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Fran Williams

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Francesca Williams
Personal information
Full name Francesca Williams
Born (1997-12-23) 23 December 1997 (age 27)
Richmond, London, England
Height 184 cm (6 ft 1⁄2 in)
School Kendrick School
Reading Blue Coat School
University University of Birmingham
Relatives Jack Williams, Imogen Williams
Netball career
Playing position(s): GD, WD, GK
Years Club team(s) Apps
2016 Surrey Storm
2017–2021 Wasps Netball
2022–2023 Loughborough Lightning
2024- West Coast Fever
Years National team(s) Caps
2018–  England 43
Medal record
Representing  England
Netball World Cup
Silver medal – second place 2023 Cape Town Netball
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Liverpool Netball
Last updated: May 2025

Francesca 'Fran' Williams (born 23 December 1997) is an English international netballer who currently plays for West Coast Fever in Suncorp Super Netball. With the England Roses she has won a silver and bronze medal at the Netball World Cup and she has four Netball Super League titles with Wasps Netball and Loughborough Lightning.

Early life and education

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Williams started playing netball in her last year of primary school before joining Woodley Netball Club in Reading, Berkshire.[1] She attended Kendrick School and later Reading Blue Coat School for sixth form. Williams has a degree in Economics from the University of Birmingham.[1][2]

Club career

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Surrey Storm

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Williams started her career as part of the Surrey Storm pathway.[3]

Wasps Netball

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She moved to Wasps Netball in 2017, and won the 2017 Super League Grand Final in her first year.[4] She went on to make the Super League grand final in the following 2 seasons, winning a second title in 2018 and losing to Manchester Thunder in 2019.[5]

Loughborough Lightning

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Williams moved to Loughborough Lightning ahead of the 2022 season.[6] She had a standout year with Lightning in 2023, winning her third Super League title and voted Fan's Player of the Season.[7] Williams won a fourth Super League title the following season in 2024.

West Coast Fever

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Williams signed for the West Coast Fever for the 2024 Suncorp Super Netball season.[8]

International career

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Williams came through the England Netball pathway and was captain of the England under-21 team.[1] She made her senior debut for the England Roses in November 2018 against Uganda.[9][10] Williams made an instant impression in the national side and was later selected in England's 12-woman squad for the January 2019 Quad Series and the 2019 Netball World Cup, where the team finished third.[11][12]

She was not selected for the 2022 Commonwealth Games but returned to the side in 2023 as part of the England Roses team who achieved their first ever World Cup Silver Medal in Cape Town.[13] In the semi-final against New Zealand, Williams secured the vital intercept that helped the Roses through to their first ever World Cup Final. Later that year she was appointed Captain for a test series against South Africa.[7]

Williams captained the England side when they won the 2024 Taini Jamison Trophy Series and 2025 Netball Nations Cup as well as silver at the 2024 Netball Nations Cup.[14][15]

Personal life

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Before moving to Australia she served as Player Chair for England's Netball Players Association (NPA) and is an advocate for NetballHer, an England netball campaign advocating for women's health issues.[1]

Honours

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England

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Wasps Netball

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Loughborough Lightning

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Francesca Williams". England Netball. Retrieved 2024-07-20.
  2. ^ Sinclair, Jenny (2024-05-15). "NS EXCLUSIVE: Fran Williams – leaning in to the challenge". Netball Scoop. Retrieved 2024-07-20.
  3. ^ client (2019-07-12). "Where it all began: Fran Williams". England Netball. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
  4. ^ "Defensive duo return for Wasps in 2019" (PDF). 21 August 2018. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  5. ^ "Vitality Netball Superleague: Fran Williams joins Loughborough Lightning from Wasps". Sky Sports. 2021-10-15. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
  6. ^ jtulloch (2019-04-09). "Francesca Williams". Netball Super League. Retrieved 2024-07-20.
  7. ^ a b Waterhouse, Richard (2023-11-29). "Fran Williams to lead Vitality Roses in upcoming series against South Africa". England Netball. Retrieved 2024-07-20.
  8. ^ "Fran Williams". West Coast Fever. Retrieved 2024-07-20.
  9. ^ "Fran Williams and Josie Huckle renew Wasps Netball contracts". Sky Sports Netball. 21 August 2018. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  10. ^ "England 65-53 Uganda: Roses win series with a match to spare". BBC Sport. 30 November 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  11. ^ "Vitality Roses squad announced for the Netball Quad Series". England Netball. 8 January 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  12. ^ "England squad for the Vitality Netball World Cup revealed". 23 May 2019. Archived from the original on 25 May 2019.
  13. ^ "Netball World Cup final 2023: England 45-61 Australia - Roses miss out on historic title". BBC Sport. 2023-08-06. Retrieved 2024-07-20.
  14. ^ "Vitality Roses win the Taini Jamison Trophy 2-1". England Netball. Retrieved 2025-05-12.
  15. ^ "England win Vitality Netball Nations Cup for the first time after defeating South Africa 61-55 in the final". England Netball. Retrieved 2025-05-12.
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