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Ben James

Warren Gatland's impossible decision as one of Europe's form players to be left out of Wales team

For Warren Gatland, there are arguably bigger selection headaches ahead of the Guinness Six Nations than who plays in the back-row.

Even back in the autumn, Gatland acknowledged that Wales' usual area of strength was, well, strong. The headaches over how match sharp two thirds of his tight-head options are by the start of February or who starts in his midfield will likely take up more of his time.

But the collateral of this particular headache is that at least one of the form back-rows in Europe will miss out.

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If you take it as a given that Taulupe Faletau will start - and at the last check, the sky was indeed blue - then you're left with two spaces to be filled by Justin Tipuric, Jac Morgan and Tommy Reffell.

Each of those three have been in superlative form in recent weeks, with last weekend's clash between the Ospreys and Leicester seeing all three of them share the same pitch.

Tigers head coach Richard Wigglesworth insisted that Reffell had been the best Welshman on the pitch "by a mile", but a more objective review of the situation would likely leave you with the conclusion that Morgan at least matched Reffell. Many would even conclude Morgan had the better game.

2022 was a strange year for Morgan on the Wales front. He made his debut during the Six Nations, starting in the victory over Scotland and showing up well off the bench against England and France - with his breakdown presence in the first of those almost turning the game in Wales' favour as they slowed England down after an awful first-half.

He was then overlooked for the tour of South Africa, with Wayne Pivac citing the fact he was too small. In his absence, Reffell shone, but Morgan made that assessment of his game look daft in the autumn, coming off the bench in the win over Argentina and being one of the few positives from then on.

The way he performed throughout 2022 when actually trusted in the red jersey - and the way he took the game by the scruff of the neck with an all-action performance against Leicester, suggest he is the real deal at the highest level.

His carrying is often near-impossible to stop. On more than one occasion, he burst through contact and took the Ospreys closer to the line than he had any right to do so. That'll be a big plus point for Gatland, given Wales' lack of carrying options and inability to trouble the gainline.

Jac Morgan and Justin Tipuric (Getty Images)

Given he can play on the blindside and has shown he can play alongside out-and-out opensides, he might be a safer bet to start than Reffell or Tipuric. It could be the case that Tipuric and Reffell, who Pivac started together against New Zealand, could be fighting it out for the seven jersey.

Reffell was outstanding at the breakdown against the Ospreys, causing Toby Booth's side constant problems with his jackalling presence. Sam Warburton has often noted that most breakdown turnovers have more to do with clearout inefficiency than jackalling brilliance.

But some of Reffell's turnovers fell into such a small window of opportunity that it's hard not to credit them as anything other than superlative work from the Leicester openside.

His ability to consistently win ball at the breakdown, as well as his physicality, might mean he's right up the street of Gatland, given how the returning Wales coach favoured Warburton over Tipuric for so long.

However, Tipuric has been in typically fine form. His performance against Montpellier the week before captured the eye, with his try coming from the usual mix of vision, creativity and footballing skills. You can relive that remarkable moment here.

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It seems inconceivable that he wouldn't start, given how good an all-round player he is. But there's certainly no guarantees, given Reffell's quality.

Of course, the biggest thing for Gatland would be getting the right balance to the back-row. Morgan on the blindside should provide that, but there's the chance Gatland might want something a little different.

The other options in the squad are Christ Tshiunza and Aaron Wainwright. Starting with the latter, Wainwright quickly became an important part of Gatland's plans towards the end of his first spell with Wales - starting nine of Gatland's last 18 matches.

However, he started just four on the blindside during Pivac's reign, before being shifted into a No. 8. He'll likely revert to a blindside now, but crucially, when he was performing well in a back-row under Gatland, it was while Faletau was injured.

When he was struggling to have the same impact under Pivac, it was while Faletau was back. Given their athletic style of play, you get the sense it's hard for the pair to play in the same back-row and offer much of a balance.

Pivac's attempt to move Wainwright to No. 8 was perhaps an admission of that. Still, Gatland likes him and might have a clearer sense for what he wants from the Dragons man.

As for Tshiunza, he seems a more likely option to provide a big, brutal option on the blindside. He might just be the one to offer balance if Gatland feels more of a physical presence is required.

Last year, Wales went to Dublin with a back-row balance that was ultimately wrong and paid the price for it. It seems unlikely that, with the options present in this year's squad, they'll get it wrong again.

But in the search for that balance, a form big name or two willt miss out. That's certainly a headache for Gatland, even if it's hardly a bad one to have.

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