Leigh Halfpenny is being encouraged to adapt and change his game as he edges towards the twilight years of his playing career.
The 33-year-old full-back, one of the most reliable goal-kickers in world rugby, was included in Wales' autumn squad just 17 days after making his return to the field for Scarlets following 15 months on the sidelines with a career-threatening knee injury.
As he continues to re-acclimatise to the rigours of competitive rugby, and most likely Test rugby in the near future, Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel has revealed he feels tweaking his game will be key for Halfpenny to perform at his best over the next year or so, with the 2023 Rugby World Cup on the horizon.
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"We've spoken to Leigh over the last year or so in terms of his reintegration into the group, that he has to find out what type of player he's going to be for the next two years, and that's the same with every player who's getting on with age," former Wales scrum-half Peel said. "You have to adapt and you have to change your game. Coming back from a long injury as well, we didn't know how he was going to be.
"For me, that's the key for Leigh over the next year. He's only played a couple of games back, he's finding his groove again, yes, but finding 'right, perhaps I want to be this type of player for the next year or two until whenever I retire'.
"For me, I like seeing him on the ball, I think he's a good distributor of the ball, he can pass the ball well. That's something that we've spoken about with him to see if we can get him to first receiver, second receiver, on those edges and use the athletes around him to his advantage."
Peel is calling for patience around his full-back with regards to fully returning to form, but believes he would do a good job if called upon by Wales this autumn, with clashes against New Zealand, Argentina, Georgia and Australia looming.
"You look at his last couple of games where he's sharp in some areas but we sit down after every game and review it with him, say that or this could be a bit better, or vice versa, he'll come with things," Peel said. "That's going to take a couple of months to get back. He's been out for 15 months. Yes, he knows what he's trying to do and stuff, but to get that real sharpness is going to take a couple of weeks and months, and that's where we need to be patient with him."
Asked if the No. 15 is ready for Test rugby so soon, Peel replied: "Class is permanent when it comes to people like Leigh. He's obviously played a couple of games for us and I'm sure if the opportunity arises he'll do a good job."
Acknowledging Halfpenny has reinvented himself before now, Peel added: "I've said 'look you need to enjoy these next couple of weeks, enjoy the games'."
Since Halfpenny's return to start against Benetton on October 1, he has played full matches against Cardiff on October 8 and Zebre a week later. Scarlets are now preparing to face Connacht away in the URC on Friday night, with Wales internationals due to convene on Monday ahead of the autumn campaign.
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