Warren Gatland's return as Wales coach becomes that little bit more real this week with his first squad announcement of his second stint at the helm, and it's for the 2023 Six Nations.
After taking over from Wayne Pivac, Gatland's first action of a busy 2023 will see him whittle down his squad for a tournament he previously left behind four years ago with a Grand Slam. As is often the case, the Wales coach and what he says will likely make the news just as much as his selection talking points. Here are the headlines you can expect to read on Tuesday, January 17:
A Welsh career to be ended?
Gatland has previously mentioned the "age profile" of this Wales squad and the need to be "cognizant of whether players can be managed through another 12 months" to the Rugby World Cup. However, the notion of arrested development is a little overdone.
During the autumn 2022 campaign, 13 of the 36 involved in the squad were over the age of 30, but you'd argue many of them still have parts to play. George North, Justin Tipuric, Taulupe Faletau, Alex Cuthbert, Ken Owens and Tomas Francis will all surely make the squad. Leigh Halfpenny should also do so unless Gatland opts to use some of his wing options at full-back.
Were Will Rowlands and Gareth Anscombe fit, so would they, even if Rowlands' impending departure complicates matters down the road due to the WRU's 60-cap rule. Dan Lydiate is injured so we'll have to wait and see if he is part of Gatland's plans.
Alun Wyn Jones endured a tricky 2022 under Pivac, with many predicting the end for the Wales talisman. Ospreys team-mate Rhys Davies is currently outperforming the veteran, but will that be enough?
In reality, if you're looking at a player over the age of 30 to miss out after the last squad, that might just be Rhys Priestland or Rhodri Jones rather than one of the big-name casualties. Centre Jonathan Davies has struggled to make the squad in recent times and it will be interesting to see if Gatland feels his race is definitely run.
Below the age of 30, plenty has been said about Nick Tompkins not being an "archetypal Gatland centre". Playing in England doesn't help in some ways, which we'll get into a little later, but you'd think he's safe. If he isn't, we'll know for certain whether he is Gatland's cup of tea. As for the whole ideology of being an "archetypal Gatland centre", the coach might have some views on that...
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'Warrenball. Whatever that is'
The above phase will almost certainly get uttered. It is a gripe of Gatland's that his philosophy has often been simplified to the one-word title. He might just end up mentioning that after naming his squad...
Read next: Wayne Pivac breaks silence on Wales sacking and says he knew it was over after 'catastrophic' day
A verbal grenade to be dropped
Speaking of which, the return of Gatland should lead to some sort of verbal gauntlet being laid down. In his last Six Nations in 2019, he revelled in the fact that Wales would win a Grand Slam if they won the opening game, while he also enjoyed predicting the M4 traffic that England would ultimately get stuck in as they headed to Cardiff.
He is in his element when dealing with the media and there are a fair few things to get stuck into. Ireland have always tended to take heed of what Gatland says a little more than they perhaps should and with the world's best side first up in Cardiff, he'll have some mind games planned. The news of Eddie Jones' appointment with Australia might also provide him with some ammunition. Stay tuned.
A left-field name to be sprung
Gatland has always been pretty good at throwing in a name few are expecting.
Given where we are, less than a year out from the World Cup, and with Pivac having capped a large swathe of players, it feels like there is a not a huge load of names who would constitute a surprise. Guys like Keiran Williams, Rhys Davies and Mason Grady have been well-trailed by this point, but Gatland will find a surprise, somehow.
The perils of playing across the border come to fruition?
Some areas of the squad are a little light. Dillon Lewis' injury means tight-head could be tough to pick, with a relative lack of options.
But others, like the back-five, are stocked. England-based players like Christ Tshiunza, Dafydd Jenkins and Tommy Reffell all seem like safe picks to make the squad on form and talent. But competition is rife and, if there's no guarantee they would make the matchday 23, Gatland might make the choice of looking to Wales-based talent who would be present for training throughout the entire week. Gatland spoke last week of the "huge advantage by being based in Wales".
Going back to Tompkins, speaking out against the 60-cap rule while still being dictated by it might not have been the wisest move from the centre. Could that come back to bite him?
Or could it be the deciding factor in some close calls in the pack? We'll see.
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