Given the strength of that start though, Falcons rugby director Bates makes an equally strong statement when predicting Williams can double his development and impact in his second year.

“Danny will tell you himself he had an awful lot to learn when he joined us,” said Bates. “But there is nothing wrong with that and considering his switch from Rugby League that’s how it should have been. So we spent time with him, he worked very hard on his game and he was very keen to learn and soak up all the knowledge he could about the finer points of the game as quickly as possible.

“He obviously wants to score tries because he is a winger, but he knew that his role would be about so much more than that, and we have seen how well he has adapted to the game, dealing with recycling the ball and such like.

“We knew Danny would take time to settle, so for the first few months we had no particularly high expectations first team-wise for him, but he quickly forced his way into contention – and when his chances came he took them.

“He scored an excellent try at Sale, showing his finishing prowess that continues to grow, but it was his all-round play and reliability that has impressed us just as much.

“After a first season like that the challenge now is for him to build on that and make an even bigger impact.

“But with his attitude and willingness to learn I have no worries in that respect, because Danny continues to work very hard on his game. He’s improving and learning all the time still, and we reckon he will make a big impression on the league this season.

“There’s a lot of competition for places on the wing too, with Tom Biggs and Charlie Amesbury pushing for starts, so that will help focus him too, because he will certainly want to play as much as possible.”