There is one position where Wales desperately need to build some depth
When Steve Tandy and his assistants convene to select a Wales side, there is one decision that, on current evidence, requires little deliberation. The number nine jersey belongs, unequivocally, to Tomos Williams.
Since the 2023 Rugby World Cup, Williams has entrenched himself as a cornerstone of the national team. He has started all but one of Wales’ Test matches since Tandy assumed control last autumn, and with 72 caps to his name, his influence is set to be central as Wales build towards next year’s global showpiece in Australia.
Williams’ qualities are well established. A dangerous broken-field runner, he possesses the ability to conjure opportunities from broken play, while his experience provides a steadying presence in high-pressure moments. Currently plying his trade with Gloucester and bound for Saracens in the 2026/27 season, Williams was one of only two Welsh players selected for last summer’s British & Irish Lions tour of Australia.
Yet beneath that apparent certainty lies a more troubling reality. As one senior figure within Welsh rugby confided recently, scrum-half is also an area of underlying concern.
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Across the professional game and development pathways, Wales can point to a number of technically proficient scrum-halves. What is less evident, however, is a cohort capable of replicating Williams’ attacking edge.
Players in the mould of Rob Howley, Dwayne Peel, Mike Phillips, Rhys Webb and Gareth Davies — all of whom combined control with genuine attacking threat — are in short supply.
The disparity between Williams and his contemporaries is stark. Should the 31-year-old suffer a significant injury on the eve of the World Cup, Wales could be exposed badly.
In that context, the need to cultivate depth at scrum-half becomes not merely desirable, but urgent.
Kieran Hardy is a very good club player and a safe pair of hands, but doesn’t provide Wales with the same attacking threat as Williams.
Reuben Morgan-Williams is the next cab off the rank and is somebody who has been a consistent performer for the Ospreys, but we don’t really know whether the 28-year-old is high-end international class.
It is unfair to judge him until he has a run of games from the start at Test level, but the jury is out for now.
Others, such as Rhodri Williams and Ellis Bevan, are dependable options, though it is fair to ask whether they possess the additional dimension required at the highest level.
Che Hope has been one of the standout prospects in regional rugby this season with Dragons RFC. At 23, he brings a natural attacking instinct, a sharp eye for the try-line, and the kind of game-breaking ability that cannot easily be taught.
His game management is still developing, but his ceiling may be higher than any of his peers. A hamstring injury has curtailed his campaign at an inopportune moment, denying him what might have been a timely introduction to the international stage this summer.
Archie Hughes is a player who stood out for Wales U20s, and big things were initially expected of the Pembrokeshire product.
He had a bumpy start to his professional career, but the appointment of Nigel Davies as interim Scarlets director of rugby has coincided with Hughes getting a run of games.
He has begun to show what he is capable of, with his speed of pass and his threat with ball in hand adding something to the team, although his box-kicking is a work in progress.
Hughes had a fine game in the narrow defeat to Northampton Saints in the Champions Cup back in January and made a cracking break as a replacement against Leinster last weekend to put Max Douglas over for a try.
Further down the pathway, the likes of Sion Davies and Ieuan Davies represent longer-term projects who merit careful development.
For Tandy, the dilemma is a familiar one: balancing the immediate imperative of winning Test matches with the longer-term necessity of squad building.
There is a compelling argument that the time has come to take a calculated risk and entrust a younger, more instinctive scrum-half such as Hope with the role of understudy to Williams.
Williams remains Wales’ standout number nine, but the position cannot rely on a single player. Depth and quality behind him are essential for World Cup success.
Giving a younger talent like Che Hope meaningful experience is now a necessity.
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