A back row conundrum, the value of bonus points
Should Faletau return? Dan Biggar or Sam Davies? Will bonus points decide the Six Nations? Rugby correspondent SIMON THOMAS answered these, and many more, questions in a live debate with fans on WalesOnline. Here’s what was said...
Moriarty, Tipuric, Warburton, Faletau? Who and why? I’d be sticking with the three that did the job v England. - Aled Thomas, Havefordwest I’M with you on this one Aled.
Taulupe Faletau is a fantastic player and has arguably been Wales’ most consistent performer over the last four or five years, regularly leading the way in the carrying and tackle charts.
It’s good to see him back to fitness after his knee ligament damage and coming through 80 minutes unscathed for Bath against Harlequins on the weekend.
But I would still stick with the same starting back row up in Murrayfield.
Not so long ago, the idea of leaving a fit Faletau out of the Wales team would have been far-fetched in the extreme.
But the Moriarty/Tipuric/Warburton axis has been working so well, there’s no compelling reason to move away from that.
Ross Moriarty had an immense game against England, leading to much head-scratching over his withdrawal on 53 minutes, while the dual openside flanking combination of Justin Tipuric and Sam Warburton is really blossoming.
So it’s same again for me and how lucky are we to have a player of Faletau’s quality waiting in reserve. Should we be building towards the 2019 World Cup, and with that in mind, shouldn’t be using this as an opportunity to look at our options in midfield such as whether Sam Davies at 10 and Dan Biggar at 12 would work ? - Llanwernboy, Abergavenny THIS one is slightly complicated by the fact that interim boss Rob Howley will inevitably be looking beyond the 2019 World Cup from a personal perspective.
He will want to take over as permanent head coach once Warren Gatland heads back to New Zealand after that tournament.
With that in mind, he is very much on trial during this caretaker spell in charge with Gatland away on Lions duty.
So his first priority is winning matches in the here and now. As such, realistically he is not about to go in for any kind of experimentation, especially given the highly competitive nature of the Six Nations this season.
Instead, he is going for the tried and trusted experienced options.
Personally, I would still like to have seen the Italian game utilised to look at other options, with the likes of Steff Evans, Thomas Young and maybe Owen Williams included among the replacements.
That was the opportunity to do it, with the Azzurri being such weak links in the Championship, but it wasn’t to be.
As for the individuals you name, my own view is both Sam Davies and Dan Biggar are fly-halves, full stop. That’s their best position and that’s where they should play. You choose the one you think is playing best and the one who is best suited to the way you want to play.
Scott Williams has gone well at 12 and we need to persevere with him there, outside either Davies or Biggar. Should Tipuric be the back substitute freeing up a place for Cracknell or king as Faletau is not a lineout specialist ? - Paul Rees, France ABSOLUTELY not. You can’t ask someone who has never played in the backs at professional level to suddenly cover that area at Test level. Justin Tipuric is an outstanding openside, let him focus purely on that role.
You could see the lineout options increased against Scotland if the 6ft 9ins Luke Charteris has recovered from his hand and hamstring trouble to come into the 23. Rob Evans or Nicky Smith at loose head? - James, Wiltshire THIS is a close call as they both have much to offer and are both doing a good job on the loosehead in the absence of the great Gethin Jenkins.
We are fortunate to have two such talented youngsters coming through in the position, with Evans 24 and Smith just 22. Loosehead looks in safe keeping for the next decade or so.
They have slightly different attributes as players. Evans offers perhaps a shade more power at scrum time, while he is a real hard yards bulldozing carrier.
Smith has good feet and is a dynamic presence around the field, while also having inherited the strength of his father, a competitive powerlifter.
Both are very much modern day props, mobile and comfortable with ball in hand.
So it’s a tough one, but I would just edge towards Evans, thinking back to the part he played in transforming the scrum when he came on in Italy and the shift he put in when starting against England. Do you think bonus points will decide this year’s championship, and if so will the failure to score the fourth try against Italy come back to haunt the team? - Stuart, Cardiff WE all said at the time we hoped Liam Williams losing the ball over the line in the final play out in Rome wouldn’t prove costly in the final analysis. Only time will tell whether it will.
That spillage saw Wales missing out on a four try bonus point and that failure was put into a starker light by Ireland having the bonus in the bag inside 30 minutes at the same ground a week later.
It could well be that bonuses decide this year’s Championship and the fact that the Irish also secured a losing one against Scotland may prove significant.
England for their part have home games to come against Italy and Scotland - both of which have bonus potential - so could in theory have an unassailable lead by the time they head for Dublin on the final weekend.
It’s worth keeping the calculators at the ready. But one suspects the Championship crown may already be beyond Wales looking at their remaining fixtures. If North is injured, do you go for Cuthbert or Steff Evans on the wing after both played well this weekend? - Mark, Cardiff HOPEFULLY George North will be ok. He certainly seems confident of recovering from his dead leg in time to face Scotland.
If he doesn’t make it, I would go for Steff Evans on the wing. He has had an excellent season and was at his slippery eel best for the Scarlets against Zebre on the weekend. The young man makes things happen and deserves a chance.
That would enable Cuthbert to continue regaining form and confidence for the Blues, who travel to Edinburgh on Friday. It was great to see him flying down the wing against Treviso at the weekend and more of the same at regional level over the coming weeks will do him the power of good. Will, and should, Keelan Giles be called up to the Six Nations squad