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<blockquote data-quote="Darwin" data-source="post: 466146" data-attributes="member: 24910">Cheers for the info.&nbsp; I saw glimpses of Eli Walker at under 20 levels and he looked very sharp, and I think I remember seeing a giant Welsh wing playing 7&#039;s, which I think may have been Cuthbert.&nbsp; One of the major things Wales lose with Shane Williams retiring (apart from his obvious elusive running) is his halfback skills.&nbsp; Mike Phillips has a habit of taking the ball up himself, getting involved in the breakdown, or just generally being slow to the breakdown at times. It was very noticeable how often Shane Williams popped up behind the ruck to quickly (and cleanly) distribute the ball to the backs.&nbsp; If Wales are going to persist with Phillips at halfback I think it may be beneficial to have someone with some halfback skills such are Williams on the wing. &nbsp;Obviously anyone can pass the ball from the base of the ruck, but not everyone have the innate ability to know when they are needed to play as a halfback, nor the passing skills to operate quickly and efficiently there.&nbsp; Williams as an ex-halfback was very adept at this, but I&#039;m sure there are other wings with the necessary skills to do this too.&nbsp; It obviously shouldn&#039;t be a primary reason to select a wing, but if it is a close call between two players I think Wales would benefit having someone with these sort of skills (not suggesting any player in particular, as I really don&#039;t know enough about Welsh rugby!).&nbsp; Clearly if Lloyd Williams was picked at halfback ahead of Phillips (which certainly wouldn&#039;t be a bad idea!) these sort of skills wouldn&#039;t be required.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Darwin, post: 466146, member: 24910"] Cheers for the info. I saw glimpses of Eli Walker at under 20 levels and he looked very sharp, and I think I remember seeing a giant Welsh wing playing 7's, which I think may have been Cuthbert. One of the major things Wales lose with Shane Williams retiring (apart from his obvious elusive running) is his halfback skills. Mike Phillips has a habit of taking the ball up himself, getting involved in the breakdown, or just generally being slow to the breakdown at times. It was very noticeable how often Shane Williams popped up behind the ruck to quickly (and cleanly) distribute the ball to the backs. If Wales are going to persist with Phillips at halfback I think it may be beneficial to have someone with some halfback skills such are Williams on the wing. Obviously anyone can pass the ball from the base of the ruck, but not everyone have the innate ability to know when they are needed to play as a halfback, nor the passing skills to operate quickly and efficiently there. Williams as an ex-halfback was very adept at this, but I'm sure there are other wings with the necessary skills to do this too. It obviously shouldn't be a primary reason to select a wing, but if it is a close call between two players I think Wales would benefit having someone with these sort of skills (not suggesting any player in particular, as I really don't know enough about Welsh rugby!). Clearly if Lloyd Williams was picked at halfback ahead of Phillips (which certainly wouldn't be a bad idea!) these sort of skills wouldn't be required. [/QUOTE]

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