Stick with George but give Giles a go from the bench in Rome
WALES’ Six Nations opener in Italy is now less than a month away and it’ll be interesting to see whether the introduction of bonus-points influences team selection.
Rob Howley is lucky in that whatever side he picks, they’ll be able to score tries. I’ve said before I thought the autumn was the perfect opportunity to bring in some younger players and while the Six Nations is different with much more at stake, I’d still have guys like Keelan Giles and Sam Davies in the squad. Italy is the easiest game of the five and players like Keelan should be on the bench in Rome in my view. I’d definitely have him in the squad but start with Liam Williams at full-back and Leigh Halfpenny and George North on the wings.
George has been in the headlines again for the wrong reasons and he’ll know he’ll be under pressure from the likes of Keelan. But he played well against Gloucester and until Alex Cuthbert finds a bit of form, I’d have him and Leigh on the wings. For me Scott Williams is the form centre and should start with a straight shootout then between Jonathan Davies and Jamie Roberts to be his midfield partner.
Dan Biggar is still firstchoice at 10 and with Rhys Webb on his way back from injury, I’d pair him with Gareth Davies at scrum-half.
In the pack there are a few injury worries, but for me the first two names on the Wales team sheet these days are Alun Wyn Jones and Justin Tipuric. My back-row would be Justin alongside Sam Warburton at six and Taulupe Faletau with a lock pairing of Alun Wyn and Luke Charteris. If Taulupe doesn’t make it due to injury I’d have no problems throwing Ross Moriarty in. I was very impressed with him in the autumn and his carrying could cause problems for the Italian defence.
Finally, my front row would be Rob Evans and Samson Lee either side of Scott Baldwin. In many areas the team picks itself, but what I want to see from Wales is an early statement of intent. A bonus-point victory and plenty of tries against Conor O’Shea’s men would then set things up nicely for the meeting with England. Win that and who knows what can happen...