MX23RW : Wednesday, April 24 14:54:16| >> :600:595220:595220:
Rugby World Cup | Quarter-Finals
Oct 20, 2019 at 8.15am UK
 
Wales
20-19
France
Wainwright (13'), Moriarty (74')
FT
Vahaamahina (5'), Ollivon (8'), Vakatawa (31')

Liam Williams: 'Wales can win the World Cup'

Liam Williams: 'Wales can win the World Cup'
© Reuters
The Six Nations winners have to beat France and then either Japan or South Africa to reach the final.

Liam Williams believes Wales can win the World Cup in Japan.

The reigning Six Nations champions face a quarter-final showdown with France in Oita on Sunday.

Wales have beaten Les Bleus seven times in eight meetings since losing a controversial World Cup semi-final to them in 2011 when captain Sam Warburton was sent off.

Wales suffered World Cup heartbreak against France in 2011
Wales suffered World Cup heartbreak against France in 2011 (David Davies/PA)

If they knock out France, it will be a semi-final appointment with South Africa or a resurgent Japan in Yokohama.

"There is only one thing we think we can do and that is win it," Wales full-back Williams said.

"I wouldn't say we've got the easy route. We've got France next, and we need to beat them to be looking at the bigger picture.

"I think we can go on and win it.

"Over the past 18 months, we've won the Six Nations and we've been away on a couple of these camps and it has all brought us in to one huge team.

"I think that has been great for Wales and hopefully it is going to put us in really good stead."

Saracens star Williams would achieve a remarkable individual grand slam if Wales go on to be crowned world champions.

Already this year he helped Wales win the Six Nations title and the Grand Slam before being part of a Saracens team that landed the Heineken Champions Cup and Gallagher Premiership.

Wales have had a successful year so far
Wales have had a successful year so far (David Davies/PA)

And he is enjoying every minute of the World Cup, which has been highlighted by hosts Japan winning their group with four successive wins, including memorable victories over Ireland and Scotland.

"They were unbelievable – fair play to them," added Williams, reflecting on the 28-21 win against Scotland two days ago.

"I thought the accuracy of their passing was unbelievable. We know it has been quite hot out here and sweaty, so the passing was unbelievable and they played with some real structure as well, which was just amazing. Scotland didn't really have any answers.

"Some people try to play like that, some people like to kick a bit more. Japan like to keep the ball in hand.

Japan stunned Scotland to reach the quarter-finals
Japan stunned Scotland to reach the quarter-finals (David Davies/PA)

"It depends what works for a team, I guess. But we were watching it in the changing rooms after the (Wales versus Uruguay) game, and it was unbelievable."

For Williams and company, though, the immediate challenge is France, and beating a Six Nations rival that could set up a full-scale tilt at global glory.

"I think France have been playing really well," he said.

"They have got some old heads in their team and they have a lot of experience as well. We will go on to the training pitch this week and work on the stuff that we will need to beat France.

"We've started a couple of our games quite well. Obviously against Australia we started really well in the first half but we dropped off. We need to start hard and keep that up for the whole game."

ID:375121: cacheID:375121:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:8588:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Wales backs coach Stephen Jones before the match against Georgia on September 23, 2019
Read Next:
Stephen Jones: '2011 defeat great fuel for France rematch'
>
Read more about Liam Williams Rugby Union
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Result
Munar
Borges
7 6
5 4
Result
Navone
Popyrin
7 6
5 2
Result
Vukic
Daniel
2 77 1
6 61 6
Result
Bouzas Maneiro
Badosa
2 6 6
6 3 3
Result
Davis
Sherif
6 64 4
4 77 6
Result
Putintseva
Yuan
6 6
2 4
Result
Stephens
Trevisan
6 5 6
3 7 4
Result
Zhu
Jimenez Kasintseva
4 3
6 6
Result
Altmaier
Landaluce
6 7
1 5
11.30am
Rinderknech
Shevchenko
Result
Safiullin
Seyboth Wild
4 4
6 6
11.30am
Arango
Anisimova
Result
Sorribes Tormo
Pera
7 6
5 2
11.30am
Zhang
Rogers
Result
Osaka
Minnen
6 6
4 1
Result
Vekic
Siegemund
6 6
1 2
1pm
Darderi
Monfils
1pm
Karatsev
Marozsan
1pm
Van Assche
Bergs
1pm
Linette
Cocciaretto
1pm
Wang
Tomova
1pm
Wang
Dolehide
1.30pm
Dart
Bucsa
1.30pm
Raducanu
Lourdes Carle
2.30pm
Bronzetti
Gracheva
2.30pm
Frech
Cristian
2.30pm
Hibino
Krueger
3pm
Coric
Hassan
3pm
Kokkinakis
Draper
3pm
Nakashima
Bagnis
3pm
Van De Zandschulp
Eubanks
4pm
Baptiste
Saville
4pm
Bejlek
Blinkova
4pm
Errani
Wozniacki
4pm
Montgomery
Avanesyan
4.30pm
Klein
Llamas Ruiz
4.30pm
Burel
Danilovic
5pm
Moutet
Shang
5.30pm
Diaz Acosta
Shapovalov
6pm
Andreeva
Townsend


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!