By Elliott Josypenko
July 31 2006

Pertemps Bees have appointed former Wales international lock Steve Williams as their new head coach. Williams, who is currently a specialist line-out coach at Premiership club Northampton Saints, will arrive at Sharmans Cross Road full-time on June 1.
The 35-year-old, who played for Neath, Cardiff and Northampton, won 28 caps between 1994 and 2003 before he retired. After a brief spell as a college lecturer, he joined Coventry as assistant coach at the start of the 2004/05 season and was then promoted to head coach in September 2004. He returned to Northampton as part of Budge Pountney's coaching team at the start of this season.
Williams will work alongside Phil Maynard, who remains as Pertemps Bees' director of rugby. Maynard is likely to focus on playing strategy and developing Pertemps Bees' newly-established academy in partnership with South Birmingham College.
"I feel that there is a lot of untapped rugby potential in Birmingham," Williams said. "There is a lot of room for improvement but I am someone who likes a challenge.
"There is a lot of hard work to be done by everyone - players and coaches. We are all going to have to up our game considerably.
"There is no point getting too far ahead of ourselves. We need to get up to the standards of previous seasons and cement our position in this league after the difficult season we have just had.
"A lot of things are to change and there will be a big shake-up. It's not going to be easy but we have got to lift our standards."