Aaron looks set for All Blacks challenge
IT’S been two years since Aaron Wainwright burst onto the scene at the 2019 World Cup.
Plying his trade on the blindside, Wainwright played an instrumental role in Wales’ progress to the semi-finals and added a dynamism to a back-row stripped of the injured Taulupe Faletau.
Whether it was Josh Navidi, Justin Tipuric or Ross Moriarty starting alongside him, the balance of the Welsh back-row was anchored by the energy and all-round game of Wainwright.
The lines were more blurred than other back-rows, which might operate with a clearly defined breakdown specialist at openside or a rampaging carrier at No. 8.
“It’s that all-round ability that makes it work,” Telegraph rugby analyst Charlie Morgan told WalesOnline at the time.
“If you look at other back-rows, you’d balance things out in explicit ways.
“You might have a big carrier at 8, with a groundhog at 6 and lineout jumper at 7.
“With Wales, it just seems that all three of them can pick up the slack in different ways.”
Because of that all-court game, it looked certain that Wainwright would be a mainstay of the Welsh team for years to come.
Back-row partner Tipuric predicted a future as a “world-class player”. Jamie Roberts called him “undroppable” and advocated giving him the Wales captaincy sooner rather than later to further his progression.
Another back-row handed the captaincy at a tender age, Sam Warburton, believed “he would have the qualities” to do the role.
However, since that World Cup and the handover from Warren Gatland to Wayne Pivac, Wainwright has found things a little trickier.
Having been a mainstay under Gatland, he’s found himself largely on the fringes under Pivac thanks in part to the return of Faletau and the added back-row depth.
It’s a point which is rarely made, but where Wainwright’s dynamism and all-round game provided balance to Wales’ back-row sans Faletau, it can almost be like a hat on a hat when the Bath No. 8 is fit and available.
Having two fairly similar players in terms of their ball-carrying and style of play packing down at 6 and 8 means one of them has to compromise a little, while the openside also has to pick up some of the grunt work.
Perhaps that’s why Pivac sees Wainwright as a No. 8, and not a blindside as Gatland did. In many ways, it’s either Wainwright or Faletau, not both.
Wainwright’s comments earlier this year about Pivac’s conversation with him on switching certainly tend to support that.
“I spoke to Wayne and that’s where he sees me playing, at No 8,” Wainwright said at the start of this year.
“He expressed that’s where he thought I could be playing and playing well there.
“What he was saying is he wants a 6 to be a big, physical, defensive sort of prominent figure and sees me more as coming off the base as a No. 8 with my footwork and speed.
“That was his thinking behind it and what he explained to me.
“From what he’s said, I can see where he’s coming from and, if I fit into his game-plan in that sense, I am more than happy to play at No. 8. I think it will suit me quite well.
“I played at 6 in the [2020] Six Nations and then a little bit more in the autumn, but then the Georgia game I played at No. 8 and it went quite well.
“Wherever he wants me to play or wherever I come into his plans I’m happy to play there. It’s just about where I’m playing my best rugby and where I fit in.
“At Cardiff Met, I played 6 mostly. Then coming through for the Dragons, I slotted in at openside a bit, but the breakdown area isn’t something I’m naturally strong at, so blindside was where I slotted in best and I just carried on developing from there.
“But if Wayne is seeing me as a No. 8, I need to hone in on those skills at the back of the scrum and make sure I am getting better in that area.
“Trying to impress and play well there is something I will be looking to do.”
It would be hard to argue that, since switching, he hasn’t impressed.
After a good campaign last year, his chance to impress in the red No. 8 jersey this summer was hindered by an injury against Argentina - stopping a bright start to the game from flourishing into an eyecatching statement.
However, he has continued to do what he does best with the Dragons - showing some nice glimpses against Leinster at the weekend.
The good news for Wainwright is that if it’s a case of either him or Faletau, then the Wales-based player has the benefit of being available for Wales’ autumn opener against the All Blacks, while Faletau is not.
Auditions don’t come much more daunting than New Zealand but the likelihood is that Wainwright will at least be part of a balanced back-row should the likes of Navidi, Moriarty or Ellis Jenkins start alongside him.
From there, his dynamic carrying and ability to step through the first tackle could come to the fore. Just as crucially, his work in defence - pointed out as a work-on from Pivac - will be something which will need to stand up to the All Blacks.
Usurping a rejuvenated Faletau is a big ask, but Wainwright might not be handed many better opportunities than October 30.