GATLAND’S SCRUM-HALF DILEMMA AS RHYS WEBB REMAINS OUT IN THE COLD
FORMER cricket boss Micky Stewart once described the seamer Alan Igglesden as England’s 17th choice after summoning him for an Ashes Test amid a pile of injuries.
It wasn’t an utterance guaranteed to inspire confidence.
Closer to home, it isn’t unknown for Warren Gatland to pluck the odd long-eared furry creature out of any headwear he might sport at this time of year, but, all things considered, it still seems unlikely he will feel the need to include Welsh rugby’s 17thchoice scrum-half when he names his squad next Tuesday for the upcoming Six Nations.
So it’s a case of as you were for those Welsh Premiership No. 9s who might have been tempted to wait by the phones this weekend.
Even so, it doesn’t mean Wales have got their scrum-half position sorted or anything like it for the Championship.
None of the Gatland regulars - Gareth Davies, Aled Davies and Tomos Williams - have been exactly setting the rugby world on fire with their regions.
Then there is the ostracising of a certain Rhys Webb, Wales’ best nine for many, but who can’t play because of WRU rules.
Webb is part the the genuine scrum-half quality Wales have had over the years – some believe they have produced more world-class players at No. 9 than in any other position, with a line of stellar performers that includes Gareth Edwards, Haydn Tanner, Dicky Owen, Terry Holmes, Brynmor Williams, Robert Jones, Robert Howley, Dwayne Peel, Mike Phillips and Webb himself.
But in 2019, World Cup year, the Wales No.9 shirt has yet to be nailed down properly by anyone.
We look at the Six Nations candidates – and the one Gatland is una- ble to pick despite a superlative recent return from injury.
GARETH DAVIES
He has 36 caps and started nine of the 12 matches Wales played in 2018, so it seems reasonable to consider Davies as Gatland’s first-choice scrum-half.
In the mood, as he was against Leicester Tigers in the Champions Cup clash at Welford Road in October, he can be a devastating attacker, with pace, creativity and an eye for a gap. He can also defend.
But there’s the perennial question over Davies: are the basics of his game good enough?
His box-kicking continues to be a work in progress and his service under pressure can be erratic, with the occasional pass flying over the head of the first receiver, while his decision-making is also some way short of the gold standard.
That he is a good rugby player isn’t in doubt.
But there is still scope for him to shine up the rudiments of scrum-half play.
Last weekend, for the Guinness PRO14 encounter with the Dragons, a match the Scarlets were under pressure to win, Wayne Pivac opted to rest Davies, instead using youngster Kieran Hardy with Sam Hidalgo-Clyne as back-up.
Hardy had a fine game, gaining confidence from an early break that called to mind Davies at his best, beating five players over 60 metres with searing pace.
So what was the thinking behind Davies’s omission?
“Gareth had played a lot of games on the trot,” explained Pivac. “He’s done very, very well.
“He’d just started to tire a bit in the
previous couple of games, especially late on.
“I sat him down and he wanted to play, as all players do. But we said: ‘No, there’s a big picture’.
“He needed a break and he had that last week. He’ll get more game-time this week.”
Recharging batteries can work for a player.
Davies has played 14 games already this season, including three for Wales, and never hides. Maybe a short break from the front-line will help restore his sharpness.
Gatland will hope so, and so will Pivac.
TOMOS WILLIAMS
HE has been sharing the No.9 role with Lloyd Williams at Cardiff Blues this season.
Capable of the spectacular, as he showed with a stunning try against Lyon in the Champions Cup, the Treorchy product has been refining his game this season, banking experience.
Gareth Davies has actually made more clean breaks than Williams at regional level, and beaten twice as many defenders, with the pair roughly playing the same number of minutes.
Williams has a snap about him and is a competitor, but he still has work to do if he is to be Wales’ No. 1 scrum-half, with some Cardiff Blues watchers reckoning there is room for him to improve his game control.
Even the most myopic could discern that he has big potential.
But the job of translating that raw ability into consistently authoritative performances is often the toughest one of the lot.
ALED DAVIES
The Ospreys’ summer signing from the Scarlets has started nine Guinness PRO14 games for his new club and featured twice in Europe.
He has given the Liberty Stadium region control from scrum-half, kicking more often than Gareth Davies and Tomos Williams, and often kicking well.
He doesn’t have the explosive running game of Gareth Davies, especially, but he has shown an appetite in defence this term, with his 50 tackles in the league comparing favourably with his rivals, albeit that he has spent more minutes on the pitch.
There are elements of his attacking game he can still improve but the Ospreys have been pleased with his progress.
If fireworks are not especially his way, he is an accurate kicker with a smooth pass.
More will be needed for him to take over the Wales No.9 shirt.
But the extra time on the field he has enjoyed this term has benefited him.
LLOYD WILLIAMS
HE last appeared for Wales back in 2016, so his job is to convince the selectors he is deserving of a recall.
Probably, he needs to be producing big performances achieve that aim.
But he is one who is definitely worth monitoring, if only for his ability to kick off either foot and the game control he offers. Also makes breaks and has experience.
Really, at 29 and with the ability he has, he should be on the selectors’ radar.
But they have handed him the No. 9 shirt for just six of his 28 caps and the challenge for Williams is to change their mindset.
OTHERS WHO ARE HOPING
There are plenty who would like to see Wales enquire again about the availability of Harry Randall, the youngster who has been shining for Bristol in the English Premiership.
He grew up in the Amman Valley and played for Wales Under-16s while studying at Llandovery College.
Then there is Rhodri Williams, who has been quietly going about his business at the Dragons.
AND AS FOR THE ‘SUPERSTAR’ GATLAND CAN’T TOUCH
Just before Christmas a French journalist rang a colleague covering the Ospreys v Cardiff Blues game to talk about Rhys Webb, who had launched his comeback for Toulon against Lyon.
“Webb was man of the match and a superstar. He was fantastic!” said Jerome Prevot, of Midi Olympique.
Another French media outlet, Dernieres Nouvelles D’Alsace, described him as “irresistible” and the “perfect master” as Toulon produced their best performance of the season.
Webb, of course, is beyond Gatland’s reach under the 60-cap rule that prevents exiles who are shy of that number of caps from playing for Wales.
Unless your name is Tomas Francis, but that’s another matter.
It has gone quiet on the Webb front in recent months.
But if no-one claims the shirt during the Six Nations and there are injuries then it probably isn’t hugely controversial to say the Webb issue is merely dormant.
In the autumn, Gatland said: “I would love the opportunity to be able to pick him but the rules say I can’t. I would like to think that, if we have injuries at scrum-half, common sense will prevail.
“We will see what happens over the next six months. If Rhys’ form is good enough and seeing what happens with the other scrum-halves is there a possibility? At the moment it is a firm no but you can never say never.”
Webb himself knows it is odds against.
But if can he consistently produce his best form, and circumstances are against Gatland, then might those who run professional rugby in Wales show a dot of flexibility?
You wouldn’t bank on it. But stranger things have certainly happened.
He remains, for many, Wales’ best scrum-half. Some fans remain baffled a player of that quality can be overlooked.