The six Welsh players once likened to rugby superstars

Speaking after Jordan Williams had signed a new contract this week, Dragons director of rugby Dean Ryan spoke glowingly of one of Welsh rugby’s most naturally gifted players.

He finished off by saying: “Jordan can get even better and we're excited that he will do that as a Dragon in the coming seasons."

Let’s hope Williams does get even better.

It could mean the 28-year-old will become even more of a must-see act than he already is.

Wales' best non-professional team crowned

It’s now nine years since he was likened to a world rugby great by New Zealand legend Sean Fitzpatrick, with the ex-hooker bracketing him with a young Christian Cullen.

Such a comparison can weigh heavily on a young player.

But not always.

Here, we look at what happened to those Welsh players who were hyped with the best as youngsters.

“It's a huge honour to be labelled as the next Terry Holmes. He was a bit before my time, but I understand he was a legend of Welsh rugby and one of our greatest scrum-halves.

“I have got the 'Crowning Years' video at home and he is on that at the end. I've seen it a couple of times, so I've got a bit of an idea of what he was like."My father (Trevor) has been telling me what a great player he was as well and how strong and physical he was.

"I enjoy the physical side of the game and having the ball in hand, so I guess there's a similarity there. But if I can achieve a fraction of what Terry Holmes did, then I'll be overjoyed."

So said Mike Phillips before he had made his Test debut in 2003.

Like Cardiff and Wales legend Holmes, Phillips was unusually big and powerful for a scrum-half. He had already shown the potential to score tries when they were most needed. And he was clearly a huge competitor.

So the Holmes