Lance Williams graduated a year too early to run onto Aloha Stadium’s new playing field with the University of Hawaii football team.

Even so, the former Rainbow Warrior linebacker still will have a chance to break in the recently installed artificial turf — just without a helmet and shoulder pads.

The sixth annual Western Union Ohana Cup Rugby League Festival will bring Williams back to Halawa to participate in the tripleheader set for Aug. 20.

“Just looking at the field brings back a lot of memories,” Williams said Wednesday while sitting the dugout behind the south end zone. “It’s just burning inside of me, representing the state of Hawaii is just a great experience.

“Looking at this stadium reminds me of every memory since I was young, sitting the stands and watching, playing for the first time and playing again as a rugby player.”

Kelly McGill, a former UH offensive lineman, founded the Ohana Cup along with Ma’afu Wendt, his partner with Grand Pacific Events, with one match at Kaiser High School without outside funding. It has since grown into a two-day event at Aloha Stadium with sponsorship from the Hawaii Tourism Authority.

The festivities start with a concert featuring Kapena, Josh Tatofi, Nesian Nine and Willie K. on Aug. 19. Three matches are set for the following day with the Hawaii Chiefs taking on the New South Wales Police of Australia. A match between Canada and Fiji follows with Tonga taking on Samoa in the finale.

Williams will be a newcomer to the event with the Hawaii Chiefs, but has played rugby for close to eight years. He dabbled in the sport with the Aliamanu Blues between football and basketball seasons during his high school career at Farrington, “just to keep me out of trouble and keep me in shape.”

He continued to play in the offseason in college while emerging as a leader for the UH defense. He ranked fifth on the team with 59 tackles last season, including seven for losses, and rugby gives him a chance to develop another dimension of his game.

“As a linebacker I didn’t run the ball in college,” Williams said. “So this is chance to run the ball and show off your skills.”

After playing in the Ohana Cup, Williams is scheduled to leave for Texas to join the Dallas Rugby Football Club in September. Before he leaves, he hopes the Ohana Cup will continue to grow the game in Hawaii.

Williams got a look from the CFL following his UH career, but kept rugby in the back of his mind as an option if football didn’t work out.

“You can always use your talent in rugby,” Williams said. “The mainland is building up (rugby). That’s what we’re trying to do in Hawaii, build that creativity and build that status of rugby.”

Event and ticket information is available at ohanacup.com. Tickets can also be purchased by phone at 483-7123.