It is still early days, but some of Welsh rugby’s new signings have wasted little time making a mark in the BKT United Rugby Championship.
One or two have been more slow burn-affairs, however.
Of course, there’s still plenty of time for all to show what they can do.
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We take a look at how the fresh faces have fared so far in their changed surroundings.
CARDIFF
Taulupe Faletau (joined from Bath)
Could hardly have made a better start for Cardiff than he did in the win over Munster.
Faletau was master of all he surveyed against the Irish province, looking the world-class player he undoubtedly is.
When he was rested for the next game, away to Glasgow, Cardiff performed as if someone had dumped a load of sugar in their engine.
The side also failed to deliver against the Lions last Friday, having lost momentum.
Faletau picked up a yellow card but still did some good things.
We know he won’t play that much for Cardiff this term because of Wales commitments, but he’s a player who will deliver for the Arms Park club.
Thomas Young (joined from Wasps)
Was one of Cardiff’s best players in their round-one clash with Munster.
If Young didn’t actually cover every blade of grass at the Arms Park, he must have come close to doing so in a startlingly ubiquitous performance,
He made a reasonable start six days later against Glasgow Warriors at Scotstoun before a yellow card that was punished by 21 home points.
Mixed fortunes over the opening couple of games, then, but the feeling is he’s going to be a hit over the campaign.
He’s too good not to be.
Lopeti Timani (joined from Toulouse)
“He’s a giant,” agreed two Cardiff supporters on the 10.15pm train back to Bridgend on Friday. “He looks big on TV, but when you see him close up, he’s massive.”
Indeed.
Timani’s backstory includes 12 caps with Australia and a stint with Toulouse, and at 6ft 5in and 19st he looks imposing enough to send some small armies running for the hills.
But what’s his best position?
Cardiff’s front five has been called into question but some feel Timani might be better employed at six.
Dai Young should be able to make a call on that through performances in training.
So far, there have been two bench appearances and also an outing at lock last Friday against the Lions.
“You could see there was something there,” said our friends on the train.
It’s up to Cardiff to truly exploit it.
Liam Williams (joined from Scarlets)
Described himself as “absolutely devastated” to pick up an injury on his Cardiff debut.
You felt for him.
He has been hoping for a fresh start after an injury-plagued second spell with the Scarlets.
There had been signs of promise on his first Cardiff outing and a fully fit and firing Williams is the kind of player who can inject toughness into a side and stiffen the resolve of those around him.
Cardiff will be counting the days to his return.
DRAGONS
Bradley Roberts (joined from Ulster)
It’s not Sydney Opera House, the Acropolis or a snow-capped Mount Fuji, but when Bradley Roberts has pulled back the curtains to start his day of late he’s been very much pleased with what he sees.
“I wake up every morning, look outside and see Rodney Parade, which gets me excited for the weekend,” the Dragons summer acquisition from Ulster said last week.
“I am enjoying it. I've joined the Celtic Manor because I love to play golf on my days off while I'm living in Newport.”
Happy days.
Roberts certainly seems to be relishing it.
He caught the eye with a rip-roaring performance against Munster, one that saw him fairly tear clear at one point with the crowd cheering so loudly it appeared the roof might come off the main stand.
Over his first two games the former Ulster hooker put in 33 tackles.
It’s been an encouraging start, then.
JJ Hanrahan (joined from Clermont Auvergne)
Along with pretty much everyone else in the Dragons side he struggled to make a mark in the 44-6 thrashing in Edinburgh on the opening weekend of the season.
But he had a much better game when the east Walians beat Munster the following weekend.
The Dragons have three good fly-half options in Hanrahan, Will Reed and Sam Davies, and the battle to wear the No. 10 jersey should be an interesting plotline to the club’s season.
George Nott (joined from London Irish)
An ever-present during England U20s’ triumph in the 2016 Junior World Championship, Bodelwyddan-born Nott remains eligible for Wales.
The 6ft 6in former London Irish forward weighs in at a spud or two under 18 stone and is a player who had been on the Welsh Rugby Union’s so-called ‘exiles hit-list’.
It isn’t hard to see why.
He had a superb game for the Dragons at lock in the win over Munster and stood out again in the near-miss against the Sharks, playing at blindside flanker. Nott used his height to nick lineout ball, broke up opposition driving mauls, tackled and carried hard and used his bulk to help the Welsh team resist a strong opposition scrum.
