JAMIE: I’M READY FOR LIONS IF GATLAND CALLS
JAMIE Roberts says he and any other Wales players are ready to receive a Lions call-up after victory against Tonga at Auckland’s Eden Park.
The Harlequins centre is one of several Welsh stars who may be asked by Warren Gatland to be one of an expected five additional bodies he will draft in for the latter part of the New Zealand tour.
An announcement on who Gatland wants to boost the Lions party is expected tonight and, given his vast experience, Roberts is an obvious candidate to be involved in a third Lions expedition.
If he gets the nod he will switch across in good heart after leading Wales to a 24-6 win in their first match of the summer tour, even though it was far from a vintage performance by Robin McBryde’s charges.
“I’m still waiting for the call!” said Roberts when asked about the Lions.
“If we lose some then we do and we have to adapt. We have a squad of 32 and nine players missed out today.
“We have to develop that strength in depth across the Welsh squad, especially with 12 already away with the Lions.
“If it happens in the week then we have the artillery.
“The Lions have a great shot of the Test series. Two wins and two losses already and they have to do the job in Rotorua. I can see them building nicely as a group and there are some seriously-talented players there to cause the All Blacks some problems.”
Roberts insisted that he was ‘delighted’ with the display against Tonga and looked ahead to meeting Samoa in Apia next weekend, adding: “The youngsters had an opportunity and they will learn a lot from today.
“I am pretty delighted. For the boys to win their first caps at such an iconic venue and get the result as well is pretty special.
“There is a tough Test coming next week in Apia. It’s going to be hot, it’s going to be humid.
“We started positively. A couple of early opportunities went amiss. Credit to Tonga, they stayed in the arm wrestle that first half.
“I think the main lesson moving forward to next week is just to respect the ball.
“Once we got to phase three or four we coughed the ball up a few too many times and Samoa will punish us next week on a dry track if we do that.”
Meanwhile, the All Blacks warmed up for the first Lions Test in a week’s time in ominous fashion with a 78-0 annihilation of Samoa at the same venue immediately after the Wales match.
After watching his team run in 12 tries, coach Steve Hansen goaded Warren Gatland, saying: “He keeps telling us he’s got something up his sleeve other than his arms.
“We’ll wait to see, but he’s starting to run out of time.”
AS the dust starts to settle on Wales’ win against Tonga, it’s time to reflect on what the encounter could mean for individuals in the longer term.
In other words, who will have got into the hearts and minds of the management and therefore be recommended to Warren Gatland when the autumn internationals approach?
Who is likely to be on regional duty come the autumn block of fixtures and who still has it all to do to prove they have a front-line international future?
Here’s an assessment of the credit and debit ledger following the Eden Park clash... On the upward curve It is difficult to look past the first two names on the Wales team-sheet, in numerical order that is.
Numbers 15 and 14 were Gareth Anscombe and Alex Cuthbert respectively. Both made their international futures look distinctly rosier with the way they performed.
Anscombe has taken a long time to justify some of the frothing excitement that greeted his arrival in Welsh rugby from New Zealand, but he’s finished the season strongly.
He set up Cuthbert for his try against Tonga in the most exquisite fashion and he is a rare commodity at Wales’ disposal in that he plays with vision, he scans opposition defences and he has a skillset that stands up to scrutiny at the highest level.
He has Dan Biggar and Sam Davies to compete with at No.10 and Leigh Halfpenny and Liam Williams at full-back so you fear he could get crowded out.
That said, Wales have invested a lot in Anscombe and the key will be whether he can take his chance if he gets it through injuries, etc. He certainly didn’t do himself justice against Japan last autumn.
As for Cuthbert, one swallow doesn’t make a summer, but this was far more like the old him, even if he did only last 40 minutes because of a bang to the shoulder.
He had two ‘tries’ disallowed by the TMO, the first of which was an extremely marginal call, and then proceeded to score a beauty that saw him have the confidence to chip ahead, gather his own kick and out-pace the cover defence after Anscombe had set him free.
It doesn’t mean Cuthbert is once again the shoo-in that he was for Wales, but it does suggest he is on the road back to his best. And if he gets there then he can have an impact in November and much further beyond.
The other man who gets into this category is debutant Seb Davies.
There was nothing flashy from the 21-year-old but he looked at home on this stage and come the autumn, with doubts about the continued involvement of Bradley Davies and Luke Charteris, he could find his rise continuing apace if he performs well for the Blues. Occupying the middle ground Most of those who faced Tonga will not have altered their status in the eyes of the management in terms of where they figure in longer term plans.
Sam Davies is probably a prime example.
He had a mixed afternoon,