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Historically, the Wales number 10 shirt has been one of the most scrutinised positions in world rugby.
In the eyes of a large proportion of the Welsh rugby fraternity, to be deemed a success in the fabled number 10 shirt requires a mixture of not only guiding Wales to victory but also doing it with panache. Take Neil Jenkins, who wore the shirt 87 times as a prime example.
Despite being regarded as one of the greatest goal kickers of all time and a supreme controller of the game, he was often the victim of a tirade of vitriolic and unjust criticism because he wasn’t a side-stepping maverick in the same mould as Barry John or Phil Bennett.
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His long-term successor, Stephen Jones, also fell into the same trap. The Scarlets legend played a pivotal role in two Six Nations Grand Slam-winning campaigns, was first-choice outside-half on two British & Irish Lions tours and was universally respected throughout the international game, but that wasn’t enough for many Welsh rugby fans. Sign up to our Welsh rugby newsletter here.
Then there was the case of Rhys Priestland, a hugely talented footballer who got the Welsh backline purring at the 2011 World Cup, but was ground down by the constant criticism, and was once disgracefully booed by his own supporters when entering the fray as a replacement against Australia back in 2014.
Put simply, playing outside-half for Wales can be as much of a burden as it is an honour, while there is often no middle ground in the eyes of the supporters. You are either the best player on the pitch or the worst.
These are the reasons why Wales must be sensible and look after young Ospreys tyro Dan Edwards, who will get a crack at the number 10 shirt over the next couple of months. Edwards is the only player in Warren Gatland’s squad for the upcoming Six Nations who plays outside-half regularly at club level, with Cardiff centre Ben Thomas the other option.
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Nobody can doubt Edwards’ potential and he absolutely deserves to be in this squad, but Wales must tread carefully with the uncapped 21-year-old. Edwards is a superb talent who possesses the raw minerals to develop into a high-class Test match performer.
The rising Ospreys star is a triple-threat player who can challenge defences with ball in hand, has a strong kicking game and also has the vision to put others into space. On top of that Edwards exudes confidence, while his problem solving on the field is very good.
Edwards is already a very good player but naturally for a 21-year-old he still has elements of his game which are in need of improvement. The smart money would be to start Thomas at outside-half against France in Paris, with Edwards coming off the bench later on.
Over the past year Gatland has blooded a raft of young players. Whenever the likes of Cameron Winnett or Eddie James have been asked by journalists what the biggest difference is between playing the United Rugby Championship and Test rugby the answer goes something like this: make a mistake at Test level and you’ll get severely punished by the opposition and there really is no room for error.
Take a look across the Irish Sea and Leinster outside-half Sam Prendergast is the best thing since sliced bread according to many supporters. Both Prendergast and Edwards played against each other at age-grade level but back then the Ospreys man looked just as much, if not more, of a top prospect than the Leinsterman.
But Prendergast plays for one of the strongest sides in northern hemisphere club rugby in Leinster and typically plays behind a dominant pack. Last weekend Edwards shone against a second-string Newcastle Falcons side in the Challenge Cup, while Prendergast helped guide Leinster to a stunning victory at La Rochelle in what was a Test match in all but name.
The difference in levels are vast. Edwards has the potential to be as good as Prendergast but the Irishman is better prepared for Test rugby because of the higher standard he has been exposed to in the Investec Champions Cup and the strength of the Leinster squad in comparison to the Ospreys. Wales need to be mindful of this.
That’s the problem with Wales’ four professional sides – Cardiff, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets – playing in the Challenge Cup as opposed to the Champions Cup. It becomes a lot harder for the Wales coaches to gauge how ready a player is for the rigours of Test rugby, whereas if they were excelling in the Champions Cup away from home in a vociferous atmosphere like La Rochelle the jump up to the international arena wouldn’t be as big.
Wales need to make sure Edwards is managed sensibly and is looked after. Perhaps it would have been beneficial to include Gareth Anscombe to lend his experience to Edwards and also act as a safety net.
Hopefully elements of the Welsh rugby public understand Edwards will likely take time to find his feet and be a lot fairer on him than they have been with Sam Costelow. A couple of years ago Costelow was supposed to be the second coming but after a few shaky performances, which weren’t all that bad, the same people who were previously calling for his selection were slamming the Scarlets playmaker left, right and centre.
Like Jenkins, Jones and Priestland before him, Costelow could do eight things outstandingly well but make two mistakes and all the good in his game gets ignored. Dan Biggar summed up the pressure of playing number 10 for Wales succinctly. “Playing 10 for Wales is like nothing else,” he told the BBC last year.
“When times are great and you are winning things are amazing, but when you are losing you are the one who takes the blame not the blindside flanker, not the hooker or the centre.”
Let’s hope the Welsh rugby public show more patience with Edwards than they’ve previously afforded others.