Wales boss Warren Gatland has rolled back some 12 years with his selection for the Six Nations showdown against Scotland and we wait to see whether history can repeat itself.
There are strong echoes of what the Kiwi coach did before the 2011 World Cup in the fresh-faced side he has chosen to take the field at Murrayfield.
He significantly reduced the age profile of his team in the build-up to that tournament in New Zealand - with the likes of Sam Warburton, Taulupe Faletau, Jonathan Davies, Rhys Priestland and Dan Lydiate all drafted in - and he has now begun the same process.
There are two 20-year-olds in his starting line-up for this weekend in lock Dafydd Jenkins and centre Joe Hawkins, while flanker Christ Tshiunza only turned 21 last month. You’ve also got three 23-year-olds in Rio Dyer and back row duo Tommy Reffell and Jac Morgan, while uncapped replacement lock Rhys Davies is 24.
In all, seven of the 23 on duty have seven or fewer caps which is some departure from recent times when Wales have posted record cap tallies on a couple of occasions. You also have three more uncapped rookies in camp in Keiran Williams, Mason Grady and Teddy Williams, with 20-year-old Cardiff centre Grady “training the house down” according to Gatland, while the recovering Louis Rees-Zammit is still only 22.
So there’s a group of youngsters the coach is excited about and keen to give opportunities to to show what they can do on the big stage. Which brings us back to what he did in 2011. You actually saw early signs of it in that year’s Six Nations match up in Murrayfield.
Centre Jonathan Davies and flanker Lydiate made only their second Championship starts and Warburton just his third, while there was a Test debut off the bench for Priestland, who was to be first-choice fly-half at the World Cup a mere seven months later, overtaking the experienced duo of Stephen Jones and James Hook.
Faletau was to come up on the rails even later, winning his first cap in the June and being the starting No 8 by September, getting the nod ahead of Ryan Jones out in New Zealand. You also had the likes of Lloyd Williams and Scott Williams brought on board, while George North was still only 19 come the World Cup, as Wales marched to the semi-finals.
One more little quirk of fate. The Welsh captain against Scotland in February 2011 was a highly experienced Scarlets hooker in Matthew Rees. Roll on 12 years and we have another at the helm in Ken Owens. Wales won 24-6 that day with a number of youngsters playing their part. So can the omens prove positive ones both up in Edinburgh and then further down the line at the 2023 World Cup?
With this in mind, here’s a look at the fresh faces at the vanguard of a new era.
Dafydd Jenkins
It speaks volumes for how highly Exeter rate Jenkins that they handed him the captaincy for a Gallagher Premiership game at the age of just 19 earlier this season.
Now 20, his maturity and huge athletic potential has been rewarded with a first start for Wales as he prepares to lock the scrum and leap in the lineout against Scotland.
Giving an insight into the young second row, the Chiefs’ director of rugby Rob Baxter said: “Dafydd works extremely hard. He’s very diligent, very professional, he’s very driven to be successful and to win things. He’s a good character to be a leader and a captain. I didn’t have any hesitation making him skipper.
“People talk about super strengths in players. Dafydd’s super strength is he can get on with things. He can shift to the next thing very quickly. That’s very much what I like when I see him.”
Jenkins’ father Hywel played in the back row for Llanelli, Swansea and Neath. It will be a proud day for him and all the family watching young Dafydd take the field up in Edinburgh.
Tommy Reffell
As befits a Leicester player, the openside flanker brings a tigerish approach to the game with his scavenging work over the ball and non-stop endeavour. His resolve and determination has been evident from when he first took up the sport.
Bridgend team manager Ed Griffith played with Reffell’s dad Gary at Pencoed RFC and saw young Tommy come up through the ranks at the club.
“At an early age, you could see he had his father’s engine and heart. I remember when his dad was coaching Pencoed, Tommy would be that young kid around the first-team squad, sliding in the mud and always outside playing on the pitch with local boys even when it was pouring down,” he says.
“They would come into the club absolutely stinking and soaking wet. He has always had that steely mentality and the love for the game. Everyone at Pencoed knew he was a special kid from a very young age. He also has that rugby brain and an understanding that is rare. He does it week in week out in a tough league, playing against the world’s best and owning it.”
Christ Tshiunza
The Exeter flanker has God-given gifts with his size and natural athletic ability, but he has also put in the graft, as his former rugby coach at Cardiff’s Whitchurch High School, Steve Williams, outlines.
“He worked extremely hard during Covid. He had a pile of weights at home and he just kept going and going. He’s developed his body magnificently,” said Williams.
