Williams' UWC eye Shield prize
Williams replaced former Springbok coach Peter de Villiers at the helm and has included former Springbok scrumhalf Bolla Conradie in his coaching staff.
"Coaching UWC is definitely going to be a challenge and it won't be easy as the competition is quite strong, whether it be Cup or Shield. We are looking forward to it. If it wasn't a challenge, we would not have wanted to be part of it.
"Hopefully we can finish on top but the only we can do that is to go out there and do our best. Bolla [Conradie] is part of my coaching staff as the backline coach," Williams told rugby365.com.
Things have certainly not run smoothly thus far for Williams and his team as the recent student protests has hindered his progress of creating cohesion in the squad.
"The students protests hindered our preparations quite a bit because we struggled to get the players together and get them registered. Then there was the training sessions which were difficult, as not all the players could attend each session but those are the obstacles you have to overcome," he added.
UWC will be eyeing top spot at the end of the Varsity Shield competition, which grants them automatic promotion to the Cup competition, and Williams has been getting his side ready by playing UCT-Ikeys and Maties in pre-season matches.
"It was very tough playing against UCT and Maties, they are Cup sides after all but I think we done ourselves proud in those matches. I'm quite happy with the fitness levels and I think the technical and tactical side of the game needs some improvement but we have time to prepare for the opening game and hopefully we are able to pick up the standards throughout the campaign.
"It's important to have the prospect of promotion/relegation at the end of the competition but we have only had three months to work towards it, so we will see how it goes. If we can make it to that stage with the minimal preparations we have had, then we will certainly be ready for the Cup competition as well," he stated.
By Tauriq Ebrahim
