The Price is right as Sam faces a battle for No. 10
It took 20,000 workers, 1,000 elephants and 17 years to build the Taj Mahal. Sometimes it seems as if Sam Davies has been trying to nail down the Ospreys No. 10 jersey for longer.
It is actually seven seasons since he made his debut as an 18-year-old who had started to build a reputation for intelligent game control. But he has had to bide his time, with Dan Biggar in situ at the Liberty.
But with Biggar having departed for Northampton, the assumption had been that Davies would seamlessly move into the No. 10 shirt.
Instead, the Ospreys have named 22-year-old Luke Price in the starting line-up for the Guinness PRO14 opener against Edinburgh on Friday evening.
It is a big opportunity for the youngster to show what he can do.
But it also sends out a clear message that the fly-half spot at the Ospreys is very much up for grabs post-Biggar.
MARK ORDERS assesses a selection that few had seen coming...
WHO IS LUKE PRICE?
WELL, his name won’t be unfamiliar to Ospreys fans, with Price having been in the system for five years.
Born in Neath, he was educated at Neath Port Talbot College and Coleg y Cymoedd and played for Wales
Under-20s as well as Aberavon, Bridgend Ravens, Neath and Celtic Crusaders Under-15s.
He made his Ospreys debut against Exeter in season 2013-14, resurfacing two seasons ago when he caught the eye with a man-of-the-match performance against Glasgow in Swansea.
Afterwards, Steve Tandy said Price had been outstanding.
But it is fair to say he is still learning, with Price having started just three league games for the Ospreys.
WHAT KIND OF PLAYER IS HE?
HE is an excellent distributor and a fine kicker of a ball with the ability to implement a game-plan.
Listen to a Neath RFC regular who watched the fair-haired player in action regularly during his stint at The Gnoll: “Luke is a good player.
“He is a nice passer of a ball and, while he doesn’t have the electric pace of, say, Jonathan Davies - not many fly-halves have - he is a modern-type of fly-half who plays the percentages and is a decent kicker.
“Like a lot of young players on the scene in Wales, if he is given a run of games he could make a significant mark.”
HOW MUCH SHOULD WE READ INTO THE SELECTION?
IT is a shock, there is no doubt about that.
Davies didn’t have a great season last term, not helped by the groin problem that he had found hard to shake off the previous summer.
But the previous campaign he had been pressuring Dan Biggar for the Wales shirt and was widely acclaimed for his play with the Ospreys.
Just eight weeks ago, head coach Allen Clarke said: “Sam isn’t looking at Dan Biggar being here this year. “He will see it as his time.
Yet here we are, starting the season with Davies on the bench.
What is going on? Clarke revealed his thinking with quotes that accompanied the team announcement for the date with Edinburgh, saying: “To achieve our aims this season we need genuine competition for places and in turn growth in our squad depth. Quality teams have depth in every position which creates healthy selection dilemmas.
“Selection has been based on performance throughout pre-season training and the games against Northampton Saints and Saracens. Across the squad there are players who’ve impressed, who’ve put their hands up for selection resulting in some tight calls. For those selected the challenge is to embrace the opportunity, while others will channel their disappointment positively.”
WHAT DAVIES NEEDS TO DO
UNDOUBTEDLY, the coaches will be looking to him to show character.
But if Davies didn’t know it before, he knows now that there will be a contest for the Ospreys No. 10 shirt post-Biggar rather than a coronation.
It will be fascinating to see how he responds.
VERDICT
CONFIDENCE is key for a fly-half and after such a bumpy campaign last term Davies would have wanted the chance to be handed the controls for a home game on the opening night of the season. A place on the bench might suggest to the eight-cap player that belief in him among the coaches isn’t total.
Maybe that will spur him to improve his game.
He might have to.
This one will run and run.