KEY SELECTION DECISIONS FOR PIVAC TO MAKE
IT’S not easy being a coach. You have to make the hard decisions when it comes to selection, potentially altering the career paths of yourself and the players involved.
And in the goldfish bowl that is Welsh rugby, those decisions are invariably a little tougher _ with virtually everyone from Conwy to Cardiff having an opinion.
Of course, the old adage goes is if you get a committee to design a horse, you get a camel.
And so, the Welsh selection decisions fall solely upon Wayne Pivac and his coaching ticket. No one else.
Much of his strongest team is probably decided when all are fit and firing, the coach has admitted as much, but there are one or two remaining headaches.
Here are the big decisions he still has to make ahead of Wales’ tournament opener against Ireland... WINGS When it comes to the first dilemma, it’s very easy to just choose any two at random and feel very happy with your selection.
It’s only when you then glance at the third name, you realise someone quite good will miss out.
George North, Louis Rees-Zammit and Josh Adams. One of them has to miss out.
At the end of the autumn, the fall guy looked like being North - with Rees-Zammit now seemingly the man to replace him.
However, the two-time Lions tourist has produced his best rugby in years since to firmly put himself back up the pecking order.
Now, the question perhaps isn’t who starts between North and ReesZammit, but whether both start?
It’s noted that Josh Adams hasn’t scored on the Test scene since the Six Nations opener against Italy last year. While tries are his currency, it’s hardly a crisis for the Cardiff Blues man.
Adams has an industriousness that allows him to quietly churn out good performances on a regular basis. To drop him would be a huge call.
Logic would dictate it’ll be North and Adams starting against Ireland on February 7, but given Rees-Zammit’s standing in the order, it’s hard to say it with too much conviction.
As with most selection issues, the
more you think about this one, the more you go around in circles.
SCRUM-HALF Moving on from the wings, most of the backline is likely sorted.
Leigh Halfpenny will be the man starting at the back, probably even if Liam Williams wasn’t suspended for the visit of Ireland.
In midfield, Johnny Williams seems like Pivac’s go-to at 12 now, while Jonathan Davies will almost certainly be partnered with him - even though the Lions star is short of form and minutes.
And fly-half will surely remain with the current holder of the jersey, Dan Biggar. However, scrum-half is a tricky one. Kieran Hardy got the nod ahead of Rhys Webb for that final scrum-half spot in the squad, but do Wales see him as a potential starter for Ireland just yet? We’ll soon see.
You’d expect it to be a straight shootout between Tomos Williams and Gareth Davies.
Williams has often been given chances at the start of campaigns having started the opening matches of the last two Six Nations - but rarely been able to hold down that starting jersey for long.
The question arising from that is whether it was Williams not holding down the jersey, or the jersey being moved around a little too freely? Will Williams get another chance off the bat this time?
Gareth Davies has been Wales’ first-choice since Webb upped sticks to France, but his autumn was patchy often in and out of the side.
Given Williams’ recent performances over Christmas and how the scrum-half jersey continued to move around during his injuryenforced absence in the autumn, it could well be the Cardiff Blues man handed another chance to show his worth.
SECOND-ROW
Into the pack and you’d wager the front-row largely picks itself.
If the autumn taught us anything, it’s that, if fit, Ken Owens will be hooker for the time being. There’s no one quite ready to replace the Sheriff just yet.
As for the props, despite Pivac’s fondness of Rhys Carre, Wales’ scrum issues surely call for Wyn Jones on the loose-head, while Tomas Francis looks a shoe-in on the tight-head.
And so we move onto the secondrow and the perennial question when picking it for the last decade and a half. Who partners Alun Wyn Jones?
Providing the Wales skipper is fit for the Ireland clash, the next issue who starts alongside him?
Jake Ball looked like the most deserving candidate in the autumn with his bulk providing Wales with some much-needed ballast when those incremental inches have been so hard to accumulate.
However, while the fact he’s off to Australia at the end of the season to be with his family isn’t likely to harm his selection chances too much - he wouldn’t have been named in the squad were that the case - it could always count against him in the tightest of selection battles.
Of which, there might just be one or two. Cory Hill skippered his country only two-and-a-half years ago and his blend of ball-handling ability and relentless clear-out work would appear to be married to what Pivac wants to do, even if that steps on the toes of what Pivac has been doing with Jones a little bit.
Then there’s Adam Beard, back in the squad after missing out in the autumn. He’ll no doubt be keen to make up for lost time having fallen down the pecking order in the past year.
However, his skills are obvious to the naked eye. Blessed with towering height - something Warren Gatland once quipped you can’t coach - and telescopic arms, he’s a real nuisance on opposition throws.
Finally, Will Rowlands is in the mix as someone brought into the setup by Pivac last year. We’ve yet to really see the best of him at Test level, but he’s someone Pivac likes for his mix of dynamism and physicality. He could certainly feature heavily in selection conversations over the next week.
BLINDSIDE FLANKER
Onto the final area of the team and Wales’ back-row looks relatively settled.
Taulupe Faletau and Justin Tipuric look nailed on to start after a tactical switch against Italy saw them finish the autumn on song. But who completes the back-row? Aaron Wainwright might have once the first man to turn to when it comes to blindside flanker duties, but Pivac sees him as a No. 8 so his hopes of starting likely rely on usurping Faletau.
As for the new face of Josh Macleod, he has to get beyond Tipuric. A tough ask.
And so it likely comes down to Josh Navidi and Dan Lydiate.
The one was perhaps the player that Wales missed the most last year, given his effectiveness at the clear-out and as a ball-carrier who carries well above his weight.
However, his lack of action is a concern.
The other is a Test veteran, recalled from the international wilderness after more than a year of consistently impressive performances for the Ospreys.
Both will likely provide the backrow balance that Pivac has struggled to find at times, but who starts?
That probably relies on where Navidi is in terms of match fitness. Like all the other selection headaches, it’s not a bad one to have.