Williams first played hurling and Gaelic football at juvenile and underage levels with the Kilruane MacDonaghs club.[2] He won a number of divisional minor and under-21 titles in both codes and was also a member of the team that won the first of four consecutive Tipperary Under-21AHC titles in 1973. Williams made his first appearance for the club's senior team as a 16-year-old in 1969. He was at centre-forward on the Kilruane MacDonaghs team that won the All-Ireland Club Championship title in 1986, having earlier won four Tipperary SHC titles, including one as team captain, and a Tipperary SFC title in 1975.[3][4] His 26-year club career came to an end in 1995.[5]