Wainwright has timed his rise to perfection
“Wales must be bold in France... Tipuric is a certain starter and I think dual opensides could be way to go”
IWAS DELIGHTED by Wales’ Six Nations squad selection – now Warren Gatland must give the in-form players he’s named the chance to devour France. For me Aaron Wainwright and Thomas Young should both start in Paris, with the former at No 8.
I’d also pick Liam Williams at fullback and Josh Adams on the wing.
There weren’t too many surprises in Warren’s 39-man party, although I would have liked to have seen Luke Morgan involved again. He was so unlucky to have such a limited opportunity in the autumn and I hope he gets another chance in the future. He’s too good to discard long term.
For the here and now though the countdown is on for the trip to the Stade de France and the big selection calls to consider are at full-back and in the back row.
I can’t deny the injuries to Leigh Halfpenny and Taulupe Faletau are huge blows. Leigh is in the squad, but he won’t play against France due to concussion while Ross Moriarty is also struggling with a head knock. If he’s not fit, then No.8 is a position Warren has to fill. Aaron can be the man to step in.
I know that’s a big call and he’s still a very young player, at 21, but like Josh, Aaron is one of a handful of hidden gems in the current Wales squad. The 2019 Six Nations could be the tournament he announces himself fully.
Aaron hasn’t had much game time at No.8, but he has played there for the Dragons in the past and even though Josh Navidi is an option, I’d still go with the man from Rodney Parade.
We all know how important it is not to mess around with concussion, so Wales must not rush Ross back into contention. At the same time, I believe Josh Navidi is a seven who can play eight.
Seb Davies is another to consider at the base of the scrum, but the advantage Aaron has over all those players is he is firing on all cylinders and full of confidence. He is only going to get better and better.
When young players come into the Test arena, you know quite quickly whether they are going to sink or swim. With Aaron, it’s the latter. He’s got great feet, a turn of pace, and plenty of ballast. He’s also got the ability to be a decent line-out option.
Facing France from the off in an unusual position would be his biggest challenge yet, but for me there is no dilemma here. He is up to the challenge.
Wales need to be bold and brave to win in France and how they balance their back row is going to be very interesting. Justin Tipuric is a certain starter on the flank and I think dual opensides could be the way to go with Thomas involved too. Thomas isn’t really a six, but I don’t think that matters. The back row is a flexible area of the game now and Justin, Thomas and Aaron could cause some damage in what is a potentially devastating trio. I think they’d fit into Wales’ game plan, too.
November was brilliant for Warren and Wales don’t need to change anything from their approach to face France. It’s a huge, huge game to start with and France have picked a new-look squad with plenty of fresh faces.
Wales fans might look at the likes of Romain Ntamack, Demba Bamba and Thomas Ramos and might not know too much about them. Let me tell you, they’re very good. First and foremost, Wales need to produce the goods up front and I’ve little doubt Rob Evans, Ken Owens, and the skipper Alun-Wyn Jones will do exactly that.
I believe the back row I’ve picked would work well with an enterprising Wales backline who are making strides to improve their offloading game. Gareth Anscombe has played a big part in that and I hope it continues because the ability to offload out of the tackle kills opposition defences.
We’ve seen in the Champions Cup recently how big a difference it can make if you’re successful in that area.
Gareth was under such pressure in the autumn that in my opinion he is more than deserving of keeping his place and Gareth Davies, Hadleigh Parkes, Jonathan Davies and George North are obvious picks in the other backline positions.
One thing I would like to see in France is George back on the left wing with Josh Adams on the right, rather than the other way round.
On the whole, though, Wales have more than enough to go to France and win. It will be far from easy and my prediction is the game will be decided by one score either way.
But if Wales produce the goods, they are a better team than France right now and with some hidden gems pushing the more established names, it’s a potentially lethal combination.
Aaron is one I can’t wait to see in action on the big stage after some fine displays for a poor Dragons side this season. He could yet prove himself to be the next big thing. He’s timing his World Cup run to perfection.