Certain of your place? Not with coach Gatland in charge of selection calls
IF Warren Gatland had been on the selection panel ahead of the Huns’ clash with the Romans back in the day, even Attila might have lost sleep in the run-up to the team announcement.
Few players can ever be certain of their places under the New Zealander.
Most bar-room pundits would have expected Lions Test man Liam Williams to start on the left wing for Wales against Australia tomorrow.
Most rugby writers would have probably felt the same way.
But Gatland has opted for Josh Adams.
Other picks that have raised eyebrows include Adam Beard getting the nod over Cory Hill, while Nicky Smith starts for the second successive game ahead of Rob Evans.
At fly-half, Gareth Anscombe is given the chance to build on a large- ly encouraging effort against Scotland, with Dan Biggar having to bide his time.
We analyse the big calls Gatland has made...
JOSH ADAMS BEATS LIAM WILLIAMS FOR THE No.11 JERSEY
WILLIAMS started all three Tests for the Lions in New Zealand 17 months ago, winning plaudits after triggering the try from the gods that was claimed by Sean O’Brien in the opening game of the series.
His next challenge was to build on those performances, and it hasn’t proven easy.
Injuries have conspired against him and this season he has managed just three starts in the Gallagher Premiership for Saracens. Six tries have resulted, made up of two hat-tricks, which underlines that Williams can still finish, but Gatland will have noted the first of those sprees didn’t exactly require over-exertion.
“I have had a bit of stick from the boys – three tries and I think I covered about 12 metres,” laughed Williams after the scores against Bristol.
On song, he is still one of the most dangerous runners from deep in British and Irish rugby, and he is fearless with it.
But his lack of rugby has counted against him and Gatland is also trying to build depth in his back three.
Adams had an excellent tour of Argentina with Wales last summer, impressing in both Tests. The coach is big on rewarding such efforts, and Adams gets his this weekend.
But the Wallabies will be a step up and it will be an opportunity for Gatland to see whether the Worcester Warrior can thrive against such opposition.
Luke Morgan? The incumbent steps aside after being starved of ball against Scotland. Steff Evans? One of Wales’s most creative players again has a watching brief after a stop-start opening to the season. Jonah Holmes? We await the chance to see Holmes and Moriarty lining up in the same team.
Elementary and all that? Let’s see. But it is a big chance for Adams.
NICKY SMITH RETAINS THE No.1 JERSEY AHEAD OF ROB EVANS
SMITH emerged from his duel with the highly-rated WP Nel with his reputation intact, recovering from a shaky first scrum which saw him concede a penalty.
In the set-pieces that followed, and there weren’t many, Wales actually exerted pressure on Scotland.
The Osprey is also adept at achieving turnovers and that evidently counts for a lot in a post-Sam Warburton era, for pilfering opposition ball isn’t just the job of a back-row nowadays, with coaches expecting players throughout the team to pitch in on that front.
Smith is good at that, whether