SIX NATIONS Gatland’s new-look side aiming to see off Italians
THE scene is a rugby club in Maesteg in the 1980s after Jonathan Davies has just turned in a mesmeric performance for Wales.
His many admirers in the room are celebrating. But an almost equal number of detractors continue to reserve judgement, with some believing he is too much of an individualist.
As Wales try to find their number one fly-half for the 2019 World Cup, do not for a minute believe it has been a stroll over the years for the Wales selectors to agree on who should fill the position.
Phil Bennett famously found himself dropped for the Five Nations opener against England in 1976, only to be reinstated after John Bevan and David Richards fell injured.
Benny recalled: “When I arrived at training that week, I bumped into one of the Big Five, as the selectors were known then, and he said: ‘I went for you Phil.’ Then another of them came up to me and said: ‘It wasn’t me, Phil.’
“I think about four of them told me it wasn’t them in the end.”
The great man was never dropped by Wales again.
But controversy has never been far away when deciding who should fill the position.
In 1985, Gareth Davies had arguably the most humiliating treatment of the lot, with A. N. Other listed at flyhalf in the team to face England, a move that suggested the selectors had no belief in the man in possession of the shirt, namely Davies.
“I felt desperately low, friendless, someone to be ridiculed and abused,” Davies was quoted as saying.
A fine No.10 who could kick a ball further than the average space flight, he kept his dignity by retiring from the Test game before his successor was announced.
The tale of uncertainty at No.10 continued with Neil Jenkins and Arwel Thomas, and then James Hook and Stephen Jones.
But has there been a time of even less clarity over the position than the past 12 months and where we stand today in World Cup year?
Over the last 14 games, Gareth Anscombe has started six times, Rhys Patchell four and Dan Biggar will be up to four when he takes the field against Italy today.
Not one of the trio has begun three consecutive Tests in that period, and to make the picture more complicated, Rhys Priestland was also in the mix at the end of 2017.
Oh, and Cardiff Blues playmaker Jarrod Evans is also in Wales’ Six Nations squad.
No-one has truly made the position his own, a concern because the No.10 is the man who dictates play in most rugby sides, the tactically-astute player who navigates the ship, to borrow a phrase from Graham Henry.
In Wales, it is the most famous jersey in sport.
Each of the players Wales have used there over the past 12 months has considerable strengths, but also areas where he could be better.
And as things stand, Gatland is still weighing up the pros and cons, unable to determine at this stage who his main man is as we head closer to the World Cup.
GARETH ANSCOMBE
He had appeared to be on his way to nailing down the shirt ahead of Biggar and Patchell.
Gatland likes Anscombe and, whilst he wasn’t error-free in the autumn, he had a zest about him in attack and created a number of opportunities for others.
It is that ability to spark those around him which Gatland and Rob Howley enjoy.
With Biggar coming off the bench to close out games if needed, Wales appeared to have hit upon a winning formula.
Cue fun and games in Paris last weekend and fresh questions raised.
It was raining, fair enough, but rugby is an outdoor sport and we do get bad weather occasionally. Can a coach truly rely on a man who seems averse to a heavy downpour?
What if clouds blow in quickly during a World Cup quarter-final and deposit their contents unexpectedly?
Can we arrange for matches to be played under cover from here on in?
So many questions, not all of them genuine, of course.
Whatever, Anscombe didn’t impose himself in difficult conditions in the French capital, at no time making the French wings turn with cleverlyplaced kicks. There was also the odd defensive glitch.
All of which doesn’t make him a bad player.
But Wales are playing England this month and there will be major aerial challenges for the fly-half to contend with, too, and the same goes for the match against Ireland in March.
It isn’t just about prompting attacks. A No.10 has to be about so much more.
Gatland won’t ditch Anscombe after one shaky effort.
But Anscombe would be wise not to come up with an encore the next time he gets a chance.
He hasn’t nailed down the jersey yet, not by any stretch.
RHYS PATCHELL
The Scarlet has been unlucky. He started last year’s Six Nations with a coruscating performance against Scotland in Cardiff, with Wales attacking from deep and looking as dangerous as they have looked under Gatland.
There was a swagger about them in that game, with the Scarlets’ influence to the fore, as Steff Evans, Hadleigh Parkes and Gareth Davies showed up well. But it was Patchell who was the orchestrator.
A hesitant performance against England at Twickenham next time out coincided with the former Cardiff Blue picking up an injury, and, despite two strong efforts against Argentina in the summer, he hasn’t started since, not helped by further fitness setbacks.
Nor has a head knock or two helped him. And, while his ability to unleash all kinds of woe on opponents through his running game isn’t in doubt, less certain is his ability in defence. The Scarlets switched him to full-back against the Ospreys to tighten up in the 10 channel, and, to his credit, Patchell shone from No.15.
But he has only featured once off
the bench at Test level since last summer and appears to have lost ground on his rivals.
Eddie Jones’ England targeted him last year just as Patchell was looking to nail down the jersey.
Like Anscombe, for one reason or another, he hasn’t been able to.
DAN BIGGAR
Biggar was the man in possession, only to lose the jersey amid calls for more creativity in the role.
He had to make do with a role from the bench in France last weekend, but starts against Italy and will once again be looking to silence those who doubt his ability to trigger attacks and spark fireworks around him.
Biggar could be forgiven for feeling that after 66 caps and a Lions tour, he should have nothing to prove to anyone.
But the Wales No.10 jersey, as history has proven, isn’t that simple.
To his credit, he was excellent after coming on as a replacement in Paris, organising the Wales side, kicking deep when needed, defending resolutely and making the right calls.
He may not be everyone’s idea of a classical Wales fly-half, but he is a fighter and a competitor to his core.
He also has a strong kicking game and is world-class in the air.
Gatland values Biggar’s will to win, but he also knows that Wales need to be scoring tries... and that whoever is chosen at fly-half is key to that process.
THE VERDICT
Some would say it’s way overdue for the musical chairs at No.10 to stop. Gatland might counter that provided Wales are getting the job done, that’s the only thing that matters.
But a player can take confidence from knowing he’s the number one: look how Neil Jenkins blossomed at fly-half once Graham Henry backed him. Jenks had plenty of critics too, but under Henry he became a Wales kingpin.
A big performance from Biggar in Italy would do his cause no end of good.
It wouldn’t settle this particular the debate, but it would leave him well-placed for the rest of the season.
From here, he looks to have nudged slightly ahead.
But Gatland is the man paid the big bucks to make the decisive call.
It’s important he gets it right. However, even Gatland, it seems, doesn’t know at the moment what the right call is.