Taking a chance... with most to gain
WARREN Gatland has stuck to his word and issued time-off passes to most of the Wales starting line-up who delivered a first victory in a decade over Australia.
Just one of the side is required for front-line duty in the run-on side this weekend.
That would be Adam Beard, who packs down at lock against Tonga on Saturday, while Ross Moriarty, Tomas Francis and Josh Adams are on the bench.
It is a largely predictable team, though a fit-again Seb Davies is helicoptered in after being left out of the original squad for the autumn because of injury.
For the series finale against South Africa, Gatland is unlikely to be in any hurry to depart too far from his lineup against Australia.
But there still could be chances for individual players to impress.
Indeed, announcing the side, Gatland himself said: “Saturday is a fantastic opportunity for a number of players.”
We take at look at who stands to gain most...
LIAM WILLIAMS
IT’S his 50th cap and he will want to mark it in the grand manner and also remind Warren Gatland what a quality player he is.
It went a bit under the radar, but Williams came up with a fine effort off the bench against Australia, with one of his hits driving the brick outhouse that is Samu Kerevi clean off the pitch.
He also poached a loose ball from under the nose of Michael Hooper, a feat few opensides have managed let alone replacement wings.
Josh Adams will hold his place for the South Africa game after Gatland lauded him as his man of the match against the Wallabies, but George North’s injury means there is a possibility of a change on the other wing.
A good performance from Williams wouldn’t hurt his cause at all.
OWEN WATKIN
THE youngster had been having a fine season with the Ospreys, defending soundly, achieving turnovers and hitting the gain-line hard.
Indeed, in the business of possession steals, no one had bettered him in the Guinness PRO14 before the November Tests started, with bemused opponents stripped of ball before they’d properly noticed. But all that seems a while ago. Waktin hasn’t started a match for over a month and rust can gather.
But he is worth watching closely against Tonga because Hadleigh Parkes has hardly been ripping up trees by the forest-full, and a convincing show from the Osprey might give the selectors something to think about.
Maybe, just maybe, there’s time for him to make his mark in this series.
DAN BIGGAR
BIGGAR will know that the likelihood is that Gareth Anscombe will start next weekend, with the Cardiff Blue having piloted Wales to two victories in a row so far during the autumn.
He defended well against Australia and set up a couple of nice tries against Scotland. Is the No. 10 debate settled, then? No, it is not. While Anscombe has played well enough in this series, he hasn’t produced an A* display to set him apart.
Gatland appears to like him as a player and the smart money is on the New Zealand-born utility back finishing the autumn in the No. 10 shirt, but Biggar being Biggar, he will be determined to make a fight of it.
It will take something special for him to face the Springboks, mind.
TOMOS WILLIAMS
THERE had been mild expectation that Aled Davies might get a start after biding his time so far this month.
But Tomos Williams’s selection could indicate that Warren Gatland is contemplating a big decision at scrum-half.
Gareth Davies hasn’t set the world over the past two games, notwithstanding a lot of effort.
He defended well against Australia and made a mark in that respect against Scotland. And for the Scarlets his running game has often been superb.
But his box-kicking remains an issue and there are some who feel his decision-making isn’t what it could be.
Is Tomos Williams any better on that front?
It isn’t altogether clear, but he made an excellent call to take responsibility in his own 22 late on last Saturday and pump the ball off the pitch.
He also has a bit of swagger about him and seems ready to take on the world.
Then there’s his penchant for the unexpected.
Rob Howley will surely know if the basics of his game and his match-control are in place for him to face South Africa in the final act of the autumn.
Whatever, Williams is breathing hard down Gareth Davies’s collar.
A strong display against Tonga could yield a big reward.
JAKE BALL
ANOTHER with a half-decent chance of returning to favour if all goes well this weekend.
Injuries have hampered the Scarlet for too long but he is fit again and has proven in the past he can be an asset.
He isn’t an explosive ball carrier, but he is a grafter and in the right mood he can be physical.
Not so long ago he was Alun Wyn Jones’s regular boilerhouse partner, but injuries and the rise of Cory Hill changed that and Adam Beard has now also forced his way into the frame.
But don’t rule Ball out just yet.
ADAM BEARD
HE has emerged as a lucky charm for Wales, finishing on the winning side in each of the six Tests he has played.
But the suspicion is Warren Gatland isn’t a man who sleeps with a four-leaf clover under his pillow at night.
Lucky charms are for others to hang onto. Wales’s coach tends to need a bit more to justify a selection. What of Beard, then? The 6ft 8in Osprey had a superb summer tour with Wales and so had earned his chance to face Australia’s big second-row pair Adam Coleman and Izack Rodda last weekend. He didn’t let anyone down. But nor did his effort quite hit the heights of his work in Argentina five months earlier.
While he started last week, he still has much to gain on Saturday, by sim-