugby. You want everyone to be competing to earn their spot or jersey. That makes the team go a lot better.”
Sydney-born Williams, who lives with Will Harris and Ben Donaldson in Scarborough, was delighted to see the connection within the team upon his return, calling the Club his “family”. He’s optimistic that off-field connection can be translated on field.
“Our team has got pretty good connection,” he said. “Off the field we’re a pretty tight knit bunch.
“That’s the beauty of being in Perth with a lot of guys coming from interstate. The footy team is kind of like your family. You’re always hanging around them. Our off-field connection is really good.
“The boys over the pre-season have clearly built some great connections. Now it’s about expressing that on the field.”
On building chemistry, he added: “New people come in, old people leave. As footy players, your job is just to adapt.
“It’s about building those connections at training and watching video of the boys in pre-season before Christmas.
“Even last week it looks like they’ve been going really well building those connections. I’m pretty excited about what we can do come Super Rugby.”
Force 2025 Super Rugby Memberships are on sale NOW for seven home games + Super W games from $170 per adult, while there’s FREE Junior Force Memberships for one child under 15 with a paying adult.
