Barry Williams, the Wales hooker, is one of the game's in-your-face characters. A surprise selection for the Lions tour of South Africa in the summer, he announced his arrival by fighting one of his rivals in the position, England's Mark Regan, in a training session.

Williams had had a spat with James Dalton a couple of years earlier playing for Neath against the South Africans, but the 23-year-old Richmond forward does not consider himself confrontational and believes the media have focused on hookers as a way of building up matches.

"The incident with Regan did not amount to much," he said. "The media like to exploit a clash of personalities and hookers are by their nature competitive, but I do not see myself as volatile. I like people to know I am around but I do not go looking for trouble."

Richard Cockerill marked his first full international in England by eyeballing his opposite number Norm Hewitt as New Zealand performed the haka at Old Trafford. The Leicester hooker was rebuked by the All Blacks' coach, John Hart, for showing a lack of respect. Williams will not be repeating the gesture when Wales take on the All Blacks at Wembley tomorrow.

"Cockerill is a noisy guy. I do not intend playing into Hewitt's hands. They can just get on with the haka. I will not be taking much notice of them. I do not back down to anyone, but I do not see the point in getting involved in the haka. Cockerill needed to wind himself up, but he did not get very far."

A year ago, Williams was part of a struggling Neath side, balancing the increasing demands of rugby with his job as a farmer. Today, he is a full-time professional with Richmond, enjoying a lucrative salary and a house in suburbia. "I consider myself very fortunate because I am getting paid for doing something I enjoy. I no longer get the Monday morning blues. I still get up early on a Monday and watch the rush-hour crowd build up, everyone's faces pointing down . . . I know how lucky I am." Williams has fought his way into the Wales team this season, supplanting the captain of the previous two seasons, Jonathan Humphreys, but his attitude is that each game may be his last.

"There is a stiff competition for places and only my best will be good enough. I have had a taste of international rugby and I want more. Joining Richmond has improved my game. It may sound heretical, but the standard of rugby in England's premier division is far higher than that in Wales.

"The difference is that when you leave the clubhouse, no one talks about rugby. In Neath, you could not walk a couple of yards down the road without someone giving you their opinions on the game. Public property in Wales, I am a stranger in London."

Williams took only 96 seconds to score a try for Wales on his debut in the friendly against France last year. He has since played against Romania and Tonga, but considers the international against New Zealand to be his first proper cap.

"The France match lacked a real edge and Romania and Tonga are not top-rate opposition. The All Blacks will be it for me, my real arrival. They play the game I thrive in: fast and continuous. There is nothing I like better than having the ball in my hands. "I expect to find myself marking Hewitt on the wing. New Zealand fashion a number of tries by having their big men in the three-quarter line. They are all athletic and can handle the ball. To succeed against them, you have to deny them possession and it is going to be a supreme test for our pack at Wembley.

"I thrive on a challenge. At Neath last season, we needed to win our final game to survive. I was leaving with the Lions a few weeks later, but there was no way I was not going to play. The risk of injury was at the back of my mind, but even though I was departing for Richmond, I was determined that Neath stayed up. It was a terrible game of rugby but we won. That's what it is all about.

"We are being given no chance against the All Blacks, but we have creative players behind the scrum and lively forwards. England have shown that New Zealand are not unbeatable and the atmosphere at Wembley should be even better than it was at Old Trafford. We have had 10 days to prepare and I am ready for it. This is the big one."