The vice-captain has been revelling in his side’s showing in Australia after so many disappointments in recent years.
And he is convinced that Wales’ try-scoring exploits against the All Blacks and World Cup winners England were a sign of better times to come.
But after so many anti-climaxes Williams, one of the most experienced players in the Wales squad, is too aware of the dangers of complacency.
And in an attempt to bring his young teammates back down to earth, the British Lion insists success Down Under will be in vain if Wales fail to claim a major scalp in the Six Nations championship.
‘Too often we have produced encouraging performances that have given everyone hope for the future but then paid the price for sitting back, this time we have to take it on,’ said Williams, who has been involved with Wales for the last seven years.
‘It was great to come home and see everyone so happy – it made quite a change to be honest.
‘It has felt recently like everyone has been depressed and moaning every time we come home, but this time there is a really positive feel about Welsh rugby at last.
‘But the biggest things for us, as a squad, is that we do not get too carried away with what happened in Australia.
‘Yes we had two awesome performances against two of the best teams in the world but we still lost. People need to realise that and put things into perspective.
‘What we desperately need is a win against one of the big five and the time to do that is in the Six Nations against the likes of England, France or Ireland. That would be the real boost this team needs.
‘We have got some great young players in this squad who showed at the World Cup that they can compete at that level and we have taken a lot of confidence from the tournament.
‘We outscored England three tries to one in the quarter-final and proved we’re not that far off. It was frustrating because the win was there for us.
‘But if that game showed anything it was the importance of a winning habit. We gave a great performance but in the end it came down to a team who is used to winning and a team who isn’t.
‘Yes we played well against Canada, did what had to be done against Tonga and then gave a good display against Italy considering the pressure that was on us and I don’t think the boys got enough credit for what they did.
‘But we need a big win to really give these young players the self-belief that is needed to start winning things. When they do I think we could have something special.’
And while Williams predicts big things for young players such as Gethin Jenkins, Jonathan Thomas and Robert Sidoli, he also believes Steve Hansen is the man help them realise their potential.
Hansen has always insisted that he will not look to extend his stay beyond next year’s Six Nations when his contract expires due to family commitments back in New Zealand.
