Tomos Williams says the Cardiff crowd give Wales confidence as they look to bounce back from last week’s defeat to New Zealand when they host world champions, South Africa, on Saturday.
A clinical display, spearheaded by player of the match Beauden Barrett on his 100th appearance, saw the All Blacks running away with an impressive victory on the opening weekend of the Autumn Nations Series.
However, the match also saw the return of a full Principality Stadium crowd for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
Williams, who was given the nod at number nine against the All Blacks, says the home support give Wales a boost as they now turn their focus to the physical challenge imposed by the Springboks.
“We’ve got to be confident at home, especially after the weekend because the crowd were unbelievable,” said the Welsh international.
“The boys are really happy to be back in front of the crowd so hopefully we can make that work in our favour on the weekend.
“But we’ve got to move on pretty quickly. The best thing to do is take the positives from the game and turn our focus to South Africa this week.
“It’s obviously another big game and we’ll turn our attention to South Africa now.
“Recently, a lot of teams know what’s to come from South Africa - they’ll be physical and will have a big kicking game.
“We’ve got to deal with that and hopefully front up physically.
“We want to keep the ball in hand a bit, but obviously there’s times where you’ll need to kick so it will be about getting the balance right.
“Saturday was a good lesson for us and was a big step up in terms of intensity and speed. So hopefully that experience will be good for us this coming Saturday.
“South Africa will be physical, there’s no ifs or buts about that, but we’re confident that we can match that in the pack. I’m sure the boys will be good to go.”
Cardiff academy product, Williams, is competing with the likes of Gareth Davies and Kieran Hardy for the number nine jersey in Wayne Pivac’s squad.
However, he insists he’s fully focused on his own performances, rather than going out to prove a point, as he looks to keep hold of the starting spot.
Williams added: “I’m not going out looking to prove any points, it’s about focusing on my own game and focusing on going well.
“I want to play my best and just enjoy it. Wayne has spoken about selecting players who want to play at tempo and at speed so I’m enjoying it at the moment.
“Everyone wants to start, obviously, but there’s really good competition here.
“Kieran and Gareth are both quality nines, so my focus is all on enjoying myself and playing the best I can.
“I’ve had a couple of injuries so I’m hoping to stay fit and if I can manage that then the performances will be better.”
Cardiff Rugby have tickets available across a number of categories as Wales welcome world champions, South Africa, to Principality Stadium on Saturday. For more information, get in touch with our ticket office on 029 20 30 20 30 or by e-mailing [email protected]
You can also join us on matchday at Cardiff Arms Park for the Guinness Fan Zone! All four of the autumn matches - including England v Tonga and France v Argentina - will be screened live. Entrance is FREE all day (18+) with no bookings required*, so you can enjoy live music, live rugby and plenty of food and drink.
* Covid Pass or Negative Lateral Flow Test will be required for entry.