Pivac’s Wales make flying start as England loss blows Six Nations wide open:
NICK Tompkins believes the “invaluable” experience gained from being part of Saracens’ star-studded squad has helped his transition to Test rugby.
Saracens centre Tompkins had a Wales debut to savour in the Guinness Six Nations opener against Italy.
He scored a sparkling solo try after going on as a second-half substitute and was at the heart of Wales’s attacking ambitions in their 42-0 victory.
In doing so, the former England Under-20 and England Saxons player presented a powerful case to make head coach Wayne Pivac’s starting line-up when Wales tackle Ireland next Saturday.
Tompkins, 24, has been one of Saracens’ unsung contributors in recent seasons, shining on domestic and European stages alongside England giants like Owen Farrell, Maro Itoje and Billy Vunipola.
“The experience you get from being at Saracens and being with all those big players is invaluable,” he said. “Because you come into here (Wales), obviously the standard is a step up, but you are kind of used to the bigger stadiums and the big occasions.
“And you get a lot of insight into how those players work, so when you come here you have got the same type of players who work in the same professional way, so it’s easier to slot in. It just helps.
“I was really anxious coming into a new squad with new guys and everything like that, but the coaches have been brilliant, the players have been brilliant.
“And I’m not just saying that. They are really accepting, they are proper good lads and they have taken me under their wing.”
Tompkins, who qualifies for Wales through his Wrexham-born maternal grandmother, had a brief run during the first half, replacing wing
Johnny McNicholl while he underwent a head injury assessment before rejoining the action.
“You watch and I’m flying around, but I am missing tackles,” he added.
“I calmed down, sat on the bench and said ‘OK, that’s the level, you’re OK, you can do it.’ It was a blessing in disguise.”
And when Tompkins returned, going on for Hadleigh Parkes 13 minutes after half-time, he made a major impact that was highlighted by his weaving 40-metre run and brilliant finish.
“That was for my gran — she is the reason I am here,” said Tompkins, of his passionate try celebration.
“That celebration was emotion and probably a bit of anxiety and relief all together. It was one of those I will never forget.
“I got emotional before the anthem, but I pulled myself together.
“I was a wreck (on Saturday morning). But I made a point to not put my headphones in and to enjoy the bus ride in, seeing everyone, the choir. I wanted to enjoy every aspect, every bit of it.”
And as for a possible start in Dublin, he added: “I don’t know. That’s up to Wayne. Whatever role I am in, I am going to help contribute and get this team to where we need to be.
“We are all hungry. It’s a new challenge with the new coaches and stuff. We are all heading in the right direction.
“The attitude is brilliant; the players we’ve got, good leaders who are going to keep us on the right track. So, I think if we stay hungry and keep improving, keep wanting to improve, we’ll be all right.”
THE Wayne Pivac era is up and running. And it’s not off to a bad start.
A bonus-point victory, 42 points scored, none in reply and some nice tries to boot.
After 12 years of Warren Gatland, this was the first time since a trip to Twickenham on a February afternoon in 2008 that Welsh fans were stepping into the unknown when it came to a Wales team’s style of play.
Granted it was only Italy, but there were some promising signs about how Pivac will want to evolve Wales’ game plan from the Gatland regime.
So what did we see on Saturday that was different to the Gatland era?
BEN JAMES takes a detailed look...
THE WALES FORWARDS OUT WIDE
It took 33 seconds to get a glimpse of one key facet of what Pivac will look to do with Wales.
The sight of Taulupe Faletau and Justin Tipuric lurking on the right wing as Wales launched their first attack of the game could well be a familiar sight in the next few years.
And it’s all about how Pivac sets up his forward pods to allow that freedom for his classy back-rowers.
The wider recognition of forward pods and differing the set-up of them is something that has become in vogue in recent years.
Most teams either use a 2-4-2 formation or a 1-3-3-1 formation. Those numbers relate to where and how your forwards are split when attacking in open play.
So in a 1-3-3-1, you’ll have two separate pods of three forwards in the middle of the pitch, with a lone forward in each of the wide channels.
The 1-3-3-1 is what Wales largely used in the latter years of Warren Gatland’s time in charge, the idea being it can allow you to generate quick ball through the use of those middle pods. But, if you don’t have a big pack of ball-carriers – which Wales don’t – it isn’t always conducive to gainline success.
So, from the off, Pivac came out of the gate with a 2-4-2 pod – with Faletau and Tipuric on one wing and Aaron Wainwright and Alun Wyn Jones on the other.
In particular, skipper Jones held his width in an extreme fashion – positioning himself on the left touchline as Wales went through the phases. It will be interesting to see if that is an ongoing tactic.
The Wales captain may be in his 14th Six Nations, but he has worked on his ball-handling and offloading skills in recent years – so a freedom out wide could suit him.
The other benefit of the 2-4-2 formation is that it is largely played off first-receiver. In the 1-3-3-1, you largely play off the scrum-half.
So this is beneficial for Wales in two respects. It creates options around Dan Biggar, who is playing some of the best rugby of his career, and it allows you to get to the opposite wing in fewer phases – as playing off the fly-half tends to result in more passes.
