Steve Fenwick once recalled how JPR Williams used to approach him during matches and send a few words his way.
“When we were playing for Bridgend, he would come up behind me and say: ‘Hey, Steve, you and I are going to have to change the direction of this game.’ You would go ‘eh?’, but he meant it. It was like Roy of the Rovers.”
The surprise there was that John Peter Rhys Williams felt he needed any help in changing the direction of any match. Often, he seemed quite happy to get on with that particular job on his own, and more often than not he succeeded.
Read more: Leigh Halfpenny's new role as coach suggests he changes his game ahead of Wales return
Then there was Lee Byrne: “Without doubt, the best full-back I’ve ever played with,” said Adam Jones in his autobiography, Bomb. “He could kick the ball for miles, never dropped a catch, and could cut an angle better than anyone. What he lacked in out-and-out pace he made up for with his mesmeric running lines.”
Both Leigh Halfpenny and Liam Williams are worthy successors in the Wales full-back line. But there remains a concern over who will carry the torch into the future.
Whereas in a number of other positions, there is talent to spare — heck, Thomas Young can’t command a squad place at openside, such are the riches at Wayne Pivac’s disposal there, even with Taine Basham sidelined — at 15 it’s a borderline Old Mother Hubbard situation beyond the two long-time stalwarts, and there will come a point where the situation has to be properly addressed.
Halfpenny turns 34 in December, while Williams will blow out 32 candles on his birthday cake next April. There should be no issues about the full-back spot through to the 2023 World Cup, but looking further ahead the situation isn’t exactly reassuring.
With Williams ruled out by injury for this autumn’s Tests, Wales head coach Pivac is running with Halfpenny as his specialist No. 15.
Cover? Well, Rhys Priestland has been featuring there for Cardiff of late, and will do a job for Wales in an emergency, but, of course, he has played around 99.9 percent of his rugby at fly-half. And while Gareth Anscombe can also figure at the back, he is likely to be needed at No. 10 in Dan Biggar’s absence.
So, how much of a worry is all this, not just for the campaign ahead but for future seasons? A big worry, reckons former Ospreys head coach Sean Holley, nowadays a respected pundit.
“I haven’t seen a young Welsh full-back coming through for quite a while,” he tells WalesOnline. “It’s a problem.
"Tens don’t want to play 15. They can catch and kick but they don’t really want to play there as they consider themselves out of the game.
“But we need somebody coming through who’s an out-and-out 15. I haven’t seen one.
“There’s Max Nagy at the Ospreys — he has potential but he’s raw. He’d have to obtain a residency qualification, too, but, anyway, it’s too early to pass judgement on him and we don't know what his hopes and plans are.
"Rhys Priestland is playing 15 for Cardiff with Liam out, while Leigh is at the Scarlets and Tom Rogers we haven’t seen enough of. Is he a wing or is he a full-back? He’s a possibility moving forward, but, again, we haven’t seen enough of him there. So I think it's a real concern.”
Maybe a conversion job could be done on Josh Adams, switching him from wing to full-back. He played for Worcester Warriors as last line of defence at the outset of his career, after all, and quite a success he proved in the role, as well. But he is also a prolific wide-man; moving him would dilute resources out wide, although Pivac has asked Cardiff boss Dai Young to play Adams at full-back in certain matches this season to see how he goes.
And while Cameron Winnett and Jacob Beetham have been showing promise at Cardiff, it is still early days for both.
Holley did see one young No. 15 who quite looked the part at a Welsh ground just days ago. The trouble is he was playing for Zebre. Oh, and it goes without saying he wasn’t Welsh.
The 6ft 4in, 15st 3lb Lorenzo Pani came up with a stellar performance for Zebre against the Scarlets in Llanelli. The conditions were appalling but the Italian team’s No. 15 didn’t seem bothered as he repeatedly sliced through the cover. X factor? He was positively covered in the stuff. “He was outstanding,” said Holley. "Look out for him in future. That was some performance.”
Maybe the next season or three will see a likely Wales-qualified lad or two break through. But right now it’s all about hope on that front.
In the meantime, Wales should savour the assurance Halfpenny brings. He and Williams have served the national team outstandingly over an extended period, in the process setting standards for their successors to aspire to.
But nothing lasts forever. At some point, Wales need to unearth a fresh full-back or two.
Read more:
Six Nations set for Netflix documentary to emulate Drive to Survive
How good is Dane Blacker, the new Wales scrum-half the Scarlets don't pick in starting XV?
Pivac names World Cup bolter he hasn't yet picked
Famous Welsh rugby club ask to be removed from league in 'heartbreaking' move
