WHO’S UP FOR ITALIAN JOB?
WAYNE Pivac has options aplenty for Wales’ next tilt at the Grand Slam when they head to Rome to face Italy.
But what does the Wales coach do with his team selection?
Does he stick with the vast majority of the players who beat England so thrillingly, or does he give others in the squad an opportunity to be a greater part of the Six Nations march?
How much does a likely Grand Slam showdown with France just seven days after affect Pivac’s thinking, with the need to keep players fresh?
These are among the issues Pivac will need to weigh up before setting upon his starting XV for Rome and it’s a delicate balancing act.
Our writers pick the teams they think Pivac should name...
MARK ORDERS Faletau must be rested
Warren Gatland sometimes used the Italy game to rest players and experiment, but with this weekend being a fallow one, Pivac has no real need to rest any of his Wales-based squad members for the trip to Rome.
Four starters against England play for clubs over the border.
The 20-year-old Louis Rees-Zammit shouldn’t be too bothered by playing this weekend.
Dan Biggar is being rested, anyway, after picking up a bump against England. Maybe there’s a case for giving the former Osprey a breather for the Italy game, too, to improve his chances of being fit for France.
There’s some concern over forwards Tomas Francis and Taulupe Faletau, too.
World-class though Faletau is, the temptation is to rest him against Italy if he’s involved for Bath this weekend. The very last thing Wales need is for their great No.8 to pick up a bump ahead of Paris. Hopefully, Aaron Wainwright will come through this weekend’s Ospreys-Dragons clash.
It might prove a shade risky to go with anyone but Francis at tighthead, mind, with the Exeter man being far and away the best scrummaging No.3 in Pivac’s squad.
Elsewhere, Jonathan Davies needs rugby, so if he’s pencilled in to start against France a week on Saturday, he really needs to play in the Italian capital.
In the absence of the injured Kieran Hardy, my scrum-half would be Tomos Williams, assuming he’s fit. The Cardiff Blue is a player with many talents.
It’s time he had an extended run, and some luck, on the international stage.
Mark Orders’ Wales team: Liam Williams; Louis Rees-Zammit, George North, Jonathan Davies, Josh Adams; Callum Sheedy, Tomos Williams; Wyn Jones, Ken Owens, Tomas Francis, Adam Beard, Alun Wyn Jones, Josh Navidi, Justin Tipuric, Aaron Wainwright.
MATTHEW SOUTHCOMBE Don’t risk it
There are always calls to make wholesale changes for the Italy match, but I’m not sure it’s wise for Pivac to play that game.
A number of players – Elliot Dee, Leon Brown, Callum Sheedy, Willis Halaholo in particular – have strong cases to start the match.
But it feels like a little bit of an unnecessary risk to make changes for the sake of it.
As the Wales boss himself alluded to, it’s not as if his side have been turning in perfect performances. There is still room for improvement in a lot of areas, but that’s the exciting thing.
A change will come at scrum-half after Kieran Hardy’s hamstring injury, but the one intriguing part of the team is fly-half. You could form a very credible argument for starting Sheedy in Rome, but it is laced with risk.
Sheedy has given us little reason to doubt him in this campaign, but if Pivac does start the Bristol Bears pivot and things go wrong, serious questions will be asked. It’s a real 50/50 call and he may go that way given Dan Biggar is battling injury niggles.
For me, if Biggar is fit, he should start.
Every single one of Pivac’s gambles so far have paid off. Eventually, your luck runs out and there’s no need to push it in Rome.
Biggar starting and Sheedy coming off the bench is a winning formula. If
it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Jonathan Davies will benefit from more game time on his way back from injury and another outing in the 13 jersey will do George North some good.
Consistency of selection in the forward pack has seen them solve their set-piece woes so, again, I’d be reluctant to make too many changes here.
Pivac is a rare breed of coach in that he pre-plans very few substitutions.
He unloads his bench based on how players are faring in matches and doesn’t do it en masse for the sake of it.
He might be inclined to throw his subs on a little sooner in Rome, though, assuming Wales can create some breathing room.
BEN JAMES
Sheedy deserves to start at 10
I don’t expect Wales to make many changes, with keeping hold of momentum important as they bid for another Grand Slam.
Had Kieran Hardy not been ruled out of the tournament, I would have expected Pivac to go with the same backline that faced the Italians in Llanelli in the autumn – with Callum Sheedy now deserving a shot at starting.
However, Hardy’s injury will likely see Tomos Williams regain the jersey he gave up himself through a hamstring problem in Wales’ opening game against Ireland.
I’d be tempted to start Willis Halaholo after two impressive cameos, but presuming Pivac has Jonathan Davies in mind to start in Paris, he needs minutes in this one after just coming back from injury.
In the pack, I’d argue against major changes.
Elliot Dee was impressive against England off the bench and, while Wales have done well to fix their lineout, I don’t think a start for the Dragons hooker would be too much of a risk - especially if Adam Beard keeps his spot in the starting XV.
Ben James’ Wales team: Liam Williams, Louis Rees-Zammit, George North, Jonathan Davies, Josh Adams, Callum Sheedy, Tomos Williams; Wyn Jones, Elliot Dee, Tomas Francis, Adam Beard, Alun Wyn Jones, Josh Navidi, Justin Tipuric, Taulupe Faletau.
Matthew Southcombe’s Wales team: Liam Williams; Louis Rees-Zammit, George North, Jonathan Davies, Josh Adams; Dan Biggar, Tomos Williams; Wyn Jones, Ken Owens, Tomas Francis; Adam Beard, Alun Wyn Jones; Josh Navidi, Justin Tipuric, Taulupe Faletau.