WHAT A DIFFERENCE a year can make in rugby.
When Warren Gatland named his Wales team for the opening game of the 2023 Six Nations against Ireland in Cardiff, it included a whopping 952 Test caps. Andy Farrell’s announcement of an Irish starting XV comprising 566 caps provided a contrast.
Fast forward to Wales’ opener in this year’s championship and there was an even more notable contrast. Gatland’s starting XV for the clash with Scotland included just 413 Test caps. Fullback Cameron Winnett got his Test debut at the age of 21, while the bench included debutant 22-year-old back row Alex Mann.
So for anyone who hasn’t been following closely since Ireland last played Wales in that 2023 opener, watching this weekend’s Welsh anthem in Dublin will be jarring.
Injury has deprived Gatland of the experience of Taulupe Faletau but many of the other highly recognisable faces have moved on. Legendary lock Alun Wyn Jones has hung up his boots, while flanker Justin Tipuric, fullback Leigh Halfpenny, and out-half Dan Biggar have retired from international duty.
Fullback Liam Williams has moved on to Japanese club rugby, hooker Ken Owens is 37 now and hasn’t played any rugby since being ruled out of last year’s World Cup, while tighthead Tomas Francis is part of Provence’s bid for promotion from the French Pro D2.
Wales’ bench against Ireland last year included plenty of experience too but scrum-half Rhys Webb is another who retired from international duty while wing Alex Cuthbert is out of the picture.
In short, most of the faces that have been so familiar in Gatland’s Wales teams over the years, including some hugely successful ones, are now gone.
This is a new dawn for the Welsh even if the likes of centurion centre George North, Lions lock Adam Beard, and scrum-half duo Tomos Williams and Gareth Davies provide an experienced edge.
But really, Gatland has ushered in a fresh era as some of Wales’ best-ever players have departed over the past year. His initial squad for this Six Nations included five uncapped players and a further eight who had yet to make their championship debuts.
For the more casual fans from outside of Wales, there were some completely new names and it was jarring to hear Gatland talking about “giving some youngsters an opportunity, some youngsters that are not featuring regularly for their club sides.”
While Ireland boss Farrell has shot down the notion of four-year cycles, Gatland has already been talking about the 2027 World Cup. Perhaps that’s all he could do given how callow his squad looked ahead of this Six Nations.
The Welsh boss has been bigging up the new talent and there have been a few promising glimpses in their narrow defeats to Scotland and England so far in this championship.
Fullback Winnett – who has only played 13 times for club side Cardiff – has looked balanced and smart in his first two Test caps and flanker Mann – just 11 games for Cardiff – has had a few good moments mixed in with indicators of his inexperience.
Other relatively new faces like flying Rio Dyer and second row Dafydd Jenkins, the new skipper at the age of just 21, have adapted well to Test rugby so far. Openside flanker Tommy Reffell has become one of the best breakdown jackals around.
Gatland is unlucky that the 24-year-old duo of back row Jac Morgan and hooker Dewi Lake, co-captains for last year’s World Cup, are missing given how important he believes they are going to be for this group.
There are concerns in the tight five, particularly at tighthead prop where Leon Brown and new addition Archie Griffin have suffered injuries. The experienced France-based Francis and Henry Thomas weren’t picked for this Six Nations, so four-times capped Keiron Assiratti is set to start again this weekend against Ireland. Gatland has called up the uncapped Harri O’Connor to bolster his squad options at tighthead.
Ireland have made an encouraging start to life post-Johnny Sexton but it remains to be seen how Wales’ young out-half options develop. 23-year-old Sam Costelow was at number 10 for the opener against Scotland and 22-year-old Ioan Lloyd came in for the defeat to England after an injury for Costelow.
Both had exciting moments but their inexperience was obvious. The comparison will be made between them and Jack Crowley but neither of the Welshmen has helped their club side to a URC title. Costelow and Lloyd are both part of a Scarlets side who lose a lot of games.
In fairness, the Welsh regions’ struggles never stopped Gatland from being successful in his first glorious stint in charge. But it increasingly feels as though the structural, financial, and succession planning issues in the Welsh game are coming home to roost. We know that Gatland teams will always be totally committed and we’ve seen that again in the opening rounds of this championship as they’ve gone down swinging.
However, the fact that Gatland is talking about a long-term project is surely part of his effort to manage any expectations right now.
Ireland’s 22-point favouritism for this Saturday is as much about their quality as Wales’ new project, but there’s no doubt that this would rank up there as one of Gatland’s greatest achievements if the Welsh can rock Dublin this weekend.
On the flip side, it could be a harsh lesson at the highest level for his new-look team.
- This article was updated at 10.13am to correct ‘Wales’ to ‘England’ in the 13th paragraph.
