When Graham Henry started his coaching stint with Wales he made a point of packing in as much rugby viewing as possible, whether from the comfort of a plush hospitality box or from the chill of a windswept terrace.
TV cameras once captured the New Zealander in splendid isolation at one ground, looking as if he was the only onlooker in the entire stadium.
Nor was there too much for him to get excited about in those early days of his reign in 1998. “I was a bit astounded at the standard. It looked like third division stuff,” he later said.
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You’d hope Warren Gatland would have a different take on matters as he begins his second stint as Wales national coach. He was out and about over the weekend, taking in the regional matches that were played.
What did he learn?
Well, the rugby wasn’t third division stuff, with the Ospreys giving Leinster a hurry-up and the Scarlets doing well to take the verdict in the east-west derby against Cardiff at the Arms Park.
Here are a few nuggets of information the national head coach might have picked up.
Welsh rugby DOES have young latent emerging
As the Wayne Pivac era crashed into the buffers, there was much talk of the Welsh game’s next generation going missing, with the perception being that there’s little beyond the old guard who have served Wales so well for so long.
But several up-and-comers took their opportunities to shine over the weekend.
On Friday night at the Dragons, Rio Dyer ran with pace and purpose against the Bulls, looking every bit the international player that he is. Move on to the Arms Park a day later and there was an exceptional performance from Joe Roberts.
His name won’t be known to every casual observer of rugby in Wales.
After all, the 22-year-old west Walian had his career interrupted by a serious knee injury in 2019 and has started just four matches for the Scarlets.
On social media, he has just 264 Twitter followers.
Expect that to change, because the product of Burry Port RFC and Coleg Sir Gar wears the look of a player who is going places, hitting hard in defence against Cardiff and showing power, pace and quick feet in attack. He made ground almost every time he had the ball and he also achieved two turnovers.
A fellow media outlet made Dan Davis their man of the match, while the official player of the day was Vaea Fifita.
Both played exceptionally well.
But this writer thought the standout player was Roberts.
What of Davis? He is 24 now but can still be considered part of the next generation. A back rower who played in the centre for a time during his schooldays, he was also a good enough footballer to be part of Cardiff City’s academy set-up.
He helped himself to a couple of possession steals at the Arms Park and caught the eye with a number of strong carries. No one else on either side made more metres than the 39 Davis made.
Up against Thomas Young, who’s been excellent this term, he could have been forgiven for feeling overawed.
Not a bit of it.
Young was still hugely involved and an asset to Cardiff, but every time Davis had the ball something threatened to happen.
Carwyn Tuipulotu also performed encouragingly.
The Scarlets needed someone to give them go-forward in the absence of Sione Kalamafoni and the 6ft 2in, 17st Tuipulotu did the job. Injuries haven’t helped him, but he’s only 21 and his promise is undiminished.
For Cardiff, there were a number of noticeable interventions from Mason Grady off the bench. Is it too soon for the 20-year-old to be named in a Test set-up? Maybe, though there is an argument that it’s never too soon if the ability is there — and 6ft 5in, 17st 4lb centres who can hit overdrive rapidly are not exactly commonplace.
It was a good weekend for young midfield men with the Ospreys’ uncapped Keiran Williams doing more than most to rattle Leinster in Swansea. Williams may not be 6ft 5in but not many do a better impression of an irresistible force than the Neath-born player. Time and again he caused Leinster problems, with his leg drive and upper body strength earning him many metres post-contact and his quick feet frequently allowing him to evade the first line of defence. Throw in multiple tackles and two turnovers and you have a quite outstanding performance. Ask Leinster.
Morgan Morris also emerged in credit before leaving the pitch with an injury. If his opposite number Jack Conan was the top-performing Leinster player on the day with his ground-eating charges and huge workrate across the board, Morris fought the good fight, with strong carries, a lot of tackling and good work at the breakdown.
Two other young players unlikely to be in contention for Gatland phone calls in the coming weeks also showed up well. Neither Cai Evans nor Reuben Morgan-Williams has been starting consistently, but Evans kicked like a dream on Saturday evening, off the tee and out of hand, and scrum-half Morgan Williams was alert in everything he did. They can both be proud of their efforts.
The old guard are still doing it
They are refusing to go quietly, aren’t they?
Ken Owens marked his 36th birthday by banging in an 80-minute show for the Scarlets and the 37-year-old Alun Wyn Jones went the distance for the Ospreys, displaying real physicality throughout.
Justin Tipuric must have run Keiran Williams close for the man-of-the-match gong in Swansea, while both Jonathan Davies and Aaron Shingler finished heavily in credit for the Scarlets.
Then there was Cardiff’s Taulupe Faletau, who never has a bad game, along with Scarlets back-three pair Leigh Halfpenny and Johnny McNicholl.
All the above would have impressed Gatland.
Age shall not wither.
The Ospreys [and potentially Wales] have a fearsome scrum machine
The sight of Leinster’s Samoa international Michael Alaalatoa being given an aerial view of Swansea was one of the moments of the weekend, though we can’t be sure how much the 31-year-old enjoyed it.
It happened at a scrum early in the United Rugby Championship match against the Ospreys, when Nicky Smith propelled his opponent so far upwards it was suggested on social media the visiting No. 3 might actually have been in orbit.
Smith had another strong all-round game, achieving two turnovers and making ground as a carrier, but it was in the set-piece that he and his front-row mates truly flexed their muscles.
A stream of penalties went the Ospreys way as Smith, Dewi Lake and Tomas Francis turned the screw against Cian Healy, Dan Sheehan and Alaalatoa, before Gareth Thomas, Scott Baldwin and Tom Botha came on and did the same to their opponents.
Expect a heavy Ospreys presence in Gatland's pack to face Ireland on February 4.
Wales has no shortage of outstanding hookers
Dan Sheehan has been building a reputation as one of the world’s best hookers, but he had his hands full against Dewi Lake on Saturday evening.
Sheehan showed at times why he’s rated so highly, with his carrying giving Leinster an extra dimension, backed by considerable industry in defence.
But Lake was in no way put in the shade.
The young Osprey was part of a dominant home set-piece, found his targets at the lineout and recorded big numbers on both sides of the ball. A turnover achieved on the hour mark, seeing him snaffle the ball two metres from the home line, was exceptional.
The ex-Wales U20s captain brings immense physicality to every game and at 6ft 1in and 17st 4lb he is built for Test rugby at the sharp end.
Bradley Roberts is smaller but he is explosive and he grafted in adversity for the Dragons when they played the Bulls, with his up-and-at-’em attitude to the fore. He seems to be everywhere at once and doesn’t stop trying, a quality that will endear him to Gatland.
Flying the flag for the more seasoned brigade, Ken Owens is still delivering for the Scarlets, with those who are even thinking of writing him off having to pause for thought every week. Mentally and physically as tough as they come, he remains a Welsh rugby force.
All this and Sam Parry and Ryan Elias were not even playing over the weekend.
For Gatland, a former hooker himself, the competition at No. 2 is something to smile about.
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