Roberts targets debut success

Jamie Roberts is set to follow in the footsteps of JPR Williams - Wales' most famous flying doctor - when he makes his Test debut against Scotland on Saturday.

Roberts, who is in the third year of a medicine degree at the University of Wales, was named on the wing in a side featuring three changes from last weekend's victory over England.

"If I could aspire to be anything like he was, it would be huge," Roberts said.

The 21-year-old will start at right wing but new coach Warren Gatland views him as a long-term full-back option - the same position from which Williams wreaked such havoc in the 1970s.

Williams, who is now an orthopaedic surgeon in Bridgend, won three Grand Slams with Wales and series against New Zealand and South Africa with the Lions.

Roberts has less than a season of top-flight rugby under his belt with the Cardiff Blues but his power and running skills quickly caught Gatland's eye.

"I have been impressed by his form with the Blues, he is a big physical man and he has a good kicking game," said Gatland.

"You can play as lightly different game with someone like Jamie. His ball-carrying has impressed me, he has run nice lines and he is strong in contact."

For Roberts, who stands 6ft 4in tall and weighs just under 17 stone, it has been a rapid rise from full-time medical student, part-time rugby player to a Wales international.

"It is crazy to think that last year I was down the pub with the boys watching the Wales games - and I will be involved on Saturday," said Roberts. "Last weekend was special for the whole nation. I was carrying the water and I had a tear in my eye as I looked around the stadium and dreamed I could be part of the Wales team."