Rubin Colwill is becoming the player we all hoped he would be

It’s taken Rubin Colwill a long time to become an overnight sensation, but maybe he has finally arrived.

Having made his senior debut almost exactly three years ago, there has been a lot of stopping and starting between then and now. Much has been made of his growth, both literally and figuratively, but growing pains and fitness concerns have blighted his development. With a full pre-season under his belt and a sustained spell of fitness, Colwill has grown into his body and now it’s time for him to grow into the player we all hoped he would become.

Growing pains withstanding, Colwill hasn’t exactly benefitted from stability during this time either. Even by Cardiff’s standards, the Colwill years have been a period of flux. Mick McCarthy took a shine to him and accelerated his progress, but a further four managers followed before Erol Bulut’s arrival. This upheaval is undoubtedly harder for younger players, who are still establishing a reputation and trying to find their feet. Colwill could easily have fallen between the cracks and tumbled down the divisions.

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All of the managers Colwill has played under appear to have rated him, but not all of them appeared to know exactly what to do with him and how best to utilise him. He can appear a bit of a walking contradiction at times. A big lad, but not especially physical and very good with his feet. The talent is evident and abundant though and has seen him already travel to a World Cup and European Championships with Wales.

Colwill is a born number 10, but Cardiff have often not played with one, so he ends up shunted out on the wing, where he’s criticised for his lack of tracking back. Not all players have the stamina and selflessness to do what Karlan Grant does, chasing up and down the wing, when he would rather be troubling the opponents box.

This is where Colwill has sometimes come up short. He is not an instinctive grafter and not all players are. Off the ball, he often needs to be cajoled and reminded of his defensive duties, but you learn that with match experience and coaching stability. Right from the very beginning though, when he has the ball at his feet, things start to happen.

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Colwill has great touch and beautiful technique. His kind of talent is natural and cannot be taught. You either have this sort of audacity or you don’t and you only have to scan through his highlight reel to see the length and breadth of his talent. The brace at Nottingham Forest, the free kick at QPR the breakaway goal at Liverpool and his goal for the ages against Bristol City are notable examples.

With the stability of a contract through to 2027, an initially sceptical manager that he has managed to win over and probably the best form of his career to date, this is finally Colwill’s time.

He was excellent at Watford last week, driving the team forward and gliding past opponents. It was his sort of game; a wide open, end-to-end contest, with time on the ball and space to drive into. He provided a lung-busting display and emptied the tank before being withdrawn during the second half.

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It feels like the final stage of Colwill’s development is to find and maintain some consistency. Not just consistency of performance and work ethic, but also consistent decision making. He still sometimes takes too many touches or makes the wrong choice, but that will naturally improve over time. He may be closing in on a century of appearances, but they’ve been scattered across several seasons, on and off the bench and in various roles.

If Colwill is to compete for regular playing time with Aaron Ramsey and David Turnbull, he needs to start affecting games, rather than just merely decorating them on occasion. With his ability, he can be instrumental to Cardiff’s fortunes and one of the Championship’s shining lights. Then the challenge will be holding on to a finally fully-formed, all too rare home grown talent.