Wales Vs Australia: Race to replace Halfpenny and Liam after RWC 2023

Posted by World Wide Tickets And Hospitality on July 18th, 2023

Warren Gatland will soon have to find an heir for Leigh Halfpenny and Liam Williams. It is hard to recall a time when either Leigh Halfpenny or Liam Williams didn't figure as a full-back for the Wales RWC side. The two men have conquered the red number 15 jersey for over an era and the thought of having neither existing for Wales is a very alien thought. There has been the odd case when both players have found themselves on the sidelines through injury.

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But in the main Halfpenny and Williams have held the jersey in a vice-like grip since the early days of the Warren Gatland era. Their effect on the Rugby World Cup team has been iconic with Halfpenny winning 99 caps in founding himself as one of world rugby's most creative goalkickers, while his positional play and procedural skill have been hard to match.

The 84-times capped Williams has brought a different skill set to the back-three with his attacking prowess and fearless defence marking him out as one of world rugby's most lethal broken-field runners. Hardly anyone would argue against the view each player has been among the best full-backs in world rugby. They have played an important role in Wales' accomplishments under Gatland.

Last Rugby World Cup for both

So, what does a Wales team permanently without Halfpenny and Williams look like? Well, we'll find out soon enough. At 34 Halfpenny is towards the end of his job and it's hard to see him playing Test rugby after the France Rugby World Cup 2023, while Williams has already completed, he will be inaccessible for the 2024 Six Nations after passing for Japanese club Kubota Spears.

Wales legend and expert Jonathan Davies wasn't optimistic about how to replace Halfpenny and Williams when he spoke to the media last year. It’s very difficult to see who is pushing to come through, said Davies. We haven’t got the full-backs at the regions to come in. Leigh Halfpenny has been out for a year, he has a couple of games, and he’s straight back in for RWC 2023.  For more know about Wales Rugby World Cup Tickets.

Wales are certainly going to find out the hard way after the upcoming Rugby World Cup. Gatland has two potential options in his present squad in Scarlet’s star Tom Rogers and Dragons-bound Cai Evans. Rogers is highly rated by Scarlet's trainers and has shown sights of what he is capable of at the county level. The 24-year-old is a broken-field runner who has the skill to carve open defences, while he is also a ball player who can bring other players into the game.

They have abilities to play at France Rugby World Cup

Rogers has been previously related to Williams when younger, with his attacking prowess, and courage in defence standing out. He is a player who works hard on his game and is always looking to learn and get improved, said Scarlet’s head coach Dwayne Peel. He has an electric pace and excellent footwork but is also strong in the air and has a great work ethic in defence.

Rogers' main challenge is developing his play off the ball, and being steadier. Evans is a different type of player from Rogers. While he may not be as dangerous an attacking player, he is an intelligent footballer with a strong kicking game, and his positional play is decent. Evans is awestruck for his former region the Ospreys during their inspiring run to the Champions Cup knockout stages, and provides steadiness at the back.

But whether he can take his game to the next level remains to be seen. Whatever, while Gatland's instant attention is on this September's RWC there is an element of looking ahead to Australia in 2027. Even if Evans and Rogers miss out on the Rugby World Cup Final squad, which is likely, they do have a golden chance over the next couple of months to put their best foot forward to become Wales' long-term option at full-back.

Johnny is also an option for RWC

Wales could also turn to Scarlets man Johnny McNicholl, who was unlucky to miss out on Gatland's RWC 2023 training squad given his impressive regional form, or utility back Ioan Lloyd. More likely Wales will look to try Rees-Zammit or Adams at 15 who filled in worthily in the past but ideally Gatland would rather keep them on the wing. For more know about Australia Rugby World Cup Tickets.

Cardiff's former Wales U20s star Jacob Beetham is someone they could look at in the long run along with Cameron Winnett, while the Ospreys' Iestyn Hopkins has potential but is still raw. Whatever way Gatland opts to go after the Rugby World Cup he has a big job on his hands swapping two of Welsh rugby's greatest full-backs.

Eddie Jones upholds Australia can win Rugby World Cup 2023

Australia Rugby World Cup team coach Eddie Jones upholds Australia can still win the World Cup despite two dismal losses in his first games in charge, we're on the right track. A last-gasp try to Juan Martin Gonzalez consigned the Wallabies to a dispiriting 34-31 defeat to Argentina on Saturday night, marking the first time in history Australia has lost successive Test games to the Pumas.

The heartbreaker was also Australia's fifth successive Rugby Championship defeat and followed up last week's 43-12 mauling by the short Springboks in South Africa. Combining the loss was an early injury to centre Len Ikitau, with scans revealing a fractured scapula which means up to eight weeks on the sidelines. Ill-discipline hurt us tonight again a yellow card and a couple of penalties put us at the wrong end of the field and you just can't win Test games playing that sort of rugby.

We need to be able to play several different ways for RWC

There are quite a few of us who have to look at those penalties and correct them pretty quickly because act like that, we won't go far at the France Rugby World Cup 2023. Jones, though, remains '100 per cent confident' the now-eighth-ranked Wallabies can bring the Webb Ellis Cup back to Australia in October. It was always going to be difficult if you're coming off a base where you've been reliably unsuccessful for a period, which the results show, he said.

We're trying to change the side and also trying to change the way we play. So, we've sort of double-whammed this, and I'm quite happy to receive that we're not where we should be. But I'm also quite happy to tell you that I think we're on the right path and we'll get there. It would have been easy if I came in, take the side, pared everything back and played a really simple game. But that's not going to win us an RWC.

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