Eagles Angels News

Women of Manly - Michelle, Wife of Luke Williamson

5/2/2009

By Mary Finkelsen - Eagles Angels Manager

Now you've already met this lady in my previous Women of Manly interviews, but since then a lot has changed.  She got married, they left the Manly club and are now overseas and have a little surprise on the way.  I contacted Michelle Williamson, wife of The Cougar....Luke Williamson.  Since leaving Manly at the end of last season, Luke and Michelle have moved to England to join the London Harlequins.  As you will see they are having a great time and to top that all off they are expecting a baby cougar.  Also good news was that the team won their first game of the season and Luke scored his first try!

Mary Finkelsen
Eagles Angels Manager

Michelle Williamson

What are the exact details of the club you have joined?
London Harlequins Rugby League
Twickenham Stoop Stadium, Langhorn Drive,
Twickenham Middlesex, TW2 7SX

How was the move?
I was very lucky because I came over 1 month after Luke and he had organised us a place to live and almost set everything up by time I got here which was great  So it was an easy transition as we also shipped all of our furniture over too, so it felt like home as soon as I arrived.

Where are you living? What is the area like?
We are living in Kingston Upon Thames which is in South West London. It is an awesome spot we are living, we are both very happy here so far. We have a great 3 bedroom place overlooking the river Thames, and Hampton Court Palace - so we are lucky enough to see a great view of the river Thames every day - its no beach but the next best thing here in London.
Kingston is about 16 miles outside of central London (aprox. 20 mins on a train) and has everything and more you need inc. Restaurants, pubs, Night clubs, Shopping Centre, Shops and supermarkets, and luckily we are only about a 5 minute walk to the centre of Kingston along the Thames which is handy also.
We are about 15 minutes drive from the Stoop, and 20minutes from Wimbeldon which is close to where Luke trains each day.

How is Luke fitting in with his new club?  How are his new mates?
Luke is fitting into his new club really well. He is really happy with the boys in his team, as well as the coaching staff. He feels that the structure that the Quins have in place with regards to football on the field as well as through the administration is spot on, and they are heading in the right direction which he is excited to be a part of.  After so long at Manly, he is happy to know that he has come to a club of a similar standards over here in the Super League.
There are 7 Aussies in the team, 4 of which previously played for Manly including. Chad Randall, Luke Dorn and Daniel Heckenberg - so it was a very easy transition for him as he already had some good mates over here. He is also really enjoying hanging out with the Pommies - even if he finds it hard to understand some of them at times with their deep English accents.
 
What's he doing at the moment - is he training, when does the season start?
Pre-season started November 3rd, and we were lucky enough to have 2 weeks off over Christmas and New Years which we travelled around Europe. He has been back training again since January 5th and has had 2 trial games with the comp starting this Sunday 8th February at home at the Stoop, against Beavers new team the Bradford Bulls.
He was a little apprehensive initially after 12 years full time in the NRL, of what the standards of training would be like - however he was pleasantly surprised when he started pre-season that it was just as tough as what he had experienced in the NRL.  He is very happy to have ex Newcastle Knight Billy Peden as the strength and conditioner.

What's the weather like and how are you guys coping?  How is Luke handling the conditions?
I am from Canberra, and Luke had 3 years there with the Raiders, and to be honest we have both found it to be very similar conditions to over here. So it was not a complete culture shock for us both, as we had experienced temps below zero in the winter and Luke had experienced training in similar freezing conditions.
To be honest the weather has been exactly what we expected it to be. We are right in the middle of winter and some days it is lucky to hit a top of 4 degrees. However one thing I have been surprised at is the amount of blue sky and sunshine we have had, which makes a difference on the outlook of the day. Even if it’s freezing outside it does not seem as bad if the sun is shining.
Thankfully we have only had about 2 days of rain in the last 2 months, and the field has frozen over 3 times since he started training back in pre-season last year - so his training was moved to an indoor venue. He has even had to train in the snow a few days ago which was a great experience although a bit bizarre and quite rare for London - but he really enjoyed it.
We had a good laugh the other day when it was snowing and our car was buried in the snow, and Luke had to go outside with our spatular to dig the car out so he could get to training (have attached photo). It was unbelievable how much snow there was, as London had not experienced this in over 18 yrs. So we are stoked to have been here this year to experience it. When Luke got to training he joined in on the snow fights with the boys, he was like was like a kid in a candy store as I am sure you can imagine. 

