Warren Gatland says he does not plan to select Jac Morgan and Tommy Reffell in the same team this autumn.
The two openside flankers were deployed together in the back row against Argentina in the Rugby World Cup quarter-final last year, but Wales head coach Gatland says he won’t be doing that again.
Reffell and Morgan are arguably two of the best players in the Wales squad and they play in the same position, so it’s a big selection dilemma for the Kiwi coach, who’ll need to decide who’s right for the opposition on the day.
Following the defeat to the Pumas 12 months ago, Gatland admitted he perhaps regretted the double openside tactic. Now, it will be one or the other.
“That’s probably our thinking (one or the other),” said Gatland on the BBC Scrum V podcast. “It’s going to be a bit of a fight over those two. The question we ask ourselves is – ‘how do you find the balance and the make up of a back row?’ – in terms of potentially needing a lineout forward as one of your back rowers, a six that can be physical and confrontational, and an eight who needs to be a bit more of a ball-player, and the ability of a seven to play that tight game to get you some turnovers and jackals.
“We probably haven’t had the choice [recently]. I thought Taine Plumtree’s performance last week was excellent, he’s still only a young player and I though he really fronted up at the weekend. Then you’ve got someone like Freddie Thomas who can potentially go from second row to six, Christ Tshiunza as well. I’ve been really impressed with James Botham, he can cover all three of those positions in the back row.
“Then you’ve got Wainwright, and when Faletau comes back, now you’ve got some real selection head aches and dilemmas. I think if you’ve got Wainwright, Faletau, Plumtree and Botham, it becomes bloody hard to know who’s going to be your back row. It’s not an easy selection.”
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