Six Nations: 15 players we won’t be seeing in the red shirt
Wayne Pivac has named his squad – containing a lot of good players. But there are some quality performers who we won’t be seeing in the red shirt in the weeks ahead.
Here we list the Wales XV that Pivac won’t be picking.
15. GARETH ANSCOMBE
There’s a strong argument for using Anscombe in his preferred position of fly-half. But let’s name him at the back, where he is still exceptionally dangerous with his vision, kicking and ability to counter.
He’ll miss the Six Nations because of his long-term knee injury but shouldn’t be long returning after it.
Warren Gatland considered him the player Wales missed most at the 2019 World Cup. Wherever he plays, he’s an asset.
14. JOHNNY MCNICHOLL
Like the rest of the Scarlets backs, McNicholl had a night to forget against Cardiff Blues. But what still impressed about the creative back-three man is he didn’t hide and he didn’t stop trying. He kept offering himself as a receiver and kept looking to lift his team from the depths of a horrible collective performance.
He remains a player with skill and try-scoring prowess.
13. SCOTT WILLIAMS One of Welsh rare rugby’s most respected players, Williams has been beset by injuries over an extended period.
But evidently he’s still in the selectors’ thoughts, with his name appearing on a list of injured personnel below the squad details when Pivac revealed who he’d be using during the Six Nations.
It’s going to take some doing for Williams to get back to his best.
But he’s teak-tough and others enjoy having him in the set-up.
12. JAMIE ROBERTS There has been one consistently strong midfield player in the country of late. He has exerted a big influence on those around him and he’s playing as well now as at pretty much any point in his career.
But Wales have just chosen to overlook Jamie Roberts. He’s 34 and the selectors seemingly felt they could only pick him as a starter rather than in and around the squad. So they left him out at a time when no other centre is ripping up trees by the dozen. Not everyone would have agreed with the call.
11. JONAH HOLMES A concussion against the Scarlets sidelined Holmes over Christmas. The former Leicester Tiger had been playing well for the Dragons, breaking tackles and making ground from the back. He can play at No. 15 or wing. He has power and pace. What’s not to like?
10. RHYS PRIESTLAND
Wales seemingly wanted the experienced Cardiff Blues-bound player.
And why wouldn’t they? He knows how to orchestrate play and he has been playing superbly for Bath. But Welsh rugby bosses knocked Wayne Pivac back under the 60-cap rule when he asked about picking Priestland for the Six Nations, despite a precedent being set when they allowed Rhys Webb to feature ahead of his return to the Ospreys a year ago.
Priestland, 34, has been showing there are not many better at the art of running a game.
9. RHYS WEBB Not among the top three scrum-halves in Wales? That’s how Wayne Pivac and Stephen Jones view Webb.
Others would disagree. On song, the 32-year-old can run a game in a way which many of his rivals cannot. It will be a surprise if he doesn’t make the national selectors rue their decision to leave him out.
1. NICKY SMITH It’s a flick of a coin between Smith and Rob Evans for the loosehead berth.
Evans has had one knock after another, so the call is to go with Smith, who played well against Italy in the autumn. He’s out for six weeks because of injury himself, but when fit the Osprey is a grafter who packs power and shirks nothing.
2. SAM PARRY Quite what the powerful hooker did to be left out of the Wales squad remains a mystery.
A few weeks on the sidelines because of injury over Christmas and into the new year probably did little for his chances.
But the assumption had been he had credit in the bank from his efforts for Wales in the autumn. His omission seems more questionable.
3. SAMSON LEE
than a bit
Lee showed what he was about when causing Georgia’s highly rated loosehead Mikheil Nariashvili all kinds of difficulties in the autumn.
It was a surprise, then, to see the Welsh scrum under the cosh against England a week later. Let’s just leave a question mark there.
But the squat Scarlets strongman has shown enough over the years to suggest that on a good day he can do the business.
4. BRADLEY DAVIES The old warhorse will be out for another couple of months with a shoulder injury.
At 6ft 6in and 19st he packs a presence in the scrums and at the front of the line.
The highlights reel over his career may not include many moments that would fit snugly into an updated Crowning Years DVD compilation. And his dad has yet to have a return for betting £5 on Davies to score whenever his son has taken the field for Wales.
No matter. Big Brad’s fellow forwards recognise the 6ft 6in, 19st boilerhouse operative as one of the strongest scrummagers in the game and a tireless grafter.
5. SEB DAVIES There is no doubt that this guy has a lot to offer.
When he faced the Ospreys last August he was one of the best players on the field as he steamed into the opposition’s big-name players.
He did the same against the Scarlets in Llanelli last Friday, when he stood out with and without the ball.
The trick is to transfer such quality to the highest level. A player who has operated at No. 8, he is someone who has a point of difference with his ballhandling skills.
6. AARON SHINGLER There’s a strong case for including the hugely promising Shane LewisHughes, but this team could benefit from some line-out expertise and the 6ft 6in Shingler is the man to provide it.
He’s been out for a long time with a leg injury which required him to see a rheumatologist. But when he’s fit and firing he is some player, a ground-eating ball-carrier who hits hard in the tackle and can run a line-out.
7. JAMES BOTHAM There are so many opensides who could have been named here, among them Ellis Jenkins, Jac Morgan, Taine Basham, James Davies, Sam Lewis, Ollie Griffiths, Dan Thomas.
But let’s settle on Botham. On Friday evening he made 25 tackles without missing a single one for Cardiff Blues against the Scarlets.
If Rey Lee-Lo proved the best attacker on the pitch by some distance, Botham was the strongest defender by a country mile. He also packed a presence at the breakdown.
It was the perfect response to being left out of Wales’ Six Nations squad.
8. ROSS MORIARTY An ankle injury has placed the Lions back rower from 2017 beyond off limits. Wales will miss his aggression and attitude. He doesn’t do flash, but he’s a hardman who never takes a backward step.