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Biggar is better. Why Dan's the man for Wales.
by Hywel Davies
The Outside Half Crown in Wales is up for grabs.
King Stephen is on his last legs, it's uncertain whether he will play again. He has been a fixture in the squad since 1997, seeing off the young pretender, James of Hook.
King Stephen was injured in battle last year and has not looked the same since. At that time Wales were skirmishing with England (again!) and it seemed that without their figurehead the Welsh would crumble. However a quiet monk, Rhys of Priest's Land stepped into the breech.
He confounded many as a general (this scribe included) leading his army to a defeat of the English and a successful, indeed all conquering, European campaign. This followed closely on the narrow defeat at the hands of Ireland, sorry France, in the battle for the New World.
In this interregnum it seemed certain, as the Gaels of Ireland were put in their place, that this quiet Monk would be given the Crown. However in an incursion to the cabbage fields of Middlesex, Rhys' Achilles heel was ruthlessly exposed by Mercenaries in the English ranks. They showed that if Rhys could be stifled in attack, his defence was poor. As he was put on his backside by Manu Samoa of Manu Samoa, the people sensed Rhys was not crowned yet.
He can not be ruled out of course. He showed excellent touches in the Six Nations. Gatland stuck with him when he saw yellow and that was an important psychological decision. He wasn't the same after. The confidence was dented, the flakiness that Scarlets fans are very familiar with was only just under the surface. Perhaps Gatland can mould him into a man. Australia could make or break him - if he goes. His shoulder is not right and he may opt for rest and surgery. Gatland's own 'Crunchie' ankle injury might be fateful for young Rhys.
King Stephen is on his last legs, it's uncertain whether he will play again. He has been a fixture in the squad since 1997, seeing off the young pretender, James of Hook.
King Stephen was injured in battle last year and has not looked the same since. At that time Wales were skirmishing with England (again!) and it seemed that without their figurehead the Welsh would crumble. However a quiet monk, Rhys of Priest's Land stepped into the breech.
He confounded many as a general (this scribe included) leading his army to a defeat of the English and a successful, indeed all conquering, European campaign. This followed closely on the narrow defeat at the hands of Ireland, sorry France, in the battle for the New World.
In this interregnum it seemed certain, as the Gaels of Ireland were put in their place, that this quiet Monk would be given the Crown. However in an incursion to the cabbage fields of Middlesex, Rhys' Achilles heel was ruthlessly exposed by Mercenaries in the English ranks. They showed that if Rhys could be stifled in attack, his defence was poor. As he was put on his backside by Manu Samoa of Manu Samoa, the people sensed Rhys was not crowned yet.
He can not be ruled out of course. He showed excellent touches in the Six Nations. Gatland stuck with him when he saw yellow and that was an important psychological decision. He wasn't the same after. The confidence was dented, the flakiness that Scarlets fans are very familiar with was only just under the surface. Perhaps Gatland can mould him into a man. Australia could make or break him - if he goes. His shoulder is not right and he may opt for rest and surgery. Gatland's own 'Crunchie' ankle injury might be fateful for young Rhys.
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The other coaches will be involved in a power struggle of their own in the absence of the Boss. If Howley wants to grandstand showing himself to be his own man, how better than to drop the Outside Half?
For me, much as it pains me to say it given his past antics, Dan Biggar is our man. Forget Fiji (I could point out many poorer games our Rhys has had) forget the prancing and the nonsense; under Steve Tandy Biggar has come of age. The one incident that convinces me Biggar is ready for King Stephen's mantle more than any other came in the RaboDirectPro12 semi final in the Liberty Stadium. The mightily impressive Biggar was lobbed an egg. His back line was in front of him and the Munster line were bearing down on him. Where Priestland in similar circumstances for Wales threw the ball with some bandages to Roberts or Halfpenny, Biggar tore into the Munster forwards at full tilt. |
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Stephen Jones was the King of dealing with poor ball. Carrying it up, recycling it. You can look up Biggar's kicking stats yourself if you want to. You can mull over why he was preferred to Hook at the Liberty. You can see how well he's got his back line going with the new attack minded gameplan for the Ospreys. He may be solid and lacking the finesse Priestland shows in flashes at his creative best. But don't forget that when the chips were down he put his body on the line for his team. For me, the mental toughness Biggar displayed more than compensates.
You can follow the Hywel on twitter @hywelv2
To discuss this further with our members, please visit the 606v2 forum here
(c) Copyright 606v2 2012. Please do not reproduce without permission
You can follow the Hywel on twitter @hywelv2
To discuss this further with our members, please visit the 606v2 forum here
(c) Copyright 606v2 2012. Please do not reproduce without permission
