You never get a second chance to make a first impression, according to the old adage, and Warren Gatland made sure he took his during the Kiwi's maiden squad announcement as Wales coach back in 2008.
More grenades were exploded than in the entirety of some small wars. Certain players were not deemed up to international rugby at that point, exiled players were informed they would be jeopardising their futures and there was a specific warning to then Wales scrum-half Dwayne Peel that the new coach would find another Test No. 9 if the Scarlet left Wales at the end of the season.
There was a new captain named in Ryan Jones, while the decision to ask Martyn Williams to come out of retirement was explained and there were a few words about a bright young player coming through by the name of Jamie Roberts, with Gatland also saying the door hadn’t been closed on a couple of veterans he had left out.
The climate emergency wasn't addressed, but a lot was packed into 20 minutes.
“If anyone had any doubts about whether the no-nonsense New Zealander means business, they were quickly dispelled,” the South Wales Echo’s man at the press conference suggested.
Here was a new broom that wasn’t averse to sweeping clean.
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It has yet to be confirmed that Gatland will have a second coming in Wales, of course, but Wayne Pivac's position is precarious after a woeful autumn and his fellow New Zealander is favourite to replace him as men's national head coach, potentially on a short-term basis.
What might be the implications of such a move for the players? We take a look:
The No. 10 jersey
Wales used Gareth Anscombe as their starting fly-half when they won a Six Nations Grand Slam in Gatland’s last term in charge in 2019, and the coach made no attempt to hide how much he felt they had missed him at the World Cup later that year after Anscombe picked up a serious injury in a warm-up match against England.
“That was the first time in my whole time that I felt we really missed a player and that was Gareth Anscombe. He was a big loss for us," said Gatland post-tournament. “Rhys Patchell did really well and Dan Biggar was excellent. But I just felt that the balance we had with Anscombe and Biggar beforehand, they complemented each other really well.”
Nothing stays the same and Anscombe went on to spend 761 days out of action with his injury while Biggar went from strength to strength, playing his best rugby and featuring as the Lions Test No. 10 under Gatland in 2021. He has also been Pivac’s captain this year.
Nothing is certain and Gatland would presumably want to assess all afresh, but if the Kiwi trusted him with the Lions shirt there seems a decent chance he would do the same with the Welsh one once again.
The out-in-the-cold prop
This one will fascinate. Rhys Carre shed 20lb in weight to drop from 21st 8lb to 20st 2lb after being subjected to a gruelling fitness regime during Rugby World cup preparation camps in Wales, Switzerland and Turkey in 2019.
He showed promise in Japan, too, featuring off the bench five times and particularly catching the eye against Uruguay, with one charge upfield seeing Carre make 35 metres, smashing two opponents out of the way while doing so.
Wales looked to be developing a prop for the next decade, a giant who could pound his way around the field, achieve breakdown turnovers and, in time, make a mark at the scrums. A month or so later, Stuart Barnes named him in his Lions Test XV for the 2021 tour of South Africa.
But it hasn’t worked out since at Test level.
Carre has started just six times for Wales without featuring at all in 2022. Wayne Pivac commented adversely on his "general conditioning" after omitting him for the autumn Tests, saying he hadn’t reached the levels required to survive in international camps.
If Gatland takes over, it will be intriguing how he handles Carre. He will clearly recognise there’s a player with major potential there, but the question will be how to get the best out of him. What he won’t do is ignore him, because just maybe the Cardiff man could prove a major asset. For sure, Gatland would want Carre to work with him but the likelihood is the former Wales U20s player would get another chance. Twenty-stone props who can run like stags don't come along every day, after all.
The ‘X-factor special player’ who's been on the fringes
“I'll give you an outsider, a player, an X-factor special player, Aaron Wainwright. He's a young boy who has got something about him — he could be special.” So said Gatland of Aaron Wainwright after the coach stepped aside with Wales in 2019, amid the Kiwi discussing potential Lions candidates for 2021 at the time.
