Nations rollercoaster... and weight of expectation?
cious and physical, as you were against England last year. Leave nothing out there.”
Is Moriarty match-fit for such a challenge? We are about to find out. But don’t underestimate how difficult it is for a player short of gametime to play an international rugby match.
As Owen Sheers notes in his book Calon: “In the course of a single many players from one club or region?
It worked when 13 Ospreys started against England in 2008, but defeats stacked up when Ron Waldron tried the same drill with Neath players in the early 1990s, albeit Welsh rugby was way off the pace generally at the time.
As a rule, the best players should be in the side. Anything else risks fostering resentment and even division.
That said, there is a case for believing most, if not all, of the 10 Scarlets picked to face the Scots deserve their places, having been part of the best side in Wales by some distance over the past year.
Even so, Wales particularly need half-backs Rhys Patchell and Gareth Davies to demonstrate high-level control. Both of them can run, but can they run a match at Test level? It matters.
There are questions, too, for the Scots.
Can they win on the road against anyone bar Italy in the Six Nations? To be serious contenders for the title they need to answer that one in the affirmative.
Can they reproduce the high-tempo game they carried off so superbly during the autumn? Everything about them was fast in November: line-outs, scrums, tapped penalties, passing, line-breaks, possibly even their bus journey to Murrayfield.
Even the All Blacks struggled to cope. Stuart Hogg, Huw Jones, Finn Russell, Ali Price, John Barclay and Hamish Watson all played inspired rugby.
But the big question for Townsend’s players is whether they can handle expectation.
Listen to one Edward Jones, coach of England: “It’s different when you go in as underdogs than when you go in expected to win and play with that panache.”
The heavy Scarlets influence behind should ensure the Welsh backs play with fluency.
But Wales also need forward ballcarriers like Moriarty and Navidi to crash over the gain-line to help secure the quick ball that fuels attacking rugby.
They look marginal favourites to prevail.
Whatever, someone is going to receive a reality check in Cardiff.
Wales just have to ensure it isn’t them.