Warren Gatland turns up for final Wales Six Nations squad trial - this is what he saw
Gloucester v Scarlets saw a plethora of Wales internationals put their skills on display for the final time before Warren Gatland announces his squad for the upcoming Six Nations on Monday.
Gatland was in attendance for a largely one-sided contest at Kingsholm Stadium on Friday night, with the Cherry and Whites winning 31-7 against the Welsh region thanks to tries from Caolan Englefield, Jack Clement, George Barton, Seb Blake and Christian Wade.
Unfortunately for Sam Costelow, he was forced off with a shoulder injury just 12 minutes into the game, forcing Ioan Lloyd to slot in at 10, with Ioan Nicholas coming on at full-back. Costelow's injury could cause Gatland a real problem at fly-half going into the tournament and open the door for someone like Dan Edwards at the Ospreys. Gareth Anscombe missed the match after suffering a knock but Gloucester say there are no concerns about his fitness going forward.
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Despite Gloucester's scoreline dominance, Scarlets enjoyed the majority of possession and territory, but were unfortunately not clinical enough in scoring positions. The home team were excellent in defence, as WalesOnline writer Ben James branded their surging work off the ball as "suffocating".
The Gallagher Premiership's form scrum-half Tomos Williams was on the replacements bench on Friday, but didn't come on to the field. Nevertheless, he'll be one of the first names on the sheet in Gatland's selection meeting. Despite the absence of Williams and Anscombe, there were three Wales stars in action for the 'fifth Welsh region' last night.
Gloucester lock Freddie Thomas, who was capped by Gatland during the autumn internationals, put in a solid defensive shift for the winning side. The 23-year-old nailed an important turnover when a Scarlets player was left isolated, quashing their attack. While he didn't set the world alight, the Gloucester native was decent and provides Wales with some depth in the boiler house.
Max Llewellyn is enjoying the season of his life so far, but he wasn't at his brilliant best against Scarlets at centre. By no means did he perform badly, but the 25-year-old former Cardiff man seems to be more dangerous when deployed in the wide channels. It seems very likely he'll be selected by Gatland in the coming days, with the Kiwi boss seeming to be in favour of a him and Ben Thomas in midfield.
Winger Josh Hathaway showed exactly what he can bring to the Test match arena - electric pace. The Welshman put his raw gas on display on a few occasions, looking dangerous. However, he did knock the ball on in important positions a couple of times, and fluffed a golden chance to score towards the end of the game. At just 21 he has plenty of time to mature, and seems like a genuine raw talent.
For Scarlets, it wasn't the best night in Europe, so it was tough for their Wales hopefuls to make an impression on the selection committee. However, their best performer on the night was openside flanker Josh Macleod, making a couple of important turnovers and showing urgency to get Scarlets moving. He has already earned two caps for Wales, but has endured a torrid time with injuries, and should have at least double digits for his country. His situation isn't helped by the fact he is competing with Tommy Reffell and Jac Morgan for a place in the back row, but he will certainly be in the conversation.
Ioan Lloyd played a crucial role in Scarlets' try, sticking a cute grubber behind a rushing Gloucester defensive line to get an in-road for the try. He showed a keen appetite for injecting energy into the attack, jinking and cutting against the grain a few times, but he couldn't get things flowing for his team. It would be a surprise if he makes the squad, even with Costelow's injury.
In the making of that try, blind side flanker Taine Plumtree completed a lovely deft offload into centre Eddie James for a fine Scarlets score. The latter continues to prove that he's a potential Test match operator, regularly getting considerable gain line with big carries against Gloucester. He also completed a clever offload early in the first half, showing that he's more than just brawn. He will surely be named in the squad. Plumtree himself didn't play as well as he would have liked, throwing a few wayward offloads and knocking the ball on.
Wales hopeful Ellis Mee, who has proven to be a great acquisition for the west Wales region this season, disrupted Hathaway on the wing throughout the game and is certainly in the mix. On the opposite flank, Blair Murray showed that kicking is an aspect of his game that makes him a valuable asset, with a great contestable bomb during some tennis in the first half, but did get stepped by Wade on the outside during that same 40 and was struggling with injury in the second-half.
Henry Thomas and Kemsley Mathias were keen ball-carriers for Scarlets. However, as part of the pack, they were unable to roll Gloucester over with their driving mauls, with the English club defending well from the lineout plays. Gloucester also scrummaged quite well and shoved the Scarlets pack backwards a few times.
Youngster Macs Page is showing real promise this season, with some nice touches for Scarlets. However, on a night where his team faltered in attack, he wasn't able to show selectors just how good he is. Joe Roberts came on towards the end of the match, but didn't have enough time to make an impact really.
For Scarlets, it's Macleod and James who can hold their heads high ahead of selection, whilst Gloucester trio Llewellyn, Thomas and Hathaway will be confident of selection following their victory, although the latter will be hoping his handling on the night won't rob him of a place in the squad.
The Wales squad for the upcoming Six Nations will be named on Monday, January 13.
