Tomos Williams is counting down the minutes until his long-awaited Wales debut in Saturday’s clash with South Africa.

The Cardiff Blues scrum-half will collect his first cap at Washington DC’s RFK Stadium tomorrow night following a fine season in regional rugby.

A first start for his country has been a long time coming for Williams, who toured with Wales last summer but missed out on game time against Samoa and Tonga.

But his experiences of being in an around the Wales senior squad just made him more determined to take the big step up to Test match rugby.

“I’m really looking forward to it, ever since I heard I was starting, I’ve been looking forward to it and I can’t wait,” said Williams.

“It was pretty tough conditions out there but it was a great learning experience. I wouldn’t wish it any different, I’m glad to get my first cap here and I’m glad it’s against South Africa.

“You just have to look forward, you can’t think about things like that, thankfully I’ve been given a chance and hopefully I can show what I can do.

“Every boy playing rugby growing up wants to play for Wales, I can’t wait. It’s going to be an exciting moment and I can’t wait for it.”

Williams’ selection follows a string of electric performances for Cardiff Blues that culminated in their famous European Rugby Challenge Cup triumph against Gloucester.

It was his try which kick-started the comeback as he combined with half-back partner Gareth Anscombe and displayed formidable footballing skills.

The pair will link-up against the experimental Springboks this weekend, and Williams is glad to have a familiar face at his side.

He said: “There are a few new faces in the team so there is a little bit of inexperience there, but having Gareth alongside me is great because he’s a quality player and hopefully we can play well together. The team has been playing well so that has really helped me as an individual.”