Eddie Jones backs Springboks ace to win 100m sprint ‘by five metres’

Eddie Jones believes that Springboks scrum-half Grant Williams is comfortably the quickest half-back in the world.

The Japan head coach has backed the 29-year-old to nail down the starting number nine Green and Gold jersey during this year’s Rugby Championship campaign.

The speedy scrum-half has been given the nod in the starting lineup for the tournament opener against the Wallabies at Ellis Park Stadium on Saturday, a selection that the experienced coach has hailed.

Grant Williams, the quickest half-back in the world

In his latest Planet Rugby column, Jones praised Rassie Erasmus’ “deeply detailed situational selection” and pointed to the surprise call to name Siya Kolisi at number eight with Marco van Staden on the side of the Springboks scrum to combat the Wallabies’ breakdown prowess.

Additionally, the former England boss believes that Williams’ selection in the starting role will help implement the more expansive attacking game plan that Tony Brown is heading up with his pace also bound to be an asset on the Highveld.

“At nine, if all the half-backs in the world had a 100m sprint race, I reckon Grant Williams would win it by five metres,” Jones wrote.

“The guy has electric pace, a real point of difference, one that allows him to challenge a defence that’s retreating and resetting, finding gaps by maintaining pace from the second and third rucks.

“At Ellis Park, that ruck speed and the cracks that open under fatigue in defence at altitude should be a key strategic focus; players are burning with those fatigue efforts and that gives spaces to attack that you don’t quite get at sea or normal level grounds, and I think Williams might just thrive this season as he nails down the starting spot.”

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The Springboks’ take

Meanwhile, Williams isn’t quite as confident in his pace as the Japan head coach is.

During the 2023 Rugby World Cup, many of the Springboks players put the scrum-half’s name forward as the quickest member of the squad, a tag he reluctantly claimed.

“I wouldn’t say I’m the quickest,” he told reporters at the time.

“We have a squad that is filled with pace. The likes of Cheslin [Kolbe], Kurt-Lee [Arendse], Canan [Moodie], Jesse [Kriel], Mapimps [Makazole Mapimpi] – I don’t want to leave any out, but I don’t think I’m the quickest. But if they say it, I’ll take it.”

Stats on the fastest rugby players aren’t freely available as in other sports, but many fans predict that Williams’ Springboks teammate Cobus Reinach could well be quicker than him despite being six years his senior.

Reinach is the son of the late double Springbok, Jaco Reinach, who for years held the South African 400m sprint record. The half-back has been blessed with similarly rapid pace.

All Blacks’ rising star Cameron Roigard has reportedly been clocked at a scorching 36.3km/hr, while players like France’s Antoine Dupont, Australia’s Tate McDermott and England’s Raffi Quirke would surely give Williams a run for his money in the half-backs too.

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