Over five million people have seen Rhys Williams’ stunning try for Salford against Toronto at weekend - but most have no idea who he is.
That’s because social media accounts picked up on the brilliant 80-metre effort and compared the Welsh international to Liverpool star Mo Salah, claiming he had been busy on his winter break.
But Williams - the all-time record try scorer for Wales - has no issues with the comparisons, despite being a Manchester United fan.
He said: “It’s been a very strange few days, my phone has been lit up all week.
“I started getting the Mo Salah comments when I grew my hair at London Broncos last year so that’s nothing new. Last season I could hear Blake Austin at Warrington calling me Mo on the field.
“It had died down a bit with the lads, but now it’s gone right up again. It was great for the club to get some exposure from it all.”
That included a cheeky tweet from rival code bosses World Rugby suggesting he could feature in their 2023 World Cup.
Williams added: “Elliot Kear’s old man Gaz (Wales Rugby League chief executive Gareth) fired into them a bit for that! But exposure is exposure and the main thing for me was doing my bit for the team and helping to get the win.”
The try itself saw Williams field a Toronto kick-off inside his own 20-metre line, throw a big dummy and then sprint around Wolfpack full-back Gary Wheeler to score.
Williams explained: “It was a little bit strange because you don’t usually break through from a kick-off.
“It was a very windy day so I probably took the ball 20 metres further up field than normal, and because of that I wasn’t sure where Seb (Ikahihifo) was.
“So I threw a dummy and broke through, and because I was already upfield I expected Joey Lussick to be on my shoulder. But I think he was stuck in the mud a few metres back so I decided to go for it on the outside and managed to get there.”
Williams has made an immediate impression at last year’s Grand Finalists despite facing considerable competition for his place, and is now focused on Friday’s clash with Huddersfield.
He added: “Last week was a good start for how we want to play this season - now we need to take it up a few gears against Huddersfield.”
