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'Cancer was not in my mind... you never think it is going to be you'

Johnny Williams scores for England against the Barbarians last June (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Johnny Williams has finally spoken about his dramatic journey from scoring for England against the Barbarians last June to undergoing treatment for testicular cancer. 

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The 23-year-old Newcastle centre had the final round of chemotherapy last month and is now awaiting the all-clear from club physios to resume training. 

Speaking on the BBC podcast, You, Me and the Big C, Williams said: “It was definitely a shock. I had just finished pre-season and it was probably the fittest and strongest I had ever been.

“My last game was playing for England against the Baa-Baas in the summer, so I was on a huge high. Then I get this huge setback where I am then watching the World Cup in a hospital bed.

“Cancer was not in my mind. It has never been hereditary in my family. You never think it is going to be you, and especially because of my lifestyle – being an athlete, caring about my diet, caring about my health. I never thought I would get it.

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“My only regret is that I let it go for three months because that might have been the difference between having chemotherapy and not. Instead of having just had surgery, I would be back playing now.”

A World Cup winner in 2016 with the England under-20s, Williams’ advice to young men is don’t hesitate to find out what is wrong if they feel something is up with their health.

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“You will never get laughed out of the GP surgery or the hospital or the nurse. It doesn’t matter if there is something small, just get it checked out,” he said, explaining it was a knock in training that forced him to get checked out.  

“It wasn’t a big, traumatic knock,” he said. “This was really subtle and it was badly aching. It wasn’t a direct blow, it’s hard to explain.

“I was walking around the club for about an hour with this ache, thinking this is really bad. I was just thinking about this dull ache that I needed to get rid of, and that it was really serious.

“I then spoke to two of my closest mates, who passed me on our GP’s number, and I rushed to his place and got it checked out. He asked me how long it had been like that for and he got me booked in for a scan straight away.”

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Soliloquin 1 hour ago
Fabien Galthie announces France squad to take on the All Blacks

It’s understandable that NZ and other countries relying on their national team for revenue push for highlighting test matches as the biggest thing.

The problem is that it seems like France is being held responsible for other nations’ business model.

The business model hasn’t really changed since 2018, when France last toured NZ. They came as always with a B team, with a rather weak team by international standards back then, as it was the case with France during the 2010s.

Yet still almost all tickets got sold (50000 at Eden Park, 34000 in Wellington and 27000 in Dunedin). The interest was there.

So what has changed between that 2018 tour and the upcoming one?


In my opinion, it seems like the French business model has flourished, with the JIFF policy strenghtening the positions of French talents and less foreign players, the financial health of French clubs dominating the NH, the revigorated national team with what could have been 4 6Nations titles (the 2020 and 2021 were super close) and the emergence of top players in every positions, with arguably the best current rugby player in the world.

On the other hand, Covid has dismantled the financial basis of many federations, the departure of SA franchises from Super Rugby has weakened the competition, NZ are not the reference anymore, SA is dominating the test match competition, with Ireland and France pushing hard, although the Irish seem at a crossroads.


But again, why would it be France’s fault that NZ problems exist?

Is the French team responsible for structural problems in NZ’s rugby?

Nope. But it’s probably easier to blame the French to not give it all in terms of marketing with superstars coming, live on past glory, to cling on the view that until Dupont doesn’t tour SH, he cannot be seen as the best in the world.


Sorry, but most of French fans don’t really know NZ players.

They come in to see the French team against the All Blacks in the Autumn Tests.


And I don’t think anyone in NZ came to see Doumayrou, Parra, Belleau, Teddy Thomas or even Serin or Fickou in 2018. They came for the mighty All Blacks, the Barrett brothers, Savea, Whitelock, Aaron Smith…

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