The Long Road to Lance Williams' First Eagles Cap

There aren't many players who wait until they're 33 years old to earn their first USA Eagles 15s cap.

Fewer still spend years walking into national team camps wondering if they'll ever get the chance to actually step onto the field.

For Lance Williams, that uncertainty became part of life.

Camp after camp, coach after coach, the California Legion back-rower arrived believing this might finally be his moment. Under previous Eagles coaches, and later under current head coach Scott Lawrence, Williams was repeatedly invited into national team environments, only to leave without adding the coveted 15s cap to his résumé.

Eventually, even he began to wonder if the dream would ever become reality.

"There were those past two years where I was thinking, 'If this is how it's going to be, maybe I should just give it up,'" Williams admitted. "It was always, come into camp, help the boys, give them a look, and then go home."

It would have been an understandable place to stop.

Williams had already represented the United States in Sevens, making his debut in Dubai in 2022. He knew what it meant to wear the jersey. He had travelled the world and experienced international rugby.

But one glaring omission remained: a full USA Eagles 15s cap.

"I just kept telling myself, 'Keep grinding, Lance. You'll get your opportunity.' I didn't want to give up."

That opportunity finally arrived last Saturday against Zimbabwe in the Nations Cup, when Lawrence informed Williams he would start at blindside flanker and become Eagle No. 603.

"All the relief just came off," he said. "The honour was already there from representing the US in Sevens. This one was different because it took such a long process. I had to earn it. I had to keep pushing."

That moment was years in the making, but it almost certainly doesn't happen without the Major League Rugby season Williams produced for California Legion.

After spending his entire MLR career with Utah, the Warriors' demise last year forced Williams to find a new home. He landed with the newly formed California Legion, and the move proved transformative.

Under head coach Steve Hoiles, Williams produced arguably the finest season of his professional career, appearing in all 12 regular-season matches as Legion marched all the way to the MLR Championship Final.

The numbers underline his influence: more than 300 metres carried, three try assists, 24 defenders beaten, fifth in the league for tackles made, and Legion's second-most frequently used lineout jumper.

Yet Williams believes the statistics only tell part of the story.

Legion's style of rugby finally allowed him to showcase the player he had always believed he could be.

"Legion play with the ball," he said.

"We don't kick that much. Most of my exposure came on the edge. Hard carries, offloads, just playing free. That style really fits my profile."

It wasn't simply about carrying harder or tackling more.

Hoiles expanded Williams' game, introducing him to a genuine lineout role—a skill that quickly caught the attention of Lawrence and the Eagles coaching staff.

"I had to learn more of a lineout option role this year. For most of my career I'd found myself out in the backline off lineouts. I just tried to be a sponge, and in the end it was something I really enjoyed."

Even when Lawrence called after the MLR season, Williams wasn't convinced anything would be different.

After all, he'd been here before.

"I was thinking, 'Is this going to be another repeat of last year? Am I just coming into camp again and not getting capped?'"

Instead of dwelling on the uncertainty, he did what he'd always done.

He put his head down and worked.

Finally, the reward came when his name was read out in the team selection meeting ahead of the Nations Cup clash with Zimbabwe.

For Williams, the debut wasn't about proving anyone else wrong.

It was about proving something to himself.

"It's proof that I can hang," he laughed.

"I can play. Even if it has taken me this long to get that first 15s cap, it was worth it."

Perhaps nobody appreciates the significance of that statement more than Williams himself.

Unlike many professional rugby players, he didn't follow a traditional pathway into the sport. A former football player, Williams turned to rugby after his NFL ambitions came to an end. By his own admission, he was "a late bloomer", entering rugby at an age when many professionals are already firmly established.

That makes Major League Rugby's role in his journey impossible to ignore.

"MLR kind of saved me."

It's a powerful statement.

Since joining the league in its infancy, Williams has spent his entire professional career helping grow rugby in the United States, first becoming a fan favourite during six seasons with Utah before moving to California.

The league gave him something American rugby previously couldn't: a genuine professional pathway.

"If there wasn't MLR," he said, "I'd probably still just be playing Sevens because that was the only real option to play rugby at a good level."

Instead, Williams can now call himself a USA Eagle in both formats of the game.

A journey built on patience, sacrifice and resilience, his story mirrors the growth of rugby in America itself.

Williams' debut ended in a 31-15 victory over Zimbabwe, extending the Eagles' winning start to the Nations Cup after earlier victories over Portugal and Zimbabwe. They now face Spain this weekend with the chance to complete an unbeaten summer campaign.

Head coach Scott Lawrence has consistently stressed the importance of performances over results, and Williams says the message inside camp remains unchanged.

"It's sticking to the process," he said.

"The boys are working for each other. Every week it's tough to get into the 23. We're all pushing each other and want to finish on a high."

Spain also presents an opportunity for redemption after defeating the Eagles on home soil last year.

For Williams, though, the hardest battle has already been won.

After years of waiting, wondering and questioning whether the opportunity would ever arrive, the 33-year-old finally has something nobody can ever take away.

His USA Eagles 15s cap.

And after everything it took to earn it, few debut caps have been more richly deserved.