Wales star facing watershed moment as 'talented' man backed to step up to biggest test
There are few tougher tests in world rugby for a tighthead prop than packing down against France in Paris.
In many other rugby-playing nations, the scrum is viewed as a way of restarting the game but the French live and breathe the set-piece. Throughout the Top 14 crowds regularly celebrate scrum penalties as loudly and wildly as scoring tries.
“The spirit of the scrum is very different,” former England prop Kyle Sinckler told The Telegraph. “In Toulon, the scrum is a story of life and death, it’s exhilarating. In England, we are more analytical. Here [in France], the scrum, we put emotions into it. It’s a whole city and a region that vibrates. In Toulon, you feel like a gladiator."
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If Wales are to stand a chance of upsetting France in their Six Nations opener next Friday then they must stand up to Fabien Galthié's side at the scrum. The frontrunner to wear the red number three shirt at the Stade de France is Keiron Assiratti and it's no exaggeration to say he will be key to Wales' efforts.
It's true Wales lack the depth of other nations in the front-row, but Assiratti is well-respected as a scrummager within the game. The 27-year-old is a strong technical scrummager who has a good shape at scrum time, while he will undoubtedly benefit from working closely with Adam Jones.
Of course, the tighthead is only one person in a scrum of eight, albeit an important cog in the wheel, and much will depend on his front-row colleagues, along with the weight coming through from the second-row's. But Assiratti has shown what he is capable of as a scrummager having comfortably held his own again the destructive Joe Marler in last year's narrow defeat to England at Twickenham.
When it comes to the scrums, over the last year Wales have tended to fall away in the last quarter of the game having held their own up to that point. Former Wales tighthead Scott Andrews, who is now part of Cardiff's coaching group, believes Assiratti is up to the task.
"I'm chuffed to bits at how he's gone this season," said Andrews. "I might be wrong but it's probably the longest run he's had of consistent games.
"On the whole I think he's backed up performances regularly. He is a natural, good strong scrummager.
"His mindset has always been there but I think this year and last year when we lost a couple of senior frontrowers he took on more of a leadership role. I think his performances on the field from a scrummaging point of view and in general have been really good."
Assiratti's scrummaging has never been questioned within the Wales squad but there has been an emphasis on him improving his conditioning which is beginning to bear fruit. "The challenge we've given Azza is what he can contribute around the field as well, whether that be attacking or defensively," said Andrews.
"I think defensively on the weekend he was really good. That's a part of his game he's constantly working on but I think purely from a scrummaging point of view he's had a good season so far.
"He's a talented rugby player, he's skillful and he's actually got a turn of pace as well believe it or not! He does like to get his hands on the ball and he is a good ball player to be fair to him."
Going head-to-head with the likes of Cyrille Baille, Jean-Baptiste Gros or Dany Priso will present an enormous challenge. New Wales scrum consultant Jones is widely considered to be one of the finest scrummagers of the modern era, but it wasn't always that way.
At the start of his career Jones used to get replaced by former Wales coach Sir Steve Hansen after just half an hour of a Test match, and the Ospreys legend had to go through some tough experiences in the scrum before hitting his peak under Gatland between 2008-15. The Wales management have every faith in Assiratti that one day everything will fall into place because he does have the raw minerals to perform on the international circuit.
Two years ago Assiratti very nearly had to sign for semi-professional outfit Merthyr due to the contractual freeze in Welsh rugby at that time. Since then he has won 10 caps for Wales and is heading in the right direction.
Gatland will be hoping next Friday night will be a watershed moment for Assiratti as an international tighthead.
