Biggar, better?
Fly-half aims to prove World Cup class
One line from Warren Gatland about Dan Biggar, delivered in 2010 before a Test match against New Zealand, has rung true ever since: “In Wales there are mixed views about Dan – either people love him or hate him.”
Few modern players have inspired and infuriated supporters in equal measure as much since Biggar made his Test debut in 2008. Those exaggerated reactions towards match officials after any perceived injustice have never been well received by Wales fans, let alone the rest of the game’s followers.
Today’s Test in Cardiff will be Biggar’s 72nd for Wales and throughout that time his stock has soared and dipped. Currently it seems high after a string of successful cameos off the bench during the Six Nations, particularly against England. The 29-year-old has also never appeared more comfortable in his own skin.
“I am a better player as well as a better person; calmer, more satisfied with life,” he told The
Daily Telegraph in May. With Gareth Anscombe, who until recently had kept Biggar out of the side, now ruled out of the World Cup and next year’s Six Nations having damaged both his ACL and meniscus, the fly-half berth is Biggar’s to lose.
Martyn Williams, the former Wales flanker, told The Telegraph:
“Even though he did not start, he played a massive part in that Grand Slam. It helps that he seems calmer on the field. I think [those protests] used to frustrate the fan on the street.
“They know he is a class player – he took Wales through the group stages of the last World Cup against the odds. Losing Anscombe is a big blow but to have a world-class outside half like Biggar to come in softens that blow.”
Williams was notably outspoken regarding Biggar’s on-field antics after Wales’s defeat by Ireland during the 2018 Six Nations, when the negativity surrounding the player seemed to peak.
That day he was his own worst enemy. After claiming a high ball, he immediately appealed to Glen Jackson, the referee, that he had been tackled in the air by Jacob Stockdale, losing possession in the process. Ireland scored soon after.
His competitive edge might have turned Biggar into one of the best fly-halves around, but it has also been his Achilles’ heel.
“It is something he has to take out of his game,” Williams told the BBC at the time. “Senior players have to say ‘50-50’ calls might go to the other team because you are constantly complaining. He is one of the senior players. They have to pull him aside and say, ‘Dan, you are killing us here.’ ”
As a former team-mate, Williams also knows that Biggar’s on-field temperament is entirely different to his attitude off it. Plus, the way Biggar has seemingly cooled off this season has been noticed.
“I am all for a fiery outside half but he does seem to have tempered it a bit, which will help immensely,” Williams explains now.
“People get this perception of him on the field that he is this narky sort of guy, constantly chirping and questioning. But he is a great bloke, very intelligent, and nothing like that off the field.
“Look at the best 10s around – Johnny Sexton, Owen Farrell – they are not shrinking violets, are they? That is what you want from your fly-half. If you make a mistake, you are put in your place. There was nothing worse in my mind than a quiet No10.
“When he first came into the squad [in 2008], I’d seen him play for the Ospreys, heard a bit about him, and thought he was brilliant. He didn’t care about how many caps you had, how long you had been around – he put you in your place.”
Perhaps the issue is not so much Biggar, although those bursts of petulance never helped, but a deeper, ingrained expectation in Wales when it comes to whoever dons that famous No10 shirt, occupied previously by icons and great entertainers such as Barry John and Phil Bennett.
“It has always been the stigma in Wales,” Williams explained. “Neil Jenkins had a similar problem when he started. Dan is not going to be one of those guys who beats four to five men on a sixpence to score a 50-yard try, but he has so many other strengths that make up for that in my mind. Knowing him, I think he thrives on being written off, proving people wrong and how good he is. As difficult as it might be, he will probably enjoy that.”
Chris Boyd, his director of rugby at Northampton, is a big fan of Biggar’s punchy approach. He might not pull off mesmerising solo breaks next month in Japan, but Biggar’s attacking game has notably improved under the tutelage of Boyd and Northampton attack coach Sam Vesty.
“He does not suffer fools,” Boyd explained. “He has a high expectation in terms of preparation for himself and everybody else. When he has a poor game he is the first to acknowledge that he was substandard.
“You could never criticise Dan for not trying, for not being well prepared, for not being organised. He is one of those guys you would be happy to take into the trenches with you, because he is a fighter. He is b----- competitive and holds people to account, and I like that.”
Perhaps a calmer, more attacking version of Biggar can make all of Wales fall in love with him, after dividing opinion for so long.