Last week’s Guinness Six Nation finale against Scotland marked Lloyd Williams’ return to the international stage - four years after winning his 28th international cap against Japan in 2016 - but the scrum half refused to give up hope of wearing the famous red jersey once again.
It was a whirlwind build-up for the 30 year old, who received the call-up to Wayne Pivac’s squad as preparations were heating up for Cardiff Blues’ Guinness PRO14 encounter against Munster.
And while Williams arrived in camp ready to taste life under Pivac’s coaching team for the first tiem, he instantly felt at home.
“It was a bit out of the blue, and I was kind of on my way to Cork at the time, but it’s been great to join up with the squad and everyone has been very welcoming,” said the 29-times capped international.
“I’d never given up hope of playing for Wales again. It’s remained a goal of mine and will continue to be as long as I’m playing.
“Cardiff Blues have been going well and with Webby getting injured, unfortunately for him, there was room for me to come back in and try to work hard.
“It came as a bit of a surprise because I wasn’t aware of any injuries from the game against France.
“So it was a bit of a shock in that sense, but I’m always optimistic and always try to play as best as I can, so if something does happen I’m knocking on the door.
“You always try to give it your best on the field for the region and that will give you the best chance for an opportunity.
“It would be great to win some more caps over the coming weeks, but as it stands we haven’t got a match this weekend and we’re just focusing on reviewing the Scotland match and putting things right.
“There’s a lot of faces that I still recognise around the place and a lot of boys that I knew from previous experiences in camp, and a few new ones which is great.
“Everyone’s really positive and there are small changes, more with how Stephen and Wayne want to implement their game-plan, which is great.
“Cardiff Blues got off to a good start, which helps as it always makes the number nine’s job easier. That went well for me and resulted in some decent performances which I was happy with.
“But I was more pleased that we got off to a good start as a team, which always helps.
“Now I’m looking to improve on that and carry things on and better my game.”
As Williams was picking up his 29th cap, his regional team-mate, Shane Lewis-Hughes was winning his first.
The scrum half revealed that, while there was a bitter feeling in the changing following the defeat, it was nice to celebrate the individual achievements of Lewis-Hughes and captain Alun Wyn Jones, who broke the men’s world record for most Test caps.
“It’s been a tough week of training as we try to rectify some of the things that didn’t go quite so well for us,” added the Welsh international.
“The boys were obviously disappointed because they lost and it’s always tough to take, especially straight after a game.
“On the flip side, it was quite special to be there to see Alun receiving his gift that the Union had given him for his efforts of reaching 149 caps.
“It was also nice to see a team-mate of mine, Shane Lewis-Hughes, receiving his first cap.
“So everyone was down by the fact that we’d lost but it was nice to have a little positive spin. It was a nice touch.
“But in an ideal world we’d be winning and there would smiles on faces.
“Now we’re constantly looking to review Scotland. It’s tough to get going when the ball is slowed down like that.
“But we’re trying to improve all aspects which is quite good. Everyone this week is seeing it as a real opportunity to train hard.
“There’s no one area that needs working on. It’s a bit of everything, which I think is important as you’re not neglecting any part of the game.”