Full name | Tim Nanai Williams | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 12 June 1989 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Auckland, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 87 kg (192 lb; 13 st 10 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | Manurewa High School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Tim Nanai-Williams (born 12 June 1989) is a New Zealand-born Samoan rugby union player. He currently plays for Stade Toulousain in the Top 14. He has also represented New Zealand and Samoa in sevens rugby.
Nanai-Williams was born in Auckland, New Zealand, to Tavaefaga Nanai and Aolele Williams. Both his parents are Samoan-born and brought their family to New Zealand in the 1980s. [1] He was raised in a Samoan household, and speaks Samoan fluently. [2]
He grew up in Manurewa, a suburb in South Auckland, and has said the place was "pretty rough". [3] [4] He attended Manurewa High School and got involved in every sport available, but started playing in the First XV when he was 14 years old. [3]
After school, Nanai Williams started playing for Counties Manukau and re-signed with for the 2010 season. [5] In the same year, Nanai-Williams signed for the Chiefs and made his Super Rugby debut for the Hamilton-based franchise, against the Sharks. [6] He stayed in the franchise until 2015, and was a key fixture in the Chiefs' Super Rugby triumphs of 2012 and 2013, proving himself an invaluable utility option as he covered wing, outside centre and full-back. [7]
After the 2015 Super Rugby season, he signed for the japanese Top League side Ricoh Black Rams. [8] In October 2016, it was announced that he would re-sign for the Chiefs in time for the 2017 Super Rugby Season [9] and with Counties Manukau. [10]
In December 2017, after 85 Super Rugby appearances, [11] he signed a three-year contract with French powerhouse Clermont Auvergne, then reigning Top 14 champions, until the end of 2021. [6]
On 11 March 2021, Williams signs for Top 14 rivals Toulouse ahead of the 2021-22 season. [12]
Nanai-Williams grew up dreaming of playing for the All Blacks and represented New Zealand at secondary schools and sevens level between 2008 and 2009. [1] Given the depth and quality of players in the country, he always had the chance of representing Samoa in the back of his mind. [13]
After being overlooked for the All Blacks for a number of years, he decided to change his international allegiance to Samoa. In doing so, he became the first player to exploit a loophole whereby playing in four tournaments on the global sevens circuit made himself eligible for the Manu Samoa fifteen-a-side team. [2] [14]
Nanai-Williams admitted that the chance of playing at a Rugby World Cup or at the Olympics was a big reason for his change of allegiance, and that his best shot was in a Samoan jersey. [15]
Nanai-Williams made his test debut for Samoa in the historic game against the All Blacks in Apia, their first ever visit to play a Test match in Samoa. [16] He represented Samoa at the 2015 Rugby World Cup held in England [17] and at the 2019 Rugby World Cup played in Japan. [18] As of July 2020, he has 16 international caps. [19]
Nanai-Williams is renowned for his complete skillset in attack, combining speed, footwork, acceleration, vision and creativity to find spaces and exploit gaps in defences. [20] [21] [22] He can also cover several positions in the backline, namely, fullback, wing and centre. [6]
Nanai-Williams is the cousin of dual code rugby international Sonny Bill Williams and Black Ferns star Niall Williams [23] [24] and the younger brother of former Cardiff Blues and Blues player Nick Williams. [25]
Growing up in Manurewa, Nanai-Williams was mates with future Ireland international Bundee Aki, and Chiefs teammate Lelia Masaga. [4]