Lions have shown the way... is it time for Wales to adopt 10 at 12?
FINDING the right person to fill a position can be one of the biggest challenges in sport, with the onus on the coach or the chap signing the cheques to ensure a perfect fit.
In rugby, there is arguably no greater challenge for a coach in the modern game than to get the right body into the No.12 jersey in his side. Accomplishing such a feat can give a sheen to a dowdy team and make them altogether more difficult to counter. Just look at the Lions. With Ben Te’o at inside centre in the first Test against New Zealand, they muscled up in defence and ran straight and true from second receiver. The All Blacks read Te’o and largely stopped him on the gain-line, with newspaper headlines the next day bemoaning the predictable nature of the visitors’ play.
But last weekend the bludgeon was put away behind the scrum and the rapier brought out.
Warren Gatland drafted in Jonathan Sexton at fly-half and moved Owen Farrell to inside centre.
Sexton went on to have a hand in both of the tries the tourists scored – first by linking sweetly with Farrell before the Englishman conjured an expertly-judged miss-pass, spreading play 20 metres off his right hand, that allowed Liam Williams to put over Taulupe Faletau.
Then Sexton manufactured a sublime short ball that sent Jamie George through a hole in the run-up to Conor Murray’s score. It was as if the Lions had teamed up D’Artagnan and Porthos to help them fight their way out of a particularly tight corner. Swish, swish, swish, and the All Blacks were lacerated.
Farrell looked much more comfortable at inside centre, with the extra space allowing him a split-second more time to consider his options, with the inclusion of Sexton helping the tourists’ thought processes.
It would be an untruth to suggest there wasn’t the odd nervy moment in keeping the rearguard watertight, but Sean O’Brien helped the two playmakers out on that front and the benefits in attack far outweighed what Gatland’s team lost in defence.
For sure, it doesn’t take a great leap of imagination to believe that in pubs and clubs in this part of the world last Saturday morning there were countless bar-room coaches who were asking the same question: Why can’t Wales play like that?
Well, they don’t have Farrell and Sexton to pick from, for starters.
Also, maybe with Wales, the selectors have simply grown attached to the idea of having a physical specimen in the No. 12 position.
The reign of King Jamie has spanned nine years and in that time Jamie Roberts has proven an absolute stalwart for Gatland, taking the side over the gain-line.
Rob Howley decided it was time for change last season when he brought in Scott Williams for his passing ability.
Williams, a tough nut who stands 6ft and weighs in at more than 15st, would still provide physicality in a key area, the thinking ran, but add a dot more flair to the Welsh midfield.
The coaches pulled back from doing an England, who had brought together two 10s in Farrell and George Ford with such notable success.
And the results for Howley were nothing to write home about.
In an ideal world, the selectors would have identified that the job description was for an authentic second five-eighth and then either sought to upgrade Williams’ skill set or brought in someone else to do the job.
But who? The role is fiendishly complicated with a top-class inside centre needing to have smooth distribution skills, be a confident communicator and possess vision, intelligence and a strong kicking game. Oh, and anyone who is even a tad unhappy about tackling 17st opponents running hard down the 10-12 channel need not apply.
Options? Wales could see if Williams can belatedly add those extra weapons to his game. Will Greenwood wasn’t the greatest kicker on the planet, but his clever distribution and allround feel for the game created numerous opportunities for England. Is it possible to work on Williams, or does the ancient adage about old dogs and new tricks ring true?
If that fails, could Dan Biggar at 10 operate with Gareth Ansombe or Sam Davies outside him? Or could Wales use any two from those three in a double-playmaking partnership? They appear unconvinced about the merits of Owen Williams, whose contribution last term was limited to a cameo off the bench against Tonga. Nor does Rhys Patchell seem in favour.
What about seeing if the classy Ashley Beck can do a job in the key second-receiver role?
The questions keep piling up. Is James Hook’s Test race run at the age of 32? Given that he hasn’t pulled on a Wales jersey in close on two years, the answer to that one would probably be a ‘yes.’ More’s the pity.
Let’s not leave out of the argument an emerging midfield talent at the Ospreys in Owen Watkin.
His ability on the gain-line is not in doubt, but he can also pass a ball. If he improves his kicking game and develops the authority that maturity tends to bring then some way down the line the national selectors might see him as the answer.
The truth is Wales lack a ready-made craftsman who can play 10 or 12 with equal dexterity, who can assist his flyhalf and dramatically increase the decision-making power of the team — someone like a younger Hook or, in his prime, Gavin Henson, a player Mike Ruddock shrewdly used at inside centre as soon as he took over as Wales coach.
Henson kicked the ball further than most people go for their holidays, he had a passing game to die for, he was braver in defence than many gave him credit for and he had a razor-sharp rugby brain. What wasn’t to like? Nothing.
Well, apart from his occasional flirtation with the celebrity world, maybe.
Of course, Henson is still playing, so it is wrong to write of him in the past tense. But what would Gatland give for a modern-day version of the famously silver-booted one to knock on his door any time soon?
The Lions have shown the benefits of using two playmakers.
It is the way forward for Wales, too, but they need suitable candidates to put their hands up for the No.12 jersey.
It’s a position that they have to fill with great thought in the coming season.