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England captain George Williams says he is ready to lead Warrington Wolves forward after being named as their skipper for 2025.
Williams has captained his country for the past couple of years and has now replaced close friend and team-mate Stefan Ratchford, 36, at club level.
The challenge for the new season for the 30-year-old scrum-half is for the Wolves to build on last year when they finished third in Super League and reached the Challenge Cup final in Sam Burgess’ first season as head coach.
“Stef presented me to be the new captain which was nice,” Williams told BBC Sport.
“I can’t speak highly enough of what he’s done for Warrington. He bleeds Warrington.
“It was a pleasure to have that moment with him but it’s my time now to take the club forward.”
Williams insists nothing will change in his approach despite the added responsibility on his shoulders and that he will continue to inspire and lead through his actions on the pitch.
After arriving at the Halliwell Jones Stadium in the middle of 2021, last season was a huge step forward for Williams and his side after two years of underachievement.
The Wolves finished third in the regular season, only four points behind quadruple winners Wigan Warriors in the final table, and they beat all but one of the other Super League sides.
They lost 10-8 to Hull KR in an epic play-off semi-final and they made a first trip to Wembley in five years in the cup where they lost to the Warriors.
Williams is convinced that the club is ready for a big breakthrough under Burgess.
“The last few years you’ve come to Warrington and not known what to expect,” he said.
“Whereas now you know. We don’t always win but you know what you get from us. We’re a committed team who compete for each other.
“We want to win. We strive to win games and to win the competition. The community saw last year and got behind the team.
“We’re committed and we’re playing for the shirt. Some good foundations have been made but now it’s about getting the icing on the top and going all the way to win.”
Getty Images‘Burgess has built winning environment’
Burgess was a left-field choice when Warrington decided to hand him his first job as a head coach.
But Williams credits the former dual rugby code international with toughening up the team and instilling a winning mentality
Now, after setting such a strong platform, the England captain hopes it will pay dividends in their second season together.
“Sam’s really good at what he does,” added Williams.
“I said it before he came because I played with him and he is a winner.
“We didn’t win last year but he’s got winning standards, he’s built a winning environment, we’ve got all the tools we need to win.
“As a playing group now we’ve got to go and do it. I feel like we have a good window now to do that with the group we have.
“They don’t come around often in sport. You’ve got to take it when it comes and hopefully we do that this year.”
‘Counting down days to Vegas’
Warrington begin their season at Whitehaven on Saturday in the Challenge Cup before kicking off their Super League campaign on 16 February away to Huddersfield Giants.
But a key date on the calendar for the Wolves is their clash with Wigan in Las Vegas on 1 March as rugby league heads to the United States.
And for Williams and the rest of the players, excitement is building in the lead-up to that landmark occasion.
“I’m counting down the days. I’ve never been and it’s a first for a Super League club so it’s really exciting,” he said.
