Captaincy Can Take Faletau Up To New Level

Captaincy Can Take Faletau Up To New Level

WALES will beat Italy this afternoon. There’s no doubt though Warren Gatland has gambled big time with his selection. Making ten changes for a Six Nations match is very unlike Warren and it’s left me scratching my head.

On the one hand it’s exciting and 18 months out from a World Cup, I do accept the argument it’s now or never in terms of looking at some of our younger players.

But, on the other, I’m concerned Wales will lose structure and momentum because they have only five men to provide continuity from the last match in Ireland. We have seen in autumn games from years gone by that when Warren changes two thirds of his team, we struggle to get going.

The narrow win over Georgia last November was a perfect case in point. My fear is that history will repeat itself with another turgid team performance.

I’m obviously hoping that’s not the case and that making ten changes isn’t disrespectful to Italy – because I don’t think that’s Warren’s intention. It’s vital we pay Italy full attention because they won’t be easy.

At the same time, Wales can’t contemplate anything other than victory and I think a bonus-point win has to be the target. We certainly have the players to do that because it’s an exciting team.

The question is, can we get the continuity together with so many new faces?

I wrote last week that I was expecting a handful of changes for the Italy game. Warren threw a bit of a curveball with the number he’s made. Now their challenge is to get Wales back on track. Defeats to England and Ireland have been disappointing, but on home turf, guys like George North, Gareth Anscombe and James Davies have the capability to put Italy to the sword.