Williams headed to the Far East last summer after leaving Gloucester and he is currently ineligible to play for Wayne Pivac’s side.
But the man who was involved in the Welsh squad for the 2020 Guinness Six Nations believes he has unfinished business at international level.
“I definitely would still like to play for Wales. Never say never. It’s about if I get offered a contract back home. It’s down to that as I can’t play anywhere else to play for Wales,” Williams said.
“I was involved in the Six Nations last year. I was due to be involved against Ireland in Dublin, but I tore my hamstring in the warm-up. That would have been my fourth cap.
“I was a bit gutted with that – 20 minutes before kick-off and tearing my hamstring just kicking the ball.
“I think I’d fit in well with how Wayne wants to play, but it’s not down to me.
“I’m not the guy picking the team so we’ll wait and see. I was pretty devastated with the injury at the time. I’d just come back from a knee reconstruction and played four or five games.
“I was going to play against Ireland and then 20 minutes before kick-off, it happened.
“You can’t get much closer to a cap than that. That hit me for six. I was pretty devastated having been out for 10 months before that.
“And then coronavirus kicked in so I haven’t played much rugby in the last 18 months to two years.
“It’s just nice to get that love of the game back and just play rugby again. Playing for Wales is an itch I’d like to scratch, but we’ll just see when.”
Owen Williams passes the ball during Wales training
I was involved in the Six Nations last year. I was due to be involved against Ireland in Dublin, but I tore my hamstring in the warm-up. That would have been my fourth cap
Williams started his career with the Scarlets and went on to have spells in English rugby with Leicester Tigers and Gloucester.
He has three Test caps to his name. His debut came in the win over Tonga in Auckland in the summer of 2017 before he started against both Australia and New Zealand later that year.
Now he is playing in the Japanese Top League and counts TJ Perenara and Makazole Mapimpi as team-mates at the NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes.
“I had a good chat with Wayne before I signed out here. We had a few conversations on the phone. I said I’m going away for a year and we’ll see what happens,” Williams said.
“If I love it here, I could stay. If I get offered a contract, I could go back home. I guess we’ll know more in the next month or so.
“I feel fit. I feel good. My body feels good. There are not many games out here which is nice. You get to get your body in a good condition. It’s a good league as well.
“You’re playing against some of the best players in the world and the Japanese boys are good. You get to test yourself on a regular basis.”
Owen Williams in action against New Zealand in 2017
I had a good chat with Wayne before I signed out here. We had a few conversations on the phone. I said I’m going away for a year and we’ll see what happens
Williams continued: “It’s quite difficult to watch the Wales games live so we usually wake up the next morning and watch them back. I’m just glad for the boys to be honest.
“They’ve had a tough year leading up to this so it’s nice to see them winning with smiles on their faces.
“Wayne said if you leave, you give other people the opportunity and in fairness those boys have taken them. You’ve got Willis Halaholo, Johnny Williams, Jon Davies, George North.
“They’re all very good players. It’s a lot more difficult now and the boys are playing well. If I did get the opportunity to go back, it’s going to be a tough challenge.
“I knew at the time that Hadleigh Parkes was leaving, but you don’t get opportunities like this often in life. I might not get this chance ever again.
“It was the right time for me and my wife to try something different and I think it was the right decision.”
Owen Williams (left) with Louis Rees-Zammit
