Who might be on parade as Wales begin the changing of the guard?
WAYNE Pivac picked the most experienced team in Six Nations history for Wales’ clash with France last month.
It had an average age of nearly 29, with six players - captain Alun Wyn Jones, Hadleigh Parkes, Justin Tipuric, Dan Biggar, Leigh Halfpenny and Ken Owens - aged 30 or higher.
Taulupe Faletau and Gareth Davies were 29 so it’s clear and obvious coach Pivac has a major rebuilding job on his hands for the next World Cup.
France had just one player, lock Bernard le Roux, over 30, with their new coaching regime having used the Six Nations to begin honing a team for a 2023 tournament they’re due to host.
It can also be argued Pivac needs to blood younger players in an effort to freshen and, most importantly, improve the Wales team and its chance of being crowned world champions after Warren Gatland’s class came up just short at the semifinal stage in the 2011 and 2019 tournaments.
There are signs moves are afoot, with the likes of Taine Bashman and Dewi Lake among a growing group of youngsters who trained with the squad during the Six Nations.
So what side might represent Wales in France in September 2023?
15. LIAM WILLIAMS
WITH talented former Wales Under20 star Rhun Williams having sadly being forced into retirement almost before his senior career had really got going, there’s a dearth of candidates with Pivac unlikely to trust Matthew Morgan or Jordan Williams.
Leigh Halfpenny will be 35 come the next World Cup and, as it stands, I can’t see past Williams, who will be 32, lining up at full-back in France.
14. LOUIS REES-ZAMMIT
THE teenage sensation is the future and has arguably been the best wing finisher in England’s Gallagher Premiership this season.
He has touched down 12 times in 14 appearances for Gloucester in the Heineken Champions Cup and Gallagher Premiership, giving top-class opponents the run-around with his evasive footwork, speed and knack of doing the right thing at the right time.
13. OWEN WATKIN
JONATHAN Davies is unlikely to be around for the World Cup and Watkin was being groomed as his successor by Gatland.
He featured under Pivac against the Barbarians, but a knee cartilage injury kept him out of the start of the Six Nations and he wasn’t picked after returning to action at regional level for the Ospreys.
Watkin, 23, is a solid centre who goes about his business in a quiet way, but who hopefully has much more to give.
Whether Pivac shares that view is the unknown, but Watkin is probably a shade ahead of up-and-coming rivals like the currently injured Harri Millard, who is another exciting prospect of the same age and partnered him in midfield during an Under-20 Grand Slam campaign four years ago.
12. NICK TOMPKINS
MADE a major impact during the Six Nations after throwing in his lot with his grandmother’s country of birth to finish the tournament on a high.
Tompkins is regarded as one of the most accomplished passers of the ball in the English Premiership and attacks with such determination and purpose.
He’s got an ability to beat people and has timing, whether it’s taking the ball at pace or by handing it on.
Tompkins has experience at inside-centre and it’s where his future could lie as a second play-maker who can run.
11. JOSH ADAMS
THIS is straightforward because the winger has been Wales’ best attacker over the last 15 months.
He was leading try-scorer at the World Cup and started the Six Nations with a bang before being forced out of the tournament with injuries.
10. JARROD EVANS
Gareth Anscombe would be 32 come France 2023 and is the type of game-breaking player Gatland claimed Wales missed in Japan.
However, the outside-half has an extensive injury record and is battling to overcome a serious knee injury following two operations.
Rhys Patchell and Jarrod Evans are the next cabs, so to speak, on the rank, but the former has been haunted by injuries too.
Evans impressed for Pivac’s Wales against the Barbarians and was an extended substitute against Ireland and France.
His attacking zest and craft creates opportunities and worries defenders. If he can continue to make strides with his goal-kicking and longerrange tactical kicking he could be Wales’ playmaker.
9. TOMOS WILLIAMS
Rhys Webb and Gareth Davies are approaching the back end of their international careers and Williams should surely be the future.
He disappointed during the Six Nations with his defence, which does need stiffening, letting him down, while some uncharacteristic and unforced errors crept into his game.
Nevertheless, Williams is heck of a talent and the scrum-half berth is there for him to seize.
1. COREY DOMACHOWSKI
THIS is a tough one to call with Rhys Carre probably being the favourite of most who follow Welsh rugby players with his ball-carrying ferocity.
He’s sure to be in the reckoning, but the loosehead prop who has