Peter Jackson: Halfpenny finds his currency on the rise

The battering taken by Wales during a troubled month threatens to have long-term consequences even for those who managed to stay in one piece.
Recovering from the physical damage inflicted by exposure to the Southern Hemisphere is one thing – repairing the reputation of prospective Lions a different matter entirely.  Twelve months ago it would have been a case of Wales & The Rest, as befitting a team that plays in red.
Pick a Lions Test XV now on the evidence of the last four weeks and it might be a case of spot the Welshman. While the kaleidoscopic nature of Lions selection means that the picture will change again between now and April, most Welsh candidates have some serious catching up to do.
The good news is that they have the time and the platform of the Six Nations, starting with the opening title defence against Ireland in Cardiff on February 4.    The bad news is that nobody can afford to lose any more ground before the squad is named in April.
Had the Lions been playing 12 months ago at least two-thirds of the World Cup semi-final team would have been shoe-ins – Leigh Halfpenny, George North, Jonathan Davies, Jamie Roberts, Rhys Priestland, Mike Phillips, Adam Jones, Alun-Wyn Jones, Luke Charteris, Danny Lydiate, Sam Warburton and Toby Faletau.
By the end of the Six Nations, four more had joined the list – Alex Cuthbert, Ian Evans, Ryan Jones and Gethin Jenkins. In a Lions context, Wales were the only show in town. Now they are in bits having lost eight players to busted shoulders, shattered knees and various other traumatic blows, not least the cowardly one with which All Black hooker Andrew Hore pole-axed Bradley Davies.
When head coach Warren Gatland sits down with his advisers to dissect the last month, they will surely come to the grim conclusion that just one Welshman has enhanced his claim to a Lions Test place – Halfpenny. On current form he demands selection somewhere in the back three but exactly where will depend on Rob Kearney’s return from injury.
If the Irishman regains the regal form which made him the supreme full-back in these islands, he will surely start with the Lions in Australia where he finished in South Africa four years ago, at No. 15.    Gatland would then have to find room for Halfpenny on the wing, probably at the expense of North or Cuthbert.
Tommy Bowe’s rediscovery of his old self against Argentina indicates the Ulsterman will be hard to leave out.  Cuthbert goes into the New Year as the leading Welsh challenger which leaves North needing a big Six Nations to recover lost ground. He is in good company.
Jamie Roberts suddenly finds himself with some serious competition at inside centre, all the more so if Brad Barritt keeps improving.  England‘s stylish triumph over the All Blacks has brought heartening
evidence that the Lions cupboard is nowhere near as bare as it might have appeared before last weekend.
Jonathan Davies will surely make the tour but Manu Tuilagi‘s tour de force at Twickenham makes him the leading contender at No. 13.  In that event the peerless Brian O’Driscoll could always be redeployed at No. 12, in direct competition with Roberts.
Rhys Priestland needs nobody to advise him that he has slipped behind Jonny Sexton and Owen Farrell.  While James Hook wonders whether he will ever get another starting chance in his favourite position, Jonny Wilkinson cannot be ruled out.
Mike Phillips no longer heads the scrum-half ratings. If Ben Youngs keeps playing as he did against New Zealand, he will go to Australia in pole position.    Another Englishman, Danny Care, has served notice that he intends to be right behind him on the starting grid.
The tectonic plates have also been shifting in the pack. Jenkins, for so long the supreme loosehead, now lags behind Cian Healy and Alex Corbisiero. Judging by his failure to oust Andrew Sheridan at Toulon, he also lags behind the Englishman who has been curiously considered surplus to requirements by his country.
Adam Jones will surely guarantee a Welsh presence if he stays fit once he makes his come-back from injury, planned for over Christmas.  He, too, will find more competition, not just from the Leicester tighthead Dan Cole but Mike Ross and his new Irish understudy, the Kiwi convert Michael Bent.
The advent of  Wasps lock Joe Launchbury as the outstanding newcomer of the autumn challenges more experienced seconds rows.  Even if he recaptures the form which won him the accolade as the player of the Six Nations, Lydiate cannot be sure of the blindside Test spot if Stephen Ferris is also firing on all cylinders.
The ‘if’ is a big one given that the Ulsterman has just begun an eight-week recovery from ankle surgery.  Sam Warburton, under challenge on his own doorstep from Justin Tipuric, showed signs of being back to his best against Australia last week and remains a strong contender as a specialist openside.
Faletau has surely fallen behind Jamie Heaslip and Ben Morgan in the No. 8 pecking order. Many unforeseen factors will influence Lions selection but there is no dodging the message for Wales – improve or spend the summer far from the madding crowd in Japan rather than at the main event in Australia.