Among the many headaches Dan Biggar's potential absence from Wales' autumn internationals give Wayne Pivac, finding a new captain for four crucial matches next month will be one of the most significant.
Pivac is known to have already given the longer term captaincy situation some thought, but if the worst is confirmed on the 32-year-old fly-half, he could be looking at making an appointment as early as next week when he names his squad. Even if Biggar is named in the party, the opening match against New Zealand in three weeks could come too soon for him.
Looking to the future, Jamie Roberts nailed his colours to the mast this week with a prediction that Will Rowlands would be Wales’ next rugby captain down the line.
"Someone like Will Rowlands, for me, is a potential Test captain if I'm thinking of someone 12 months out [from the Rugby World Cup]," said Roberts, speaking on a United Rugby Championship media call.
"Yes, we know Dan Biggar is the incumbent but Will Rowlands, for me, is probably first name on the team sheet for Wales, seeing his performances at the start of the season. Watching him against the Sharks, the guy was immense and he's a smart operator as well."
Fair enough. Rowlands has begun the campaign strongly after a fine summer with Wales in South Africa. He was Welsh rugby’s official player of the year last term, is bright and, as Dragons’ skipper, he leads from the front.
But don’t forget Adam Beard.
Some people wilt if extra responsibility is loaded onto them; Beard doesn’t. Whenever he’s been entrusted with leadership duties by the Ospreys or Wales, he has thrived. Just as importantly, those around him often appear to thrive as well. We’ll call it the Alun Wyn Jones syndrome.
Asked about his penchant for leadership roles, the man who filled the vice-captain’s role in South Africa three months ago said this week: “I really enjoy them.
“I still feel I have a bit to learn, but there are no better people to learn from than the ones in the environments I’m in. My second-row partner at the Ospreys, after all, is the most capped player in the game and has captained Wales, Ospreys, the Lions, everyone. (For those who are wondering, that would be the aforementioned Jones.)
“And there are other good leaders around the park.
“I still think it’s a work in progress, but whenever I’m given the opportunity to have a leadership role, whether it involves bossing the set-piece or being vice-captain or captain, I’m enjoying the opportunity.”
The immediate issue
There are genuine concerns that Wales might need a new skipper sooner rather than later after the injury update issued by Northampton Saints on Biggar on Thursday. The east Midlanders spoke of having consulted a specialist over their No. 10’s knee problem, adding that he would continue to be assessed by their medical team over the coming weeks and his condition would be “reviewed by a specialist ahead of the autumn internationals”.
Concerning? Well, clubs tend not to deal in such statements unless they are properly concerned there might be a significant issue. So, yes, concerning.
If Biggar is ruled out of the autumn Tests, there are likely to be three main candidates for the role: Rowlands, Beard and Justin Tipuric. Alun Wyn Jones and Dewi Lake could also come into contention, but neither started for Wales in the summer. Ken Owens, similarly, faces a major selection battle, in his case after long-term injury, while Tipuric is currently on the Ospreys' injury list.
Beard, who was first named vice-captain by Wayne Pivac in January, would appear to be at the front of the line, with Pivac previously saying: "We’re well aware that Dan [Biggar] and others will go back [to their clubs] for certain days of certain weeks.
"It’s important we have a leader ready to take over and in Adam Beard we have someone who we are earmarking for the future, post-World Cup probably.
"He’s a guy who we think has a big future, with leadership attached as well."
Who do you think should be Wales' next captain? Have your say in the comments below
But this chat with Beard took place before the latest bulletin on Biggar.
Looking well ahead, would he want a shot at the captaincy after his former Ospreys’ team-mate has taken his kicking tee and ridden off into the sunset?
“First and foremost, I have to be picked,” said Beard.
“As long as my performances are there on the pitch, I’ll let those do the talking.
“I want to keep working hard with the Ospreys.”
The certainty is Beard wouldn’t turn down the role if it were offered to him at some point. No-one does.
Despite having already scaled the heights with the Lions and Wales, however, the player who can soar to improbable heights in the lineout remains refreshingly grounded.
Asked what areas he felt he could improve in his game, he said: “Everything, really.
“I don’t think I’m the finished article..
“I consider the set-piece my point of difference but I feel I can still make improvements there, while there’s also my ball-carrying, work at the contact area, my tackling — every sort of aspect.
“I feel I’m a young man who could still push on, even though some people may say I’m experienced now and have a lot of caps under my belt.
“But, look, I’m still hungry, still wanting to learn and still wanting to improve.”
The Ospreys are fortunate to have Beard and Alun Wyn Jones as their frontline engine-room operators. When the pair featured against Glasgow Warriors recently, the amount of work they got through was positively eye-opening. Some of it didn’t lend itself to statistics — Beard’s destruction of the opposition’s driving maul, for instance, where he used his octopus-like arms in the manner of a peak-era Luke Charteris, and Jones ferociously contesting the Scottish team’s lineouts.
The thing is, too, both seemed to relish what they were doing, as if they would have taken the field for free that afternoon. The pair shoved their not-inconsiderable weight in the scrums to help ensure their team’s scrum dominance, pushing like two tractors in low gear; they clattered around the field, battled and defended with attitude. And they left the field with broad smiles on their faces, having helped their side to an emphatic win.
Neither rated a mention in the official man-of-the-match deliberations, but both were exceptional.
On Friday evening, reigning URC champions the Stormers are in Swansea to tackle an Ospreys side looking to pick themselves up after a loss to Ulster in Belfast. So far this term, the South Africans have been hot, hot, hot, putting together three bonus-point wins.
“It’s going to be tough,” said Beard. “Whatever SA team you play, whether the champions or any of the others, it’s going to be a testing challenge.
“But we like to back ourselves at home.
“We have a gameplan we want to take into the match, and we know it’s going to be a huge night. We want to get our second win of the season and start climbing the table, where we feel we should be, and there’s no better statement than beating last season’s champions.”
For all concerned it’s a major test.
Let’s see how the Ospreys go.
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