Scott’s got through ‘dark times’ as he aims for return to best form

ASK Scott Williams when was the last time he played “pain-free” and the pause you’ll hear is a concerning sign, writes Ben James.

You can’t quite hear the cogs turning, but it’s fair to say the Ospreys centre is having to do some recollecting when it comes to this particular question. Eventually, the answer comes. “Probably January 2019,” he says. You can’t help but be taken aback by it. It’s been something of a nightmare two years for the Wales international. The back injury suffered in the first month of last year has effectively robbed Williams of nearly two years of his career.

In that time, he’s made a handful of appearances as he navigated a series of setbacks on his road to recovery.

Only now is he seemingly back where he belongs, having made his comeback in a recent friendly against the Scarlets – following surgery on his back earlier this year.

Williams’ troubles started way back, as he says, in January 2019 - with, what seemed at the time, just a minor back problem.

“It happened overnight, really,” he explains.

“I picked up the injury in a game. I thought I just had a bad back so I played 70 minutes the next week with a bulging disk.

“It was only a couple of months after that I was sitting on the sofa one day, got up and just lost feeling in my foot, which was scary.” The initial prognosis was not good. “I had a bulging disk in my back and pretty bad sciatica,” he adds. “I lost all feeling in my leg and movement in my foot. It was a pretty scary time and it took time for it to come back. I lost all the strength in my leg.”

Understandably, it had a massive impact on Williams.

His wife Tanya posted last year about what he had overcome, writing: “It’s been a tough year watching Scott struggling with pain through injuries, being unable to even carry [his son] Seb, let alone stand up.”

So just how tough did things get? And did he ever reach a point where he though his career was over?

“It didn’t really cross my mind that I’d have to retire,” he admits. “It was scary though. “It’s just day to day things you can’t do. I couldn’t sit down for five minutes. I couldn’t stand up for five minutes.

“It’s hard to deal with every day. Not being able to bend over or pick my boy up, it was dark times. But I’m through them now.”

Williams didn’t necessarily have to suffer through that pain. He could have had an operation.

However, with the World Cup on the horizon, that was never really an option for the 29-year-old.

“There were conversations about whether to have an operation but as my back was healing slowly, I decided not to which was the right call.

“I wanted to get to the World Cup and I gave myself the best chance to do that by holding off.”

He did eventually make it back on the pitch, playing for Wales in the home warm-up against Ireland. However, it wasn’t to be as he missed the cut for Japan.

From where he came from, it was a remarkable feat of recovery – albeit one which might have hindered him in the year which has followed the World Cup.

Does he now have any feelings of regret for rushing back?

“Looking back, maybe it’s easier to say I should have had the operation at the time,” says Williams, pictured above.

“But looking at my options, it was the right call to try and make the World Cup. As a player, you want to play for your country and you’d do anything you can.

“I took the risks to make it back to train and play which I effectively did, but I didn’t quite make the cut. I gave it all I could to make it which was a little bit disappointing but that’s the way things go.

“I put my body through a lot to try and get back on the field as all I’ve ever wanted to do was play for Wales. If there was a five per cent chance, I’d have done it.

“If I had the operation, I’d have ruled myself out.

“It’s easy to look back and say I should have done it but I wanted to play for Wales. “It felt like the right thing to do.” The back injury flared up again in February this year., and it was an easy decision to go under the knife to sort it out this time around. “It feels alright now,” he adds. “It’s probably never going to be 100 per cent but I’m pain free and feel I can do things like I could do before.

“Most rugby players are going to be a bit battered when they retire.

“Having a bulging disk at 29 probably isn’t the best but it’s what we love to do. It’s a high contact game. It is what it is and I don’t regret anything.”

A tweaked groin has kept him out of training for a week since that Scarlets friendly, but he should be back in time for the Ospreys’ PRO14 clash with Glasgow on October 24.

Now, the plan is to get back to his best and add to his 58 Wales caps. On his day, Williams is a match for anyone.

“It was pretty nice to be pain-free playing rugby against the Scarlets. It was a good feeling and the plan is to get a good run of games under my belt and get some form back.”