In short, rather than six forwards doing the grunt work in the middle of the park and two athletic forwards holding the width, the freedom is now spread out across the pack.
The only concern, as shown by the opening attack, is that ball-carriers can become a little isolated if the middle four get spread apart after a few phases. That will take time to evolve.
The key with Wales will be fluidity.
WINGER MCNICHOLL USED AS A PLAYMAKER
Just over two months after his Cardiff coronation against the Barbarians, Johnny McNicholl made his Wales debut on the wing against Italy.
The Scarlet was busy, getting involved off his touchline from the off. Given the competition in the back three, there’s no guarantee he starts next weekend in Dublin.
Yet, the role he played in the Wales backline was crucial to how newlook Wales worked in attack.
When Wales played in a 2-4-2 formation, you tend to have a playmaker stood behind the pod of four forwards to offer Biggar an option to go wide out the back. Often, that was McNicholl.
The play that summed that up best came near the end of the game as Wales chased a bonus-point try. In two consecutive phases, McNicholl was sought out as a second-receiver playmaker behind that bank of forwards.
The Scarlets winger has a particular set of skills which lends itself to playing this type of role.
His ball distribution, elusive pace and arcing runs work well with him taking the ball at a 45-degree angle.
Taking the ball from the fly-half, McNicholl has options outside him and forwards in front of him that, if they do their job as credible passing options, should hold defenders for a split second or two.
That gives him the choice of spreading it wide, or tracking across the pitch laterally, looking for a gap to cut back into.
On this occasion, he gives a wide pass to Nick Tompkins, who in turn throws a perfect miss-pass to Wainwright to allow Wales to get outside Italy.
We saw the McNicholl ploy early on, in the very first attack of the game, as he drew a high tackle from an Italian defender by running laterally from a pull-back pass, before cutting through a slight gap.
McNicholl popping up at secondreceiver will be a familiar sight provided he is in the team. In fact, it might be one of the reasons he is in the team.
Pivac likes a balance in his backthree that has one of his wingers acting as a link-up player and the other as a finisher. Josh Adams is undoubtedly the finisher, so were George North to be ousted from the centre,
there are no guarantees he makes it back on the wing.
What will be interesting to see is whether Wales introduce more variety in the shape above as Pivac encourages the forwards to back their own passing skills.
You could see the fly-half give a short ball to the first forward option in the pod, who then pulls the ball back to McNicholl, allowing him more time and space to reach the edge.
GREATER LINE-OUT AMBITION AND TIPURIC’S DIFFERENT ROLE
McBryde, Wales had a reasonably successful line-out.
With a hooker like Ken Owens and an entire back five capable of competing aerially, Wales were capable of keeping opposition line-outs guessing.
However, you couldn’t say it was the most adventurous of set-pieces, often relying on the movement and physical agility of Tipuric to secure ball at shortened line-outs.
Tipuric was something of a get-out of-jail card for the Welsh line-out, with his athleticism being used to get Wales ball when the line-out wasn’t always firing on all cylinders.
But Tipuric is often best-placed as a conduit between the backs and forwards meaning Wales often lost out on attacking opportunities at the expense of secure line-out ball.
New forwards guru Jonathan Humphreys seems keen to broaden Wales’ horizons.
While the line-out didn’t perform brilliantly against Italy, we did see parts of how Wales might become more ambitious and use it as a more offensive source.
Wales looked to vary the ways they used Tipuric, with Humphreys having likely encouraged more ambition in the caller.
When they shortened the line-out for Wales’ opening try, Tipuric was in the backline as a carrying option. Previously, Gatland would have kept Tipuric there to ensure ball was won securely.
Pivac and Humphreys have also worked on Tipuric acting as a scrumhalf off the back of the line-out, creating doubt in the defence as to what will happen next given his immense skillset as a loose forward.
Under Humphreys, Wales could well look to introduce more innovation into their line-out and attack more off middle and back ball. The movement and aerial ability of their back five should help considerably.
THE WARBURTON BREAKDOWN FACTOR
When you’ve brought Sam Warburton in as a breakdown consultant, it’s fair to say you’ve giving that facet of the game a fair bit of focus.
Warburton identified that Wales at times committed too many numbers to the breakdown in Japan and is keen to work on the players’ decision-making there.
It was noticeable how few numbers Wales committed to the breakdown on Saturday, often having just one or two at the ruck.
But it’s not enough to just stand off the breakdown. You still need to recognise the opportunities when they come – or manipulate them if they don’t.
Few examples show that better than a penalty Justin Tipuric won early on in the first half.
After Taulupe Faletau tackled Sebastian Negri, Nick Tompkins, less than 60 seconds into his international debut, goes to the back foot of the ruck and feigned to jackal.
However, having identified that Italy have two players ready to clear out, he pulled out at the last second leaving the two Italians – Matteo Minozzi and Luca Morisi – to needlessly clean out a ruck.
Italy have three men on the floor at one breakdown. Wales have 14 men on their feet in defence – including Tipuric.
On the next phase, Tipuric takes advantage of Italy committing two men to the last ruck and nips in to win a penalty. Minutes later, Tompkins assesses a different situation, goes in for the ball and wins the penalty.
It’s just really smart play and something Warburton will have been emphasising to the players regularly during his time in camp.