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'Warren said he was looking for that someone who had a point of difference, that little something extra'
By Owain Jones
Milling around the Vale of Glamorgan, days before Wales left for Japan, the national football side was sharing the same facilities as their rugby counterparts.
Being ushered across the road were a glut of Ryan Giggs’ starlets including Manchester United’s Dan James, Liverpool’s on-loan Harry Wilson and Chelsea’s on-loan centre back, Ethan Ampadu.
James, in particular, was boyish and small-boned. More Lilliputian than Gulliver. Within a minute of them passing, Wales rugby squad members rumbled down the road. The difference in physiques was stark. Alongside George North, Jake Ball and Alun Wyn Jones stood a clean-shaven member of the squad.
With a floppy fringe, wispy moustache and some familiar thick-rimmed glasses stood Aaron Wainwright, looking like an oversized boyband member.
Thankfully for Wales when the clean-cut Wainwright crosses the whitewash, he becomes more Superman than Clark Kent and his dynamism around the park has led to comparisons with two-time Lions captain Sam Warburton.
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Assistant coach Robin McBryde has even said he could be better than the former Welsh icon. A year ago, you’d have said McBryde had his tongue firmly in cheek, but such is the back row's progress McBryde's boast no longer seems fanciful.
The 22-year-old was Wales’ standout performer in the summer warm-ups which brought a modest return of one win in four. He made over 80 tackles and bravely stood up to an Irish onslaught, notably throwing himself kamikaze-style at the towering James Ryan to chop him metres from the Welsh try line. The consensus was that he looked to the manor born.
Picked against Georgia and again for Sunday’s pivotal Australia game, there have been few - if any - murmurs of discontent. Earlier this week, he was withdrawn from action after 50 minutes.
The first support runner on the shoulder of try-scorers Justin Tipuric and Josh Adams, he offered himself as a one-up carrier around the fringes, made his tackles and stopped the gargantuan Mamuka Gorgodze in his tracks, dislodging the ball. His final involvement in a dominant first-half was a flat pass to Hadleigh Parkes on the way to Liam Williams’ score.
Wainright’s rise has been meteoric. When he was first picked for Wales on the summer tour of Argentina 15 months ago, he was barely a household name outside his first club, Old Whitehead’s RFC in Newport. He was playing as a student with Cardiff Met only 23 months ago he was thrown into back row duty for the Dragons thanks to an injury crisis, but his immense work rate started getting him noticed.
One defensive tracking line against the Scarlets saw him powering past players as if they were stuck in treacle before making a key tackle. It was clear that, athletically, Wainwright could go to the next level. Taking a pew with Wainwright, you couldn’t meet someone more unassuming.
Twenty-two last week, you were soon reminded of his age when his only World Cup memory is Lloyd Williams’ cross-field kick to Gareth Davies to set up a never-to-be-forgotten victory over England in 2015. For context, this writer can remember while in school watching Paul Thorburn knocking over an injury-time conversion for Wales’ third-placed finish in 1987. Coming from such relative obscurity, you wonder what Warren Gatland had seen in Wainwright’s DNA that made him want a closer look.
Smiling, he told RugbyPass: “Warren said he was looking for that someone who had a point of difference, that little something extra.” When pushed on what those are, Wainwright answered without hesitation. “My work rate around the park. He has asked me to focus on my strengths and hopefully I’m showing that.”
Gatland is clearly a fan, talking up Wainright’s explosivity, lineout ability and game intelligence but he knows he has room to improve. He quipped after a stellar, all-action display against England in Cardiff that he was waiting in earnest for Wainwright’s 50-metre break – like, for example, Warburton made against England in 2013. Is ball-carrying an element he can add to his game?
“Well I’m waiting for my 50-metre break too. Like Warren, I’m hoping that comes in one of the games. I would say I’m pretty quick, so I'll back myself if the field opens up.”
Wainwright’s prodigious lung-capacity has in part been attributed to a youth playing football where he was on Cardiff City and Newport County’s books. Playing as a central midfielder in the box-to-box style of Steven Gerrard or as a playmaker sitting in front of the front four breaking up play and spreading passes around like Andrea Pirlo.
When it comes to pace, Wainwright says he can hold his own in the Wales back row. “Our GPS unit tracks our velocity but there are a couple of quick boys. James Davies is pretty sharp but I’m up there. Physically, football has really helped with my engine for 80 minutes. You’re used to keeping the legs turning over and I get around the field okay.”
While his international career is still in its infancy, Wainwright is happy to play anywhere and his trajectory has similarities with England’s Tom Curry as a next-generation back row hybrid, so has he settled which number he wants on his back?
“I’ve played at openside for the Dragons but for the moment blindside is where I’ve played my best rugby for Wales. It’s where my skill set is most suited. One of my weaknesses is the jackal area, which I’m really working on, and we have a lot of strength in depth at seven at the moment, so maybe it wouldn’t favour me. I’d love to have a crack at No8 one day.”
Wainwright knows he has much to learn and is thankful for the guidance more experienced squad members have given him. “All the senior boys are helping mentor me. They talk to me during the game, encouraging me to do things better. Dan Lydiate was really good in the autumn internationals when I trained and worked with him, Justin (Tipuric) and Ross (Moriarty) who are always on hand to answer questions.”
Another player to give nurture to Wainwright’s talent has been his team-mate at the Dragons, Cory Hill, whose importance to Wales was reinforced by his World Cup selection even when carrying the injury that eventually forced him out of the squad this past week.
“When I first came to the Dragons, Cory was the main person who came to help me with regards to lineout mechanics and structural play. If I wasn’t getting it, he’d sit me down and have a five-ten minute chat with me to help me out. He’s so experienced, a cool head under pressure.”
