Prydie’s too good for all this time in the shadows
Tom Prydie arrived at ‘Heart and Soul Rugby Country’ last summer hoping to find a way back to the promised land of the Test arena. He had been there once upon a time, thrown in at the deep end a few days after turning 18 which made him the youngest Welsh cap of all time and the youngest picked by any other country since Ireland took 17-year-old Johnny Quirke out of school and played him at scrum-half against England at Twickenham.
Prydie discovered that there is a price to be paid for being picked ahead of his time, even if he did keep his place for the three matches after a winning debut against Italy. He scored a try against South Africa before surviving a double exposure to the All Blacks in New Zealand.
All that must have seemed a very long time ago. In the eight years since Wales remembered him only long enough to make a one-off return in a largely second XV in Tokyo, an occasion which ended unhappily with a first defeat to Japan then under the direction of Edward Jones, Esquire.
Before joining the Scarlets, Prydie had relocated twice in making moves that, from an international perspective, turned out to be dead-ends. Ospreys to Wasps and back to Wales with the Dragons didn’t get him anywhere in terms of international recognition.
He started the season, therefore, on the outside looking in, one of the supporting cast for the Scarlets’ relaunch as a major player in Europe. When their Champions Cup adventure began in Toulon last autumn Prydie was nowhere to be seen.
The preference for Paul Asquith, a New South Welshman, on the bench as cover for the starting wings Johnny McNicholl and Steff Evans left the new signing, an older South Welshman from Porthcawl, some way down the pecking order.
The same low-level ranking applied to his other specialist position at full-back where Leigh Halfpenny and Rhys Patchell provided a formidable pair of obstacles. Just when it seemed as though another year would pass with Prydie nowhere to be seen on the Wales radar, he began to emerge from the shadows.
He had been there for too long, a rugby version of Icarus, the winged figure from Greek mythology who ended up flying too close to the sun. Prydie’s premature capping by Wales took him off on a similarly improbable journey which hit the buffers in New Zealand a few months later.
Since then Wales have gone through a veritable squadron of alternative wings, 16 in all including three who have been forced into retirement long before their time – Morgan Stoddart, Harry Robinson and Eli Walker. Prydie may have avoided their fate but he remained a long way behind, out of sight, for sure, but not out of mind.
Making his presence felt in a squad that had won the PRO14 in some style would require one step at a time. The first, as a consequence of the Celtic champions’ response to losing both opening ties, brought Prydie back to the bench for the home tie against Treviso.
McNicholl’s shoulder surgery and consequent removal for the remainder of the season gave Prydie an overdue break, clearing the way for him to start on the right wing against Bath. He made the most of it, playing his part in a Scarlets’ victory which for sheer scintillating excellence outdid the runaround they had given Munster in the PRO14 final.
Prydie stayed for the critical home win over Toulon and just when he could see a road open up all the way back into Wales squad an ankle operation turned it into a mirage. Wales kept track of him and a come-back against the Cheetahs last week convinced them that he had earned a second chance.
A lot older at 26 and infinitely wiser for experiencing the vagaries of sporting life, Prydie’s double string to his bow as a wing-cum-full-back makes him an ideal bench choice. He can cover for Rhys Patchell or Gareth Anscombe at 15 as well as Steff Evans and Hallam Amos on the wing, assuming that Wales proceed with their avowed intention of reinventing George North as an outside-centre.
Whether it’s for that strangely artificial Test against South Africa in Washington or the more authentic ones in Argentina, Prydie deserves his chance. With a World Cup on the horizon it could hardly come at a more opportune time.
“Since Prydie’s debut Wales have gone through a veritable squadron of alternative wings... 16 in all”