The future’s bright with new rugby talent

LIKE most Welsh rugby fans, I was both excited and surprised when I heard Warren Gatland’s autumn international squad.

It is fantastic to see so many new faces, which suggests the future is bright. With respect to the surprise omissions I have no doubt we shall see the classy talents of Scott Williams, Sam Davies and Scott Baldwin countless more times in Welsh colours.

The same may not be true, however, of two greats from the Gatland era, Luke Charteris and Jamie Roberts, as Father Time catches up with them. Luke, with 74 caps, has been a wonderful servant of Welsh rugby and was arguably the stand-out performer in the 2011 World Cup as summed up in these comments from one rugby journalist on the eve of the semi-final against France, “the unsung hero of this World Cup campaign. Prolific tackler and workhorse. Does not seek glory.”

In many ways Jamie’s contribution probably has not been fully appreciated by most of us either, partly because we have been more accustomed during our distinguished history as a rugby nation to silky finishing skills from Barry, Phil, Gerald or Shane. Eddie Butler, to his credit, recognised Jamie’s place in our pantheon of greats early on, as I found out at Christmas 2011, when my present from my family was a signed copy of Eddie’s Greatest Ever Wales XV.

As I said to my son, Dan, at the time, the biggest surprise for me was Jamie at 12 simply because he was still young and it seemed a little premature back then to have him partnering the great Blethyn Williams at centre ahead of other legends like John Dawes, Ray Gravell, Steve Fenwick, Jack Matthews, Scott Gibbs, Mark Taylor, Tom Shanklin and Gavin Henson. Six years on and I now totally agree with Eddie that Jamie deserves his position in the all-time-greatest XV.

R Terry James Brentwood, Essex