In his time as Wales coach, Wayne Pivac has selected 18 different back-row combinations across 27 matches. Inconsistency, thy name is Wales.
Just four have packed down at No. 8, while six different players have worn the coveted seven jersey. However, it's the blindside flanker role that has swapped around from match to match.
10 players have pulled on the six jersey. In many respects, the role of the blindside in Pivac's squad can be split into two units of time.
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BN - Before Navidi - and AJ - After Josh. For three matches in 2021, Pivac had Josh Navidi starting at six and everything seemed right with the world for 240 minutes.
A record victory over England and a Six Nations title were the result of getting the Cardiff flanker fit and in the side. It's no secret of the impact Navidi has on the side, with his clearout work going a long way to deciding if Wales' expansive 1-3-2-2 pod formation works or not.
The first part of Pivac's reign was largely waiting for Navidi to be fit - with Aaron Wainwright, Ross Moriarty, Shane Lewis-Hughes, James Botham and Dan Lydiate all starting in the 12 games before Navidi would be involved from the off. However, despite that success in last year's Six Nations, we've not seen Navidi in the six jersey since.
Instead, Moriarty, Josh Turnbull, Ellis Jenkins, Taine Basham and Seb Davies have started - with Navidi's fitness continuing to be an issue. For the last two matches, when Seb Davies started on the blindside, Navidi was moved across to the openside.
Of course, Navidi is still around and the sense is that he is still the best option at blindside, with Moriarty the next cab off the rank. But the picture of what Pivac wants from his blindside has seemed a bit inconsistent since Navidi's last start there.
When neither Navidi or Moriarty were available - with the latter having had as much bad luck with injuries as Navidi in recent seasons - the 'BN' policy was largely to pick similar players. Wainwright started his Test rugby career at blindside, Botham boasts the same qualities as Navidi while Lydiate and Lewis-Hughes are exactly what you want from a blindside.
However, the recent 'AJ' picks - opensides Jenkins and Basham; mobile second-row Davies - have hinted at playing in slightly different ways. Physicality was shelved for mobility, with Davies in particular the sort of back-row who could operate in wider channels - adding a different dimension to Wales.
Former Cardiff No. 8 Nick Williams told RugbyPass+ recently spoke about former Arms Park team-mate Davies. “When you think about a front-five forward, you think it’s all tunnel vision," said Williams.
"For his position, Seb has to be one of the best I’ve seen and that’s coming from someone who comes from a part of the world where skill level is extremely high. He can pass comfortably off both hands whereas if you look at some second-rowers, they struggle to pass off one. His skillset is miles above some of the best players I’ve seen in his position.”
In the immortal words of Paul Merson, 'He's a player, Jeff'. But he's not an abrasive blindside by any means.
As Wales looked to develop "abrasive sixes", as Gethin Jenkins noted earlier this year, they were putting their eggs in the basket of hybrid second-rows. They saw Davies as someone capable of being that physical threat.
“We tend to have a lot of 7s, a little less 8s and then even less 6s in Wales at the moment," he said. “We have got to try and develop people, for example Seb Davies, who has been on the bench the last two games covering 6.
“We are trying to develop him into someone who can maybe play in that position come World Cup time. A lot of our work is going into making him aware what it takes to be in that position.”
But the omission of Davies and Jenkins for the tour of South Africa, along with the recall of Lydiate after a long injury layoff, suggests that whatever Wales have been doing on the blindside in the last year hasn't quite cut the mustard. Because it would appear that now is the time to revert to the core principles of the blindside position. Few paid the price for defeat to Italy, but it would seem Davies was one who did.
When Lydiate received his recall ahead of last year's Six Nations after a long time in the international wilderness, his former back-row partner Sam Warburton was one of the first to welcome him back. Writing in the Times, the former Wales captain acknowledged that Pivac's side had been missing his presence.
"They have been lacking a hitter, someone who can alter the momentum of a game with a huge tackle. I know from my time in the Wales camp as a coach that they have been searching for someone who can do that. Let’s be honest, this selection proves that nobody has been able to do it like Dan can."
Of course, Lydiate's time back in the Welsh jersey was short after an injury minutes into his Test return against Ireland. But the recall for South Africa was hardly a surprise for those who had been paying attention.
Whenever Pivac brought up players missing through injury in press conferences, Lydiate's name was often one of the first he mentioned. The clues were there that the Wales coach wants him in his squad, particularly for a brutal tour set to be based on long periods of defending.
Wales have perhaps strayed a bit with what they want in a blindside in the last 12 months, but the selection of Lydiate - and the likelihood of Navidi getting a first start there in 15 months - suggests that the traditional blindside flanker who is a destructive tackler and grafter, who can hit and win the ball on the ground, is what Wales are moving towards again.
But the question will remain over whether they have in place the personnel. Moving forward, the fact that Navidi and Moriarty have struggled to stay fit, while Lydiate is no spring chicken at 34, could be a concern. The younger faces, like Botham and Lewis-Hughes, are out of favour for whatever reason.
Even if Lydiate's selection marks the end of a slight experiment towards the less physical, more all-court blindside, there's no guarantees that the six jersey won't continue to bounce around in the next year until France.