But the Dragons back-rower has been a peripheral figure under Pivac, not helped by frustrating injuries. He is someone who can play across the back row, however, and rarely does he not make an impact.
A Gatland return could see him find his way back into favour, assuming he hits form.
Wyn again?
So much of an impact did Wyn Jones make for the Lions under Gatland in 2021 he was installed as an 8/1 shot to captain the tourists in 2025. But for a variety of reasons, including injuries, he has started just five of Wales’ 16 Tests since last year’s tour.
Can he return to where he was? Hard to say.
Gareth Thomas has come in and taken his chance to become close to the undisputed Wales first choice loose-head under Pivac. Not only can he hold his own in the scrums, he is a big contributor in defence with his chop tackling.
Gatland will not have forgotten what Jones did with the Lions, but it would be up to the Scarlet to prove himself afresh.
The golden brigade
Such an important one, this.
Should Gatland take over in an interim role through to the World Cup, he wouldn’t have long to improve results, with the World Cup just 10 months away. There wouldn’t be enough time to do a Steve Hansen, effectively shoot the patient and start anew.
The likelihood is that an interim job would involve squeezing every last ounce out of the golden-generation brigade of Alun Wyn Jones, Ken Owens, Taulupe Faletau, Dan Biggar, Justin Tipuric and Leigh Halfpenny. Potentially, it would be a set-up dipped in pragmatism.
An old Gatland favourite such as Josh Navidi might be in the squad mix as well. Maybe even Rhys Webb, a player Gatland also rated. He’s a bit younger, but the hard-nosed Ross Moriarty could also expect to be a part of Gatland Part Two With Wales if it comes about.
The challenge would be to blend the experience and battle-hardness of those listed above with young talent coming through.
The new breed
Gatland could barely find enough superlatives to describe Jac Morgan during the recent autumn series. “A man possessed,” he described him as when Wales played Argentina. “A one-man wrecking machine” was the take for the finale with Australia.
He fits the mould of a Gatland player — tough, ferociously hard-working, selfless, honest and skilful. He empties the tank every time he takes the field and is capable of driving through tackles and putting in big hits himself.
A former hooker himself, Gatland may be partial to a bit of Dewi Lake as well, another relentlessly physical player who, like Morgan, leads and takes responsibility. Had Lake been available this autumn, the chances are the New Zealander would have thrown similar plaudits his way to the ones he sent in the direction of Morgan.
Lake and Morgan are two players who could comfortably fit into a Gatland World Cup squad for 2023. A qualification is that Lake would need to improve his throwing before he could be trusted as a regular starter, but such are his other qualities it is hard to imagine the 6ft 1in, 17st 4lb player being excluded.
Christ Tshiunza? Probably him as well in the line-up for France, though he would need to prove himself ready. He is already an impressive physical specimen, but he does pick up injuries and durability counts for Gatland.
Louis Rees-Zammit can hardly be classed as part of the new breed, with 22 caps banked already. Potentially, he could add the X-factor to a Gatland Wales side, as Shane Williams once did. Taine Basham and Tommy Reffell are others who would hope to impress if the Kiwi is installed.
Max factor?
Possible wild cards?
Well, the first new cap Gatland handed out during his Wales reign was to a raw, powerful youngster who had caught the eye at Cardiff. Already, the lad in question was breaking tackles with a consistency which suggested he could perform well at international level. His name was Jamie Roberts.
Fast forward 14 years and Cardiff have in the 6ft 5in, 16st 7lb Max Llewellyn a player built along similar lines to Roberts. He is quick, too, and picks some devastating angles which scatter would-be defenders. He also has an offloading game — which is no great surprise, given that as a schoolboy he looked up to Sonny Bill Williams.
Potentially, he might need to tighten up his defence, but with his size and blockbusting running he’s the type of player Gatland might favour, one who can take a team over the gain-line. His mate at Cardiff, Mason Grady, is another out of the same mould.
Wales have plenty of other options in midfield, with Joe Hawkins the latest one after his promising Test debut last weekend, but Llewellyn has a particular type of game that could just interest Gatland.
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