The Welsh wildcard who has turned heads and earned a shock place in the EURO 2020 squad
Cardiff, Wales. 5th June 2021. Rubin Colwill of Wales during the warm up Wales v Albania friendly at the Cardiff City Stadium on the 5th June 2021. Credit: Lewis Mitchell/YCPD.
Fresh off the back of an exciting breakthrough season which saw him debut for the Cardiff City first team and win the club’s Academy Player of the Year award, Rubin Colwill’s efforts were rewarded with a place in Robert Page’s 26-man squad for EURO 2020.
Colwill had been selected in the provisional squad and rubbed shoulders with the likes of Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey, where he evidently made a lasting impression and did enough to warrant a seat on the plane to Baku.
“He’s been a breath of fresh air since he’s come in,” beamed Page, who is taking the reins of his first International tournament later this month.
“He just blew us all away with how he was and how he conducted himself. He’s a top professional already and a great lad to have around the place.
“He’s really impressed me. He’s got a presence and maybe something we’ve not got in the middle of the park.”
How may Colwill define this year so far? A whirlwind would be fitting, you feel. His season began in the most unfortunate fashion as he featured on the bench in a 5-1 defeat to Swansea City’s U23s, but those words epitomise the upwards trajectory he has been on since.
His debut for the Welsh U21s didn’t come until March, where he came on for the final ten minutes against the Republic of Ireland. And he hadn’t made his professional bow until February at home to Coventry, which came shortly after new boss Mick McCarthy’s public admiration.
“He looks like a bloke!” said McCarthy.
“He stood out like a sore thumb. He’s a really good presence. A big, powerful lad. But technically very good.”
That seemed to mirror what had been said by viewers of Cardiff’s U23 fixtures, with Colwill captivating to great extent during his various showings with Steve Morison’s side. He had danced, dazzled and destroyed, standing head and shoulders over teammates and opponents not only due to his stature, but also because of his quality. That resulted in unified outcries for a first team runout.
Colwill went on to make further cameo appearances against Derby and Nottingham forest before his big break, in a proverbial dead rubber affair at home to Wycombe. Whilst the game itself had nothing riding on it- well, for Cardiff at least, an aura of eager anticipation swarmed the air.
Here, City supporters could see what he was really about. It was his time to shine.
It took barely two minutes for Colwill to impress.dovetailed superbly with winger Josh Murphy, frequently combining and exploiting space to carve out a host of chances in the final third. To the joy of audiences, he embarked on his powerful upfield drives on more than one occasion, optimising his speed, dribbling and power to blitz past helpless Wycombe defenders.
Colwill lasted 62 minutes until he was replaced by fellow Welsh International Jonny Williams, but by that point, the Bluebirds faithful were in awe. His name dominated the social media feeds that day and Cardiff knew they had a star on their hands.
Cardiff had seen their brief playoff aspirations dissipate by that stage of the campaign, opening the door for youngsters like Colwill to come in and make a name for themselves. He would promptly start the final two matches against Birmingham and Rotherham.
The Neath native is set to be a part of McCarthy’s plans next term as Cardiff eye up a top six place, and with mercurial midfielder Harry Wilson returning to Liverpool, there could well be the scope for further opportunities in the future.
Many will be hoping that his ascendancy will pave the way for a number of talented youngsters in the Welsh Capital- Colwill stands to embody the philosophy that has been implemented, placing an increased onus on trusting in the youth and bridging the gap between age group and senior football. The likes of Kieron Evans, Isaak Davies and Sam Bowen have all appeared in matchday squads and undoubtedly will be angling to test themselves in the Championship before long.
His shock inclusion has caused a divide amongst Welsh fans. Some possess a school of thought that a senior callup has come too early for a player with such limited experience, however, he has clearly impressed the right people wherever he has been and has had to work hard for it, too.
Now, he has the chance to show the world what everyone in the Welsh Capital is already so assured of.