Any major differences you guys are trying to get used to?
Probably the biggest thing to get used to is the weather. Coming from the perfect climate of the Northern Beaches in summer to the middle of a European winter takes a bit of getting used to. The other thing is the short days with the sun going down in early winter around 4pm.
You do miss all things Aussie from time to time, however it is also great to experience a new country and it’s important to embrace the changes and the experience whilst we are over here.

Caught up with much of the Aussie Mafia???
We have caught up with the Aussie London players Chad and Jacqui, and we are living around the corner from Dorny and Lauren which has been great. We will also get a good chance to catch up with everyone from other clubs when Luke plays them at the Stoop, all players from both teams meet downstairs in the stadiums bar after the games for a feed and drink together - which we are really looking forward to catching up with everyone over here again over the coming year / season.

Going to the Leeds game?
We would love to travel up north to watch the game, However Luke plays the day before, so he will have recovery the day of the game and start back at training the next day, so we will go around to one of the player’s houses to watch it, and cheer the boys on from there!!!  Its great Luke plays Manly a few weeks prior, so really looking forward to catching up with the Manly boys when they are here in London.

Babies?
Yes we are very excited to let everyone know that there is a baby Cougar on the way!!!!  I am 16 weeks pregnant, and baby Cougar is due on the 22nd July. Luke and I are over the moon, and he can’t wait for a little mini- me cougar to be running around.

Have you done any travelling outside England???
We were lucky enough to get 2 weeks off over xmas and new years, so we used the opportunity to do some travel around Europe. We visited Vienna in Austria then had our first white xmas in the Italian Alps, then travelled by train to Milan, Zurich in Switzerland, then Paris for New Years. It was such a great holiday, and we now have the bug to get out and see more of Europe whilst we are living over here over the next 2 years.

Can you tell me anything about Luke bourgeoning broadcast presenter career?
The Cougar is taking London and the Superleague by storm... He has a few contacts over here and is really making the most of living in London and being able to do some media work on both radio and with Sky Sports to discuss the English Superleague. He is also in early talks with them to do a segment over here to be shown back in Australia to give NRL fans the opportunity to see how their favourite players inc. Beaver, Danny Bederus, Mark Riddell, Steven Bell, Brett Hodgson etc.are all going at their new homes and clubs in the UK. The Cougar will interview the boys, and visit them at home, as well as talk to their coach, team mates and fans.
With the large amount of Aussies now playing in the UK, the segment will allow league fans to get a better insight into how the players have made the transition as well as show what life is like for Aussies playing in the English Super League we well as follow the progress of their Super league teams.

What do you do when he is training??
Moving countries has kept me nice and busy over the past few weeks which has been good, just unpacking boxes and setting thing up, connecting sky, registering for doctors, and hospital visits (for baby cougar) etc. plus we have had a few minor renovations done on our place so have had workmen here the past 2 weeks. When Luke gets home from training at around 2pm each day we usually go for coffees with some of the players and their partners or just get out to explore our new home. Its amazing how much organising goes into moving countries!!

What do you do socially?
London is a very social club, I think because it is not really renowned for Rugby league most of the players come from the North of England so everyone including the Aussies are in the same boat as most of us don’t have any family or friends living in the area, So its great to be able to hang out with each other and also take advantage of living in such a great city to be able to see shows on West End, Concerts and basically enjoying London life. The girls I have met so far have been very welcoming as most of them have also mentioned they have been in the same boat moving away from home- so we all arrange dinners together to watch the games, Coffees and movies etc. which is great. I am really enjoying my time here so far, and am looking forward to the warmer weather so we can also explore more of London and the UK together.

 

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