Cardiff teen Bowen stays grounded amid Wales talk

Tom Bowen made his Cardiff debut against Cheetahs in the Challenge Cup in December 2024

Tom Bowen may have sparked comparisons with Shane Williams in an impressive start to the season but the teenage Cardiff wing is not getting distracted by talk of a rapid rise with Wales.

The 19-year-old tops the United Rugby Championship (URC) try chart after crossing for a hat-trick at Munster in round two and then scoring a double in Saturday's tense 14-8 win against Connacht.

New head coach Steve Tandy may be considering bringing the Wales Under-20s wing into his senior national squad for games with Argentina, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa next month, but Llantrisant-born Bowen is focused on club duties.

"I am just loving my rugby and I am not going to get carried away with anything," said Bowen, the son of former Scarlets fly-half Gareth.

"I love playing for Cardiff and love putting the jersey on.

"I am just really grateful to be getting the opportunities that I am having. I am staying grounded and just want to play well here."

Shades of Shane Williams

Wales already have one pint-sized player in their back three in Blair Murray and also have Josh Adams, Tom Rogers, Cam Winnett, Keelan Giles, Ellis Mee, Rio Dyer and Josh Hathaway in contention.

However, Bowen - who has crossed the line five times in the URC, made six clean breaks, carried 21 times and beaten five defenders - has shown that he offers something different.

His rapid acceleration and fast feet have led to the link with 2008 world player of the year Williams, who is also 5ft 7ins.

Will Harries and Harry Robinson have previously been cursed by being mentioned in the same breath as Wales' record try scorer but Bowen's exploits make comparisons inevitable.

"When he gets the ball things happen," said team-mate Callum Sheedy. "There are not many players in Wales, or the world, when you can genuinely feel excitement from boys on the pitch and the crowd get excited.

"Those are the X-factor boys who are really special, and he has a good head on his shoulders as well."

The feeling is mutual for Bowen, who will look to take another step forward on Friday against Dragons in the raucous Rodney Parade atmosphere.

Sheedy has set up three of his five tries this season and the fly-half is another who Tandy will watch closely courtesy of Cardiff's encouraging start to the season.

"Sheeds creates the space and he's the assist king," said Bowen. "He reads the game extremely well and suits how we play.

"He's a class act and he leads in the week with the things that people don't see in training and how he talks. He deserves a lot of credit."

Cardiff will attempt to make it 20 wins on the spin against Dragons on Friday when the Rodney Parade club will hunt a first URC victory since the opening day of last season.