Fresh off the back of a triple crown win with the Australian women's sevens team, Sharni Williams has set her sights on bolstering the Wallaroos for their Rugby Word Cup campaign kicking off in New Zealand next week.
Named in the Wallaroos squad before competing at the Sevens Rugby World Cup in Cape Town, Williams was spring boarded straight into the Wallaroos camp upon her return, getting less than two weeks with the squad before they flew out to Auckland on Sunday.
Linking up with long-time teammate and Wallaroos captain Shannon Parry, Williams told ESPN she's excited to join the squad and bring a winning mindset to a team that has won just one Test of seven this season.
"I don't change the mindset [coming into a different environment]," Williams told ESPN at the Wallaroos farewell event. "I bring that belief, I bring that success, I bring the person that I always am and try and get other people to believe and lift their confidence up.
"I think that there are a few limitations in this group. I think that there are people that don't think that they're good enough or apply themselves as much as they should, and I think that we can get a lot more out of them.
"You can see that in Adelaide. The Wallaroos should have won that game. They lost it themselves and they've learned from that. I think the potential is yet to be seen for the Wallaroos and what better time than on the world stage at Eden Park?
"It's going to be exciting because the best is yet to come from these girls and they put in a lot of work. We've just got to build those connections and build some belief and anything can happen."
The 32-year-old will slot into inside centre alongside Georgia Friedrichs who has become one of the Wallaroos' best players in 2022, after the Waratahs youngster made her debut against Japan at the start of the year and has since gone from strength to strength.
Former Aussie sevens teammates, Williams is excited to reconnect with Friedrichs and build on the momentum she's generated this year, while she'll get her chance to play alongside fly-half Bella McKenzie, who's shown glimpses of her mastery in the playmaker position, for the first time.
"I'm super keen [to play alongside Friedrichs]. I've been watching her all season and she's been killing it and I can't like just to support her," Williams said. "I don't want to take over, I just wanted to be there for her, to know that she's going to run it straight and I've just got her back, someone will seal straight over the top of her if need be or if I'm running, she's definitely there, she's one of the best sealers and pilferers for us. I just think the combination will be really good.
"I haven't played with Bella, but I'm obviously really excited about that as well. I've been watching her for years and I can see holes that she creates that no one, seems to be running for her. She's a conductor, she's just really good at being able to read the game and I'd love to run after her kicks and things like that. That connection piece of just going out and fighting for each other, I've definitely got their backs."
Despite never defeating the Black Ferns in their 22-game history, the Wallaroos head to Auckland full of confidence that they can shock the hosts on the opening night of the tournament following a classy performance in Adelaide.
Pressure has started to build on the Black Ferns with the hosts and five-time champions expected to lift New Zealand Rugby out of the gloom that has grown after both their men's and women's sevens teams failed to win gold at the Commonwealth Games and World Cup, while the All Blacks have had a mixed season.
Williams wants the Wallaroos to seize the opportunity.
"There should always be that chance and there should always be that thought in the back of your mind saying 'yeah, we can do this [beat New Zealand]'. It could also be a draw. You never know what is going to happen," Williams told ESPN.
"They have a lot of pressure on them because it's a home tournament, it's been postponed and there's so many things against them, while we don't have the pressure and when pressure hits sometimes reactions aren't that great. We've seen it in sevens, Portia got sent off in the 2016 Olympics and Niall Williams got sent off as well, just those little brain explosions that could happen, you never know.
"Rugby can be such a great sport, it can be such a brutal sport, you've just got to take your chances and capitalise on those errors."