Saracens head coach Joe Shaw has hailed new signing Tomos Williams as 'world-class' after the Wales scrum-half delivered a player of the match performance on his competitive debut for the club.
A thrilling Prem Rugby clash at Welford Road saw Williams help his side to a 40-38 victory over Leicester Tigers, delivering a masterclass in game management in a contest that saw Saracens repeatedly forced to adjust their plans due to injury.
Debut masterclass
His quick-thinking and speed of passing saw him play a role in his team's opening four tries, with a superb pass sending Ben Earl over for the bonus point early in the second half. Williams was named the player of the match at the full-time whistle, with former England international Ugo Monye singling him out for his performance.
"The player that stood out in terms of game management is the guy on debut today, Tomos Williams," he said on punditry for TNT Sports. "I thought he was sensational."
Heaping more praise on the Welshman, Shaw said that the scrum-half's quality performance came after a short pre-season campaign and believes they have "just scraped the surface" of what he can offer the team.
"Considering he's only just come to a new team, and had to learn everything pretty quickly, in such a difficult position, it just shows you what his class is," he told TNT Sports. "Going forward, going backwards, and just how calm he is on the field. He's a massive addition for us."
Hamer-Webb states his case
Williams wasn't the only player who caught the eye during the thriller between Saracens and Leicester, with a hat-trick from Wales international Gabriel Hamer-Webb proving to be in vain for the Tigers as they fell to defeat.
The wing made his international debut in the Six Nations earlier this year but was left out of Steve Tandy's final plans for the summer Nations Championship campaign, having been named in the initial extended 45-man squad. However, with the autumn fixtures fast approaching, Hamer-Webb couldn't have done much more to state his case for a recall in the opening game as he crossed for three tries at Welford Road.
His compatriot Aaron Wainwright was equally as impressive as he enjoyed a barnstorming debut for the Tigers, playing a part in the build-up to two of Hamer-Webb's tries.
Thriller at Welford Road
An enticing heavyweight clash saw the visiting Saracens withstand losing back rower Nick Isiekwe to a 20-minute red card in the second half to come out the right side of the 38-40 scoreline.
Saracens had the game's first try in just the second minute when Billy Searle was unable to cut out Williams' pass close to his own line, allowing Juan Martin Gonzalez to saunter in. The visitors' early dominance saw them add a second score before 10 minutes had been played when Fergus Burke threw a superb long pass that gave right wing Tobias Elliott a walk-in.
Leicester were back in business when Solomone Kata picked up a Searle pass that went to ground before stepping into acres of space to score the hosts' opening try. The gap was closed further in the 27th minute when Freddie Steward's off-load released Hamer-Webb to go over in the corner, with Searle's missed conversion meaning Saracens still led by two points.
They went more than one score clear again when Elliot Daly – now on the left wing after starting at full-back and having a stint at outside centre – went over following a break from Max Malins. Burke's conversion gave his side a 21-12 lead at half-time, but Leicester renewed their hopes again when Finn Carnduff's pass put Hamer-Webb in the clear for his second try of the afternoon.
Sarries briefly pulled clear once more when Ben Earl powered over close to the posts, but Hamer-Webb completed his hat-trick in the 51st minute when he galloped away off Wainwright's pass. Three minutes later, the Tigers were in front for the first time when Adam Radwan grounded the ball off Jack van Poortvliet's superb chip over the Saracens defence.
To make matters worse for the away side, they lost Isiekwe to a 20-minute red card for recklessly making head-on-head contact with Steward several phases before Radwan's score. Despite being down to 14 men, Saracens led again with just over an hour played when Segun got on the end of Daly's pinpoint cross-field kick.
Leicester were then back in front when replacement James Thompson blasted his way over from close range, only for momentum to shift yet again in the closing stages. Following a yellow card for Leicester's replacement loosehead Tarek Haffar, Malins' pass allowed Segun to slide in for what was the winning score with seven minutes remaining.
Lake impresses for Gloucester
Former Wales captain Sam Warburton has heaped praise on Gloucester duo Dewi Lake and Jac Morgan after they made an instant impact on their Prem debuts on Saturday. The Welsh internationals - who were named captain and vice captain respectively following their move to Kingsholm from the Ospreys - got off to a superb start in English rugby as they helped their new team to a 45-24 win over Exeter Chiefs.
In less than an hour on the field, Lake scored two tries and made 16 carries, 12 tackles and two turnovers, while Morgan worked relentlessly across the entire 80 minutes, with his tally of 20 tackles more than any other player on the pitch. Both men were nominated for the player of the match award, with Lake scooping it, but Warburton was not surprised to see them make an instant impact in English rugby.
"You get the leadership from both, they've both captained their international side," he said. "Jac is obviously a Test player, we all know what Jac is about. He was showing his work on the ground, getting two or three turnovers on the weekend."
"Watching Gloucester, I just looked at their front five and thought they needed a bit more nasty up front. You have to have that in your pack, and Dewi brings that. He's a lovely man off the field, he's brilliant and he screamed to me Wales captain when I first met him, going back six years ago," Warburton added. "He's aggressive in the tackle, he's aggressive in the carry and he's exactly what Gloucester need and he made an immediate impact."
Former England international Austin Healey remarked that Gloucester look transformed with Lake and Morgan in the squad, as he said: "They look like a completely different team to the one we saw last season, both sides of the ball. Their physicality, their decision-making and their ability out wide to finish... I know it's one game in and an early call, but they look like a serious top four threat with those two boys."
