Scarlets Centre Johnny Williams Aims for Wales Return

Johnny Williams has represented Wales in seven international matches. An upcoming United Rugby Championship fixture will see Ospreys face Scarlets at Swansea.com Stadium on Saturday, 21 December, with kick-off scheduled for 17:15 GMT. Coverage will be available via Scrum V on BBC Two Wales and commentary on BBC Radio Wales. Scarlets’ mid-field player, Johnny Williams, is seeking a recall to the Six Nations squad, having been absent from Wales’ last two campaigns. Williams, aged 28, has demonstrated strong form among Welsh centres this season; however, he was not chosen by Warren Gatland for either the summer tour of Australia or the three autumn internationals held in November. “I was incredibly gutted to miss out on the summer tour and the autumn,” said Williams. “I’m focused on staying fit as a number one priority and then about playing well, also winning here with Scarlets and keep doing what I’m doing.” “That’s what I’m focused on now. If that [Wales] comes then great.” “Fingers crossed it does but selection is up to one man ultimately so it’s out of my control.” For the autumn internationals, Gatland opted for other players, including Eddie James, Ben Thomas, Owen Watkin, Max Llewellyn, Mason Grady, and Nick Tompkins. Williams also disclosed the feedback he received from Wales prior to the autumn series. “It was work rate off the ball,” said Williams. “That was the big one for me. With what I was doing and my skill set they were quite happy with. It was my work rate off the ball, kick chasing hard and metres in training.” Williams states he has concentrated on aspects of his game that he felt required improvement. “There’s always strings you can add to your bow and you can always look to improve,” said Williams. “A big one for me has been my fitness, involvements in games, speed up off the floor, kick chasing hard and leadership also. I’ve been quite hard on myself.” Johnny Williams has participated in all seven of Scarlets’ URC matches this season, scoring one try. Williams’ impressive performance is largely attributed to his current injury-free status, following several persistent minor issues over recent years. “The big thing is staying fit,” said Williams. “I’ve had some nasty injuries in the past and I’ve been in and out of squads because of that.” “I’m happy I’ve got a bit of consistency under my belt and a run of games, that’s the big thing.” The former Newcastle player has experienced multiple extended periods away from play since joining Scarlets in 2020. “I’ve had frustrating ones,” said Williams. “I was out for six months with my calf, I should have been out for eight weeks.” “That one for me was mentally hard not having an end goal or not a return to play target. I was worrying about an injury which was small but I couldn’t get back from it for a while.” “I’ve had nastier injuries like a dislocated shoulder or a torn hamstring off the bone and that’s gone to plan.” “Even though it’s a nastier injury I’ve mentally dealt with that better. That calf injury was a hard one.” Williams acknowledges a heightened sense of perspective, gained after overcoming testicular cancer in 2019, an illness that kept him out of rugby for six months. “I’ve had harder challenges in my life,” said Williams. “Now I sort of look at injuries not as heavy because you have that sort of perspective from it.” Williams’ immediate objective is to help Scarlets secure a victory against local rivals Ospreys in the United Rugby Championship (URC) match in Swansea this Saturday. Scarlets have experienced a more stable season, while Ospreys are currently facing turmoil, having suffered a record European defeat against Montpellier and with head coach Toby Booth departing his position, both events occurring within the last five days. Scarlets have not secured an away league win in Swansea for seven years, and Williams anticipates that the Ospreys, playing at home, will draw strength from their recent difficulties. “I think they’ll be revved up,” said Williams. “When you go through tough times like that I think it will only galvanise them and they’ll come hard in that regard.” “They are at home as well and they’ve got a good record against us there. We are aware of that and we know we need to put that right.” Williams believes the Scarlets are in a more settled state compared to previous seasons. “It is night and day in comparison to last season and we have improved,” said Williams. “Even the results we have been on the wrong side of, with those losses we’ve got a bonus point and been within one or two points. It’s been that close.” “If we can get that momentum and confidence and get into that winning routine, then I think we can click into something.” Sandi Toksvig is joined by Gyles Brandreth, Lulu, Emmanuel Sonubi and Alan Davies Grab the mic for Queen, Taylor Swift, Bon Jovi, Katy Perry and more… Ben Fogle and Kate Humble are back for the festivities at Longleat Safari Park From micro plastics in our air, soil, and waterways, to the extent of food waste at this time of year © 2024 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.