Williams tonic as Pivac puts him on alert
JOHNNY Williams has been given a clear indication he is on Wayne Pivac’s radar ahead of the New Zealander’s Wales squad announcement for the autumn internationals.
Pivac announced his chosen group this morning for a six-test programme that will include the Autumn Nations Cup.
And he will do so with the triplequalified Williams encouraged that he is at least in the coach’s thoughts, having been one of 55 or so players invited to a Zoom meeting overseen by Pivac recently.
The aim of the meeting was for the Kiwi to map out where he saw Wales going and what he wanted from players moving forward.
Williams will have been pleased to have been involved.
The 6ft 3in, 16st 7lb midfield man impressed in front of the Wales selectors when rugby returned, standing out with an assured display for the Scarlets against Cardiff Blues in August.
He is eligible for Wales through his Welsh dad, but he could also play for Scotland thanks to a Scottish grandmother and he was born in England.
Williams junior actually pulled on an England jersey when he played against the Barbarians in 2019, but as the game was uncapped it didn’t tie him to the red rose.
His move to West Wales this summer suggested unambiguously where John Bleddyn Rhys Williams, to give him his full moniker, saw his allegiance, while he has looked quite the part for the Scarlets in his short time in Llanelli.
The Weston-super-mare-born player not only has power and pace but also an eye for a gap.
Pivac has three capped centres at his disposal in Jonathan Davies, Nick Tompkins and Owen Watkin. Scott Williams is on his way back, too, but whether he is deemed ready for the rigours of Test rugby after playing just one competitive game in 10 months, with a back problem that required surgery having placed him off limits, remains to be seen.
Williams and Willis Halaholo are also firmly in contention.