Andy Farrell may well need to call up a nine as cover
The Lions are sweating on the fitness of Wales scrum-half Tomos Williams after he sustained a hamstring injury in the 54-7 win against Western Force.
Williams is one of just two Welsh players in Andy Farrell’s squad and immediately clutched the back of his leg after acrobatically scoring the second of his two tries in the corner.
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The Gallagher Premiership Player of the Year with Gloucester, Williams produced another impressive display before he hobbled off in the 48th minute.
With the Lions’ next match in Brisbane on Wednesday against the Queensland Reds, Farrell could be left short at No 9 with Marcus Smith potentially having t0 cover the position. Jamison Gibson-Park is yet to make his Lions debut after sustaining a minor glue strain but is now fully fit.
Farrell said: “Jamison is fit and ready to go and has been training fully for the best part of a week. We are happy with that but you don’t know until you and we will only know in the morning. I don’t know what the timings are of that, with the flights, but you have to let these things settle down and give it a little bit of space.
“I haven’t got a clue. There is always something that is going to happen you are not quite sure about, that is the nature of the tour.
When Gibson-Park was laid low in Dublin, Farrell called upon the services of Leicester’s Jack van Poortvliet as cover but he is now in Argentina with Steve Borthwick’s England and could face up to a 30-hour journey which would put his ability to play against the Reds in serious doubt.
From one end to another in NO TIME! ⚡️
Tomos Williams finishes off a flowing Lions counterattack! 😍 pic.twitter.com/qAtHVJx7YB
— Sky Sports (@SkySports) June 28, 2025
Toulon’s Ben White has arrived in Auckland with Scotland and therefore is a very convenient four-hour hop across the Tasman away if needed.
Pressed on whether White may be called upon, coach Farrell remained coy, saying: “We need to talk about that and assess that and make the right call for the group.”
Asked about how Williams was after what could potentially be a tour-ending injury, Farrell added: “He was playing well and I am sure there is a bit of concern there but you can only deal with the here and now so fingers crossed.”
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