I'm going to name a bunch of players that Gat's could have picked in the 6N squad, but chose not to:
Rhys Carre - already menioned that I think he'd have had a better impact than all 3 looseheads Gats selected. Perhaps there's more to it than just weight, but we could really do with all the physical ball carriers we can muster, and there's none better atm than Carre!
Nicky Smith - another player continuously overlooked by Gats. Regularly starts ahead of Gareth Thomas for Ospreys and would 100% be a better option than Mathias.
Sam Parry - another regular in the Ospreys side who can actually throw into a lineout.
Liam Belcher - the form hooker in Wales this season, completely overlooked for his Cardiff teammate who hasn't started a professional game! The mind boggles!
Bradley Roberts - despite a miserable season for the Dragons as a whole, I thought Roberts has been a real positive, especially early on. Another who can actually hit his targerts. Not the biggest, but carries with pace and conviction.
Rhys Davies - offers physicality that we've been lacking.
Morgan Morris - one of the form players for any region over the last few years. Surely warrants an opportunity? Once again, we lack ball carriers, and he's one of the best at regional level.
Thomas Young - openside was far from an issue this 6N with Reffell excellent throughout, but Young does offer something different with his pace and skill. Mann has potential, but Young is proven, and Reffell could have been shifted to 6 with Young at 7 as an alternative.
Kieran Williams - one mistake in a wc warmup appears to be all Gats can see when it comes to Williams. I'm not sure if Williams would be the answer at 12 because I think we need a kicking and distributing option there ideally, but he was more deserving of his spot than Waktin based on regional form over the last couple seasons. Watkin played well(ish) v France to be fair to him, but we should't forget he was garbage v Scotland first up either.
Ben Thomas - been playing really well of late at 12, and could be a kicking/distributing option I mentioned above.
Keelan Giles - Adams barely looked fit this 6N, really poor in most matches (aside from in the air v Italy today). Not sure Giles is quite back to his pre-injury form, but he's certainly been dangerous of late.
Angus O'Brien - in between injuries, he's impressed me for a couple of seasons. Siege gun boot that would be really uaeful from deep, and a good all round game. Can make mistakes so might come unstuck at international level, but we have to remember that Rogers was included in the initial squad who also has errors in his game.
Iestyn Hopkins - always plays well for Ospreys. Plenty still to learn, so probably is too soon for him, but Winnet was similarly inexperienced, yet has been a huge success overall.
Couple of mentions for Morgan Morse and Dan Edwards - not sure I wanted to see either in the squad quite yet as they need more regional appearances before being thrown into international rugby, but both have shown the ability to step up.
Not saying these players would have made all the difference (and I'm clutching at some straws with a few, especially in the backs), but when Gatland is selecting players like Archie Griffin, Kemsley Mathias, Harri O'Connor, Evan Lloyd and Alex Mann (nothing againat Mann really, as I thought he did ok overall, but certainly lacked some physicality) over some of the above, then I'm not quite sure what Gats is smoking atm. Gotta remember that Dillon Lewis wasn't even in the original squad, with rookie Archie Griffin and perma-injured Leon Brown there ahead of him! I mean wtf?
Would be below team be worse than what we put out this 6N?
Carre, Belcher, Lewis
Rowlands, Jenkins
Wainwright, Reffel, Morris (or Reffel, Young, Wainwright)
T.Williams, Edwards,
K.Williams, North
Dyer, Winnett, Grady
Dee, Smith, Asseratti, R. Davies, Young/Morris, Hardy, B.Thomas, Giles
