{"id":443361,"date":"2026-01-28T17:26:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T17:26:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/443361\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T17:26:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T17:26:14","slug":"never-too-high-never-too-low-how-belgium-qualified-for-svns-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/443361\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Never too high, never too low\u2019 \u2013 how Belgium qualified for SVNS 2"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Jeff Williams<\/a> and Belgium\u2019s Wild Dogs have a saying they use every day; never too high, never too low.<\/p>\n

It has been the saying uttered most since the 37-year-old took charge of the nation\u2019s men\u2019s sevens team two years ago. Two weekends ago in Dubai it was those same six words that helped the side qualify for HSBC SVNS<\/a> 2.<\/p>\n

Ultimately finishing as runners-up to Canada<\/a> in the desert at the first-ever HSBC SVNS 3 event, the side\u2019s preparations for their trips to Nairobi, Montevideo and Sao Paulo are now in their infancy.<\/p>\n

There they will join Kenya, Germany, the USA<\/a> and Uruguay<\/a> in competing for a place in the top four after three legs and the opportunity to compete in the HSBC SVNS World Championships.<\/p>\n

Just the latest success in Williams\u2019 time at the helm, the former Bath<\/a> Rugby and Beziers<\/a> wing sees his team\u2019s qualification for HSBC SVNS 2 as a continuation of the processes established across the past 24 months.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never like to think too much about results,\u201d Williams told RugbyPass. \u201cWe\u2019re driven by attitude, effort and process. We didn\u2019t have any meetings about what would happen if we went up or if we won.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe talked about the experience. That\u2019s the biggest thing I\u2019ve learned from psychology and working with sports teams as a player is to take away the fear of these things and talk a lot about belonging.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen the players can deliver that great attitude, effort and process. The process is clear. The process is simple. If you put those things together, the results take care of themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a clich\u00e9, but when you do that, when you do it right, it just allows the player to play with freedom and to not play with this heavy burden on their shoulders of qualifying for SVNS 2 or getting to the Series.\u201d<\/p>\n

Such consistency of messaging and underlining of standards is just a small part of the good fortune Belgium<\/a> are experiencing.<\/p>\n

It is also indicative of a programme which has undergone comprehensive changes since Williams\u2019 arrival.<\/p>\n

First invited to Brussels by his former England<\/a> Sevens teammate, Chris Cracknell, the 37-year-old was shocked by the standard of competition the team was competing in in preparation for major competitions like the Rugby Europe Sevens Championship Series.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had about 14 players and we literally went to a university tournament,\u201d Williams said. \u201cThere was Oxford University, the University of Toulon \u2013 not to be rude or anything it was a bit like the cabbage cup.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe won the tournament. As we should have. It was a close game, but I remember thinking; my goodness, we\u2019re going to have a hell of a time if we are going to compete in Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Making Belgium into continental challengers did not happen overnight. In 2024 the team were at a crossroads. Less than 12 months removed from a runners-up finish on the 2023 World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series, they were reeling from a poor Rugby Europe Sevens Championship Series performances where they placed ninth out of 12 teams.<\/p>\n

Among many things, Williams has utilised the nation\u2019s Under-20s programme to provide developing players with opportunities to develop and taken the squad to numerous training camps in South Africa, Italy<\/a> and Morocco.<\/p>\n

This is before you consider the use of players like Ryan Godsmark<\/a> or Gaspard Lalli, whose skillsets would not look out of place on the HSBC SVNS Series if provided with an opportunity.<\/p>\n

He has even created a team identity borrowed from his time at Farleigh House.<\/p>\n

While contending for spots in the back three with Anthony Watson<\/a>, Matt Banahan<\/a>, Tom Homer<\/a>, Semesa Rokoduguni<\/a>, Aled Brew<\/a> and Jack Wilson<\/a>, the group were branded as the \u2018Wild Dogs\u2019. It had a ring to it, so now it is what Belgium\u2019s men\u2019s sevens team call themselves too.<\/p>\n

Williams has also delved into his thick phonebook to help provide players with the best rugby educations. Tabai Matson, Dan Norton, Russell Earnshaw, Mat Turner and Nyle Godsmark (twin of Ryan) have all come into camp to offer pearls of wisdom free of charge.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey come in and they give their knowledge and give me skills to upgrade my own coaching,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese things are invaluable for me and I just want to give as much as I can to the Wild Dogs and keep growing the belief.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you start to show athletes that if you have a good attitude and you put the effort in, follow the process, the pressure is not even there. You\u2019re just thinking about the next job, and you can deliver without fear.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are continuing this journey. It has been a great journey and now we\u2019re in SVNS 2 and in the top 14 of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Named Sporting Director of Belgium Rugby Sevens last April, Williams oversees both men\u2019s and women\u2019s programmes.<\/p>\n

He has also taken on coaching responsibilities of the women\u2019s side after Warren Abrahams suddenly passed away in October while in Kenya<\/a> with the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was so tragic,\u201d Williams said. \u201cI felt guilty because I was part of the team that brought him in. It was terrible.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe union rallied. Belgium Rugby were faultless. Everyone that needed to be supported was supported. We managed to get to Dubai six weeks after that and the girls had grieved.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first thing I said to my parents was that coaching the women is what is going to make me a better human.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Belgian women\u2019s setup has recently taken part in a high performance camp with HSBC SVNS 2\u2019s Kenya and Spain, where they have had a taste of what could await them with a strong Rugby Europe Women\u2019s Sevens Championship Series campaign this summer.<\/p>\n

Ambition has been very much at the heart of everything Belgium have done. That is why standards have been set. It is why words of affirmation are uttered.<\/p>\n

Williams is not one for getting too far ahead of himself. His own career on the HSBC SVNS Series, in the Gallagher PREM and Pro D2<\/a> have taught him the pitfalls of that.<\/p>\n

But he is not immune to setting goals and, with the full backing of co-CEOs Kristof Vanhout and Thibaut Andre, knows exactly where he wants to steer Belgium in the next two years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Olympics, I think, for us as a programme \u2013 we\u2019re chasing 2028,\u201d Williams said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a lot of work to do, and we need to be very adaptive and creative with how we can budget and create more opportunities to train.<\/p>\n

\u201cMoments like Dubai only help the cause. We don\u2019t chase clout or anything like that, but sometimes you have to be proactive to show people a story that they want to invest in.<\/p>\n

\u201cTop eight in the world is something we are chasing. We are moving towards that ambition and to create a place where Belgium Rugby Sevens has an identity \u2013 where people want to watch us and that there are players who excite them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jeff Williams and Belgium\u2019s Wild Dogs have a saying they use every day; never too high, never too…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":443362,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":["post-443361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=443361"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443361\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/443362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=443361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=443361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=443361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}