Prop Evans out as Gatland picks ‘best World Cup squad’
Saracens’ Carre gets nod after impressing in camp Selections show strength in depth, claims coach
Perhaps it is no surprise that Warren Gatland sent a few shock waves through Wales by leaving out Grand Slam winner Rob Evans and picking the young, green hulk Rhys Carre in the World Cup squad he named yesterday. After all, the Kiwi’s 11 years as national coach have been anything but boring.
As his reign in the Principality reaches its closing act – and what a finale it could be in Japan – this is a reminder that his actions can speak even louder than his words. “We are not afraid of anyone,” he said. “This is the best squad we have ever taken to a World Cup.”
It must be, if not only Evans is deemed surplus to requirements but also tighthead Samson Lee and centre Scott Williams. Gatland conceded that Carre over Evans had been “the hardest call”.
It was almost unthinkable that Evans would be overlooked for a 21-year-old who has not even been first-choice loosehead for the Cardiff Blues and whose international experience amounts to the first 40 minutes in the defeat by Ireland on Saturday.
Evans has won 35 caps since his debut in 2015 and started all five Six Nations matches this year as Gatland completed his third clean sweep as Wales coach. Nobody expected this. Credit to Evans because Alan Phillips, the team manager, revealed that the 27-yearold was the first to appear on the squad’s collective Whatsapp group to congratulate the 31 who were seit lected and to urge them forwards. The reason for Evans’s demotion is linked to his injury problems – he underwent a shoulder operation in April – and to the potential of Carre, who has signed for Saracens.
“It was a massive call and it is Rhys’s durability,” Gatland said. “He carried well against Ireland and scrummaged OK. He is 128kg [20st] and is a big man and is only going to get better. He came in at 138kg [22st] and was really struggling but by the end [of the warmweather camp in Turkey last week] he was beating the other props in terms of fitness. He’s got some engine on him – the progress that he has made over the 13 weeks we have had in camp has been phenomenal.
“Is it a risk? The thing when you
pick a youngster is you know you’re going to go through some pain. He’s learning and making mistakes, but you need to see the long-term development and often we haven’t seen that in Wales because of [the need for] results. It’s ironic sometimes that we’re developing players at the international stage rather than doing it at regional level.”
Gatland is going with only five props, which is an eye-opener in itself. Wyn Jones, Evans’s Scarlets team-mate and, invariably, his deputy, can cover tighthead. Lee’s absence is another surprise. “Samson has missed a few campaigns, had a hamstring issue during the campaign,” Gatland said. “When we decided to go with the five props, one of the big discussion points was how durable they are.”
On the flank, James Davies must have been fearing the worst, but as one of the nation’s favourite characters there is widespread satisfaction that the openside will join brother Jonathan on the plane. Davies, a member of Team GB’S silver-winning sevens squad at the 2016 Olympics, can thank the fact that Gatland has chosen to select six back-rowers, with Aaron Shingler covering second row, should Cory Hill not recover from a leg fracture.
This proves the importance of 27-year-old Hill. The Dragons lock will not be available until the second game – against Australia – at the earliest, but Gatland is prepared to wait for his main line-out caller. No worries about durability there.
With an 18-13 forwards-backs split, there are only two No10s in the party, as Gatland had indicated beforehand, and it was obvious that Rhys Patchell would be named alongside Dan Biggar after making such a difference in Saturday’s second-half comeback. Jarrod Evans is one for the future.
But where does Scott Williams go next, after being snubbed in favour of Owen Watkin? That is the thing with the World Cup four-year cycle – it does seem so final for those such as Williams. But he is only 28 and could still play a part in this World Cup, of course, as could so many of the discarded.
Elsewhere, Gatland resisted the temptation to go with wing Owen Lane, who impressed on his debut; Hallam Amos earned the nod. “Our strength in depth is shown by the calibre of the players we are leaving behind,” Gatland said. “I think this squad is good enough to win the World Cup.”