GATLAND PICKS TWO SEVENS FOR FINAL TEST SHOWDOWN WITH PUMAS
WARREN Gatland has gone for broke by picking James Davies AND Ellis Jenkins together for the final Test in Argentina.
Can that work? Just how big a miss will broken finger victim Hadleigh Parkes be?
What about the selection of Aled Davies at nine?
our man with Wales on tour, gives his assessment of Gatland’s selection for the game in Santa Fe...
The dual opensides
IT’S what we’ve been waiting for but it’s a little bit of a gamble from Warren Gatland to go with two out and out opensides in Ellis Jenkins and James Davies.
You do lose bulk and grunt by omitting a Seb Davies kind of player. Wales were incredibly effective at nullifying the Argentina maul in San Juan and it took away arguably the Pumas’ biggest weapon. Davies was central to that so somebody is going to have to pick up the slack there.
If Gatland feels his side are being outmuscled, then he has plenty of size in Bradley Davies and Josh Turnbull to turn to off the bench. The front five is really going to have to step up.
Jenkins’ experience in the No.6 shirt that he has worn for the Cardiff Blues in the past means Wales should be able to get away with it, but what is important is that the two of them don’t start trying to outplay each other.
Jenkins has applied massive pressure on Davies, and Davies has in turn applied massive pressure on Jenkins thanks to their respective starring roles in the victories over South Africa and Argentina.
Neither is going to want to be outdone, but they need to focus on their own game, go about their business and remember the bigger picture. Provided they do that, Argentina’s back row could be in for a hard 80 minutes.
The player with the most to gain
THERE is obviously a lot at stake for every player, but one man in particular has a big chance this weekend – Owen Watkin.
Wales are in a great position with 15 months to go until the Rugby World Cup.
If you look across the board, suddenly they have developed depth in just about every position, apart from one.
But whereas Hadleigh Parkes has already become pivotal at 12, Wales don’t have the same depth of cover at inside centre as they do in other positions.
With that in mind, with Parkes injured and with Owen Williams out of the picture, Saturday is a huge chance for Watkin to make his impression.
He has shown his qualities for the Ospreys this season and a good performance on Saturday night would do his international credentials the world of good.
The Wales management will be challenging Watkin to prove that he can be a credible alternative to Parkes for the No.12 jersey.
If you picked your centre squadron for the World Cup, it would be Jonathan Davies, Parkes, Scott Williams. They may opt for one more or feel like they can rope in the likes of George North to provide cover.
Either way, the Wales management want somebody to challenge Parkes for his jersey and Watkin has a big chance to become that man.
The scrum-half merry-go-around
Gatland’s decision to pick Aled Davies means Wales will start with a different scrum-half in every game on this trip.
The Ospreys-bound nine is at risk of falling behind Tomos Williams in the race to be Gareth Davies’ deputy - and potentially overtake him - in the build up to next year’s global showpiece.
Williams proved he can cut it at this level with a brilliant performance against South Africa and is chosen on the bench for Saturday’s season finale.
Can Davies follow suit? You’ve wondered in the past whether or not the Wales management see him as a genuine option to start in big Tests, but Saturday night is a chance for him to prove the doubters wrong.
As things stand, young Cardiff Blues scrum-half Williams has stolen a march.
The ones that have kept their place
THOUGH there were always going to be changes, Gatland has stressed that continuity is equally important.
Adam Beard goes again because he proved in San Juan he can handle the power of the Argentina pack and it’s another chance for him to get invaluable minutes under his belt at this level.
Bradley Davies is on the bench if things go wrong.
Ross Moriarty gets his third start of the trip and it’s no surprise really considering how little game time he has had this season.
Usually more of a six, the way he has grown into the No.8 jersey will please Gatland because they need someone to offer cover to Taulupe Faletau.
Moriarty has had a brilliant tour and made more tackles than any other player in international rugby last Saturday with 26.
Rhys Patchell keeps his place and that must have been a close call because there wasn’t much between him and Gareth Anscombe for me. The deciding factor was probably that the win over Argentina was more impressive than the one against South Africa and the Scarlet was assured with his kicking.
As for the back three, there is no reason to change there as they need game time. Hallam Amos had a disrupted end to the season and Wales want to see him develop at 15, George North is showing signs of returning to his best form and Josh
The front row rotations DILLON Lewis and Elliot Dee drop to the bench having started the first two games on the trip.
That’s nothing to do with their form, they’ve been outstanding so far, but Gatland has gone for hooker Ryan Elias in the interest of fairness. And let’s face it, Elias has come on and played very well when he’s been given the chance, scoring the winning try against the ‘Boks.
As for Lewis, he was particularly impressive last weekend and it would probably be asking a lot of him to start again for a third time, though he’d probably snatch your hand off to do it.
His work in the loose stood out just as much as the way he handled the Argentina scrum and he’s really put down a marker to Tomas Francis.
Suddenly, the Exeter Chiefs prop will know that he has to respond on Saturday night or risk falling down the pecking order ahead of next season.
It’s great to see Lewis come through because Wales will need that depth at tight-head.