Wales can’t afford to go anything other than full-strength this summer
Wales head coach Matt Sherratt(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency Ltd)
In normal circumstances a Wales tour which coincides with the British & Irish Lions travelling to the Southern Hemisphere provides the perfect opportunity to blood players.
In 2009 Wales took on Canada and the USA where the likes of Jonathan Davies, Dan Lydiate and Sam Warburton, among others, began their international careers. Wales followed a similar trend in Japan in 2013 along with the tour of Samoa and Tonga in 2017.
All three tours coincided with the Lions, presenting ample opportunity to assess depth and start introducing players who may have big roles to play at the Rugby World Cup in a couple of years’ time, but this time it is different.
Wales head to Japan on the back of a second consecutive Six Nations wooden spoon, while they have also lost a record 17 Test matches on the trot.
As a result there is no injustice whatsoever in Andy Farrell selecting just the two Welshmen – Jac Morgan and Tomos Williams – to tour Australia with the Lions. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby.
But whereas at this stage in a World Cup cycle Wales would look to build depth, the priority against Eddie Jones’ Japan this summer is to win both Tests.
Wales’ wretched run of form has weakened the Welsh Rugby Union brand and while the word nadir has lost its effect given how often it has been used to describe Wales’ struggles in recent times, they would spiral to new depths were they to slip to defeat in Japan.
The WRU are expected to continue with Matt Sherratt as interim head coach this summer and expect the Cardiff boss to select as strong a squad as possible, with a handful of inexperienced players brought along for experience.
Dewi Lake and Taulupe Faletau are two players who should be desperate to tour Japan with Wales because if the Lions were to pick up injuries in Australia both players would surely be considered as replacements.
Another thing to consider is Wales are ranked 12th in the world rankings, one place ahead of Japan, meaning a defeat in the Land of the Rising Sun could have serious repercussions when the World Cup draw is made.
Wales desperately need to break this cycle of failure and it has to start in Japan this summer.
The likes of Ospreys backrower Morgan Morse, Scarlets centre/wing Macs Page and perhaps Ospreys second-row James Fender should be taken as part of the wider squad.
There is also a strong argument Wales should move to select England U20s’ World Cup winning backrower Kane James – if he is willing – because the rising Exeter Chiefs star is a player with an extremely high ceiling who the WRU need to try to prize away from the Rugby Football Union.
But on the whole the strongest possible team needs to start the Tests. This should also mean a return for Bath’s Archie Griffin who is perhaps the most complete tighthead available to Wales.
Experienced second-row Adam Beard should also return to the boilerhouse alongside Dafydd Jenkins, with in-form Cardiff second-row Teddy Williams, Racing 92 lock Will Rowlands and the Ospreys’ Rhys Davies also options. Join WalesOnline Rugby’s WhatsApp Channel here to get the breaking news sent straight to your phone for free
In the backrow Wales need Faletau, while Taine Plumtree, Tommy Reffell, Aaron Wainwright and James Botham should be too much for Japan to handle with Alex Mann also a contender to tour.
Kieran Hardy needs to be recalled after getting left out of the previous two squads and should start both Tests if fit because he has been outstanding for the Ospreys over the past few months.
It will be interesting to see what Wales do at number 10. Do they opt for a 34-year-old Gareth Anscombe whose experience would be invaluable in developing the next cohort of fly-halves?
Dan Edwards has been the form outside-half in Wales while Sam Costelow has only recently returned from injury and Jarrod Evans received a well-deserved recall during the Six Nations.
Wales needs a young outside-half to grab the jersey by the scruff of the neck and make it his. What better time for either Edwards or Costelow to do it than in Japan this summer?
The likes of Max Llewellyn, Ben Thomas, Joe Roberts, Eddie James and Owen Watkin are very likely selections but the talented Page could offer something a bit different, while he can also be employed on the wing.
In the back-three Blair Murray, Ellis Mee, Tom Rogers and Josh Adams should continue but it will be interesting to see whether Sherratt rewards the dual-qualified Gabriel Hamer-Webb for his outstanding form for Cardiff in recent weeks. Get the latest breaking Welsh rugby news stories sent straight to your inbox with our FREE daily newsletter. Sign up here.
One player who most certainly should be rewarded is Cam Winnett, who missed out on the Six Nations squad but has been consistently excellent for Cardiff this season, with Jacob Beetham another option.
While a handful of selections should be done with a view ahead to the World Cup the reality is Wales must select the strongest available squad and are no longer in a position where they can select a second-string side and expect to win, even against tier-two nations.
AloJapan.com