Williams has the will to win

Sharni?˜Williams has had a good week.

Named skipper of the national side ahead of the Rugby World Cup, the qualified mechanic also started a new job this week in Brisbane, where she relocated some months back to focus more specifically?˜on Sevens training.

Giving up her fulltime job in Canberra as a mechanic was a big decision for Williams, who admits she struggled to find work in Brisbane initially because of the time she required to make herself available for Sevens competitions and camps. Luckily a Toyota branch in Toowong has come to?˜the rescue and she can breathe a sigh of relief financially after four months out of a job.

?˜??I??ve had to rely a fair bit on my parents and they have been really great at supporting me," she said.

"I moved up to Brisbane as a lot of the girls involved in the Sevens set up are here and it allows me to spend better time training with them as opposed to trying to work on my fitness on my own against a stop watch. It was hard applying for jobs and then telling places that I needed so much time off. Luckily Toyota, who I also worked with under a different franchise in Canberra, have been great with me and when I was in London they sent me a message telling them to get in touch.??

Although Australia??s international Sevens players do receive some direct funding from both their union and the Australian Sports Commission, it??s not enough just yet to allow the players to focus fully on training, something Williams hopes might change in the future.

??Hopefully the programme is moving in a positive direction. If we are going to get really serious about Sevens here in Australia?˜then we need to see that investment increase. To get more out of the squad there has to be more put into it and we would see a big benefit from training together more often.??

As the defending Sevens?˜World Cup champions, to those not in the know about women??s rugby, Australia should be the team to beat in Moscow. However, despite their undoubted ability, they will not be favoured as highly as New Zealand or England in Russia ?? two sides that have had stronger seasons on the first IRB Women??s World Circuit.

Australia it is fair to say, by their own high standards, have been a mixed bag this season, finishing fifth in the overall standings but doing well to introduce a raft of new and young faces to international rugby.

?˜??I thought the series was run very well and we enjoyed the last round in Amsterdam which was great in terms of the facilities, the crowd and all of the little things that go around the competitions,?? Williams said.

??It was a good first year but it would be fantastic to see more coverage and more TV or live streaming as it??s not always that easy for our family, friends or supporters to follow the tournaments.?˜ It will be good to get more teams involved because the more sides can play on the circuit the better the standard will be. I think there was a massive improvement from the start of the series to the end in terms of the standards of rugby being played and everyone really grew and developed a lot because we were playing so often.??

??For us, it was great to see a lot of younger girls get a chance to play international rugby and I think we??ve learned a lot though we had some hiccups. Back to back tournaments were quite tough for us?˜and I think we struggled when we had to do that. For example we did really well in London in that competition but it took it out of us for Amsterdam. When we??re travelling and flying quite a lot that was tough and it??s something we need to think about for next season.??

Through Tiana Penitani, Australia also blooded one of the most impressive current young players in the Sevens game to international rugby and she has been included in the World Cup squad.

??She??s a great young player with a lot of pace and skill,?? Williams said.

??She??s mature and it??s going to be great to see her blossom at a World Cup.??

Australia are pitted against South Africa, China and Ireland in Russia; sides Williams is wary of.

??We??ve faced them all before and we know this isn??t an easy pool. Ireland are a versatile team who are developing well and who have beaten us before so we have to be really on our game for that one and I think South Africa are one of the teams who can surprise people. We??ve played and beaten China before but you never know what to expect at a World Cup.??

As defending Champions, Williams says there is some pressure on the team heading to Russia?˜ but that not much can be read into her side winning it four years ago, given the huge changes in the game since

??When you watch the 2009 World Cup back you can see how much the game has evolved. It??s quicker and the breakdown is much more physical. To be honest not a lot of people know here that we are the reigning World Champions. Sevens doesn??t get a lot of coverage, though it is improving. We know that the better we do at the World Cup the more chance we have of increasing our funding and exposure so there is a lot riding on it.??

Williams began her career in Australia colours playing for the national side in the 15s game and was a key player in the team who finished a very credible third at the last World Cup in London in 2010. She wants to be part of the side who compete in France next summer though laments the lack of games Australia have had in recent years.

??Well we haven??t played since the World Cup and we don??t know what plans there are to play before 2014. ?˜The 15s game has taken a back seat with the focus being on Sevens and it??s disappointing because to come third like we did with very few games under our belts in 2010, was a huge achievement when you look back at it.?˜ We will have Nationals later this year where all of the states come together and I hope I am allowed to play next year depending on our Sevens programme, because being part of the World Cup in 2010 was an amazing experience and growing our 15s game will help our Sevens game as well.??

Getting the call to be captain she says was a surprise but having done so to good effect in Houston and London this year (where Australia finished third and second respectively) it won??t have come as too much surprise elsewhere.??I enjoy being captain and it will be great to do it for a World Cup. I try and lead by example and if I need to be vocal then I will be. I feel like I know what it takes to win and I try and get the team to buy into that and believe that.??

Nobody would bet against her.?˜