Scarlets centre Scott Williams, who captained the second half team at yesterday’s draw game against Bath Rugby, confessed to being more nervous than usual ahead of the pre-season run-out.
Newcastle Emlyn’s Williams watched from the sidelines, as his Scarlets teammates closed the season securing a place in the new European Champions Cup, after undergoing surgery on his shoulder following Wales’ defeat to Ireland during the Six Nations.
His last cameo in a Scarlets shirt came in January 2014, and despite scoring a try Harlequins took the spoils at Parc y Scarlets in the last round of Heineken Cup’s group stage.
Williams led the second half team as Scarlets went head to head with Bath Rugby yesterday, Saturday 16th August, in the infamous Rag Doll fixture – one of rugby’s oldest traditions. Williams said: “It was good to get the first game out of the way. I don’t normally get that nervous before a game but it’s been a while since I’ve played but once the game kicked off I was in the game.”
The strong centre got the second half off to a great start for the Scarlets crossing the whitewash for a try, he went on to say: “I just finished it off really and it was great to see us play a little bit of the Scarlets way. We went through a couple of offloads and I managed to find myself on the end of it.
“We have a couple of different game plans. We’ve been working a lot on different things over the last few months and now is the time to see what works. There are a lot of positives to take from the game but we also still have a lot to work on.
“It was good to play against a strong opposition. You can train against each other as much as you want but you don’t really know what works until you get into the game scenario.
“It was a really enjoyable run-out. When the game’s open like that you really enjoy it. We showed some good stuff and it’s good for the backs when the weather’s nice and dry!”
Williams lined up alongside Scarlets fans favourite Regan King, who has made a welcome return to the region, he said: “It’s good to get the ball in his hands. He creates a little bit of magic everytime and there are some exciting times ahead.”
Williams, 23, went on to say: “This was the first game of the season for us. We have next weekend off and I’m sure next week will be tough. It’ll be back to the drawing board on Monday to smooth out some of the stuff that we managed to get wrong but it’s an exciting time. We need to make sure we keep improving until we get to Ulster.”
Help keep news FREE for our readers
Supporting your local community newspaper/online news outlet is crucial now more than ever. If you believe in independent journalism, then consider making a valuable contribution by making a one-time or monthly donation. We operate in rural areas where providing unbiased news can be challenging. Read More About Supporting The West Wales Chronicle
