Duncan Williams (rugby union) explained

Duncan Williams
Birth Date:1986 4, df=yes
Birth Place:Douglas, Cork, Ireland
Weight:80kg (180lb)
Ru Position:Scrum-half
Amatyears1:20??–present
Amatteam1:Cork Constitution
Clubs1:Munster
Years1:2009–2019
Apps1:163
Points1:35
Ru Clubupdate:23 March 2019

Duncan Williams (born 17 April 1986) is an Irish rugby union player. He plays as a scrum-half and represents Cork Constitution in the All-Ireland League.

Munster

Williams made his Munster debut against Connacht in December 2009.[1] He made his Heineken Cup debut against London Irish in October 2010.[2] Williams also started against Australia in Munster's historic 15–6 victory over them in November 2010.[3] He scored his first try for Munster in their 35–12 win against Scarlets in September 2011.[4] He signed a two-year contract extension with Munster in March 2012.[5]

He started for Munster A in their 31–12 2011–12 British and Irish Cup Final win against Cross Keys on 27 April 2012.[6] On 28 February 2014, it was announced that Williams had signed a new one-year contract with Munster, which would see him remain in the province until at least June 2015.[7] He signed a two-year contract extension in February 2015.[8] On 2 January 2016, Williams earned his 100th cap for Munster when he came off the bench against Ulster.[9] On 24 January 2017, it was announced that Williams had signed a contract extension which would see him remain with Munster until June 2019.[10]

On 1 April 2017, Williams was a late replacement for the injured Conor Murray in Munster's line-up for the 2016–17 European Rugby Champions Cup quarter-final against Toulouse. Munster went on to win the game 41–16 and progress to the semi-finals.[11] Williams earned his 150th cap for Munster on 10 February 2018, doing so when he started in the provinces' 33–5 win against Zebre in the 2017–18 Pro14.[12] Facial injuries suffered during training initially ruled Williams out for the remainder of the 2017–18 season, as surgery was required,[13] but he made a faster-than-expected recovery and returned to full training late in April.[14] Williams was released by Munster at the end of the 2018–19 season.[15]

After his release by Munster, Williams continued playing rugby at an amateur level for Cork Constitution. He had decided to retire from playing rugby after Con's All-Ireland League Division 1A final against Clontarf in May 2019,[16] but after Con won the final 28–13 to secure their second AIL title in three years,[17] Williams extended his playing career into the 2019–20 season, and he started in the 24–17 win against Young Munster in the final of the Munster Senior Cup in December 2019, a victory that secured a 30th title for the Cork side.[18]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: O'Gara Pulls The Strings. 27 December 2009. Munster Rugby. 20 January 2012.
  2. News: Munster Salvage Something. 10 October 2010. Munster Rugby. 20 January 2012.
  3. News: Class of 2010 Excel. 17 November 2010. Munster Rugby. 20 January 2012.
  4. News: Munster Go Top. 18 September 2011. Munster Rugby. 20 January 2012.
  5. News: Contract News. 16 March 2012. Munster Rugby. 16 March 2012. 9 September 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170909051318/http://munsterrugby.ie/2012/03/16/contract-news-3/. dead.
  6. News: Munster Prove Too Strong. 27 April 2012. Munster Rugby. 29 April 2012.
  7. News: O'Callaghan Starts As One Of 8 Changes. 28 February 2014. Munster Rugby. 28 February 2014.
  8. News: Contract Signings Continue. 13 February 2015. Munster Rugby. 13 February 2015.
  9. News: Duncan Williams Reaches 100 Caps. 4 January 2016. Munster Rugby. 5 January 2016.
  10. News: Munster Confirm Latest Signings. 24 January 2017. Munster Rugby. 24 January 2017.
  11. News: Munster Back In Champions Cup Semi Finals. 1 April 2017. Munster Rugby. 2 April 2017.
  12. News: Bonus-Point Win Over Zebre. 10 February 2018. Munster Rugby. 11 February 2018.
  13. News: Squad Update. 19 March 2018. Munster Rugby. 19 March 2018.
  14. News: Squad Update Pre-Ulster. 24 April 2018. Munster Rugby. 24 April 2018.
  15. News: Departing Players Confirmed. 3 May 2019. Munster Rugby. 3 May 2019.
  16. News: 'Some days it wasn't good enough, other days it was, but every day I gave it my all'. 24 December 2019. The42. 24 December 2019.
  17. News: Cork Con seal second AIL title in three years with Aviva victory over Clontarf. 5 May 2019. The42. 24 December 2019.
  18. News: Report Cork Con Secure 30th Munster Senior Challenge Cup Title. 20 December 2019. Munster Rugby. 24 December 2019.