Wales rugby star's astonishing piece of skill gets 45 million views
Wales scrum-half Tomos Williams' 2019 World Cup moment has become an iconic social media clip in recent times.
The moment took place in a match between Wales and Australia in Japan five years ago, and involves the now-Gloucester Rugby man diving over the touchline and slapping the ball back into play whilst mid-air. With the Wallabies hoping for a lineout in the corner in a tight game, it was a crucial save from the Treorchy man.
Wales went on to win the game 29-25 and Warren Gatland's team won Pool D, making it to the semi-finals, before losing out to eventual winners South Africa.
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The footage of Williams' feat of athletic skill first went completely viral in 2022, racking up millions of views in a three-month period. The footage has resurfaced multiple times over the past two years and has garnered another four million views in the past two weeks on Instagram and TikTok.
Williams was actually a basketball player for Wales at under-16s level, so it's understandable that he would have such a suitable skillset for a moment like this. You can watch the clip below.
Fans have been loving this moment on social media in the past few weeks.
"Incredible skill, and it was at a crucial point of the game," said one.
"For a few seconds the referee was watching him fly, look at his feet! Wonderful save," said another.
Since 2019, he has gone on to become the number one scrum-half for Wales, and earned his 50th international cap against Portugal in the pool stage of the 2023 World Cup in France. He signed for Gloucester from Cardiff Rugby along with former Cardiff team-mate Gareth Anscombe. After failing an initiation at the west country club, the pair have both shaved their heads. You can read more about that here.