The British and Irish Lions face an anxious wait over the fitness of Tomos Williams after the Wales scrumhalf limped off in their 54-7 rout of Western Force.
Williams sustained an injury to his left hamstring during the act of scoring the second of his two tries early in the second half at Optus Stadium in Perth, ending another impressive performance for the Lions that was propelling him into Test contention.
While the extent of the damage is not yet known, it creates pressure on the tourists’ halfback stocks with Jamison Gibson-Park yet to make his first appearance on tour due to a glute problem.
Gibson-Park is expected to make his comeback against the Reds in Brisbane on Wednesday but with Williams struggling and Alex Mitchell facing the prospect of playing in a third consecutive game, head coach Andy Farrell may be forced to call up a reinforcement.
“Tomos has come off holding his hamstring. There was plenty of cramp last week, let’s hope it is one of those,” Farrell said.
“Jamison is fit and ready to go and has been training fully for the best part of a week so we’re happy with that but you don’t know until you know and we will only know in the morning.
“You have to let these things settle down and see what the outcome is and give it a little bit of space.
“Tomos was playing well and I’m sure there is a bit of concern there, but you can only deal with the here and now so fingers crossed.”
Ben White is currently on tour in New Zealand with Scotland and would be an obvious solution should Williams be ruled out for any length of time.
When asked about White, Farrell said: “We need to talk about that and make the right call for the group.”
Joe McCarthy was named man of the match but the eight-try demolition in the first outing on Australian soil also saw eye-catching displays from Mack Hansen, James Lowe, Elliot Daly, Finn Russell and Henry Pollock.
All sides of Pollock were on show as the Lions’ youngest tourist at 20-years-old used his athleticism and awareness to set up Williams’s first try and almost scored one himself, while also providing the spark for a confrontation between the sides and being sent to the sinbin for a ruck infringement.
“Henry got a yellow card because of repeated infringements – which was fair enough – but you also saw his point of difference, that’s for sure,” Farrell said.
Pollock received strong praise from Dan Sheehan, the Ireland hooker who was captaining the Lions on his debut for the tourists, but there was also a reminder that the team comes first.
“Henry was brilliant. He does his own thing and plays his own way, which is different to a lot of the forwards,” Sheehan said.
“I enjoy that kind of rugby – off the cuff, see what’s in front of you and make it happen. With his skill set and speed he can certainly make it happen.
“It’s just about trying to make sure he’s doing the right thing for the team all the time.”
