I’m relishing clash with spiky Mike Brown says Liam Williams

Liam Williams wants to stick the boot into England after Tom Wood’s kick left him seeing stars.
Williams was part of Wales‘ epic World Cup victory over their arch-rivals at Twickenham last autumn.
But the full-back not only missed out on the post-match party but even struggles to remember much of his country’s finest hour.
That’s because he ended the game on the treatment table after being kicked in the head by England flanker Wood.
Williams recalled: “I woke up on the bed in the dressing room. I was chatting to the team doctor when I heard this massive roar.
“It was the moment when Gareth Davies scored. I don’t remember much after that because I was so groggy.
“Someone told me we had won and I was over the moon. My head didn’t feel too bad but I was driven back to Cardiff for scans so I wasn’t part of the celebrations.
“I don’t think he (Wood) meant to kick my head. If he did, then it was a hell of a shot.”
Williams saw opposite number Mike Brown controversially escape punishment for some similar footwork last week on Ireland’s Conor Murray.
England’s full-back has become the player Welsh fans love to hate after his spat with Sam Warburton and post-match strop on camera after the World Cup clash.
He added: “Brown had a couple of goes there but what are you meant to do? The ball is there. Maybe it was reckless, but again, I think he was going for the ball.
“He seems quite a spiky character but I’ll look forward to the battle. Neither of us would take a backwards step and I love to challenge myself against the best.
“He was angry about what happened to England in the World Cup, but that’s sport. The better team won on the day and so there’s not much to moan about.”
Williams also had plenty to moan about during the World Cup. After battling back from a broken foot to make the tournament, he failed to finish any of his three starts.
And while the former scaffolder is “living the dream” as a Wales international, he is desperate to banish the nightmare of his last visit to Twickenham.
Williams recovered from a ‘dead-leg’ against Uruguay and head injury versus England to face Australia, only to break a bone in his foot once again.
He said: “On my way off I asked Dan Biggar, ‘what’s the difference between me and a Test match? A Test match lasts 80 minutes!’
“I sat in the dressing room on my own, put my head in my hands and cried. It was a dark place. I had worked bloody hard to get back but I knew my World Cup was over.”
Injuries have become an occupational hazard for the 24-year-old as he throws himself into challenges with little regard for his own safety.
Williams said: “My attitude is if I can do something for the team, then it has to be done. It doesn’t matter if I’m going to get hurt or if I’m going to hurt someone else. If I have to go up in the air and take that high ball, or have to tackle someone, it doesn’t bother me at all.
“I don’t know whether you’d call that reckless but it’s just me. As a kid, I was always jumping out of trees or throwing myself about playing in goal. It was the way I was.
“But I wasn’t quite that reckless when I started scaffolding, because at first I didn’t really like heights. I just got used to it from looking down from the top of a blast furnace, 300 feet from the ground!”
Williams learned to hold his nerve and will need every ounce of composure ahead of next week’s clash with England.
He said: “I don’t usually get nervous until the morning of a game but this is different and I’ll be nervous all week. This is the biggest game a Welshman can play in and if we get our house in order then there isn’t an international team that we can’t beat.”
MATT LLOYD