Peter Jackson: Watch out England, Wales find new Cullen

Sean Fitzpatrick caught a glimpse of the slight figure slicing through the muscle-bound Springboks and a famous name sprang to mind: Christian Cullen. The object of the celebrated New Zealander’s admiration, a teenager by the name of Jordan Williams, lines up on a field in Brittany this afternoon for Wales against England in the Junior World Championship final – a tournament hitherto monopolised by the baby All Blacks and the young Springboks.
Williams, no doubt, will be surprised to be spoken of in the same breath as a player whose advent in the mid-Nineties changed the concept of the full-back, not simply from the last line of defence to the first point of attack, but with the Olympian pace which he brought to the game.
Any comparison to Cullen has to be kept in an historical perspective. At 20, the Kiwi scored a hat-trick of tries in his first Test, against Samoa, and four in his second, against Scotland.
At 19, Williams has been limited to two appearances for the Scarlets in the Pro12, marking his debut as an 18-year-old against Connacht last September with two tries. And yet there could be no denying that in putting Wales into their first final, he displayed the electrifying quality which made Fitzpatrick think of Cullen.
Like the rest of the most successful Welsh U20s of all, Williams will have more than enough on his plate to eliminate any danger of his being the least bit distracted by the most flattering of compliments. If Wales are to trump England’s power, something which they singularly failed to do at Colwyn Bay last March when a Welsh Grand Slam was up for grabs, they will be counting on the Llanelli teenager to have the usual stack of aces up his sleeve.
When Wales needed something special to avert the imminent hard-luck story of losing to an inferior South African team, Williams provided it as befitting a broken-field runner of rare ability. His huge centre-field break unhinged the holders and created the platform for Sam Davies’ perfectly weighted punt for Ospreys wing Ashley Evans to complete the holders’ last-minute knock-out.
It ensured that both teams got what they deserved. England having duly reached their first final by denying New Zealand their sixth since the event began six seasons ago, Wales will meet a familiar foe today in the small Breton town of Vannes.
They will meet an even more familiar one in the back row. Ross Moriarty, born in St Helens but raised in Swansea, is a real chip off two mighty blocks. His father Paul and uncle Richard were in the same pack when Wales sent England packing from the inaugural World Cup in Australia more than a quarter of a century ago.
Ross Moriarty personifies the size of the challenge facing Wales. At 6ft 3in, almost 16st and still growing at 19, he is already a big unit – a back row forward who brings a bristling aggression to the natural power of his game.
England came across him when he made a game-changing entry into an academy match for Gloucester against Newcastle last season. As soon as they learned that the Welsh international’s son was eligible for England, the word reached those in charge of recruitment at Twickenham.
Moriarty Jnr gave it his blessing. A student at Hartpury College, arguably the most productive of all English nurseries, it seemed a natural progression. His father, who also happens to be Gloucester’s defence coach, backed him all the way.
Gloucester’s interest in the biggest Anglo-Welsh junior showdown extends beyond the Moriaritys to another father-son combination. Who should be pulling the strings for Wales at fly-half but Sam Davies whose father Nigel left the Scarlets last year to take over as director of rugby at Kingsholm.
There will be no sitting on the fence, least of all for Moriarty Snr. He will be supporting his son and England every step of the way.