Bradley Davies prepared to line up in the centre amid Welsh injury crisis

Scott Williams and Hallam Amos will play no further part in the Rugby World Cup after sustaining injuries in Wales’ smash and grab 28-25 win over England at Twickenham on Saturday adding to Warren Gatland’s growing woes.

The Kiwi had already lost one of the best scrum-halfs on the planet in Rhys Webb as well as the ever-reliable Leigh Halfpenny in a disastrous warm-up match against Italy before the tournament and must now face Fiji without star fullback Liam Williams who is ruled out with concussion.

It’s a game that will shape England’s group, but Davies will have to wait for his moment to shine in the midfield after Gatland called up Gareth Anscombe and James Hook today.

Talking after his country’s win on Saturday, the lock said: “Well apparently I’m in the centre on Fiji.

“No, it’s part and parcel of the game now and hopefully we can get them patched up.

“If that means we can patch the boys up and maybe they don’t train as much as we’d like to then maybe we’ll have to.”

Llantrisant product Davies admitted being written off by so many before the game fuelled the team’s motivation and said: “Nobody gave us a chance really because everyone was on about the injuries.

“We didn’t mention it.

“That’s how we like it. Backs against the walls and we showed if we stuck at it we could pull it off.

“We didn’t have the best start giving points away and a soft try, but the spirit in the group is huge and Gatland always tells us never to give up.

“We dug in and we know we can score from anywehgere.

“We scored an unbelievable try in my view thanks to a great kick from Lloyd and it was an unreal pick-up by Gareth Davies and we put the pressure back on them.

“Not many people gave us a chance at Twickenham, so at least Thursday will be on our home patch at a packed Millennium and hopefully the crowd can pull us through.”

As well as hinting his own positional change, joker Davies – whose first act after entering the press area was to attempt to pull James Haskell’s trousers down mid-interview – had some advice for his team-mates too.

He said: “Lloyd carved up when he came on with an unbelievable kick to set up the try – so maybe he should play on the wing.”

His workmanlike performance may not have reaped rewards in the set piece, but he was instrumental in Wales’ defensive mauls and managed a lung-busting surge up field late in the first half.

He said: “The driving lineout is just such a big part of the game these days.

“We work very hard at it and we’ve got a very competitive squad.

“Once the team is named, the boys who aren’t playing put us under a lot of pressure and we take that over into the game.

“We pride ourselves on that.

“The scrum didn’t go as well as we’d have hoped, but it all comes down to interpretation really.

“We thought they were cheating, they thought we were cheating – so it’s whoever can get the ref on their side.”

Trailing at 16-9 at half time, the lock told The Argus the message was simple.

“Just stick at it,” he said.

“We kept giving soft penalties away around the halfway line so we knew we just needed to keep hold of the ball.

“If we did that, we knew we’d threaten them and that proved to be the case.

“Once we got that try, the swing of momentum went in our favour and we saw it out.

“In the past we’ve been leading against big teams and just fallen away, but it’s something we’ve talked about in the last 18 months, so it was great to pull through.”

There were an estimated 20,000 Welsh fans inside Twickenham on Saturday, compared to roughly the 4,000 that would be in the stands for a Six Nations game, which Davies admitted gave the team a huge lift.

He said: “It was unreal.

“From the hotel to driving in and seeing all the red shirt and then walking out there with the lights off – it was a great occasion.

“I’ve never won here before, so it’s a lovely feeling.”

He’s not short of support – and ribbing – at home either.

A product of Llantrisant RFC, he admitted plenty of motivation comes from wanting to do the people in his home town proud.

The Black Army boy said: “I’ve had a couple of texts from my brother and my father about the support back home, which is much appreciated.

“I’m glad we won, because if we lost I couldn’t have put my head back in there really.

“It’s a great place, it’s my roots and I never forget where I’m from.

“I love all the boys down there and their support is awesome.”