Tim Nanai-Williams (born 12 June 1989) is a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

-born Samoan

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

player. He currently plays for

Stade Toulousain Stade Toulousain () ( oc, Estadi Tolosenc), also referred to as Toulouse, is a professional rugby union club based in Toulouse, France. They compete in the Top 14, France's top division of rugby, and the European Rugby Champions Cup. Tou ...

in the

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

. He has also represented New Zealand and Samoa in sevens rugby.

Early life and education

Nanai-Williams was born in Auckland, New Zealand, to Tavaefaga Nanai and Aolele Williams. Both his parents are Samoan-born and brought their family to New Zealand in the 1980s. He was raised in a Samoan household, and speaks Samoan fluently. He grew up in

Manurewa Manurewa is a major suburb in South Auckland, New Zealand. It was part of Manukau City before the creation of the Auckland super city in 2010. It is located south of the Manukau City Centre, and southeast of Auckland CBD. The suburb is b ...

, a suburb in South Auckland, and has said the place was "pretty rough". He attended

Manurewa High School , motto_translation = Rise to the Heavens , type = State co-ed secondary (year 9–13) , established = 1960 , address = 67 Browns RoadManurewaAuckland 2102New Zealand , coordinates = , principal = Pete Jones , roll = ...

and got involved in every sport available, but started playing in the First XV when he was 14 years old.

Domestic career

After school, Nanai Williams started playing for Counties Manukau and re-signed with for the 2010 season. In the same year, Nanai-Williams signed for the Chiefs and made his

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

debut for the

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilto ...

-based franchise, against the

Sharks Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachimorp ...

. He stayed in the franchise until 2015, and was a key fixture in the Chiefs' Super Rugby triumphs of 2012 and 2013, proving himself an invaluable utility option as he covered wing, outside centre and full-back. After the 2015 Super Rugby season, he signed for the japanese

Top League Japan Rugby League One (formerly the Top League) is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by absorbing the ...

side Ricoh Black Rams. In October 2016, it was announced that he would re-sign for the Chiefs in time for the 2017 Super Rugby Season and with Counties Manukau. In December 2017, after 85 Super Rugby appearances, he signed a three-year contract with French powerhouse Clermont Auvergne, then reigning

champions, until the end of 2021. On 11 March 2021, Williams signs for

rivals

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and fr ...

ahead of the 2021-22 season.

International career

Nanai-Williams grew up dreaming of playing for the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

and represented New Zealand at secondary schools and sevens level between 2008 and 2009. Given the depth and quality of players in the country, he always had the chance of representing Samoa in the back of his mind. After being overlooked for the All Blacks for a number of years, he decided to change his international allegiance to Samoa. In doing so, he became the first player to exploit a loophole whereby playing in four tournaments on the global sevens circuit made himself eligible for the

Manu Samoa The Samoa national rugby union team (also known as Manu Samoa) represents Samoa in men's international rugby union and it is governed by the Samoa Rugby Union. They are also known as Manu Samoa, which is thought to derive from the name of a Sam ...

fifteen-a-side team. Nanai-Williams admitted that the chance of playing at a

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb ...

or at the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

was a big reason for his change of allegiance, and that his best shot was in a Samoan jersey. Nanai-Williams made his test debut for Samoa in the historic game against the All Blacks in

Apia Apia () is the capital and largest city of Samoa, as well as the nation's only city. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō'') of Tuamasaga. ...

, their first ever visit to play a Test match in Samoa. He represented Samoa at the

2015 Rugby World Cup The 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was on ...

held in England and at the

2019 Rugby World Cup The 2019 Rugby World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening match ...

played in Japan. As of July 2020, he has 16 international caps.

Style of play

Nanai-Williams is renowned for his complete skillset in attack, combining speed, footwork, acceleration, vision and creativity to find spaces and exploit gaps in defences. He can also cover several positions in the backline, namely, fullback, wing and centre.

Personal life

Nanai-Williams is the cousin of dual code rugby international

Sonny Bill Williams Sonny Bill Williams (born 3 August 1985) is a New Zealand heavyweight boxer, and a former professional rugby league and rugby union player and as of recently is working for Stan Sports. He is only the second person to represent New Zealand in ...

and Black Ferns star Niall Williams and the younger brother of former

Cardiff Blues Cardiff Rugby ( cy, Rygbi Caerdydd) are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby competitions. Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arm ...

and

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...

player Nick Williams. Growing up in

, Nanai-Williams was mates with future Ireland international

Bundee Aki Bundee Aki (born 7 April 1990) is a professional rugby union player who plays for Connacht in the URC and the Ireland national team. Aki was born and grew up in New Zealand, of Samoan descent, and qualified for Ireland through residency. A ce ...

, and Chiefs teammate

Lelia Masaga Lelia Tony Corona Masaga (born 30 August 1986) is a New Zealand international rugby union player. He plays for Glasgow Warriors. Masaga plays on Wing. Rugby Union career Amateur career Masaga was drafted to Marr in the Scottish Premiership fo ...

References

External links

Chiefs Profile

Counties Manukau Profile

All Blacks Profile
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nanai-Williams, Tim 1989 births New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent Chiefs (rugby union) players Counties Manukau rugby union players Rugby union fullbacks Rugby union wings Rugby union players from Auckland Living people New Zealand international rugby sevens players Black Rams Tokyo players New Zealand expatriate rugby union players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Japan Expatriate rugby union players in Japan People educated at Manurewa High School Samoa international rugby union players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate rugby union players in France Stade Toulousain players ASM Clermont Auvergne players