Grant Williams (rugby union)

For other people named Grant Williams, see Grant Williams (disambiguation).

Grant Williams
Williams in 2022
Born (1996-07-22) 22 July 1996
Paarl, Western Cape, South Africa
Height1.74 m (5 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Weight80 kg (180 lb)
SchoolPaarl Gimnasium
Rugby union career
Position Scrum-half / Wing
Current team Sharks / Sharks (Currie Cup)
Youth career
2017 Sharks
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2017 College Rovers 2 (5)
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2018– Sharks 74 (117)
2018–2019 Sharks XV 9 (25)
2018– Sharks (Currie Cup) 8 (15)
Correct as of 19 November 2025
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2022– South Africa 27 (35)
Correct as of 15 November 2025
Medal record
Men's Rugby union
Representing  South Africa
Rugby World Cup
2023 France Squad

Grant Williams (born 22 July 1996) is a South African professional rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half or wing for the Sharks in the United Rugby Championship and for the South Africa national team. Williams is noted for his exceptional pace and finishing ability.

Early life

Williams was born in Paarl and attended Paarl Gimnasium. He did not secure an immediate professional contract after finishing school and instead, he enrolled at the Stellenbosch Rugby Academy before moving to Durban, where he played club rugby for College Rovers. His performances at amateur level eventually led to a professional opportunity with the Sharks.[1]

Club career

Williams moved to Durban in 2017, where he joined the amateur club side College Rovers and impressed sufficiently to be brought into the Sharks team in early 2018 as injury cover for Louis Schreuder.[2]

He made his Super Rugby debut in February 2018, appearing as a late bench replacement for Michael Claassens in the opening match of the 2018 season against the Lions, replacing Cameron Wright in the 60th minute.[3] This was to be his only Super Rugby appearance of the 2018 campaign,[4] though he did appear for the Sharks XV in the SuperSport Rugby Challenge.[5]

Williams featured intermittently for the Sharks across Super Rugby and the Currie Cup during 2019 and 2020, though at scrum-half he remained behind Louis Schreuder, Sanele Nohamba and Jaden Hendrikse in the pecking order. During this period, he made 8 Currie Cup appearances for the union. His increased involvement in the 2021 Currie Cup, Rainbow Cup and inaugural United Rugby Championship seasons saw him become a regular member of the match-day squad, leading to his first national team call-up in August 2021 as injury cover for Jaden Hendrikse.[6]

From 2022 onward, Williams established himself as a core member of the Sharks’ senior team. He was part of the side that won the EPCR Challenge Cup in 2024, starting in the final in London as the Sharks claimed their first European title.[7][8]

In the 2024–25 URC season Williams struggled with a neck injury that ruled him out for approximately three months during the latter stages of the campaign.[9]

International

In August 2021, Williams was called up to the Springbok squad as an injury replacement for fellow Sharks scrum-half Jaden Hendrikse.[10] He made his international debut off the bench on 9 July 2022 in a 13–12 defeat to Wales in Bloemfontein. Williams was part of South Africa’s victorious 2023 Rugby World Cup squad and later featured in the teams that won the 2024 Rugby Championship and 2025 Rugby Championship.

Honours

Sharks
South Africa

Statistics

Test match record

As of 23 November 2025
Opponent P W D L Try Pts %Won
 Argentina 2 2 0 0 0 0 100
 Australia 5 4 0 1 0 0 80
 England 1 1 0 0 1 5 100
 France 1 1 0 0 1 5 100
 Georgia 1 1 0 0 0 0 100
 Ireland 3 2 0 1 0 0 66.67
 Italy 2 2 0 0 2 10 100
 Japan 1 1 0 0 0 0 100
 New Zealand 5 3 0 2 1 5 60
 Romania 1 1 0 0 2 10 100
 Scotland 2 2 0 0 0 0 100
 Tonga 1 1 0 0 0 0 100
 Wales 3 2 0 1 0 0 66.67
Total 28 23 0 5 7 35 82.14

International tries

As of 18 November 2025
Try Opposing team Location Venue Competition Date Result Score
1  Romania Bordeaux, France Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux 2023 Rugby World Cup 17 September 2023 Win 76–0
2
3  New Zealand Johannesburg, South Africa Ellis Park Stadium 2024 Rugby Championship 31 August 2024 Win 31–27
4  England London, England Twickenham Stadium 2024 end-of-year tests 16 November 2024 Win 20–29
5  Italy Gqeberha, South Africa Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium 2025 Italy tour of South Africa 12 July 2025 Win 45–0
6  France Saint-Denis, France Stade de France 2025 end-of-year tests 8 November 2025 Win 17–32
7  Italy Turin, Italy Juventus Stadium 2025 end-of-year tests 15 November 2025 Win 14–32

References

  1. ^ "'I didn't think I was going to the World Cup' – Grant Williams' unique journey to Springboks glory". Planet Rugby. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  2. ^ "Sharks call up Williams". SA Rugby Magazine. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  3. ^ "Lions vs Sharks". ESPN. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  4. ^ "Player appearances: Grant Williams". RugbyDatabase. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  5. ^ Carli Koch (6 July 2018). "Springbok Mapimpi to start for Sharks XV". The Citizen. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  6. ^ "Grant Williams called up to Springbok squad". Springboks.rugby. 23 August 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  7. ^ "EPCR Challenge Cup Final: Sharks starting XV". EPCR. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  8. ^ "Impressive Sharks seal historic EPCR Challenge Cup victory in London". Springboks.rugby. 24 May 2024. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  9. ^ Gavin Rich (14 July 2025). "Bok planning meant deep-end jump was easier for Williams". SuperSport. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  10. ^ "Sharks scrumhalf Grant Williams called up to Springboks squad". IOL. Retrieved 17 November 2025.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.