Shane Williams’ column: Chopping Richard Hibbard will leave Wales exposed

Warren Gatland has wielded his axe and cut some really prominent players from his World Cup squad after last week’s heavy defeat at home to Ireland.
And on the one hand it proves that he’s got strength in depth to play with. We all knew that Mike Phillips and James Hook were drinking in the last-chance saloon, but axing Richard Hibbard might come back to haunt him.
My main concerns for this Welsh team heading into the World Cup all centre around the front row, where our scrummaging ability is going to be tested to the max by almost every team we play. Hibbard is one of our most physical players and his scrummaging power is well known. Will his early departure weaken the Welsh squad? I think so!
What it will do is put even more pressure on to Samson Lee as he returns from his Achilles operation. It was great to hear Robin McBryde say last week that the Scarlets tighthead is back on scrummaging duty, but so much is now falling on his shoulders. I just hope he can cope – along with the untried, and untested, Tomas Francis.
When you consider the performance of the Welsh tight five against Ireland, and add in the fact that Joe Schmidt was testing out his strength in depth in that department, we look to be weaker than we have done for a long while in the front row. And, as we all know, if you don’t have a solid platform from which to launch your backline, then the game becomes much tougher for the matchwinners.
As far as the half-backs are concerned, I got the feeling that they needed miracle matches against the Irish to force their way into the squad.
Hook is one of the most talented players I’ve ever played with, yet the writing was on the wall for him as soon as Gareth Anscombe was brought into the squad and it now looks as though the Cardiff Blues utility back is going to go to the World Cup in Hooky’s place.
As for Phillips, he was no longer the No.1 scrum-half following the rise of Rhys Webb, but I thought he still had plenty to offer with his vast experience. You never know who is going to get injured, or when, at a World Cup and Mike could have been the perfect back-up for Warren if any of the other scrum-halves got injured.
Is it the end for him? I think we all know that you write off a player of his tenacity and ability at your peril.
There have been a few conspiracy theories flying around this week regarding the fact that Mike, James and Richard all play for teams outside Wales. Did Warren give them the boot to show the rest of the squad that playing in Wales really does matter when the big decisions are made? I don’t believe it. I don’t think it matters to Warren where the players are playing, just as long as they are in peak shape to perform well for their country.
With the squad reduced, the numbers will be more manageable for the coaches and there will be a lot of intense rugby work crammed into the next weeks ahead of the game in Dublin. There will also be a few relieved players within the camp who must have felt under threat before the announcement on Thursday.
The sight of George North in a full contact session in Colwyn Bay must have been a relief to Warren and, hopefully, North’s concussion problems are now behind him. He’s had a good break and I’d expect him to play some part in one of the next two warm-ups to get his bearings back.
If he is fit and firing then Wales will be a much better side for it, but to get to that stage he needs game-time. Who knows, he might even come into the reckoning as an option at centre during the tournament, especially if Liam Williams regains full fitness.
It was great to hear some encouraging news about Liam’s return to training last week and he has become a really influential player and character within the Welsh camp. Having him back up to full speed in time for the big games in the pool would be another huge bonus for Warren and Wales.