Williams on a Munster transition mission

JIM WILLIAMS wasn’t too disappointed or surprised when a Christmas card from the Japanese Rugby Union didn’t land in his Ballincollig hallway last month.

The JRU and the assistant Munster coach aren’t exactly on the best of terms and the Australian admits he had all but promised the JRU that he would be accepting their offer to go and play there once he was out of contract with Munster at the end of last season when, out of the blue, the chance to stay put came his way.

In a nutshell, Munster fancied him as assistant to Declan Kidney. Jim weighed up the pros and cons and opted to remain with the side which he had graced so magnificently since first arriving in Ireland in 2001.