After a week of tumult, it’s on to Wales v England in Cardiff.
Those who like their lives to be quiet should leave now.
Who should Warren Gatland name in his team for the game at the Principality Stadium on Saturday? The likelihood is few will agree and most will want to have a say. Expect a zillion tweets on the matter from Colwyn Bay to Carmarthen.
But it’s only the coach’s view that truly counts.
He will make his calls while knowing a win would go some way to reshaping the narrative of his side’s season. A defeat would leave Wales to head for Italy in round four with next to no momentum with an away game against France to follow.
Some members of Gatland’s squad have better chances of making the selection cut to face the old enemy than others.
Here, we look at the prospects of every player.
Back three
It’s a tough call here for the head coach. England have a strong kicking game and are good in the air, with the likes of the 6ft 5in Freddie Steward and the spring-heeled Max Malins particularly proficient.
That said, Liam Williams doesn’t style himself as a professional bomb defuser because he’s suspect under the high ball. The Cardiff man can also counter-attack with interest: no Welsh player has made more carries than he has in the opening two rounds and he has beaten twice the number of defenders than any other team-mate. Leaving him out could hurt Wales’ attacking game — which been dismal, anyway, if we are being truthful.
But his two yellow cards so far in this tournament will not have pleased Gatland and we are talking serious understatement there.
So there is a question mark.
If he’s fit, Leigh Halfpenny is another full-back option. The Scarlet is good in the air, superb as a reader of play and anything but a regular in the sin-bin. Oh, and he was the original choice to play at No. 15 for the Six Nations opener against Ireland. Wales will give serious consideration to picking him if he’s 100 percent fit, then.
It would be a major surprise if Louis Rees-Zammit didn’t return. If his overall effort off the bench for Gloucester against Harlequins on Friday evening wasn’t perfect — he was turned over twice and missed two tackles — his attacking game was A* and then a bit more. The thinking is Gatland should privately be turning cartwheels at the availability of the flying machine from Penarth.
Of course, they could field Halfpenny at full-back and Williams and Rees-Zammit out wide. But let’s assume they’ll consider Halfpenny and Williams exclusively as No.15s.
The always lively Rio Dyer has made more metres than any Welsh player in this tournament but made the odd mistake against Scotland, while Josh Adams has so far failed to spark, with Alex Cuthbert making more ground than the Cardiff man despite his involvement being restricted to cameos off the bench. The likelihood is just one of the three will start, with Adams presumably having credit in the bank for his past efforts.
The challenge for Gatland is to weigh up how much that’s worth.
Centres
Gatland will have watched performances in training with interest since the Scotland game and has previously hinted Mason Grady and Keiran Williams could get opportunities, but whether a game against England remains the arena for such calls remains to be seen. Of course, it’s not inconceivable that one of them will be picked as a starter, just unlikely.
George North and Joe Hawkins have been steady in midfield, with the latter showing up well against Ireland but the whole back division out of sorts against Scotland. Have the opportunities been there for the pair to show their best? That’s debatable.
What isn’t up for debate is that the duo will want to tighten up in defence, with 13 hits missed between them.
Potentially, Nick Tompkins could challenge at either 12 or 13. Saracens named him as a starter against Leicester on Sunday afternoon. Will such a call have helped his case or not? Only Gatland will know the answer to that one.
Half-backs
Wales’ half-backs haven’t exactly been sending fireworks into the sky.
In their defence, Tomos Williams and Dan Biggar haven’t had the greatest platform to work off.
But both are better players than we have seen.
Might there be a change in personnel? Williams could be vulnerable to a challenge from Rhys Webb, but there’s nothing certain there. The Osprey has been steady in two appearances as a replacement, but maybe the coaches will feel his armour-plated self-belief is what Wales need right now. And if you keep doing the same thing in selection, to adapt an old line, the odds are on you getting the same results.
The challenge for Kieran Hardy will be to turn the tide in training — never the easiest gig.
Dropping Biggar for either Owen Williams or Rhys Patchell would be a big call, despite Wales’ backs having failed to ignite.
That doesn’t mean Biggar is sure of his place but it’s England and the chances are Gatland will think twice before opting to take the field without all that experience and drive in the key No. 10 role.
