Tamaiti Williams: four Super Rugby finals, four titles, and a World Cup final at 23

Four Super Rugby finals, four titles. A World Cup final at 23. When Tamaiti Williams made his Test debut in 2023, Te Ao Maori News reported that he was the heaviest player the All Blacks had ever picked, and in the three seasons since he has played 27 Tests, 11 of them as the starting loosehead, and scored five tries. He has spent 2026 away from the field, recovering from a serious back infection, and is working towards a return with the Crusaders in 2027. This is the story of how a boy born in Whangarei and raised in Perth got there.

Whangarei, Perth and the Far North

Williams was born in Whangarei on 10 August 2000, according to his NZ Rugby Museum profile on stats.allblacks.com. He is Ngapuhi. The family moved to Perth, Western Australia, when he was three months old, and he grew up there until he was 16, Te Ao Maori News reported. His Wikipedia entry records that he went to Aranmore Catholic College in Perth and played both rugby union and rugby league for Western Australia.

In 2016 the family came home to Kaeo, in the Far North, and Williams enrolled at Kerikeri High School. The Crusaders' profile notes that he played in the school's Condor Sevens team, and that is what opened the next door: a scholarship to Saint Kentigern College in Auckland.

St Kentigern and New Zealand Schools

At St Kentigern he joined the First XV as a loose forward. Stuff's 2021 profile of him opens with the moment he could not believe what he was hearing: he had always been a centre and a No 8, and his high school coach wanted him to become a prop. He moved to the front row.

He was picked for New Zealand Schools in 2017 and again in 2018, the Museum profile records. The 2017 team, coached by Jason Holland and selected after a camp in Palmerston North, toured Australia; alongside Williams were Tupou Vaa'i, Quinn Tupaea, Leicester Fainga'anuku and Cullen Grace, all future professionals. The 2018 side, coached by Brad Mooar, played three matches in Brisbane against Tonga Schools, the Australian Schools Barbarians and Australian Schools, and included Sam Darry, Josh Lord, Anton Segner, Chay Fihaki and Simon Parker.

The Crusaders Academy and the Under 20s

At the end of 2018 the Crusaders picked him for their academy straight out of school, the club said when he re-signed in 2025. In 2019, his first year out of school, he made the New Zealand Under 20 team. The Crusaders' profile credits him with three tries in five games, and one of them came at the World Rugby U20 Championship in Argentina, in a 52-33 win over Scotland at the Racecourse Stadium, Rosario, on 8 June 2019.

He settled in Christchurch with the Burnside club, the club NZ Rugby lists him as selected from.

Canterbury

Williams made his provincial debut in the first round of the 2020 Mitre 10 Cup, a 43-29 win over North Harbour at North Harbour Stadium, Albany, on 11 September 2020. His first try for the province followed on 18 October 2020 against Waikato at Rugby League Park, Christchurch, a 16-15 loss.

Between 2020 and 2022 he played 20 games for Canterbury, eight of them as a starter, and scored four tries, according to the all.rugby figures cited on Wikipedia. In 2022 he scored against Tasman at Lansdowne Park, Blenheim (a 52-20 win on 26 August 2022, in which Sam Darry also scored), North Harbour and Northland, and he came off the bench early in the second half of the final against Wellington at Rugby League Park on 22 October 2022, which Wellington won 26-18.

Maori All Blacks and the All Blacks XV

On 24 November 2020 Maori All Blacks coach Clayton McMillan named Williams for the historic match against Moana Pasifika. He was the youngest player in the squad. He came off the bench in Hamilton on 5 December 2020 as the Maori won 28-21.

He played five games for the Maori side between 2020 and 2022, including both matches against the touring Irish in 2022: a 32-17 win at FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton, on 29 June 2022, and a 30-24 loss in Wellington on 12 July 2022. That November he toured with the All Blacks XV, who beat Ireland A 47-19 at the RDS Arena, Dublin, on 4 November 2022 and lost 35-31 to the Barbarians at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, on 13 November 2022.

The Crusaders: four finals, four titles

Williams' Super Rugby debut came on Anzac Day, 25 April 2021, off the bench as the Crusaders beat the Blues 29-6 at Orangetheory Stadium in Christchurch. Less than a fortnight later, on 8 May 2021, he was on the bench again for the Super Rugby Aotearoa final against the Chiefs at the same ground, came on in the 65th minute, and finished a champion as the Crusaders won 24-13.

The pattern held. In the 2022 quarter-final against the Reds at Orangetheory Stadium on 3 June 2022 he scored a try in a 37-15 win, and on 18 June 2022 he came on just before the hour as the Crusaders beat the Blues 21-7 in the Super Rugby Pacific final at Eden Park. By the 2023 final he was the starting loosehead, and he played 69 minutes of a 25-20 win over the Chiefs at FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton, on 24 June 2023.

