Hallam Amos can stake late claim for Gatland’s 31
WALES are set to make a host of changes for Saturday’s World Cup warm-up clash with Ireland and normally I’m against rotating close to the whole side from game to game.
In November campaigns gone by Warren Gatland has often changed 14 or 15 players for the match with Pacific Island sides like Tonga, Samoa or Fiji. I can understand why he’s done that, but it often leads to a lack of continuity. The end result has always been a patchy display or sometimes a defeat.
This time around I can understand perfectly why Warren will make changes to face Ireland. He has to have a look at some of his fringe players and see if they can cut the World Cup mustard.
In the two warm-up games we’ve had so far against England Warren has picked strong sides. There haven’t been many players who were involved in those matches who had a point to prove.
It will be different on Saturday. Every player who starts for Wales against Ireland will have something huge to play for. I don’t think anyone in the XV will be guaranteed a place on the plane to Japan.
That is hugely exciting for those involved. It should get the fans’ pulses racing too because it means the Welsh side will be going hell for leather. I’m certain it will be an entertaining game.
I’m sure Owen Lane and Rhys Carre will win their first caps and I hope they realise they have nothing to lose. For those two it is the perfect way to make your Wales debut. Your first Test can often leave you full of nerves, especially if it is a big November game against one of the southern hemisphere giants or even worse, in the Six Nations when the result really, really matters.
For Lane and Carre, this will be very different. They can go out there and give it everything knowing they have a shot to nothing. I’ve made it clear I like Lane a lot as a player. He has a great future. But out of the two I think Carre has a better shot at going to Japan.
Wales have very strong options in the back-three and that means I think
Owen might struggle. Carre could easily push Rob Evans, Nicky Smith and Wyn Jones for a place in the 31.
Whatever happens, the Welsh side to face Ireland will be an unfamiliar one. There will be new combinations. Some players will be on debut; some won’t know whether to stick or twist.
My advice to whoever takes the field is to not hold back. This is your one chance to impress and make a World Cup which is the highest level at which you can represent your country. The only thing that tops that is turning out for the British & Irish Lions.
I played in warm-up games where Wales made a lot of changes from the previous week’s team and there were always mistakes. There will be dropped balls, and uncertainty, it’s inevitable.
The Welsh supporters who will watch the game on TV and at Principality Stadium must accept that and not be overly critical.
On the flip side, I’m sure Warren and the coaches will have tried to minimise that by giving the starting XV a lot of time together in training to work on patterns of play and structure.
Wales have spent the week off between the second meeting with England and the Ireland game training in Turkey. Speaking to a few of the coaches and players I know the temperatures have been sweltering. The boys have done a lot of fitness work but plenty of rugby too.
It’s important every member of the squad gets some rugby under their belt in the warm-up games. It might not happen, but it would be the best scenario because the last thing you want is to go into a World Cup cold. If you remember 2015 we had to use Lloyd Williams and Tyler Morgan in key games. The situation wasn’t ideal, but those guys stepped in and did a good job because they were ready.
Last weekend against England Wales reverted to the fundamentals of their game and got success as a result. The quick tempo they played at impressed me.
I’ve read a lot of the criticism of Wales’ attacking game since the England clash. First it was JJ Williams laying into the team’s approach and Dan Biggar. Then George Gregan followed him up! As Welsh rugby fans we are never happy. We always want perfection and I can see why some people think we should be scoring more tries.
Warren will be of the same mindset I’m sure. Of course he would want his team to be crossing the whitewash more often, but rugby in 2019 is not that simple. If it were, every game would see 70 or 80 points – the key to Wales’ attacking well at the World Cup is tempo.
They have to play quickly. Wales struggle to break teams down off first and second phase, but let’s be honest, you could say that about every team in the world except maybe New Zealand.
A high tempo goes hand in hand with fitness and this is where Wales have the advantage. They are the fittest team in the world and that must be used as their point off difference.
There are many ways to score tries and Wales’ best approach is to use their power game and marry it with a high tempo to achieve success. That’s what we saw against England in Cardiff.
Wales didn’t manage to pull away from England, and it wasn’t the greatest of watches, but what I liked was the number of quick taps, the cross-kicks from Dan, and the fast approach.
At scrum-half Gareth Davies plays a key role. If we can get Tomos Williams fit he, too, can have an impact. Wales know they can back their fitness against anyone and it wouldn’t surprise me to see the team run in the vast majority of their tries in the final quarter of their World Cup matches.
The games in Japan will be played in pretty good conditions on the whole. Quite a few of the stadiums have a roof as well so they will be no excuses in terms of ball handling.
It means to be successful out there Wales will have to score tries and the tempo of the play will be key to that. Warren will know that due to their unbelievable fitness, his players can play for 80, 90 or even 100 minutes! That will give them a lot of confidence as not every team will be able to say that.
One final thing ahead of Saturday – it’s a big game for Hallam Amos. As someone who can play wing, full-back and centre, his versatility is going to be important. He is a left-footed kicking option too.
Hallam reminds me of James Hook in that he can play anywhere. He’s been on the sidelines for quite a while now and we haven’t seen a lot of him. Still, he’s impressed in a poor Dragons side for a long time and he’s switched regions to Cardiff Blues this summer. I hope he can put his foot in the door for the World Cup with a strong performance against Ireland.
After that Warren will name his final 31-man squad and it will be full steam ahead for Japan.
“Wales are the fittest team in the world... that must be used as their point of difference”