Tamaiti Williams is one of the most exciting talents in the game, he's a whopping 196cm (6ft4) and 140kg (308lbs) with the speed and light feet of an outside back. He's got the skillset of a playmaker and most importantly for his position he's a beast at scrum time comfortably playing both sides of the scrum. All this at just 23 years of age! The potential of this champion lad is huge and it was awesome to go through his journey up until now.

Some key bits that stood out for me...

• The emotional rollercoaster the last 12months has been, going to a RWC, getting injured, getting married, having a baby at just 27 weeks, becoming an All Black again. That's an episode in itself.
• Hearing about Tamaiti's upbringing in Perth where he had to grow up fast. 
• The plan that his parents had to help him achieve success in rugby, which involved moving back to NZ and then down to the Crusaders academy 
• The challenges that came with those moves - Becoming a Crusader and then becoming and All Black and what that meant to him and his family. 
• We hear all about the RWC in France including that last scrum. 
• Plans in the future, all your questions and more.

Tamaiti is such a humble giant, who speaks openly about the challenges he has faced and will continue to face to reach his potential. There's so much good stuff in this one and as you'll hear he is such a lad. If you enjoy this episode I would hugely appreciate it if you could give it a share so I can continue to bring you great guests like this. Side Note- New camera stopped recording at the 1 hour mark so apologies for the average footage for the last bit. On a positive, the What a Lad studio is on only weeks away so the footage going forward will be top notch.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Overview

04:12 Tamaiti's Remarkable last 12 months

09:44 Challenges and Triumphs of Fatherhood

14:21 Overcoming Injuries and Personal Challenges

19:21 Balancing Personal and Professional Responsibilities

32:02 Upbringing in Australia and Decision to Move to New Zealand

38:07 Transition from Number Eight to Prop

46:30 Dealing with Homesickness

51:11 Importance of Hard Work and Perseverance

52:01 From the Crusaders to the All Blacks

54:01 Joining the Crusaders

55:50 Mindset and Nerves in Games

57:25 Working Through Challenges in the Scrum

01:04:13 Getting Fit and Staying Fit

01:13:15 Overcoming Challenges in the Scrum

01:18:24 Becoming the Greatest Ever

01:32:21 Advice for a What a Lad listener