Johnny Williams is on the verge of making Wales’ Rugby World Cup squad four years after being diagnosed with testicular cancer.
Many players have overcome adversity to reach the top but Williams has had to fight harder than most to reach the promised land of international rugby. In 2019 Williams, who has also represented England in an uncapped game against the Barbarians, underwent a four-week course of chemotherapy to overcome cancer.
But a lot can change in four years and after joining the Scarlets from Newcastle Falcons Williams is now a fully-fledged Wales international. Having missed much of his country’s World Cup preparation courtesy of a hamstring injury, Williams returned to play a part against South Africa yesterday and will find out whether he has made the cut on Monday morning.
WALES SQUAD ANNOUNCEMENT: Join us on Monday morning as Gatland names his World Cup squad
“Four years ago, I was watching the World Cup from a hospital bed, so the ability to maybe be playing at the tournament four years later is hard to sum up into words,” said Williams. “Every working day has been towards playing for Wales and going to the World Cup, ever since I can remember from the age of six years old when my dad was bringing me here to watch Wales with his debenture tickets.
“I wanted to be on the pitch and to play here every since those days. It would be hard to sum up in words considering where I was four years ago and that my whole life since I dreamt of being a professional rugby player was about one day going to a World Cup.
“I just remember that I really wanted to be on the pitch and play for Wales. I’ve not been able to do that for just shy two years and to be able to play again, against the current world champions. Hopefully it will all be topped off on Monday with selection for the World Cup.”
Pick up your brilliant 48-page guide to the Rugby World Cup
Williams’ return from injury wasn’t all plain sailing as Wales got crushed by South Africa 52-16, a record home defeat against the Springboks. The Scarlets centre was one of the better players, albeit far from perfect, with the powerful midfielder getting over the gain-line throughout, although he did concede an interception try.
Whether he has done enough to make Warren Gatland’s final 33-man squad remains to be seen but historically Williams is the type of centre the New Zealander has selected in the red number 12 shirt.
“It’s the first time I’ve played at centre with Mason (Grady),” he said. “There are mixed emotions because it was obviously a bad result and there are definitely some things we need to fix.
“There was no hiding from the fact that selection is on Monday, so it was a last chance to put your hand up. I’ve got a lot of family down staying with me over the weekend.
“I’ll just try not to think about it too much. I’m nervous because everyone wants to book their ticket and get on the plane.
“We’re all ambitious and we all want to represent Wales at a World Cup. It will be a big day for everyone, and we’ll all be keeping our fingers crossed.”
While there are unlikely to be too many shocks in Monday’s squad announcement given a host of big names such as Alun Wyn Jones, Justin Tipuric and Rhys Webb retired before Wales embarked on two gruelling training camps to Switzerland and Turkey, Gatland still has some big calls to make.
Join the Wales Rugby breaking news and top stories WhatsApp community
The new Wales Rugby breaking news and top stories WhatsApp community has launched.
You can expect the day’s top stories and major updates sent directly to your WhatsApp from our team – allowing you to stay up to date with all the latest Welsh rugby news for free.
The next few months are the biggest in rugby for four years as Warren Gatland’s team prepare for and then head to the Rugby World Cup. We’ll be with you every step of the way, keeping our community of readers and fans in the loop with the stories that matter.
All you have to do to join is click on this link, select ‘Join Community’ and you’re in.
No one else in the community will be able to see your personal information and you will only receive messages from the WalesOnline sport team. We will not spam your WhatsApp feed with constant messages, but you will receive updates from us daily.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.
If for some reason you decide you no longer want to be in our community, you can leave by clicking on the name at the top of your screen and clicking ‘Exit Group’.
You can read our Privacy Notice here.
The players will find out whether they have made the cut the same time as the public, meaning there will be many left bitterly disappointed.
“We have got a lot closer as a group given what we’ve been through,” he said. “It has been really enjoyable being at the training camps.
“Sometimes the Six Nations camps can be filled with long days. These 12-13 weeks have been the most enjoyable I’ve had with Wales.
“We’ve got close and we’ll be supporting each other. There are going to be some disappointed people and some very proud people as well.
“It’s about being close as a group. Just because someone doesn’t make it won’t mean they can’t be a part of it. There could be injuries and they could be called back into the squad. It’ll be about staying positive, staying in touch and drop people messages.”
