No doubting Tomos as Blues young gun makes his pitch for a World Cup place

SO, you thought Wales were doomed to failure at the World Cup without Rhys Webb, their best scrum-half?

His well-documented exile has left many Welsh fans bemoaning who will be picked at No.9 for the tournament next year, but suddenly Warren Gatland appears to have options.

Gareth Davies did well as Webb’s stand-in during last autumn’s internationals and this year’s Six Nations, whilst against South Africa on Saturday night, young Tomos Williams sparkled on his debut, scoring a try to mark the occasion and prompting the winner with his tenacity.

Can the Cardiff Blues youngster pile on the pressure and emerge as Wales’ first-choice in Japan next summer?

HE was a pupil at Treorchy Comprehensive School and played for Treorchy RFC, gaining youth honours for Wales at international level.

WILLIAMS was in the Cardiff Blues Academy and spent time starring for Pontypridd RFC in the Principality Welsh Premiership.

He was first capped by Wales at Under-20 level in 2013 as an 18-yearold and performed in the Sevens World Series the following year.

And he made a real mark in the Under-20 World Cup in 2015, with defence coach Richard Hodges, who also fills the same role for the Blues, rating him as “one of the best players in the world at that level”. HE made his debut for his home region five years ago, as an 18-yearold, but most of his appearances between 2014-16 came off the bench.

The 2016-17 campaign saw him make 25 appearances, which included nine starts, as he made a favourable impression and began to push twice Six Nations title medallist Lloyd Williams as first-choice scrum-half.

Tomos Williams went up another level during the recently-completed season, ousting Lloyd as then-coach Danny Wilson’s favoured pick, starting seven of their nine matches in their charge to glory in the European Challenge Cup.

He donned the No.9 jersey during the semi-final success over Pau at Cardiff Arms Park and, in a thrilling final win against Gloucester in Bilbao, scoring an opportunist try to spark an unforgettable fightback.