Will power gets nod, Anscombe’s key at No.10 and Adam’s the Beard that’s feared...
AS preparation for a game with South Africa, a match against Tonga is akin to taking a warm bath in readiness for a swim around Britain.
Warren Gatland knows that, which is why he doesn’t appear to have read too much into his shadow team battering the islanders last weekend.
They prevailed 74-24 and played some eye-popping rugby in the final half-hour, but, in picking his team to face the Springboks, Wales’s coach has evidently factored in that a number of the opposition players weren’t exactly in full armour-plated mode as the game against the Tongans played out its final knockings.
By contrast, the previous weekend’s victory against Australia was a contest from beginning to end, with every run and tackle counting. It was a searching examination for the players who took the field and one they came through – hence 14 of them have been rewarded with selection for the final game of the series.
There’s every chance it would have been 15 had Leigh Halfpenny been passed fit.
Even so, some big calls have been made and significant names miss out.
We look at some of the key selections...
LIAM WILLIAMS REPLACES LEIGH HALFPENNY AT FULL-BACK
THERE were many who felt Williams unlucky to have been by-passed for a starting spot against Australia, but Josh Adams justified his inclusion with a quality display that saw him safe in defence and lively in attack.
Gatland then cleverly pressed the right button by letting the world know Adams had been his man of the match.
The unspoken message was there needed to be a response from Williams against Tonga – and there was, with the Saracen scoring two tries, the first courtesy of a finish that saw him come close to defying the laws of gravity to ground the ball in the corner.
Even taking into account the opposition’s limitations, the former Scarlet looked bang on top of his game, chasing hard, plucking high balls out of the air, setting up a score, offloading, leaving defenders in his slipstream. This was peak Liam Williams, a sight Wales fans hadn’t seen for a while.
Gatland was faced with a potentially brutal selection call.
But Leigh Halfpenny’s unavailability saved a gallon or two of midnight oil.
Of course, the Kiwi could have switched Gareth Anscombe from fly-half and accommodated Dan Biggar, but would that have been fair on Anscombe?
So, Williams it is who’s taken receipt of the No.15 shirt.
The importance of Halfpenny and his steadiness can hardly be overstated, but Williams’ inclusion at the back means Wales field potentially a firecracker of a back division, with attacking threats all over the place.
Is the balance right? It will be intriguing to find out.
HADLEIGH PARKES EARNS THE VOTE OVER OWEN WATKIN
PARKES’ patchy defensive display against Scotland was followed by a quiet show against Australia, while he hadn’t exactly been setting the world ablaze for the Scarlets before the autumn Tests.
And Watkin earned plaudits for his effort last weekend, ripping so many balls from opposition hands it appeared he was up against a team drawn from the Tonmawr Knitting Circle rather than Tonga.
But Parkes hasn’t become a bad player in the space of a few months and the intelligent and clear-thinking individual who was virtually errorfree during his first eight internationals still has credit in the bank.
Gatland also wants Watkin to become more vocal on the pitch, though the Kiwi has acknowledged
GARETH ANSCOMBE HOLDS OFF DAN BIGGAR CHALLENGE (AND RHYS PATCHELL’S LATE CHARGE)
DAN Biggar’s man-of-the-match effort against Tonga, which saw him offer calm and reassurance to an experimental side, complicated the fly-half picture, while Rhys Patchell wowed many with his exploits late on against the islanders.
But Anscombe had previously banked brownie points with his efforts in the altogether more challenging Tests against Scotland and Australia.
By his own admission, he didn’t kick that well out of hand against the Scots.
But he did set up two tries and he defended strongly against the Wallabies while also making a decent fist of running the game.
The call appears to be that the attacking threat he offers and his all-round quality mean he merits a run in Wales’s full-strength side.
So others seemingly will have to sit and watch. This is Anscombe’s time.
GARETH DAVIES v TOMOS WILLIAMS v ALED DAVIES
A THREE-CORNERED scrap here, with Wales favouring the most experienced member of the trio.
It is something of a leap of faith from Gatland because Gareth Davies hasn’t exactly been delivering with the reliability of the Swiss postal service.
Tomos Williams has shown in glimpses he could be the genuine article, while Aled Davies offers game control and mastery of the basics, plus-points every Test scrum-half should have but not all do possess in an era where break-making is king.
Gareth Davies needs to repay Gatland, then.
The Scarlet shone for his region against Leicester in the Heineken Cup and could do with a similar performance to confirm his status as Wales’s first choice.
NICKY SMITH IS WALES’ NUMBER ONE
THIS is one that not everyone would have flagged up at the start of the season.
But what’s opened the door for the Osprey seems to be the lack of true turnover specialists to assist Justin Tipuric in the back row. Minus Taulupe Faletau, Wales are a shade light in that area, so Gatland has evidently compensated by turning to Smith in the front row, with the 24-year-old adept at the art of thieving possession.
Selection is about balance and compromises and picking Smith allows Wales to field the physical pairing of Dan Lydiate and Ross Moriarty alongside Tipuric.
It needs to be stressed that Smith justified his inclusion against Australia.
A second watch of the match tape found him to have been even more outstanding than first appeared, contributing immensely at the breakdown and helping to shut out dangerous opponents who can usually be relied upon to score tries.
Also, Rob Evans has made a big impact off the bench this autumn.
ADAM BEARD WINS SELECTION OVER MORE EXPERIENCED HANDS
“YOU can’t coach someone to be 6ft 10in and 19st” – so said Gatland after he named Adam Beard to face Australia.
Since then both Jake Ball and Cory Hill have launched strong claims for the right to partner Alun Wyn Jones. But Gatland has stuck with Beard. Never mind that the Ospreys’ website lists him at 6ft 8in and 18st 5lb -- he is still a big bloke and you can never have too many of those against the Springboks.
Yes, the youngster remains a work in progress at this level, but he is only 22 and he did a lot of unseen stuff against Tonga, helping to defend mauls and counter-rucking. “He’s a player of the future who has real skills in an area where we want to create depth,” said Gatland earlier this autumn.
Beard has huge growth in him, then, and come the World Cup he could be close to being an outstanding forward.
South Africa will be another step in his development.