George Williams reveals Warrington boss Sam Burgess’ grit in army camp
GEORGE Williams showed he can be miles clear of new Warrington coach Sam Burgess as a player – about a mile-and-a-quarter to be precise.
But even though the England captain ran further during an army camp with former elite serviceman turned TV star Ant Middleton, the fact his boss did so much bowled him over.
Warrington boss Sam Burgess has already shown his commitment at a pre-season army campSWPIX.COM
And the fact the man he lined up alongside for his country was able to keep up now he is boss further convinced the stand off he is the right man.
He believed Burgess would be a boss anyway after hearing his speeches as a player.
“At the camp, we ran about 70kms in 36 hours,” Williams recalled. “I think he did 68kms himself.
“The extra kilometres haven’t been mentioned yet but I was really impressed by how much he did.
“That showed he’s all in. I knew he would be but other boys realised how committed he is to us and he’s still fit.
“He’s got a half and half accent. He goes from Dewsbury into Aussie slang – he gets a bit of stick for that but that’s a good thing, he can be a coach but gets what it’s like.
“He’s not long retired. He still has a laugh but he’s good with people and understands when it’s time to work.
“Playing alongside Sam was unreal. He was my England captain and was a great leader and great with people.
“When you meet him, he’s got an aura about him and when he speaks, you listen. In meetings, everyone’s clued in and he demands certain standards.
“I see similarities with him and Shaun Wane. Straight down the line, telling it like it is. ‘This is what I want. If you can’t do it, you won’t play.’ It’s harsh in a sense but that’s what you need to win.
“When rumours were going around, I asked our chief executive, Karl Fitzpatrick if it was true and just said, ‘He’s a winner. I think he’d be great for the club.’
George Williams believes Burgess further proved he is the man for the jobSWPIX.COM
“When he got it, we had plenty of phone calls. We’ve been spinning ideas for months, now we’re getting to put them into practice.
“We’re friends, we had a friendship before Warrington. Now he’s my coach, I respect him just as much and even though that camp was gruelling, we needed it as a team to bring us together.”
Williams, 29, has more of a Wigan accent in Warrington’s camp after being reunited with Sam Powell, who moved from the Warriors.
His presence, along with Burgess’, will only add to the chances of the Wolves finally living up to the hype.
He added: “Sam brings leadership and he knows how to win.
“He’d been in a good culture at Wigan and was always professional, I always looked at him as a great one – he’s a Wigan lad too!
Williams admits Warrington were poor last seasonSWPIX.COM
“He’s everything you want in a team.
“We had a couple of difficult seasons, two average years and last year was shocking, but this is a new step for us and a new leaf. It’s exciting.
“We’ve done some good things and the intensity’s gone up in training.
“Sam Burgess was an intense player and he’s replicated that in training. We needed that and we’ve focused a lot on our defence.
“The best teams defensively normally win the competition but we’ll see how good it’s been when we start playing games and the pressure’s on.”
