By Haydn Evans
COACH Wayne Pivac’s biggest selection dilemma when Triple-Crown chasing Wales clash with England is who will line up in the numbers 12 and 13 shirts.
It’s funny how rugby works. Last week many of the Welsh public expected a certain Dr. Jamie Roberts to start at inside-centre against Scotland. When England come to Cardiff in two weekends time, he will be a long way from test rugby, potentially the 7th or 8th choice Welsh midfielder.
Pivac began the campaign against Ireland with 99 test capped George North moving in from his preferred position on the wing to play outside 24-year-old Scarlet Johnny Williams, who scored a try against England in the Autumn Nations Cup.
However, Williams and North were part of a sextet of Wales players in the squad who missed Saturday’s second round victory over Scotland. Williams missed out with concussion after failing a mid-game head injury assessment and North with a foot injury. The duo are back available for selection for the England game.
In their absence, Dragons’ on loan Saracen Nick Tompkins and Ospreys’ Owen Watkin stepped up at 12 & 13. Watkin had an admirable display defensively making a crucial last-minute tap-tackle on Scotland’s Duhan Van Der Merwe which may have just won the game for Wales. Tompkins seems to be struggling to adapt to the physicality of test rugby, getting held up or turned over on a couple of occasions. In attack however, Tompkins showed promise with a great offload to free up space for Louis Rees-Zammit’s first try.
Blues’ Willis Halaholo finally made his Welsh debut after qualifying through residency and missing out in the Autumn through injury. Halaholo played a vital part in Louis Rees-Zammit’s second try and carried well after coming off the bench at Murrayfield.
Throw six-time test Lion Jonathan Davies, who is expected to return after a lengthy lay off with an ankle problem into the mix and it’s easy to see the headache Pivac will have when he sits down with his assistants to pick his team next week.
Wales have struggled to find a consistent centre partnership since Warren Gatland’s old Jamie Roberts and Jonathan Davies combination. Scott Williams, who scored a memorable try at Twickenham in the 2012 Grand Slam campaign threatened, but injuries have hampered the now 30-year-old’s progress.
Gatland found a solution to his centre crisis in 2017 with New Zealand born Hadleigh Parkes making the 12 shirt his own for two years before he left to play for Panasonic Wild Knights in Japan after the 2019 Rugby World Cup, making him ineligible to represent Wales due to the WRU’s selection policy.
Early rumours suggest Johnny Williams and George North may come back into the midfield but that’ll be seen in the coming week, with plenty more training sessions in between.