The 20-year-old wrote her name in the history books earlier this month as she became the first player to score for Wigan Warriors Women at Wembley, going over for the opening try in
Wigan’s 42-6 win over her former club St Helens
in the Challenge Cup final.
“I still can’t believe it now,” Williams said. “When Izzy (Rowe) passed that ball to me and the gap was there, I just couldn’t believe it. It was absolutely amazing.
“Just the feeling that we had some points on the board, it was just pure joy, I knew my family were watching, so it was such a good feeling.
“It seems crazy that it has been a few weeks already. It literally took us the whole of the following week just recovering from it emotionally because of the build-up, the emotions of the game and the game itself, but it was all absolutely worth it. It was one of the best weekends of my life.”
Williams, whose younger sister Abbie is in the Warriors’ youth system, is currently in his first season with Wigan, having crossed Billinge Hill from her hometown club Saints in the off-season.
“I think that was the first time playing against Saints, my former club, since I left,” Williams continued.
“I was already super nervous that I was playing in a final at Wembley, but because I was playing my old team, I was extra nervous!
“I knew how much the Saints girls would have wanted to win that game, but we wanted it just as much, so it was great to get the win. Unbelievable feelings.”
Williams’ Wembley week was perhaps made a little more special by the fact that her family became adopted Wiganers for the day at Wembley, despite being diehard Saints supporters.
“My family are actually Saints through and through,” Williams laughed.
“I was actually shocked because my dad had a
Wigan Warriors Women
’s shirt on! I was gobsmacked when I saw him wearing it because he, his friends and our family are all Saints fans, but on that day they were Warriors Women’s supporters, so I couldn’t believe it!”
Williams is one of the brightest talents within the British game, but she is also hard at work away from the rugby field, tackling a university degree.
“I’m studying occupational therapy at uni,” Williams said. “So you work with people who might have a disability or mental health issues, or they might have had something drastic change in their life or physical problems.
“I try to help them get back to doing activities or occupations if they like, so that could be through aids, cognitive techniques, rehab, physio, speech and language therapy, so it’s quite varied. People work in hospitals, prisons and in the community, and things like that, so it’s quite a varied degree actually.
“I also work in the Bank at Warrington Hospital as a therapy assistant, which is really good experience for me because I’ll be an occupational therapist hopefully one day.
“I really enjoy my job, it’s great working with people. I think working in a hospital makes you appreciate life a lot more.”