Wayne Pivac has a number of good options when it comes to players who can play in a number of positions in the back five, but there’s more than a decent chance Nott’s name will rate a mention when the selection calls are made for his squad.
Sean Lonsdale (joined from Exeter Chiefs)
Shane Williams picked out this guy in the summer as a potential World Cup bolter after his move to Rodney Parade from Exeter Chiefs. You can read more about Williams' views on Lonsdale here.
Again, he can play in different positions and, again, he played out of his skin for the Dragons against Munster, operating at blindside in a nicely balanced back row alongside Taine Basham and Ross Moriarty.
Exeter’s forwards coach Rob Hunter once described him as “the quiet guy in the background”.
But his efforts so far for the Dragons have done his talking for him.
He’s started two out of three games and been impressive.
Sio Tomkinson (joined from Highlanders)
A heat-seeking missile locking onto a target and doing its thing?
Try Tomkinson breaking up a Sharks attack at one point last weekend.
There is a case for feeling his attacking game hasn’t been seen to its full potential in Wales just yet.
But in defence he’s been deadly.
Quite looking the part, then.
Rob Evans (joined from Scarlets)
One of Welsh rugby’s larger-than-life characters has yet to start for his new club, having picked up a cheekbone injury in pre-season.
He has figured off the bench, however, catching the eye late on against the Sharks.
Evans has rare ball skills for a prop and wasn’t shy of showcasing them in his cameo last weekend.
A chance to show he can still scrummage as a starter shouldn’t be long in coming.
Angus O’Brien (joined from Scarlets)
Threw out a pass that was intercepted for a Sharks score on Saturday, but there haven’t been many more errors from the former Scarlet over the past two games.
The uncapped O’Brien has been excellent at full-back for the Dragons.
He can run from deep, pass and, as you’d expect from a player who’s played a lot of his rugby at fly-half, he has a quality kicking game.
At 28, he’s been around for a long while.
But he’s made enough of a mark in the early weeks of the season for us to suggest he’s another who'll be mentioned when the midnight oil is being burned in selection for Wales’ November Tests.
Max Clark (joined from Bath)
He’s been on replacement duty so far since his move from Bath, with the Dragons opting for Sio Tomkinson and Jack Dixon as starting centres and both players repaying the faith.
Clark has looked lively off the bench, though.
What he’ll want is a chance in the run-on side.
Again, the likelihood is the Dragons will hand him that sooner rather than later.
OSPREYS
Jack Walsh (joined from Exeter Chiefs)
Here’s an interesting one.
When he’s on the pitch, things happen, and often in a good way for his team.
He is creative and sees gaps that others only spot after he’s either gone through himself or sent others through. He can pass a ball nicely and has helped spur the Ospreys’ attacking game. Not short of confidence, the surfer from Australia who has played rugby league knows how to unlock a defence. For the Swansea.com Stadium team, he has been a breath of fresh air.
Notwithstanding that he slotted a testing late conversion to earn the Ospreys a draw against the Scarlets, there is room for Walsh to improve his goalkicking.
But it’s an otherwise positive story about him at his new team.
For the Ospreys, the diminutive youngster could prove a significant asset.
SCARLETS
Vaea Fifita (joined for Wasps)
Arrived in Llanelli from Wasps and scored a scorching try from second row in the clash with Ulster, sprinting more than 50 metres for an interception touchdown.
In case anyone’s wondering, it wasn’t a try of the sort too many locks have posted in Welsh rugby over the previous 150 years.
Fifita is a player who can encourage supporters to rise sharply from their seats, then.
Like Lopeti Timani at Cardiff, though, there’s a debate around his best position — six or at lock.
He missed a tackle in the run-up to a Benetton try last weekend, along with two other Scarlets players in the same opposition attacking thrust.
But it’s still early days and if the Scarlets can find where he’s most effective, Fifita can be a major player for them.
Lewis Jones (Dragons)
On loan to the Dragons from Cardiff last term, he signed a permanent deal in the summer.
Has started the campaign solidly behind the impressive Rhodri Williams.
Others we haven’t seen much of
Joe Peard, Adam Williams, Nathan Evans, Rhodri Jones.
A lower-leg injury has sidelined Wales international Jones for the early weeks of the season after his move from the Ospreys to the Dragons.
Peard is still raw but the ex-Dragons youngster is also 6ft 7in and 19st 8lb, with the bulk to do a job for Cardiff if he develops his game.
If he’s one for the future, the same applies to Adam Williams, who has joined Cardiff from the Dragons, and Nathan Evans, who has gone the other way.
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