Tomos Williams: Gloucester's scrum-halves can learn from Wales international says head coach

Gloucester-bound Tomos Williams has been Cardiff's standout performer this season

Gloucester's scrum-halves have "a great opportunity to learn" from Wales' Tomos Williams when he joins this summer, said head coach George Skivington.

The 28-year-old number nine confirmed last week he will leave Cardiff Rugby for the Premiership side next season.

The two-times Six Nations winner was part of the Wales squad that reached the last eight of the World Cup.

Gloucester currently have three scrum-halves in Stephen Varney, Charlie Chapman and Caolan Englefield.

"We've got some very talented young nines but it's great for our young nines to have a real senior nine to come in and look up to and also great for us to know he'll be playing in a Gloucester jersey next year," Skivington told BBC Radio Gloucestershire.

"There's three young nines here that are all very good players and all slightly different and they're all [going] toe-to-toe and battle it out but I think Tomos coming in gives them a great opportunity to learn.

"Their mission, their objective, has got to be to try and push him out of the team and get the shirt, but I think having someone of that level come in will really give them some great learnings," he added.

Italy's Stephen Varney has played in 10 matches for Gloucester since returning from the World Cup

The signing of Williams is a "massive" coup for Gloucester, Skivington said, and comes in a position in which they have been looking to strengthen.

Italy international Varney has typically been first-choice for the Cherry and Whites, but Skivington has been rotating 25-year-old Chapman and Englefield, 24, who has just returned from injury, in recent weeks.

The experienced Micky Young was also signed from Newcastle on a season-long deal to provide cover.

"I think there's only [Antoine] Dupont who beats him on a lot of the stats around the world. Tomos is a class player," Skivington said.

"He's been unbelievable for Cardiff this season so far, he's got a huge track record at international level, he's a very accomplished nine. A very humble guy, very down to earth but extremely hard-working and a good leader."

Fine margins

Gloucester are currently enduring their worst-ever run of results in the Premiership, having fallen to their ninth consecutive defeat against Bath on Sunday.

However, their last three defeats have all been by small margins and have seen them lose by two, six and seven points.

They return to European action this weekend in the Challenge Cup and take their unbeaten record from their first two matches in the competition on the road to Edinburgh.

"I think we've represented ourselves very well over the last five weeks but we want to win and we want to get stuck in. Edinburgh gives us a good challenge," Skivington - who will be taking charge of the England A side against Portugal in February - said.

"We're aware that our game is getting better and better week-by-week at the moment but it's not quite there enough that we've got the win, so the focus has to be on us, on sharpening ourselves up.

"There were a couple of instances in that Bath game where we think if we got right we'd have won the game so from that point of view we have to get those right, we've got to stick to the plan for 80 minutes, that has to be our focus," added Skivington.