Shane Williams column: Wales can roar home with Lions in midfield
Warren Gatland and Shaun Edwards have increasingly built their game upon a fantastic defence. To concede just three tries during the entire World Cup was an amazing achievement when you consider Wales played England, Australia, South Africa and Fiji and lost half the squad to injury.
However, we looked as if we just didn’t have the answers when faced with something different. And against 13 Australians, we simply needed to be far, far smarter.
Maybe the players panicked, but when the game was there to be won, we were conservative, too direct and didn’t look comfortable against a back-line that were down in numbers but defending for their lives. Would South Africa or New Zealand have scored against 13 men? I’m guessing yes.
So Wales need to get back to being a team comfortable and confident with the ball in hand, because we certainly have the players.
I mention the Springboks and All Blacks, but the team we should really look at is Argentina. I was fortunate to watch them a couple of times during the World Cup and they were fantastic.
They still had their big lumps up front to do the hard work, but their skill-set was incredible. That meant they possessed the ability to go direct or play it wide.
When it was time to roll up the sleeves, they had Marcos Ayerza, Leonardo Senatore and Juan Fernandez-Lobbe to carry it up. But as soon as the chance was on, the likes of Marcelo Bosch, Santiago Cordero and Juan Imhoff could run it from anywhere.
That is the game I believe would suit Wales. It always has. In 2005 we simply ran teams off the park. In 2008 and 2012, we stopped teams in their tracks and then hit them hard.
We have an extremely fit squad with a lot of international experience who can play that high-tempo game for 80 minutes. We have Alun-Wyn Jones, Gethin Jenkins and, one of the best gain-line breakers in Britain, Taulupe Faletau. And, hopefully, the return of a couple of players among the backs will help Wales to play a better attacking brand of rugby.
We will be able to see whether or not Warren is ready to move on with three selection decisions along the back-line.
First, and probably the easiest, of those decisions is at scrum-half. With Rhys Webb unlikely to be in with any chance until the end of the tournament, Gareth Davies is likely to continue.
Aled Davies is a young player with potential but Dublin in the opening game of the Six Nations is a fiery cauldron that needs a cool head.
Saying that, it will be Gareth Davies’ first taste of it. But given how he handled the World Cup, I’m sure he’ll be fine.
Jerseys 10, 11, 12 and 13 take care of themselves with Dan Biggar, George North, Jamie Roberts and the long-awaited return of Jonathan Davies.
His return will have a major impact on the Welsh backs. For a start, Jamie will heave a sigh of relief. Wales had to pick four different centre partnerships at the World Cup so it’s great news to have their tried-and-tested Lions pair together again.
Davies also has the vision and eye for a gap that could bring out the best of those around, especially North.
But the big dilemma for Gatland is 14 and 15 and who he picks will say a lot.
I expect Warren will pick Alex Cuthbert and Gareth Anscombe, but I really hope he doesn’t.
It has been good to see signs that Cuthbert is regaining some of his confidence. But this is the Six Nations and I’ve always been a great believer in picking and rewarding players on form. Right now there are others playing just as well, if not better.
Hallam Amos is an exciting talent and is now back from the injury he suffered in the World Cup, in the win over England (sorry, but I like to mention that as often as possible). Is he 100 per cent ready for Test-match rugby?
Possibly not.
So I’d like to see Tom James given a crack. He would certainly bring a real hunger that could bring something new to the backline. It has been almost six years since Tom won the last of his caps when he was still pretty young and he has matured a lot since then, both on and off the pitch. He is also the form winger in Wales right now after scoring eight tries in 12 games this season since coming back to Cardiff.
Then I would like to see Matthew Morgan starting at full-back. If we’re serious about developing this unique talent for international rugby, then we have to play him.
Some people will see it as a gamble but I have always fancied a flutter and I believe he’s a risk worth taking. He tore Fiji to shreds at the World Cup and if he can physically handle those boys, he can handle Ireland. Wales are crying out for a game-breaker like Morgan and there is no other player like him in Britain.
I suspect Gats will go with Anscombe but I just feel he is a fly-half playing as a makeshift full-back. Morgan, in contrast, could light up the Six Nations.
I’m also excited to see how Manu Tuilagi gets on in this tournament. It feels as though he has been away for a long time but he could really spark England’s backline.
Virimi Vakatawa, a good old-fashioned French name, could be a new star of the tournament if his performances on the Sevens circuit are anything to go by.
As ever, no one has the foggiest idea what the French are going to be like but they could well arrive in Cardiff in Week 3 top of the table.
They start with two games in a row in Paris. First against an Italian side that appear in limbo as they wait for the dead-duck coach Jacques Brunel to leave after the tournament.
Then it’s Ireland who I don’t think are as strong as they have been in recent years. And if they’ve lost to Wales a week earlier, the pressure is on.
Ireland and Wales have three home games so that first match in Dublin is make-or-break. I honestly think if Wales win that one, then the Grand Slam is on, just as it was in 2012.
The day before that is Scotland-England. Scotland have a new confidence they’ve lacked for years. Meanwhile Eddie Jones will certainly improve England but I doubt he has had enough time yet. If he loses the first game, then he’s immediately behind the eight-ball.
It all just shows how important the opening weekend is going to be in a Six Nations that is wide open.
