"There'll be a selection that we won't see coming because someone has run themselves into the team. That will always happen because someone will impress without us knowing. I'm looking forward to seeing who that is."
So said Sam Warburton before the 2019 World Cup. In surged Rhys Carre to Warren Gatland’s panel after losing 20lb in Wales training.
Carre had featured in only one Test before the tournament in Japan. He fell into the ‘bolter’ category, then, a player who had come from a long way back to claim a World Cup place.
Who will fill the bolter role for Wales at the next World Cup? Or will there be more than one? Exactly 400 days out from the start of the tournament in France, we take a look at those who might just fit the bill.
Ioan Lloyd (Bristol, utlity back)
He’s been capped before, so it’s not as if he’d be materialising from the far side of nowhere. But Lloyd hasn’t figured in a Wales line-up since 2020 and so can be seen as an outsider.
But that the 21-year-old is gifted is not in doubt. A cameo as an inside centre against the Scarlets earlier this year saw the Cardiff-born youngster play so well he was applauded from the pitch when he left early because of an injury, with Wayne Pivac among those putting their hands together. You can read about Lloyd and how highly he's regarded here.
Bristol Bears plan to use Lloyd at 12 this season, but he is versatile enough to cover fly-half, full-back and wing. Don’t rule him out of anything.
Morgan Morris (Ospreys, No.8)
Wales have shown no obvious interest in him to date, despite Morris being one of Welsh domestic rugby’s top performers in 2021-22 — form seemingly counting for nothing in his case.
He won the Ospreys supporters and sponsors’ player-of-the-year awards for the campaign but didn’t make the cut to tour South Africa with Wayne Pivac’s squad earlier this summer. The player who has been compared to England’s Sam Simmonds for his ability to convert chances close to the line is a quality performer, though.
All he can do is keep operating at his best.
Michael Collins (Ospreys, centre)
A nasty lower-leg injury checked his progress in the first half of last season but he finished the campaign strongly and can play at full-back as well as centre. It’s not wildly out of the question the Ospreys man, who qualifies for Wales via a Llanell-born grandfather, could be parachuted into Pivac’s set-up.
After all, Wales’s head coach introduced him to the Welsh game by signing him for the Scarlets in 2015.
Tom Botha (Ospreys, prop)
Definitely a long shot, but he qualifies for Wales via residency next summer and so will be available for the global showpiece in the autumn. Botha’s game doesn’t come with bells and whistles.
But the South Africa-born player can scrummage and defend. Having a tighthead prop who can do the basics is always reassuring for a coach.
Harrison Keddie (Dragons, blindside flanker)
Consistently strong for the Dragons, consistently overlooked by Wales. But Keddie is a leader who grafts and puts his body on the line.
He’ll need the stars to align in his favour — of course he will — but he’s someone who’ll keep banging in big performances for the Dragons regardless of his standing with Wales.
Dafydd Jenkins (Exeter, second-row)
Christ Tshiunza isn’t on this list because not only has he already been capped but there is quiet expectation that he will be part of Pivac’s plans, anyway, with his power and physicality.
His Exeter Chiefs and Wales U20 team-mate Jenkins is a bit younger again, at just 19, so the likelihood is he will have to bide his time.
But the selection process is a moving picture and Jenkins showed in the recent U20 Summer Series he is a talent and a half. In some games he was superlative, in every game he fronted up.
He has 'future Wales international' written over him.
Max Clark (Dragons, centre)
He once turned down a Wales tour spot because he wanted to keep his options open amid talk of a potential England call-up. But the Bridgend-born centre has signed for the Dragons from Bath and so has a chance to put himself in the mix for a Wales call.
“He’s a very ambitious player who really wants to impress in Wales,” said the Dragons’ Dean Ryan after signing Clark.
The new boy will need to be at his best to claim a midfield spot amid competition from George North, Nick Tompkins, Owen Watkin, Jonathan Davies, Willis Halaholo and others, but if he plays to potential, and the Dragons start to win consistently, the selectors could be interested.
Jack Dixon (Dragons, centre)
Last term saw big Jack have his best season to date, with the centre showing up well pretty much every time he took the field. He needs complimentary players around him, but he runs hard, tackles solidly and boasts the skills of a top-quality openside when he's over the ball.
Dixon will need to build on his efforts in the 2021-22 campaign. But he is a player with plenty to offer.
Ollie Griffiths (Dragons, openside flanker)
It’s not breaking news to report that the competition for Wales back-row places is red-hot. But, on his day, Griffiths can compete with some of the best out there.
His first priority will be to stay fit, then he’ll need to find his his best form, then hope a chance comes along. It’s odds against, but that’s what being a potential bolter is all about.
Thomas Young (Cardiff, openside flanker)
One of Welsh rugby’s genuinely exciting signings for the new season. Young is only on this list because there are so many quality flankers in Wales and there isn’t huge expectation he’ll be part of Pivac’s World Cup plans.
But there are not many more dynamic flankers than the 30-year-old turnover ace who’ll be lining up for Cardiff in the new campaign.
Mason Grady (Cardiff, centre)
The Cardiff youngster had an excellent U20 Summer Series for Wales, crowning his effort with a superb try in the final against South Africa, and at 6ft 5in and 17st 4lb he is equipped to meet most physical challenges.
Able to figure on the wing as well as centre, he has pace as well as strength. It’s fair to say he falls into the outsider bracket, but at some point he will play for Wales, with the probability being that he will play very well for them, too.
Joe Hawkins ( Ospreys, centre)
Skippered Wales in the U20 Summer Series, and a top job he made of it, too, taking responsibility and leading from the front. Centre Hawkins is officer class from head to toe — a confident talker, a doer who doesn’t wait for others to step forward and a cool head at all times.
There is room for him to cut out the odd handling error and, realistically, he’ll probably have to wait for a Wales call. But he is a youngster with a significant future.
Joe Roberts (Scarlets, centre)
Like Grady and Hawkins, Roberts is a player for the future. But like the pair mentioned above, the Scarlet is a considerable talent.
The next World Cup will likely come too soon for him, but the compact and skilful midfield man is developing quickly.
Ashton Hewitt (Dragons, wing)
He's lightning quick and has a nose for the try line. Injury has cost him more than a year of his career.
The Dragons wing will want to make up for lost time. Who knows where a bright start to the campaign will take him?
Regan Grace (St Helen's, wing)
While he's set to the be sidelined for up to six months by injury, the cross-coder has enough talent to catch Pivac's eye on his return.
His remarkable deeds in rugby league suggest he is a natural born try scorer.
Yes, the Achilles problem he has sustained in rugby league has hit his World Cup chances. But a flurry of tries for his new union club Racing 92 in the new year could change the picture dramatically.
Harri Deaves (Ospreys, back-row)
It would need a lot to happen for the Ospreys openside to make Pivac’s list for France. Indeed, his first priority will be to get a game or two for his region, who also boast Justin Tipuric and Jac Morgan in their ranks.
More likely is that Deaves will be there or thereabouts for the 2027 World Cup. But the yellow scrum-capped youngster is a prodigious talent who impacts every game he plays.
If he makes it against the odds this time, he’ll fall into the category of super-bolter.
Unlikely, then, but his play is always worth enjoying.
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