2. Kemsley Mathias – Scarlets
Loosehead prop Kemsley Mathias is a powering presence in the Scarlets front row. A strong scrummager on the left side of the pack, Mathias is also a hard-working ball carrier in the loose, who digs deep to make the hard yards. The 24-year-old made his Scarlets breakthrough in the 2020/21 Pro14 season, as he made six appearances off-the-bench to hone his craft.
Mathias grabbed his first Scarlets try in a tough defeat to Ulster, and built on this momentum with his first starts for the Llanelli club in the 2021/22 campaign. However the front-rower really came into his own last season, and established his presence in the Scarlets pack. He made 18 appearances across the URC and Challenge Cup, and started in 12 of them.
Mathias was apart of the same Wales U20s set up as Joe Roberts, however the prop featured far more than his co-debutant teammate. Mathias made nine appearances for the Wales U20s, as he starred in the 2018 U20s Six Nations and 2019 U20s Championship. The prop is a stacked front-rower at 121kgs, and is ready to mix it up against Kyle Sinckler, Dan Cole or Will Stuart on the England tight-head.
3. Kieran Williams – Ospreys
Ospreys centre Kieran Williams has had to bide his time for a Wales call-up, as the 26-year-old has battled against a fierce pecking order to get this shot. With the upcoming departure of former Ospreys teammate Gareth Anscombe to Suntory Sungoliath in Japan after the Rugby World Cup, the door will open up for Williams (and Joe Roberts) for an extended run in the Welsh midfield for the 2024 Six Nations.
Williams will be chomping at the bit to come on for his debut, and he could well replace fellow debutant Roberts in the centre channel. However, the Ospreys man is better equipped to the inside centre shirt, so could well form a debut-partnership with Roberts outside of him in the latter stages at Twickenham. Williams’ debut for the Swansea side came in the 2017/18 Pro 14 against Zebre, before he followed this up with two more appearances that year in the Anglo-Welsh Cup.
Williams has scored 11 tries throughout his Ospreys career, with his best try-scoring season coming in the 2020/21 campaign. Williams dotted down for five tries, across 18 matches in the Pro 14, Rainbow Cup and Challenge Cup. His latest season at the Liberty Stadium saw him start 11 out of 12 matches, and grab three tries for the South Wales side.
