Talking selection, safety, future and a wrong turn

We hosted the latest of our WalesOnline rugby forums at Cardiff’s Walkabout bar last night with the event being broadcast live on Facebook. Former Welsh stars Shane Williams and Lee Byrne were our special guests alongside rugby writers Simon Thomas and An

LET’S BEGIN BY LOOKING TO THE FUTURE... WHO ARE THE PLAYERS THAT ARE ABOUT TO START SHOWING THEIR POTENTIAL? LEE BYRNE: I’ll start with Steff Evans, but another person who I know quite well through the Dragons is Hallam Amos. It’s about giving him game time. He scored that superb try against Australia. I hope he comes through for the next World Cup. SHANE WILLIAMS: Gatland has suddenly decided he’s going to bud the youngsters, which is great. Steff Evans is someone I’m excited about. He’s been playing brilliantly for the Scarlets. Probably the form player in the PRO14. He’s different, he’s unconventional. He works very hard and comes off his wing. He gets in places that he probably shouldn’t. Steff had a good game on the weekend. OK, he made some mistakes, but he’ll learn from that. SHOULD WE LET OUR TOP PLAYERS PLAY ABROAD OR SHOULD WE BE STRICT ON SELECTION POLICY? SIMON THOMAS: I’ve spent the last four years writing about this! Gatland’s Law wasn’t fit for purpose. It wasn’t his idea but it didn’t do what it was set out to do. It had too many loopholes. It wasn’t effective and nobody got caught by it really. I’ve advocated this 60-cap rule. We don’t have the resource to say that you have to stay in Wales to play in Wales. The 60-cap rule is a sensible starting point. LB: Playing abroad makes you a better player and Shane went to Japan and learned how to clean out a ruck! I had my release clauses at Clermont and I was playing with world stars. It was a breath of fresh air. Learning things from these Kiwis and Australians. I had the best time of my life there. DOES LEE HAVE ANY REGRETS ABOUT HIS COMMENTS REGARDING ROB HOWLEY? LB: I toned it down a little bit! Of course I have no regrets. When you write a book you can’t lie about it. I’m quite proud of the book looking back. To have a legend like Shane to put a foreword in was brilliant. To answer, no. SW: I’ve read his book, it’s not as good as mine. Not enough pictures in Lee’s book for me! No seriously, what you put in your book is basically your life. You’re not putting something in there to peeve someone or cause controversy, it’s in there because it’s your life. ANDY HOWELL: Lee’s entitlted to his opinion. It was a great read. I think Lee and Adam Jones have set a standard on rugby books. I admire Lee because there’s nothing worse than a bland book. IN TERMS OF CONCUSSION, IS THERE A WAY RUGBY CAN BE MADE SAFER WITHOUT CHANGING IT TOO MUCH? SW: It’s no surprise that concussion is a major thing in sport and definitely rugby. I received a number of bangs on the head. Back in the day it was ‘How many fingers am I holding up?’ We’d have done anything not to be taken off the field back in the day. We want to make sure our players are safe. Concussion is a major factor. First and foremost, player safety has to come first.

We have to look after our children but if we talk about stopping tackling, that’s ridiculous. My son’s 8 now and they play tag rugby – I was teaching him how to tackle when he was six or seven, so that when it came into the game at his age, he already knew how to tackle.

When players get to 15 or 16 and they’re learning how to tackle for the first time, they’re going to get hurt. They’ll be tackling people who are advanced and bigger. People are trying to advocate this probably don’t understand the sport. I’m a bit old school in that sense. Safety of my kids is first and foremost, but I want to teach them how to tackle properly. ST: What merits a mention is that I did an interview with Jamie Roberts about his collision with Stirling Mortlock in 2008. He passed the test, set up the try for Shane. He played 15 minutes with a fractured skull. That was nine years ago, we’ve moved on streets from where we were. Some might say too far, I don’t know.

It has to be a positive that we’re taking it seriously. The battering the players take today is enormous, we have to have safeguards in place to make sure the players are looked after. IS IT RIGHT THAT SAM CROSS HAS ONLY PLAYED A HANDFUL OF PRO 15-A-SIDE MATCHES, BUT IS IN THE TEAM INSTEAD OF THOMAS YOUNG? LB: We know James Davies is injured as well and it would have been interesting to see if Cross had come in instead of him. Cross came to the Dragons for a few sessions and Lyn (Jones) released him. It’s amazing to see how much he’s developed as a sevens and regional player. I’m not sure he should be in front of Young though. I would have given him a crack and let Cross bide his time and earn that jersey. SW: You have to feel for Thomas because he is a great player. It’s what the coaches want, it’s what players they want. Sometimes it’s just that your face doesn’t fit. I feel for him. Sometimes you ask yourself ‘what more can I do?’ It’s difficult for Sam, he’s a good player and perhaps Wales are looking for a more dynamic seven, I don’t know. It baffles me a bit. AH: I thought Cross did well at the Olympics. Gatland has taken punts on a lot of players and many have come off, so why not. Thomas Young toured in the summer and perhaps they didn’t fancy him. Ollie Griffiths would have been in the squad if he was fit. IF YOU WEREN’T WELSH BORN, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE ALL BLACKS, WHAT COUNTRY WOULD YOU HAVE LIKED TO PLAY FOR? LB: My dad’s a Geordie so, for me, England. I did actually try out for the Scottish exiles when I was younger. Nah, England probably. SW: It wouldn’t be England, that’s for sure! I’ve never been asked that question in my life. I was always known as the white Fijian! I would probably have loved to have played for an Australian team – Mortlock, Mitchell, etc. Their basic skills are fantastic. Some team. But honestly, I could never have played for any other country. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST REGRET? LB: Writing my book! No, I’ve not got any regrets, really. Probably the only one I have got, when I had the chance to stay over in France – Bordeaux or Clermont - I came back to the Dragons. That’s nothing against them but they were a developing region. I just wish I’d had a good season or two at the end and go out on my own terms. I never had a lap of honour because I was injured. It came to an abrupt end. SW: My biggest regret is that I didn’t play more for Wales. But that was one of the reasons I became the player I was. I got capped in 2000 and loved it. I thought I was chocolate. What I didn’t take into account is that Steve Hansen didn’t like me so I soon came crashing down.

When I got dropped in 2001, I tried pleasing Hansen. I tried putting weight on and I tried doing things I shouldn’t have been doing. I kept getting injured I regret I didn’t buck up my ideas sooner. But that 18 months probably made me realise that I don’t have to please everyone all the time, trying to do things every time I touched the ball. DO THE PANEL THINK THAT DAN EVANS AT THE OSPREYS IS HARSHLY TREATED BY WALES? LB: I think the last four or five seasons, he’s been the standout for the Ospreys. The sad thing is I think his time has gone. If they were going to pick him, it would have been two years ago. I feel sorry for him. But if your face doesn’t fit, what more can you do? He’s a great player and I would have definitely had him in there somewhere. ST: I was in North America when he won his only two caps. He came out of that tour well. He’s probably been one of the most consistent players in Welsh rugby over the last few years. Liam and Halfpenny were away with the Lions and then they called up Phil Dollman in the summer and he got injured, then they called someone else up. AH: Selection is subjective, but I think he’s had a raw deal. He’s done it at European level with his region. I think he’s probably missed the boat, but I would have liked to have seen him have the chance a few years ago. Not to give him a chance was wrong. SW: Their two banker 15s, Liam and