With only ten days left before the RBS 6 Nations gets underway, the Wales squad have begun training and Gatland and Co. will be twiddling their thumbs, hypothesising the various combinations of starting XVs for Sunday 7th February.
In this week’s Welsh Connection, I’m going to throw the cat amongst the pigeons and the openside amongst the blindsides, and give my matchday 23 for Wales’ opening fixture.
This is by no means the team that I think Gatland will choose. It is what I feel to be the best starting XV and indeed, Wales’ best chance of getting their campaign off to a winning start:
15. Matthew Morgan
14. George North
13. Jonathan Davies
12. Jamie Roberts
11. Tom James
10. Dan Biggar
9. Gareth Davies
1. Gethin Jenkins
2. Ken Owens
3. Samson Lee
4. Luke Charteris
5. Alun Wyn Jones
6. Sam Warburton (CAPT)
7. Justin Tipuric
8. Taulupe Faletau
Replacements:
16. Paul James
17. Scott Baldwin
18. Tomas Francis
19. Bradley Davies
20. Dan Lydiate
21. Lloyd Williams
22. Rhys Priestland
23. Cory Allen
In the front row, the experienced head of Gethin Jenkins partners the in-form hooker Ken Owens. Samson Lee earns his place at tighthead as the Welsh scrum buckled all too often with Tomas Francis at the helm last year. Workhorse Alun-Wyn Jones starts alongside a very different type of player in Luke Charteris who would hope to have a big impact at the lineout.
In the back-row, Sam Warburton returns from injury and switches to blindside flanker whilst maintaining the captaincy. The athletic, turnover-hungry Justin Tipuric is at openside flanker and Taulupe Faletau starts at number 8; his clean-up work in the scrum could well be needed.
Gareth Davies keeps his place at scrum-half; he’ll be looking to run-in tries from anywhere. Dan Biggar also maintains his spot at outside-half, having firmly cemented himself in that position. With Jonathan Davies back from injury, he and Jamie Roberts have the opportunity to cause some real problems for the opposition in midfield.
George North, who is steadily re-finding some form, switches to the right wing, with 28 year old Tom James earning his place on the left. Matthew Morgan starts at fullback, offering some much needed creativity and unpredictability.
On the bench, Paul James, Scott Baldwin and Aaron Jarvis are worthy front-row replacements. The physicality of experienced lock Bradley Davies could be needed around the 65 minute mark and Dan Lydiate could be called upon if Warburton’s legs tire going into the last quarter. Lloyd Williams is the natural second choice scrum-half in Wales at the moment, and Rhys Priestland’s dramatic u-turn on international rugby sees him just about make it onto the bench – although his lack of game-time is a concern. Cory Allen is the final piece of the puzzle having returned from injury, scoring an impressive four tries in as many matches since December.
As far as I’m concerned, no spot for Liam Williams on opening weekend: it’s too soon. It looks like he is likely to start for the Scarlets this weekend; a release to his club for a little longer would be beneficial as last year he has sustained a major injury and has had such little game-time. Hallam Amos also returning from injury means he would be better-off making an appearance later on in the tournament. The same goes for Gareth Anscombe who has been injured since the end of the World Cup. I was extremely tempted to go for Ross Moriarty at blindside flanker or on the bench; the versatile flanker/number 8 could really come into his own this year.
What are your thoughts on my matchday 23? And who would you choose if given the choice? Answers, as always, on the back of a postcard… or in the comment box below.
Tweet of the week:
Did a interview @Autosport_Show yesterday. Straight after Damon Hill and before @MassaFelipe19 the crowd be like…. pic.twitter.com/duq79aegvf
— Scott Williams (@ScottWilliams_1) January 18, 2016
Moment of the week: When George North crossed the line for Northampton (albeit against a Welsh region.) It was bittersweet for Welsh fans as the long-lost Scarlets winger put five points on the board for his club. Those watching with one-eye firmly set on the 6 Nations, however, would have held a quiet cheer though as North ended his try-scoring drought.
By Daniel Jenkins
Follow Daniel on Twitter: @DanWJenkins
12 replies on “The Welsh Connection: Who will start vs Ireland?”
Much better selection than I imagine Gatland making. I may be wrong, but I expect to see Lydiate in over Tipuric which I would be perfectly happy to see as an English man.
Only change I’d make would be to have Cory Allen and Liam Williams on the bench. Biggar will only come off if injured, so I’d gamble on Morgan covering 10 if needed and get more back options on. Williams may not be fully fit but he could change the game in the last 20.
Cue traditional rant from Enoch:
Morgans too small
James is a liability
Jenkins can’t drive straight
Pisshands on the bench
Yada yada yada
I don´t agree with much that Prophet Eunuch says Leon, but if that´s what he thinks about James and Jenkins I can´t help agreeing with him.
Would much rather Anscombe at 15, at least he can attempt to tackle.
It’s a good team but there’s no way Gatland will start with Owens & Morgan. Not in this game anyway.
Leon,
You almost wrote the response for me.
I shall wait for actual team announcement
You need to start working up some new material, it’s all getting a bit predictable
If Liam Williams is fit he has to start, Morgan is a great talent, but at full back ? have horrendous visions of Sexton bombarding him all day long ….
Samson Lee has gone backwards ( no pun intended) since his injury, thought by now he would be dominating his opposite No but is struggling badly ..
Is this a Welsh rugby site? Seems to be the only IT you write selections for.
Hi Cathal, we try to cover all bases as far as possible. There will be preview pieces for each of the home nations next week – this is part of a weekly series about Welsh rugby, it just happens to be a team selection this week.
Okay that sounds fair enough! My apologies!
I do hope this is the team. Not impressed with the cack handed “don’t go overseas” stuff out of the Welsh camp about Priestland’s game time. There is an obvious solution to this problem – pick someone else e.g. Patchell. Tom James is on fire for Cardiff at the moment, would love to see him given the chance to show his new found maturity. I have no worries at all about Morgan – despite all the doom about his height I have yet to see anyone successfully exploit this – at the Os, for Wales (against some gigantic Fijians) and for Bristol he has successfully held his own while keeping the dynamic edge his game can bring.