ENGLAND’S EYE ON DAVIS FOR DEFENCE
OSPREYS defence chief Brad Davis HAS been sounded out about the possibility of joining Eddie Jones’ England coaching team.
England will have a vacancy in their management set-up this summer when Paul Gustard departs to become team boss at Harlequins.
And, just 16 months out from the World Cup, the charismatic Davis has emerged as a front-runner to succeed him.
He has a big reputation in English rugby having helped Bath win the European Challenge Cup in 2008 and reach three successive Premiership semi-finals.
The Australian had a distinguished playing career in rugby league as a half-back, stand-off and hooker for a number of clubs, including Huddersfield, Wakefield Wildcats, Castleford Tigers and French outfit Villeneuve.
He coached Wasps after Bath before being lured to the Ospreys two years ago. The Ospreys tend not to comment publicly on potential moves involving their players or coaches, but they could probably do without the hassle of recruiting another new coach this summer.
They are already looking for a forwards coach to fill the void left by Allen Clarke after he stepped up to the head coach position. Whether they would want to find a new defence chief, too, remains to be seen.
That said, it would be a surprise if they stood in Davis’ way if a firm offer from England did materialise and the 50-year-old was keen to accept it.
He is understood to have a year left on his Ospreys deal but contracts can be bought up and it would be a moot point whether the Ospreys would want to hold Davis against his wishes. While Davis is a strong possibility for the position, England World Cup winner Matt Dawson is in no doubt who he’d pick for the job of succeeding Gustard... the man he’s seemingly pipped for the Quins job.
Dawson believes Shaun Edwards is the perfect candidate to be England’s next defence coach.
“All England players would benefit from Edwards’ rugby experience,” he told BBC Sport.
“Ask anyone who has had Shaun as a coach over the years and they’ll say he significantly developed them as players and people.
“[He taught] the older players about how to keep grounded, and the younger players about how high the bar needs to be set.
“Deep down, surely this would be the biggest gig he’s yet to serve in a phenomenal career.”
ON the face of it, Wales v South Africa in Washington DC has a sumptuous look about it. Two old foes going hammer and tongs on neutral turf and showcasing their wares to an American audience... for rugby purists and more casual observers it should carry all the traditional appeal with a splash of intrigue thrown in.
Except it doesn’t. Instead, in the last week, it has turned into the fixture that should never have been arranged.
There’s now a farcical feel about the first game of Wales’ summer schedule which, judging by ticket sales, looks like it could be the most poorly attended Washington event since Donald Trump’s inauguration as President.
We’ve had Josh Adams, Tomas Francis and Luke Charetris axed from the touring party because their English clubs won’t grant them full release.
We’ve had news of the Springboks have meaningless.
The problem Warren Gatland has, however, is that Scarlets players total 13 – six forwards and seven backs – out of a squad now reduced to 30. He therefore won’t have much choice but to pitch in guys from the West Wales region in DC.
It’s unfortunate because in cutting Adams, Francis and Charteris from the original group, Wales argued that inadequate preparation time made it pointless for them to travel.
Now it’s transpired that none of the Scarlets contingent will be able to prepare properly for the South Africa game, though some will still play.
Ultimately you suspect the difference is that Francis, Adams and Charteris are seen as expendable by Gatland in a way 13 Scarlets players are not.
Asked about plans for the Scarlets reaching the final last week, Gatland said: “If they have less preparation we will just have to deal with that. If the Scarlets get through we will have to bear that in mind.”
Just a few days ago WRU chief executive Martyn Phillips was trumpeting the clarity of Wales’ new selection policy. Gatland’s above comment is as clear as mud in terms of consistency.
Furthermore, if he and the union merely wanted to use Adams, Francis and Charteris to send a message to English-based players in general about how not playing in Wales threatens their international status, they might remember that some have only acquired that status in the first place by moving out of Wales.
Adams reinvented himself as a free-scoring winger at Worcester after the Scarlets let him go in 2015. Similarly Thomas Young, who didn’t make the summer squad despite a brilliant season for his club, only became arguably the best openside flanker in the Aviva Premiership after moving to Wasps because he couldn’t get a game at Cardiff Blues.
Owen Williams is another who rendered virtually only made a name for himself when he moved to Leicester, having been allowed to slip from the clutches of the Scarlets.
Francis is different in that he has spent his whole career in England, but doubtless his emergence has been a result of playing at a club like English champions Exeter Chiefs, and under the tutelage of a coach like Rob Baxter.
Telling players to get back to Wales is the easy part. Finding room for them at one of four regions is another matter – and before anything else they need to receive contract offers.
Adams confessed to being ‘gutted’ about missing this tour, and well he might be because this isn’t going to be a one-off. The writing is clearly on the wall for him and others moving towards the World Cup.
However events unfold, it’s not been a great way for Wales to embark on a month’s worth of important work.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but still you have to question whether this South Africa encounter, falling as it does outside of the international window, should ever have been agreed to.
The possibility of the Scarlets reaching the PRO14 final was always very real. And it was always likely