Can Patchell take chance to claim the keys to No.10?
SINCE 2016, Rhys Patchell hasn’t had what you’d call a quiet summer.
That year saw him swept from a golf course, put on a plane and facing the All Blacks within days.
The following year he wasn’t initially picked for Wales’ tour of Samoa and Tonga, despite having just guided the Scarlets to a thrilling PRO12 triumph. He did eventually travel as a late call up – but did not see a minute of action on the pitch.
Last summer finally saw the fly-half get his big moment as he started both of Wales’ Tests in Argentina – looking the part in the 10 jersey.
He returned back from his potential star-making turn against the Pumas not just seemingly nailed on as Dan Biggar’s deputy, but as the man ready to usurp him.
Yet, for those who haven’t followed the script, that really hasn’t happened.
By the autumn, Gareth Anscombe was the man in possession and he didn’t let go. Right up until, that is, it was snatched away from him in the cruelest fashion.
Anscombe limped off against England on Sunday and, in the hours that followed, saw his World Cup dreams shattered.
Just like that, Patchell now looks set to be thrust from nowhere into the limelight once again – only a lot has changed since he was last there.
Since the Scarlets pivot was last given the starting berth, it’s been an annus horribilis of sorts for Patchell.
Having returned from Argentina last summer as the main man on the back of two stunning seasons with the Scarlets, Patchell’s stock could hardly have been higher in Welsh rugby circles.
Yet the opening day of last season’s PRO14 season dealt Patchell a blow that set the scene for the campaign that was to follow.
He suffered a head knock against Ulster, missing two games. In the third game after his comeback, another concussion set him back even further.
This all came on the back of previous issues when a severe concussion resulted in him losing 48 hours of memory, and it led Warren Gatland to suggest an extended break from the