The low point came at the start of the summer when there was a real possibility that former Wales captain Scott Williams would have to look overseas to continue his rugby career.
He and the Ospreys had parted ways after a three-year relationship in which the center played just 27 games amid much bad luck with injuries.
In a tell-all interview in October 2020, Williams admitted he hadn’t played without pain in 21 months. The memory is still clear of the Welsh international’s missing tackles against Ulster in the autumn of 2019 which he would normally have nailed with no problem and would also struggle to make an impact in attack.
His body simply refused to cash the checks his mind wrote. It was sad to see.
Then he suffered a shoulder problem while playing against the Dragons in January last year. It was to prove his last Ospreys game.
The challenge after leaving the Swansea-based region was to find another team to play for, preferably Wales, but there was no mad rush among regions to play him.
At one point, it looked like the highly respected Western Walian might have to accept a deal to play in France. Some thought his best days were a thing of the past.
But the Scarlets eventually signed him and the signs are that they oversaw a smart business.
Williams – who captained Wales in the run-up to the 2015 Rugby World Cup – has been excellent for them, turning back the clock with a series of authoritative displays. Against Benetton in October, he set up two tries, beat four defenders and returned a clean defensive sheet: 11 successful tackles, not a single missed one.
He was also dominant against the Ospreys earlier this month and, four months into the season, he is the only regional player to win two official man of the match awards in 2021-22.
“He’s been one of our most consistent players,” Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel said ahead of the region’s Champions Cup away game against Bordeaux on Sunday.
“When you move to another club sometimes it works for you and you thrive. Scotty suffered a few injuries while at the Ospreys and they didn’t see the best of him.
“He is obviously disappointed from this point of view.
“He was looking forward to coming back and for us it was great to have him back.
“He embodies what we want to be. He loves to put on the jersey and will play hard every day for us. It is also directed. I made him captain several times when Foxy (Jonathan Davies) was unavailable. He has an aura around him that boys want to follow.
“I think he still has a way to go, in all honesty, but from where he was 18 months ago, struggling with injury and bad luck, he seems happy and content.
“I’m happy with what he gave us, on and off the pitch.
“He’s been very good with our young boys.”
Williams has played in five of the Scarlets’ six games this season.
The big injury that ruined his time with the Ospreys was a back problem.
Ahead of the 2019 World Cup, when he showed up for Wales’ extended squad training camp, he reached the point where he could barely bend over. “When Scott first came to camp, he was really struggling with his back,” Warren Gatland said at the time. “He couldn’t bend down to pick up a ball on the ground.”
It speaks volumes for Newcastle player Emlyn’s determination that he came close to claiming a place in Gatland’s squad for the world tournament in Japan.
There were also hamstring and ankle issues to contend with during his time with the Ospreys, as well as the aforementioned shoulder injury.
Some things just aren’t meant to be.
But he has evolved at a high level this season. “The two best players in Welsh rugby this season have been Scott and Jac Morgan of the Ospreys,” said a keen observer of the regional scene. “Scott, in particular, has been outstanding.”
It started well for Williams in his first game in a Scarlets shirt. There was a bit of everything from him against Edinburgh in late September – line-winning runs, delayed passes, softly executed passes, a clean break, a pitch made.
Is he playing well enough now to add to his 58 Welsh caps? Could he be an option for Wayne Pivac when he names his Six Nations squad next week?
“Wayne will have his perspective on Scotty,” Peel said.
“I can only say what I see in him.
“He’s been very good to us. If he fits into Wayne’s game plan, then I support him.
It’s a touching story.
Whether Pivac chooses him next week or not, Williams has shown real character this season, and in rugby there aren’t many more products of value.
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