BACK THREE
FOLLOWING months of toing and froing, Leigh Halfpenny finally settled on the Scarlets as his new home, just days after it seemed he was on his way back to Cardiff Blues. He’s only had the one outing for them so far, but it’s already looking a good fit and a positive in terms of his Wales prospects.
The hope was that joining the freerunning Scarlets would rekindle his attacking game and there were certainly signs of that on his debut against the Southern Kings. He had his hands on the ball and joined the line more from full-back than we have seen in recent years and looked to be enjoying his rugby.
Alongside him, Steff Evans has carried on with the predatory form he took into Wales’ summer tour on the back of being the top try scorer in the PRO12. Having touched down 11 times in the league last season - and then adding a brace against Samoa in June - he has already crossed three times in the opening two games this term. He is steadily growing in stature and will be pushing hard come the autumn.
As for Halfpenny’s Lions teammates George North and Liam Williams, they had their first outings of the season on the weekend, with North starting on the wing for Northampton in their victory over Leicester and Williams coming on there for his new club Saracens at Bath.
Both showed up well. It was good to see North back powering into contact, while Williams entered the fray with half an hour to go to help spark a revival which threatened to earn Sarries the spoils, before Semesa Rokoduguni took centre stage.
There are actually quite a few back three options out there now, with Dragons Hallam Amos and Ashton Hewitt having returned from longterm injury, Keelan Giles continuing his development with the Ospreys and Alex Cuthbert carrying strongly for the Blues.
But you can see it being the three Lions given first shot against the Wallabies. With Halfpenny hopefully flourishing at full-back for the scintillating Scarlets and Williams likely to be employed mainly on the wing by Sarries, that’s how you may well see them utilised by Wales, despite Liam wearing 15 throughout the Test series against the All Blacks, with North getting the initial nod over the hard-pressing Evans. Likeliest option: Liam Williams, George North, Leigh Halfpenny
CENTRES
HE hasn’t taken the field yet this season, but Jonathan Davies already looks a shoe-in for the autumn after his heroics with the Lions.
The Scarlets centre barely put a foot wrong out in New Zealand, consistently making the right decisions in both attack and defence.
It was a world class contribution from him and he was quite rightly named Player of the Series.
So, fitness permitting, he looks nailed on to start against the Wallabies on November 11. The question is, who will be alongside him?
His long-time international midfield partner, Jamie Roberts, lost his place in the side to Scott Williams last season and one wondered whether that might be the beginning of the end for the big man.
Then came the further heartache of missing out on Lions selection after his hopes had been raised by what proved to be spurious reports that he had made the cut.
But his spirits were to be raised when he was handed the captaincy for Wales’ South Seas tour, a role he took huge pride in and one which seemed to give him a new lease of life.
He started both Tests, while it was Williams’ turn to be left out for the second match against Samoa, with Tyler Morgan coming in at 13.
Roberts, who will be 31 come the autumn opener, was straight into the new season with Harlequins in the Aviva school of hard knocks and produced a couple of trademark charges in Saturday’s victory over Gloucester.
Meanwhile, Williams has shone for the title-holding Scarlets, starting at inside centre as they have racked up 13 tries in their first two games in the Guinness PRO14.
There are youthful options in Morgan and Owen Williams, while it will be good to see Owen Watkin back for the Ospreys after missing the whole of last season, with the versatile Cory Allen a more experience squad contender.
But, once again, it looks like being a battle between Roberts and Williams to partner Davies, with the Scarlets combination possibly decisive in getting Scott the shout. Likeliest option: Scott Williams, Jonathan Davies
HALF-BACKS
THINGS have suddenly got a whole lot more interesting at No 10!
After his excellence on the Lions tour – where he was arguably the pick of the three fly-halves – Dan Biggar looked firmly in pole position for the Wales berth.
But now a new dimension has been added to the debate with the announcement that he will be leaving the Ospreys to join Northampton next summer.
It’s a signing that had been widely trailed, but what wasn’t expected was how early it would be confirmed.
It leaves Biggar with an entire season to see through, with his employers, team-mates and fans knowing he is moving on.
Now the 27-year-old is the consummate professional and a born competitor who will want to give it his all every remaining time he pulls on a jersey which has meant so much to him over the past decade.
But the question is how often will he have No 10 on his back and in how many big games? Sam Davies is now the fly-half future at the region and might the Ospreys want to intall him as first-choice as a show of faith, rather than shunting him out to fullback to accommodate his high profile rival as happened on a number of occasions last season?
Clearly, if Biggar is to start fewer of the big games, it’s not going to be ideal in terms of his Wales prospects or preparation.
It means Davies would have the chance to stake a claim in his absence, while others have laid down an early season marker in the battle for the famous red No 10 jersey.
Rhys Priestland hasn’t worn that shirt since the opening game of the 2015 World Cup against Uruguay and was something of a fringe figure in his first two years at Bath.
But with George Ford moving on to Leicester, he has been handed his chance at the start of this season and has grabbed it with both hands, producing outstanding performances in the victories over the Tigers and Saracens.
Warren Gatland has always been an admirer of his ability to take the ball right to the line and fix the defence, then bringing his strike runners into play at full tilt with his astute distribution.
At his best, he remains the most naturally gifted Welsh fly-half of his generation and he looks back to his best right now.
It has been tough for him at times during his 48-cap Test career, with some fans turning against him in vitriolic fashion, and one wonders whether he might just prefer to stay outside the goldfish bowl.
But on form and finesse, he has to come back into the reckoning and a recall will be all the more likely if it’s confirmed he’s no longer captured by Gatland’s Law.
That regulation saw him missing out on selection last autumn, but he signed a contract extension with Bath back in January and provided there was no deal on the table from Wales at the time he will now be exempt.
Priestland’s successor as Scarlets fly-half, Rhys Patchell, has to be another serious contender having started the new term so well. His coach Wayne Pivac has likened him to Beauden Barrett and praise doesn’t come much higher than that.
Wales have tended to view him as a full-back up to now, but having left the Blues to play regularly in his prefered fly-half berth he has proved himself in the role, helping the Scarlets to the league title.
So plenty of options, with Gareth Anscombe hopefully coming back into the equation in a month or so following his long-standing groin issues. But, for now, for all the caveats, you would still view Biggar as the man in possession, while his Ospreys half-back partner Rhys Webb remains the firm favourite to stay ahead of Gareth Davies in the No 9 duel. Likeliest option: Rhys Webb, Dan Biggar