Devon Williams may be 32 already – and turning 33 in April – but he still has most of the pace that saw him emerge as a speedy wing for Western Province in 2013.
Williams, who hails from Pniel – which is near Stellenbosch – was renowned for his finishing, but never got a proper chance to establish himself in the Stormers and WP teams, which led to him moving to the Pumas for a fresh start.
It eventually turned into seven fruitful seasons, where he became a Currie Cup champion too, and Jake White and the Bulls came knocking in 2023.
He is playing arguably the best rugby of his career at the moment, having settled into the fullback berth as first Kurt-Lee Arendse and then Willie le Roux were on Springbok duty.
Williams showed that he can still break the line in last weekend’s 31-19 United Rugby Championship win over the Lions at Loftus Versfeld, leaving star midfielder Henco van Wyk for dead as he raced upfield and chipped ahead of Sebastian de Klerk’s try.
Asked by Independent Media on Tuesday if he is the fastest player in the Bulls squad – especially with Arendse in Japan – Williams giggled: “I would think so... I hope so! My pace is something that I back, so ja, I would definitely put my hand up to be one of the fastest here still.”
Williams will be one of the key cogs in the Bulls side once more in Saturday’s clash against the Stormers at Loftus Versfeld (5pm start), with his positional play and handling the high ball two vital elements against the Cape outfit.
Of course, facing your old team is always special, but considering the improvement the Bulls showed on attack against the Lions – having wasted several chances in losing to the Sharks a week earlier – it will be important to continue with that cohesion instead of being individualistic.
“It’s never easy losing, so there will always be a fight-back after a loss. But it’s difficult to say what went wrong against the Sharks. We were in full control of that game... They had three yellow cards, but there’s just no explanation for how things haywire,” Williams said.
“As a backline, we said that we let the forwards down in certain areas of the game. Beforehand, we made a commitment to each other that we will express ourselves again (in the Lions match).
“Everyone knows we are forward-dominant, as our pack is very strong – scrum-wise and lineout-wise, maul-wise.
“So, it’s just a case of getting the balance right, of when to pull the trigger. Sometimes we pull the trigger, and then try something off the cuff instead of sticking to the plan that we set out beforehand. So, I think it’s just to complement each other.”
With Le Roux also pulling the strings in much more confident fashion at flyhalf against the Lions, the Bulls backs appeared to be better organised with ball-in-hand.
Having scored five tries against the Johannesburg outfit, the Bulls will be keen to round off a ruthless block of SA derbies by beating the Stormers for the third time in a row, which will be followed by a three-week break to their next URC clash against Leinster.
“I will refer to myself, when I moved to flyhalf for the Pumas, it wasn’t the easiest move. People don’t give him enough credit,” Williams said.
“Moving from 15 to flyhalf at this level is not just an overnight thing. I also got asked the question of what I think of Willie at 10, and I back him all the way.
“The more he plays there, the more confidence he will get, and obviously get the mix right.
“Personally – and from a team perspective maybe as well – I don’t think there’s more pressure, because it’s just another 80 minutes.
“Obviously there’s a derby behind it, but it’s just another game now, like playing Leinster or Glasgow.
“But playing the derbies is always harder than playing the overseas teams, as we know each other, and there are guys playing together in the Springbok team.
“So, everyone knows a little bit more about the opposition than the international teams – and obviously, it’s much more personal.”