THEY are not quite down to the last man standing in midfield, but with Jonathan Davies, Scott Williams and Ashley Beck all ruled out for the game with France on Friday, Wales don’t exactly have a multitude of options.
It was Black Monday on that front with Davies officially ruled out of the Millennium Stadium encounter because of his chest-muscle problem, while Beck, who has had a hip injury, declared himself unready for the rigours of international rugby.
With Williams already sidelined, Warren Gatland is likely to be mulling over whether to shift George North into the centre to partner Jamie Roberts and bring Liam Williams onto the wing, or leave North out wide and summon James Hook into midfield.
If he opts for Hook it will be a surprise.
The 28-year-old may be widely viewed as one of Welsh rugby’s most gifted players, but at various points over the past two years he could have been forgiven for wondering if he’d get a start for Wales if a Day Of The Triffids plague of blindness swept the world and he was left as one of the only people able to see.
It hasn’t quite reached that point this week, but Gatland appears left with a straight choice between Hook and North alongside Roberts, and few seem to believe Hook will get the vote, not least because picking him would jar with the power game Wales have played in recent campaigns.
Swinging a sledgehammer at a defensive door isn’t Hook’s game.
He prefers to use deception to get past those blocking his way, relying on skill rather than brute force.
So Gatland has a decision to make, with his options sharply reduced by Davies and Beck not being ready.
“Jon Davies is not going to be available for the match against France,” announced forwards coach Robin McBryde.
“There is a possibility he will play for the Scarlets next week to give him some game-time.
“With regards to Ashley Beck, Ashley trained with us last week and played for the Ospreys against Treviso.
“Having said that, he feels he is not quite ready for the step-up to international intensity. He wouldn’t be doing himself any justice, so in conjunction with the Ospreys, we are working closely with Ashley with regards to that. I think he has been pretty honest with himself, and said that he wouldn’t do himself justice.
“Our midfield options are a bit thin. You can make your own minds up there. There has been no definite decision made.
“Today was our first day of training. Someone has to run there, and those decisions will be made later in the week.”
Beck pulled out of contention despite making a high-class contribution to the Ospreys’ 75-7 win over Treviso.
It is known the region have been managing the 23-year-old’s long-standing hip injury, and it was always going to be a case of fingers-crossed that he would be able to withstand Wales training.
A tough few days last week evidently convinced him he wasn’t ready.
Better news for Gatland is that Luke Charteris is over the injury concern that ruled him out of the Ireland game.
Wales have spent the past ten days mulling over the lessons of that match, no-one more so than McBryde, about whom it could never be said he made himself scarce when the flak was flying.
“It was pretty painful and I’m not looking to blame anyone other than myself,” he said at the squad’s base in the Vale of Glamorgan.
“I thought those days and those types of performances were behind me.
“You can play in certain games and know you are not quite on the money. You don’t need anyone else to tell you it’s been a bad day at the office.
“It’ll be the first time for some of these players to experience that.
“Everybody is hurting but the fortunate thing is we have an opportunity to put it right.
“England would have felt something similar after the final game in last year’s Six Nations and they had to wait quite a bit before the next game.
“So we are fortunate we have the opportunity to put things right against France.
“Hopefully, we’ll learn our lessons and put the defeat down to one bad day at the office.”
Meantime, Rhys Priestland appears to be edging towards signing a contract with the Scarlets rather with than the Welsh Rugby Union.
The fly-half has been undecided over his future, but his region remain increasingly confident they can retain one of their prized assets.
Article source: http://www.dailystar.co.uk/rugby-league/360654/Rugby-League-St-Helens-hairy-prop-Kyle-Amor-hoping-to-win-trophies-with-the-Saints
Wales look to James Hook or George North
No comments:
Post a Comment