Scarlets Rookie Swaps Whitland for Wellington
When 20-year-old Scott Williams planned out the early stages of his professional career in rugby, he probably saw things going very differently.
As the 2011/12 season commences tonight with the opening weekend of the hideously-named RaboDirect Pro 12 kicking things off amongst the Celtic nations (and Italy), Williams must have thought this was a perfect time to make a real impression down at Parc y Scarlets.
With fellow centre Jonathan Davies at the World Cup for the next few weeks at least and the mercurial Regan King ending a 6-year associationg with the west Wales region by signing with French cherry-pickers Clermont Auvergne, the Carmarthen youngster must have spotted an opportunity to create a name for himself “ starting on Sunday when the Scarlets begin their domestic campaign at home to Aironi.
The bad news for Williams is that he won't be getting that chance to prove himself to head coach Nigel Davies and his staff during the initial stages of the new season.
The good news is that he is going to the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.
Williams will not be making the trip as a water boy or as the lucky winner of a 'once in a lifetime' competition, but as part of Warren Gatland's 30-man squad that will wrestle with South Africa, Samoa, Fiji and Namibia in the sport's global showpiece that kicks off in little over a week.
Such has been Williams' display of skill, commitment and desire over the past year that Gatland has felt compelled to give the youngster his chance on the world stage ahead of more senior and experienced options available to him like Andrew Bishop of the Ospreys or Cardiff Blues back Dafydd Hewitt.
It has been a whirlwind process for the Scarlets centre, and one that must have left him scratching his head and wondering just how he got here so fast.
He arrived at the Scarlets just short two years ago, signing a development contract in 2009 after playing his youth rugby at local club Whitland RFC. He had already represented Wales at under 16 and under 18 levels, but he perhaps first caught the eye of the wider Welsh rugby public playing a key role of the under 20s in their 2010 6 Nations campaign. During the series Williams put in a number of hugely impressive performances, but stood out most with two sensational solo tries in the win over France at Cardiff Arms Park that illustrated the ferocious strength and speed that he possesses.
As a result Williams was called up into Wales' wider training squad for the 2010 Invesco Perpetual Autumn Series “ a tactic Gatland has used a number of times during his tenure as national coach in order to familiarise young talent with the International set-up and to show what is expected of a Welsh player. Whilst Williams was not selected for any of the test squads during November, the experience gained and his introduction to a top-class rugby environment provided him with invaluable experience and, more importantly, the hunger to be part of that level of competition in future.
He has continued making waves in a senior capacity over the past few months with some solid performances for the Scarlets, making 22 appearances, scoring 2 tries in the 2011 season and gaining some glowing references west of the Loughor Bridge.
With Willliams' potential and good form impossible to ignore the 15 stone centre was again called up to the national squad in preparation for the summer test against the Barbarians in early June.
Despite starting the game among the replacements, Williams got his chance to shine “ coming off the bench for the returning Gavin Henson for a short but sweet 15 minute appearance and first Welsh cap that saw him tackle well and create openings in the opposition defence with two scything breaks through the heart of the Baa-Baas' midfield.
Immediately following the final whistle he found himself part of Wales's 45-man training squad for the World Cup, that would endure two intensive fitness camps in Spala, Poland, play three warm-up games against England and Argentina and ultimately be whittled down to a final squad of 30.
Williams continued to catch the eye of the coaching team whilst out in Poland “ his levels of fitness, resolve and energy standing out in front of the management, along with other squad newcomers scrum-half Lloyd Williams and back-row Justin Tipuric.
Following a further test appearance in a narrow loss at Twickenham, Williams played the better part of an hour in the return fixture against England a week later, again replacing Henson in midfield. Undeterred by his comparative lack of experience at the highest level Williams once more displayed spirit and an organised and composed rugby brain that provided a suitable foil to battering-ram-in-chief Jamie Roberts.
Indeed Williams appeared a far more dependable and useful option than his regional colleague Jonathan Davies who, the following week against Argentina, persisted in treating the ball like a wet bar of a soap and his team-mates like forgotten relatives he hadn't spoken to in years. When you consider his opponent in the outside centre channel that day was the equally inept Marcelo Bosch, and Davies stil could not make a favourable impression, you wonder how he will fare when pitted against uncompromising road-blocks Albert VuliVuli, Seilala Mapusua and the wonderful Jaque Fourie at the World Cup?
Could Williams get a sooner-than-expected shot at the Welsh starting XV?
With four extremely tough fixtures for Wales to complete in the pool dubbed the 'Group of Death' and Wales's knack for picking up injuries at exactly the wrong time it is certainly not out of the question that he may play a prominent role in the final match of the group againt Fiji in Hamilton on October 2. Who knows “ fate and circumstance may even dictate a quicker introduction to the World Cup in Wellington, facing the defending champions South Africa on September 11 - something Williams is finding difficult to comprehend at present - "All this is a bit unreal right now, I'm living the dream.
Due to the make-up of the squad, the Scarlet finds himself as the primary back-up option for Roberts and Davies in the centre, meaning an injury to either would probably see him elevated to the first team, and this is something that Williams could use to his and Wales's advantage.
"Going out there being a bit of an unknown quantity might work in my favour... Hopefully I can surprise the opposition a bit.
Well, he has surprised quite a few already with how good he has been. How good he can be remains to be seen, but if things go to plan Scott Williams might not be such an 'unknown quantity' to many once the World Cup is done and dusted in October.