With Hill having to fly home, Wainwright will be the only Dragons starter at the Tokyo Stadium on Sunday and following a hard-fought win over Georgia, he believes Wales are still on track to get the better Wallabies who have been lying in the long grass.
Wainwright is poised to meet two icons of the game. “I can’t wait to face David Pocock and Michael Hooper and I'm looking forward to having a good battle with them. If we can move on to the knockouts to face the likes of Kieran Read (and New Zealand), it would be awesome. I’d love to see how far we can go in this World Cup.”
Wainwright still speaks in reverential tones about the game's superstars but if he maintains his current trajectory, he will soon be viewed as a contemporary in the years to come.
WATCH: Alun Wyn Jones reveals the blood, sweat and tears of Wales' preparations to take on the Wallabies
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Latest Comments
Yeah I reckon Savea could show himself to be like McCaw in that respect, remodel himself to play how the team/game needed or changed. He started playing different when he moved into 8 I reckon, and I think he’s got a lot of those skills to shift back to 7 too. But you pretty much describe him as he is now, playing 8. Who’s going to be that dirty guy cleaning rucks and making tackles if Ardie is at 7? Sititi at 8? No, he’s basically doing what you describe of Ardie. Barrett? I think he’d be an excellent muscle man to replace and more importantly, improve on what Cane provided.\
Yeah I’m still wanting to give DP a shot, Super form is not everything, and maybe after a taste of playing against England, possible New Zealands toughest opponents last year, maybe his trying to hone a test game.
It’s not, but it’s terribly complicated for us part timers to discuss are few factors online when all the bigger picture can be taken into context (and which your reader my not be on the same track with). I really like to try and get somewhere succinctly when having a quick back and forth online, which is why I ask a specific question when really no one in that actual position is going to think about it like that, you’re right.
I asked it because I suspected you answer was just along those same lines indicating his strengths now as an 8. So were sorta coming around to your argument of wanting to put the bigger picture on it when I question how you’re going to fit “Cane” into the team.
I really agree with that, but would go even further in saying its improvement from much more than the “trio” that’s needed to be able to bust games open again like that. A lot of it was much better last year, with the props and second row getting involved in some nice breaks, but certainly there was still far too much one out rugby and they were always the worst at getting over the gainline. I’d actually say they need more of a team contributor than Ardiea Savea’s individual brilliance to improve in that area. Ardie is the toughest and most succesful at getting them on the front foot when they are really playing that one out simple hit up or pick and go structure, but I think they need, as I actually referred in the 7, someone running on the shoulder of another, willing to give the player that option and keep the defence guessing. Obviously players carrying need to be comfortable flicking the ball on last second etc, but I actually see Ardie as being someone with the least skills in either of those areas in the current squad. He is perhaps the two pass wide midfield carry man in place of Jordie and Rieko, enough ferocity to break tough midfield tackles and get an offload away if he wins that contact. Now that I think of it, having Ardie in the team may be a key factory in why the team is so poor in showing trickery and deception before the tackle happens, like where other teams prefer to work space. I’ve never really thought the ABs simply have the worst runners?
Sotutu is a key man in that area of the game for me, he is the one player in NZ that is so adept at passing to the right runner. Kirifi would be perfect for being that guy as far as a loosie option for me, as far as this article goes. Sititi as the alround runner and distribute from the bench, and Ardie being able to play in whatever role is missing, or needed more, are how I can see some of the other ‘trio’ facets working too.
To add, going back to you orginal post, and what you repeated;
I suspect you are talking about people being able to take it into the tackle and then recycle it sorta thing before going to ground. I’m pretty sure were doing this to the best of our ability right now, and only some selections like Sotutu are going to impact that area. Again, what I’ve been thinking is we actually need smarter people to provide better go forward, not better benders/breakers/offloaders (who are these people? Three Ardies?!). Were definitely still going to need that Sam Cane contribution as well, but can it come from the midfield instead? Timico? The wingers? And can Ardie be the guy whos adept enough to flick between that and being a good support runner or offload, as needed?
Go to commentsFrance using the 7-1, England using the 6-2, Ireland and Scotland have used it a few times as well and many nations are starting to adopt it. The reality is the game is changing. Administrators have made it faster and that is leading to more significant drop offs in the forwards. You have 2 options. Load your bench with forwards or alter your player conditioning which might mean more intense conditioning for forwards and a drop off in bulk. The game can still be played many ways. Every nation needs to adapt in their own way to suit their strengths. France have followed the Springbok model of tight forwards being preferred because it suits them. They have huge hunks of meat and the bench is as good as the starters so why not go for it? The Springboks have also used hybrids like Kwagga Smith, Schalk Britz, Deon Fourie, Franco Mostert and others. England are following that model instead and by putting 3 loosies there who can do damage in defence and make the breakdown a mess in the final quarter. It worked well against Wales but will be interested to see how it goes going forward against better opposition who can threaten their lineout and scrum. All the talk around bench limitations to stop the 7-1 and 6-2 for me is nonsense. Coaches who refuse to innovate want to keep the game the same and make it uniform and sameness is bad for fans. The bench composition adds jeopardy and is a huge debate point for fans who love it. Bench innovations have not made the game worse, they have made it better and more watchable. They challenge coaches and teams and that’s what fans want. What we need now is more coaches to innovate. There is still space for the 5-3 or even a 4-4 if a coach is willing to take it on and play expansive high tempo possession-based rugby with forwards who are lean and mean and backs who are good over the ball. The laws favour that style more than ever before. Ireland are too old to do it now. Every team needs to innovate to best suit their style and players so I hope coaches and pundits stop moaning about forwards and benches and start to find different ways to win.
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