Front row
It looked a harsh call to drop Gareth Thomas in the first place for the Scotland game, with the Osprey having played well during the autumn Tests and recovered from a shaky start against Ireland to compete strongly thereafter.
But Gatland likes Wyn Jones, a Test Lion from 2021, and Rhys Carre made a mark as a powerhouse carrier off the bench against the Scots. Same again at loosehead against England, then? Probably.
At hooker, Scott Baldwin and Bradley Roberts face a tough job to oust Ken Owens. If Gerwyn Price might have hesitated before signing off every one of the skipper’s darts in this Six Nations, Owens has been a tower of strength in defence and a willing carrier.
There’s uncertainty at tighthead as Tomas Francis continues to recover from his calf-muscle injury. If he’s fit, he could come in to face Ellis Genge, with Francis widely viewed as the strongest-scrummaging Wales tighthead.
That said, Dillon Lewis has improved in the set-piece game and is into everything around the field, while half-tighthead, half-tank Leon Brown is a formidable physical specimen. Maybe Francis to start, with Lewis on the bench? If all are fit, that seems the likely call.
Lock
This one may take some time. Plenty have been selling shares in Adam Beard of late, having done the same with Alun Wyn Jones after the Ireland game, even though the former skipper was by far the worst Wales player in that match, making almost 30 metres with ball in hand and missing just once with 12 tackle attempts. OK, the standout lock on the day by was Ireland’s James Ryan by some distance, but it would be a surprise if Jones didn’t feature somewhere in Gatland’s selection deliberations — training performances will dictate whether he starts or indeed if he figures off the bench.
The queue to have a pop at Beard was a long one after Wales's Murrayfield misadventure, with many taking aim at the 6ft 8in player's carrying and his perceived lack of impact.
Yet rewind just over three weeks and he and Jones excelled against Leicester Tigers.
But there is pressure coming on both players from Dafydd Jenkins, who was highly visible in the 66 minutes he had on the field against the Scots. Gatland explained the selection of so many young players in his pack for the game in Edinburgh by saying it was important to give them exposure in a World Cup year, but Jenkins didn’t look out of place. Indeed, for a 20-year-old his effort in the second row was hugely encouraging. The question is whether to retain the 6ft 7in youngster as a starter or not.
Rhys Davies and Teddy Williams are players for the future, albeit Davies has a cap in the bank after his debut against Scotland.
Gatland has the option of considering Christ Tshiunza at second row, but maybe that would risk complicating matters.
Back row
The toughest selection for last? That sounds about right.
Let’s kick off at blindside flanker. Probably, if Wales had beaten Scotland many would have been enthusing over the effort of the 6ft 6in Christ Tshiunza. The Exeter Chief showed extraordinary athleticism to haul down man-of-the-moment Duhan van der Merwe in full flight, made 50 metres with his own running, achieved a turnover and was his team’s go-to man in the lineout.
At the very least, someone should ink his name onto Wales’ World Cup squad list right now.
It will be fascinating to see if Gatland starts with him against England.
Jac Morgan is having a fine tournament, with no-one from any other country bettering the three turnovers he has achieved, while he has also banged in multiple carries and tackles. Is he a six or is he a seven or even an eight, where he played against Scotland? That’s one for the coaches to call, but he is a quality player.
If he’s considered as an openside, then the need might be to draft Solomon onto the selection panel, though even then there would likely be a debate about the wisdom of the choice at No. 7.
Tommy Reffell showed what he could do against South Africa in the summer when he shocked the Springboks with his excellence over the ball, while Justin Tipuric is multi-skilled and immensely experienced, a player who can play any kind of game, and play it extraordinarily well. And remember the third man in Morgan.
Whatever back-row they pick the requirement will be come up with a complementary unit that has the essential quality of balance.
Aaron Wainwright may have to be patient at either blindside or No. 8, but the expectation is Taulupe Faletau will return at No. 8.
Why? Because he is an extraordinary rugby player.
In 28 minutes off the bench against Scotland he made eight tackles without missing, carried the ball seven times for 25 metres, made three passes and came up with two offloads.
Those are the statistics of a man who should be starting, which Faletau surely will be against England.
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