Rugby greats, former All Blacks Ian Jones and Eric Rush, said Tamaiti Williams [pictured with the ball] should be proud of his performance in the second half of the Rugby World Cup final. Photo / AP
It might not have been the result they wanted, but Northlanders have every right to feel proud of the All Blacks performance during the Rugby World Cup final against the Springboks in Paris.
Northlanders Tamaiti Williams and Ofa Tuʻungafasi were both integral players in the All Blacks Rugby World Cup squad, which ultimately lost in a bruising 12-11 defeat against South Africa.
Although Tuʻungafasi wasn’t selected for the final, Williams was on the reserves bench and got a decent run during the second half of the game.
Former All Black Eric Rush, who is Tamaiti Williams’ uncle, said that overall it wasn’t a bad effort by the All Blacks “but they were behind the game the whole way since the red card”.
“There’s a young man who’s got years of international rugby ahead of him.
“His future is very positive and exciting.
“We would love to see him come home and play for his home province one day.”
Former All Black and Northland’s “Kamo Kid” Ian Jones, who was in Paris, said the atmosphere at the Stade de France was “insane”.
Jones, who was part of the 1995 team that lost to South Africa, said he was “gutted of course, but proud of the way they got stuck in in the second half”.
“Though we’re losing some great All Blacks, they’re being replaced by the likes of Tamaiti Williams which is a great thing.”
Jenny Ling is a news reporter and features writer for the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering health, food, lifestyle, business and animal welfare issues.