We sat down with Keiran Williams to talk over his playing style, the Leinster game and his rugby career up to now.
Keiran, good few weeks for you and the team. How’s the feeling in camp?
Yeah it’s as good as it can be. It doesn’t get much better than beating the French Champions then getting two derby wins on the bounce. But now we’ve got our sights set on what I believe are the best team in Europe (Leinster) and we’re hoping to stamp our authority on that game.
Any personal highlights that stick out to you from the last couple weeks?
I think beating Montpellier is definitely up there and I managed to get a try in that one which was nice. Ultimately though, it doesn’t get better than winning the West Wales Derby and the try I got at the end summed up the boys’ mood in that game.
We know you’re a proud Glynneath boy, tell us a bit about your pathway up to this point.
Yeah Glyneath born and bred as they say. I started playing when I was six, my father was the coach there and carried on there until I was 15/16 until I moved into the Academy. It’s a small little village, it’s lovely and I was able to play with my best friends growing up, doesn’t get better than that.
If you were speaking to someone that had never watched you play, how would you describe your playing style?
Very direct, I’d say I’m a powerful little runner. There’s obviously aspects of my game that I’d like to improve but one thing I’d say I’m good is footwork which can make me hard to tackle.
Big game against Leinster on the weekend, what d’you think makes them such a strong team?
I think it’s their all round game. Their set piece is brilliant and everything they do off that is effective, their general play and their phase play is second to none. They’ve got ball players in the pack and that often makes them hard to defend, which can tire an opposition out.
Any objectives for you for this season?
Main thing for me is to play week in week out, I had a little niggle at the start of the season which kept me out. It’s important to take your chance when you get it and I think I have, my main objective is to stay fit
Any New Year’s Resolutions?
Eat clean.