Gatland's central contract list

[Draggs]

Props
Rob Evans (Scarlets), Sam Hobbs (Blues), Samson Lee (Scarlets), Aaron Jarvis (Ospreys), Rhodri Jones (Scarlets), Gethin Jenkins (Blues)
Hookers
Ken Owens (Scarlets), Emyr Phillips (Blues), Scott Baldwin (Ospreys)
Second rows
Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys), Jake Ball (Scarlets), James King (Ospreys), Macauley Cook (Blues)
Back rows
Taulupe Faletau (Dragons), Sam Warburton (Blues), Justin Tipuric (Ospreys), Josh Turnbull (Blues), Dan Baker (Ospreys)
Scrum-halves
Rhys Webb (Ospreys), Gareth Davies (Scarlets), Rhodri Williams (Scarlets)
Fly-halves
Rhys Priestland (Scarlets), Gareth Anscombe (Blues), Dan Biggar (Ospreys), Rhys Patchell (Blues)
Centres
Scott Williams (Scarlets), Ashley Beck (Ospreys), Cory Allen (Blues), Tyler Morgan (Dragons), Jack Dixon (Dragons)
Full-backs/Wings
Liam Williams (Scarlets), Alex Cuthbert (Blues), Tom Prydie (Dragons), Eli Walker (Ospreys), Dafydd Howells (Ospreys), Jordan Williams (Scarlets), Hallam Amos (Dragons)

Link

He likes the baby Dragons: Morgan, Dixon, Amos!
Confused by a few, namely Hobbs, Jarvis, Baldwin, Turnbull, Liam Williams, and Prydie.

 

[iINDOMINUSxx]

liam f**kin williams

 

[Feicarsinn]

27 is rather exhaustive, isn't it? We have about half that, and with a bit more cash at our disposal than the WRU I'd imagine. That said, I guess you can't equate what Hallam Amos is looking for with what Warburton is on.

I wouldn't have included Gethin in the core 9. The point of central contracts should be to keep players of vital importance to the national team in the country. Jenkins is 33. While he's an important part of the team now, there's no saying where he'll be in 18 months. You offer him a central contract now and you may not have the funds to offer your starter one if there's a changing of the guard.

 

[Draggs]

37 now Feic.
For Jenkins, if he were to be offered a contract, I could see it going to RWC2015 and not much further.
With so many players listed, I can't hep but wonder if they would be dual contracts. Not sure how the WRU could pay 37 players appropriate salaries.

 

[Feicarsinn]

It's supposed to be a 60-40 split between the WRU and the regions isn't it? At least in theory...

 

[Draggs]

I don't think anybody really knows.
Some names on that list are dire. Why contract crap players? Save the money for players that might actually be worth something.

 

[Darwin]

Gareth Anscombe. Good Welsh name that. Looks like he is being fast-tracked into the Welsh starting XV as quickly as possible.....

Looks like Gatland wants every Welsh player available on a central contract.

 

[Draggs]

Gareth Anscombe. Good Welsh name that. Looks like he is being fast-tracked into the Welsh starting XV as quickly as possible.....

Looks like Gatland wants every cheap Welsh player available on a central contract.

Fixed...
If this system was to be refined into something workable, we would go for quality not quantity. A player like Liam Williams is not desirable for another team, while Halfpenny is. Let the clubs contract cheap players like Williams, and save the big money for players who are worth something and actually might be of interest to other teams.

 

[DuncTheDoodle]

He's substituting his regular squad for those avaliable amongst the regions: So Paul James is replaced by Sam Hobbs, George North is replaced by Dafydd Howells, etc. You still wonder why bother and not just use the extra money to lure the top players back to Wales.