Lawrence Dallaglio has hailed Taulupe Faletau as a unique player and says it’s vital Wales keep him fit and firing on all cylinders through to the World Cup.
Faletau celebrated his 32nd birthday with a man-of-the-match display in Saturday’s victory over Argentina on the back of a heroic effort in defeat against New Zealand.
English World Cup winner Dallaglio is a big admirer of the Cardiff No 8 who is in line to win his 94th cap versus Georgia at the Principality Stadium this weekend.
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“He’s maybe not built as big as some others, but he’s got a pretty unique set of skills which allow him to play the game in a different way to a lot of other people,” said the former back row star.
“We should applaud that and enjoy what we see. He has got very good footballing ability, footwork and pace. As he’s got more and more experienced, he’s got an even greater depth of understanding in terms of reading the game.
“He has a unique set of skills definitely, there is no doubt about that. He has got Polynesian descent and you know how good they are in terms of their footballing ability and he brings all of that, along with a discipline, a toughness and an athleticism. When you start to add those sort of things together, you have got pretty much the complete No 8 really.”
As such, Dallaglio feels it’s crucial for Wales that they find the best way of maximising Faletau’s talents.
“He is one of those guys who people don’t really appreciate how good he is until he’s not playing for you,” he said.
“He has had his fair share of injuries over the years, but whenever he comes back, he reminds the world of how good he is and everyone waxes lyrical.
“What Wales need to do is work out what environment gives him the best possible chance of playing international rugby and give him that environment.
“I don’t think being at Bath necessarily helped his cause in any way whatsoever. With the club being on such a poor run when he was there, it was kind of needs must when he got himself back fit again and they had to try and get the most out of him and that’s not necessarily in the best interests of the Welsh national team.
“He’s with Dai Young at Cardiff now and he probably feels a lot happier where he is at the minute. They are in not bad shape these days.
“When he was with the Dragons, he didn’t seem to miss a game for Wales and hopefully that will slide back into place.
“The way Ireland seem to have nurtured all of their players and found the right environment to get the best out of them, that’s all Faletau needs because at his best he’s right up there with Ardie Savea as the best No 8 in the world.
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“He’s so good that I want to see more of him and let’s just hope he has a run now that keeps him fit all the way through to the World Cup because Wales are a much better team when he is firing on all cylinders.
“As a genuine fan of the game and especially as someone who played at No 8, I want to see the best players in the world playing against each other and he is definitely in that category, so I wish him all the very best.”
Dallaglio pinpoints Louis Rees-Zammit as another key man for Wales and has been intrigued by his switch from wing to full-back.
“He’s just such an exciting player. I love watching him at Gloucester, I love watching him for Wales,” he said.
“His best position is on the wing, but those skills are pretty interchangeable. Playing full-back is like a No 8 going to flanker, there’s no difference quite frankly.
“With the amount of kicking that happens in the game these days, he can add a lot for Wales in that position.”
So with the autumn campaign having reached its midway point, what has player-turned-pundit Dallaglio made of it so far?
“With the World Cup less than 12 months away, I don’t think the two hemispheres have ever been closer than they are right now,” he said.
“I was one of the first players to play in what is now known as the autumn international series. I played in 1997 which is the first year where everyone went to this three/four-match autumn window.
“In those days, no disrespect to any other side, England and Ireland might have won the odd game, but by and large it was a southern hemisphere sweep, even though it was at the end of their season.
“In fact, in my first autumn campaign, we drew two and lost two, playing against New Zealand twice, Australia and South Africa.
“But if you look at the last few weeks, the results have been much closer. Admittedly, New Zealand caught Wales on a cold day and managed to pull away, but, by and large, the scorelines have been very close.
“I think only Scotland didn’t get the memo last weekend that you have got to beat the southern hemisphere opponent because everyone else seemed to manage it, including Italy with a notable win against Australia and Wales bouncing back with a much-needed victory against Argentina.
“You have got France unbeaten in 12 now, you’ve got Ireland who seem like they are only a few steps behind them, with the only teams to have beaten them in the past year or so having been New Zealand and the French.
“So you have got a very competitive set up going on. We obviously have to temper our excitement with the fact that six of the nine World Cups have been won by two countries - South Africa and New Zealand - and eight out of nine have been won by the southern hemisphere.
“But I don’t think you’d be laughed out of town if you said this represents the northern hemisphere’s best chance to break that monopoly.”
Turning his attention to England’s impending showdown with New Zealand at Twickenham, Dallaglio said: “I think it’s a tough game to call.
“England had a very much improved performance against Japan and it needed to be after an inconsistent one the week before.
“As for New Zealand, everyone was talking about their demise and how they were a side that was struggling. Well, anyone who has seen them on this tour would say they are far from that. They are capable of producing some wonderful rugby on their day, but equally they are maybe a little bit more beatable than previous All Blacks teams that have visited these shores.
“These last two autumn games for England (against New Zealand and South Africa) will give us a very clear idea of where they are at. Eddie Jones is not a stranger to playing against the All Blacks and coming up with the right tactics to cause them some problems.
“The big question will come at 9 and 10. There is less than 12 months to the World Cup and what is Eddie going to do? Is he going to give Jack van Poortvliet a run against the top sides or will he be in a supporting role to Ben Youngs.
“England’s best performances under Eddie have always been with Owen Farrell at 10, Manu Tuilagi at 12 and Henry Slade at 13. So it’s fascinating to see what the selection will be against the All Blacks and it might give us an indication of the direction Eddie Jones is travelling in for the World Cup.”
* Lawrence Dallaglio has joined Caduceus - a metaverse technology partner dedicated to sports and entertainment development - as their Brand Ambassador.
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