The fourth final came with a story attached. Williams hurt his knee in the 2025 qualifier against the Reds and missed the semi-final, and 1News called his return for the decider a surprise. "I'd put my body on the line any day for this club," he told 1News before the match. He started against the Chiefs at Apollo Projects Stadium, Christchurch, on 21 June 2025 and played 55 minutes of a 16-12 win. Scans afterwards showed a torn meniscus that needed surgery, and he missed the All Blacks' July series against France.

That makes four Super Rugby finals and four winner's medals, two from the bench and two as a starter. He brought up his 50th Crusaders appearance in 2025.

The All Blacks: debut and a World Cup

Ian Foster gave Williams his Test debut against South Africa at Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland, on 15 July 2023. He replaced Ethan de Groot on 59 minutes, and Te Ao Maori News reported that his first scrum, in the 74th minute, won a penalty against the Springboks. "I was seeing stars from the scrum," he said afterwards. The All Blacks won 35-20 and kept the Freedom Cup. Asked who would get his first Test jersey, he named his parents: "My parents are my why."

Three weeks later he made his first Test start, in a 23-20 win over Australia at Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin, on 5 August 2023, and he went to the World Cup in France as one of the young props in the squad. He came off the bench in all five of the matches he played there. He scored his first Test try in the 73-0 win over Uruguay at Groupama Stadium, Lyon, on 5 October 2023. In the 28-24 quarter-final win over Ireland at the Stade de France on 14 October 2023 he was on the field for the closing defensive stand, when the All Blacks held out through 37 phases; Wikipedia records five tackles from five attempts. He played in the 44-6 semi-final win over Argentina on 20 October 2023, and on 28 October 2023 he came on in the final against South Africa at the Stade de France, which the Springboks won 12-11. He was 23.

A starting loosehead

Scott Robertson took over in 2024, and Williams started seven of his ten Tests that year, beginning with the 47-5 win over Fiji at Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego, on 19 July 2024. He scored off the bench against Australia in a 33-13 win at Sky Stadium, Wellington, on 28 September 2024, then started and scored again in the 64-19 win over Japan at Nissan Stadium, Yokohama, on 26 October 2024, the Test in which Patrick Tuipulotu captained the side. He started all three of the Tests that followed on the northern tour: a 24-22 win over England at Twickenham on 2 November 2024, a 23-13 win over Ireland in Dublin on 8 November 2024 and a 30-29 loss to France at the Stade de France on 16 November 2024.

The knee surgery cost him the start of the 2025 Test season, but he was back for the Rugby Championship and played nine Tests that year. He started in a 28-14 win over Australia at Optus Stadium, Perth, on 4 October 2025, scored off the bench in a 26-13 win over Ireland at Soldier Field, Chicago, on 1 November 2025, and closed the year by starting and scoring in a 52-26 win over Wales at the Principality Stadium, Cardiff, on 22 November 2025.

Style and standing

Te Ao Maori News reported in 2023 that at 139kg he was three kilograms heavier than Neemia Tialata, the previous heaviest All Black. NZ Rugby now lists him at 196cm and 140kg. The Museum profile describes a player "known for his physicality, agility, and work rate". Before he became a prop, he was a centre.

His coaches talk about more than size. Robertson described him in June 2025 as one of the best looseheads in the world, 1News reported. When Williams re-signed in August 2025, All Blacks forwards coach Jason Ryan called him "an emerging leader and quality individual in a key position", and Crusaders coach Rob Penney said his "world class performances on the field are obvious for everyone to see".

Off the field

Williams is the Crusaders' ambassador for the Child Cancer Foundation and has taken part in the Crusade With Heart Foundation's Long Run to raise money and awareness for it. Penney calls him "a big hearted, generous, and caring family man", and Williams is married with a young daughter.

In August 2025 he signed with NZ Rugby, the Crusaders and Canterbury through to the end of 2029, at the time the longest contract in the Crusaders squad. The deal covers the 2027 World Cup in Australia and the British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand in 2029. "I feel like Christchurch is the best place to be," he said.

Where he is now

Williams played 104 minutes for the Crusaders in 2026 before back pain sent him to hospital. On 30 March 2026 the Crusaders announced that he had discitis, an infection in a disc in his spine, and would miss the rest of the Super Rugby season. "I've been told I'm going to make a 100 percent recovery," he said in the club's statement. He needed surgery on his spine and missed the whole 2026 Test season, which is why he is not on the northern tour. In September 2026 he said on a rugby podcast that he was back at Canterbury's Rugby Park doing his rehabilitation, with a long pre-season plan ahead of him and the 2027 Crusaders season as the goal. He will be 27 when the next World Cup kicks off.

Career at a glance

Test figures are from RUGBE's match-by-match All Blacks data to 17 October 2026.