“He is a giant of a man. He’s got bigger arms than most people have got legs! You don’t suddenly appear with those. That’s over a long time and that’s down to him. He has always had a tremendous work ethic to better himself.”
You can read the Steve Williams interview in full here.
Joe Hawkins
Rugby is in the blood for the 20-year-old Ospreys centre. His father David played in the centre for Aberavon, Carmarthen Quins and Tonmawr, while his uncle Dan was a scrum-half for Swansea, Neath and Bonymaen.
“Both sides of the family have always been big on rugby, so it was a bit inevitable really that I was going to go down that route as well. I think it was a bit of a no-brainer,” he says.
Hawkins, who hails from Ystalyfera, played most of his junior rugby at fly-half and that distributive background and ball-handling skill serves him well in midfield, where he can act as a playmaker, while also carrying hard and hitting good lines.
“The way the game is going these days, you’ve got to be able to have it all. You can’t just be a one-trick pony,” he says.
“Doing the basics well and getting your team over the gain-line is probably the main job, but it’s good then to have those extras once you have done that, to be able to open up a little bit with the skills.”
Jac Morgan
The 23-year-old from Brynamman is proving himself a young man of many parts. When he packs down at No 8 against Scotland this weekend, he will have started in all three back row berths for Wales.
He’s also been showing different strings to his bow in terms of his rugby strengths. Last season, he won more turnovers than any other player in the URC. This term it’s his carrying that has really caught the eye for the Ospreys, never more so than in a monumental performance during last month’s Champions Cup victory away to Leicester, while his tackle count has also been highly impressive.
What will happen in Wales v Scotland? Cast your vote now
Rio Dyer
The Dragons winger has one attribute you just can’t buy and that’s raw pace. He’s also very elusive and has increasingly been looking for work this season, as demonstrated by his number of involvements against Ireland last week.
His regional coach Dai Flanagan comments: “It’s so pleasing to see boys come out of their shells and express themselves and back themselves. Nobody is a better example of that than Rio with how many touches a game he is getting.
“He can catch high balls and he chases kicks well, which is fundamentally two of the most important things in international rugby for wingers. The icing on the cake is what he can do when he gets an opportunity to score tries.”
Dyer demonstrated that on his Test debut against New Zealand in November when he sliced through to the line, while he has touched down 12 times in 41 outings for his region.
Rhys Davies
The Penclawdd lad is set to win his first cap against Scotland, having been named as second row cover on the bench for the Murrayfield mission.
That’s due reward for the steady progress he has made since joining his home region, the Ospreys, from Bath in 2020. He brings bulk and physicality, while he also has the engine and mobility to pack down on the blindside flank, as he has done in Europe recently, offering real tackling and carrying clout at 6.
Mason Grady
He’s 6ft 5ins and 17st 4lbs, he’s quick enough to play on the wing and he’s got the handling skills of a junior basketball player. The Cardiff centre has a lot going for him, as his backs coach at the Arms Park Matt Sherratt confirms: “He’s got a frame that you can’t easily ignore. His biggest strength is his carrying game. It can take two or three people to stop him. He can brush people off and he’s got pace as well.
“He has got physical attributes that you can’t coach and he can go a long way. He is a phenomenal athlete. He’s quick, he’s big, he’s got a decent skill-set, while some of his work off the ball is exceptional. He can be as good as he wants to be.”
Keiran Williams
Gatland says he is excited by the young centre and it’s great to see Williams getting the opportunity to impress in the Welsh squad. He has put injury issues behind him and has been a real force of nature for the Ospreys with his mighty carrying and shuddering defence.
His regional coach Toby Booth sums it up when he says: “He gives you a lot of go-forward and plays tough. Against tough opposition you need tough players and he’s certainly one of those. He’s been fit and he’s been playing exceptionally well.”
Teddy Williams
The real bolter in the Six Nations squad, receiving the call-up just days after making his first start for Cardiff against Newcastle.
Giving the lowdown on the 22-year-old lock, Arms Park director of rugby Dai Young says: “He has worked really hard over the last 12 months and is really maturing.
“We’ve always known he has got quality and he is a very good rugby player. We needed him to develop a bit more physicality.
“When you play against some of the South Africans and the island boys, they are real big boys and the first thing you have got to do is win collisions. The work Teddy has put in the last six months to increase his physicality has been outstanding.”
Louis Rees-Zammit
No longer a new face, but still only 22 and a huge part of Wales’ future. It will be a big bonus to hopefully have the Gloucester wing back available for the England game in a fortnight’s time following his ankle injury.
READ MORE:
