ON the eve of the Six Nations Warren Gatland declared that he would be keeping the pins in his grenades.

The Wales boss has been known for being mischievous in the Press – Dylan Hartley “goes to pieces” in 2011, “Wales dislike the Irish the most”, South Africa ‘don’t play any rugby’ – but said he would adopt a more mellow approach over the coming weeks.

“What I’ve struggled with recently is that if you give an honest answer, and that’s your own opinion, then it can be twisted,” he said at the launch of the tournament. “That’s disappointing. So, you end up just playing a straight bat.”

So Gatland is going to be more Nick Compton that Ben Stokes when dealing with the media but he’s already shown an appetite for lobbing the odd grenade at his squad over the coming weeks.

Much has been made of Ireland, Scotland and Wales being the settled sides while England and France rebuild under new coaches Eddie Jones and Guy Noves.

Yet despite Gatland’s critics saying he sticks with the tried and tested, his side has evolved over the years.

In the last World Cup cycle Dan Biggar, Rhys Webb, Samson Lee and Scott Baldwin came in to be key figures while Alex Cuthbert enjoyed a rapid rise after the tournament in New Zealand only to seemingly peak around the 2013 Lions tour of Australia and to cling onto his spot at England 2015, aided by injuries to others.

The plotting starts now for Japan 2019 and already Gatland has handed opportunities against Ireland to loosehead Rob Evans and wing Tom James, rewarding them for strong showings with the Scarlets and Cardiff Blues respectively.

Flanker Justin Tipuric has benefited from the injury that Dan Lydiate suffered against Newport Gwent Dragons on New Year’s Day – and the blindside had been looking really good against his old side with some excellent carrying to go along with his trademark destruction – while Gareth Anscombe gets the chance to shine, and provide another first receiver, while Liam Williams works on his fitness.

While there is excitement about the footballing ability of the XV for the Aviva Stadium, the bench allows the opportunity to revert to type. It’s up to the new boys to impress.

Perhaps Gatland will be a bit of a tinkerman over the next few weeks, giving the odd opportunity to others in a bigger-than-usual squad of 37.

Maybe Hallam Amos will come back into the mix to build on his World Cup exploits that were ended by injury in the famous win against England at Twickenham, could Cory Allen or Tyler Morgan get a chance in midfield if the finale against Italy is not a title shootout?

The destructive running of Ross Moriarty certainly provides a different option to the established back row quartet of Sam Warburton, Taulupe Faletau, Tipuric and Lydiate.

If it’s not over the coming weeks then you’d expect a few changes to be made over the summer with Wales facing a pre-Tour Test against England at Twickenham as well as an encounter with the Chiefs alongside their three daunting fixtures against New Zealand.

Gatland has given opportunities out in the past and it’s up to those who get a shot over the coming weeks and months to take them, and for the victims of the odd grenade to respond to their disappointment.

 

AS we prepare for five weekends of gripping Test rugby, the sport continues at lower levels with clubs hoping that the Six Nations doesn’t further deepen their financial problems.

Fingers are crossed that clubhouses will be heaving to make up for recent postponements that have hit the cash flow.

Of course, some have deep pockets, as will be shown by a summer arms race in the Principality Premiership.

Four teams will be heading up from the SSE Swalec Championship this summer and the contenders have been spending pretty big to ensure they aren’t on the outside looking in.

Merthyr are looking good for the title and the Ironmen, backed by Sir Stanley Thomas, last week secured the services of Pontypridd centre Gavin Dacey and Cardiff Blues lock Miles Normandale.

Their approach to signing under contract players has ruffled a few feathers but good luck to them in the sense that they should add some value to the Premiership by probably mixing it at the top. Pontypool will also have a pretty healthy budget if/when they head up.

But there is a fear that the arrival of four new contenders could lead to others attempting to keep up with the Joneses. Money is already tight but the temptation may be there to stretch that little bit more to entice a prospect or keep a lynchpin.

For what? The Premiership will be ring-fenced for three years at least and it isn’t quite the level it was a decade or so ago when it was a tough proving ground for burgeoning players.

Nowadays there isn’t exactly a glut of individuals who are ready to step up to the plate to solve an injury crisis at Newport Gwent Dragons, Cardiff Blues, the Ospreys or Scarlets. There is the odd player of promise but the leap to pro rugby is way too big for them to be flung straight in.

So while plenty of cash is being splashed, many feel that belts should be tightened amid fears of the mid-season split next season potentially depriving them of a few lucrative gates.

Money is tight all the way down the pyramid yet players at the bottom of the Swalec Leagues are still getting pretty handsomely rewarded for staying put in their comfort zone rather than testing themselves at a higher level.

All the best to the individuals involved – in these tough times a few extra quid is certainly hard to turn down – but it does make you wonder what the clubs are playing at.

The proof will be in the pudding; perhaps the likes of Merthyr will give the Premiership a shot in the arm or maybe it will merely give more fuel to those who believe it is a waste of funding by the Welsh Rugby Union and that the sport should be amateur, or at least reduced to pocket money, at that level.

It can be argued that the Premiership would be empowered and revitalised by being freed of their development responsibility.