The Welsh scrum-half suffered the cruel blow after scoring the second of his two tries against Western Force in Perth on Saturday
Tomos Williams has cruelly been ruled out of the rest of the British and Irish Lions’ tour of Australia with the hamstring problem he suffered against Western Force on Saturday.
Williams’ unfortunate injury – all the more cruel given it came after an impressive start to the tour, with the injury coming as he crossed for his second try against the Force – means there is only one Welshman left on the 2025 tour Down Under. Wales captain Jac Morgan, who will start against the Queensland Reds in Brisbane on Wednesday, is now the sole Welsh representative.
Andy Farrell has called in Scotland scrum-half Ben White, who was already in New Zealand with his country, to fill the void left by Williams.
With Ireland scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park having not featured on the first two games of the tour due to injury, Williams had put down an impressive marker to feature in the Tests against Australia.
Having impressed off the bench against Argentina in Dublin, the two-try performance against the Force in Perth showed how well the former Cardiff man could work with likely Test fly-half Finn Russell.
However, the hamstring injury after his second score of the day has cruelly robbed Williams of his Lions Test dreams and Wales of one of its two tourists. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack for the exclusive five-week tour diary from Japan and Australia.
“Unfortunately, Tomos has been ruled out of the rest of the tour with a hamstring injury. Ben White will join us from the Scotland squad and will fly over from New Zealand,” Farrell said after the news was confirmed on Monday morning.
Lions tour manager and former Wales wing Ieuan Evans added: “This is desperately sad news for Tomos and we wish him all the very best in his recovery.
“Tomos is an exemplary Lion who has had a brilliant season, having joined the tour after being named Premiership Rugby’s player-of-the-season. He lit up this Lions tour with his personality and his talent.”
Farrell has received a boost at scrum-half, with Gibson-Park fit to start against the Reds.
He’ll make his first appearance of the tour on Wednesday in Brisbane, with Alex Mitchell once again on the bench – putting him in line to be the only player to feature in all three matches so far.
Lions captain Maro Itoje returns to the second row after not being involved in the 54-7 victory on the weekend, partnering England team-mate Ollie Chessum in the second-row.
Full-back Hugo Keenan makes his first appearance of the tour after recovering from a calf injury, while Finn Russell continues at fly-half having impressed at Optus Stadium.
Having seen Josh van der Flier impress on the weekend, Wales skipper Morgan will have another chance to force his way into the Test team as he packs down alongside Tom Curry and Jack Conan.
Lions team to face Reds on Wednesday: Hugo Keenan; Tommy Freeman, Huw Jones, Bundee Aki, Duhan van der Merwe; Finn Russell, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Ronan Kelleher, Will Stuart, Maro Itoje (captain), Ollie Chessum, Tom Curry, Jac Morgan, Jack Conan.
Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ellis Genge, Finlay Bealham, James Ryan, Ben Earl, Alex Mitchell, Fin Smith, Garry Ringrose.
