Andy Farrell gives tentative update on Lions scrumhalf Tomos Williams

The British & Irish Lions are sweating on the fitness of Tomos Williams after the scrum-half limped off early in the second half of their 54–7 win over the Western Force in Perth.

Williams had been outstanding throughout the opening 40 minutes but appeared to pull up with a hamstring injury shortly after diving over to score his second try of the night in the 47th minute.

The Welshman was immediately replaced by Alex Mitchell and was seen receiving treatment on the sidelines for what looked like a hamstring issue.

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The injury took the shine off what had been a commanding performance from the 30-year-old. The Gloucester man’s sharp support lines, box kicking and quick tempo were a big part of the Lions’ efforts.

From one end to another in NO TIME! ⚡️

Tomos Williams finishes off a flowing Lions counterattack! 😍 pic.twitter.com/qAtHVJx7YB

— Sky Sports (@SkySports) June 28, 2025

Head coach Andy Farrell gave a brief update on Williams in the post-match press conference, saying he was hoping for the best.

“Yeah. Probably [too early to say]. He’s obviously come off holding his hamstring so. There was plenty of cramp last week so let’s hope it’s one of those.”

With Test favourite Jamison Gibson-Park still working his way back from injury, the Lions may be forced to call in Leicester Tigers’ scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet as cover, who has already been involved with preparations prior to the Lions flying out to Perth. Toulon’s Ben White is also currently in New Zealand with Scotland, which could give him a geographic advantage.

“Jamison is fit and ready to go and has been training now fully for the best part of the week, so we’re happy with that. You don’t know until you know, so we’ll only know in the morning. I don’t know what the timings of that are, with the flight. You have to let these things settle down and see what the outcome is, giving it a little bit of space.

“He [Williams] was playing well. And Mitch [Alex Mitchell] did well coming off the bench. There’s a little bit of concern there but you can only deal with what you can deal with in the here and now.”

Losing Williams would certainly be a blow to Farrell, who is already navigating a small but growing list of injury concerns just three weeks out from the first Test against Australia in Brisbane.

“We saw he had an ice-pack on his hamstring,” said centre Sione Tuipulotu following the final whistle. “All of us are hoping it’s not too serious and that he can still be available for us. He played really well today and is a bit of an energy plug. After the season he’s had and getting to know him over the last few weeks, I just really hope it’s anything too serious and he can come back and contribute.”