Wales Tonight

redeyes wrote:

Hook is no 10, that much is crystal clear. What isn't so clear is what are the alternatives once Stevo hangs up his boots.

I honestly don't think it's fair to judge Hook's ability to be Wales fly-half based on a couple of internationals. Unless he's had half a season to get into the groove, he (and we) will never know, and unless he gets a run in the 10 shirt back at Ospreys, no-one will be any the wiser before the RWC.

We all know what we'll get with Stevo - 99 caps worth of experience, organisation, control and (mostly) dependable kicking, but perhaps sometimes not the 'flair' needed to unlock a tight defence. But if Stevo's out of a game, Wales need to know what the alternatives are before September, let alone after the RWC.

It's clear that a number of coaches don't see Hook as the natural '10' that the press would like him to be - that's partly a compliment to Stevo's consistency, partly as Hook hasn't grabbed the position with both hands on the rare occasions he's been passed it, with crucial errors negating any cute moves he has pulled off. It's possible that he's been more missed at Centre too, with Jamie Roberts and Foxy not getting into the action - perhaps they're slightly too similar, but they're not yet a threatening partnership.

Unless key players get quality game-time in their best positions, plus competition for places (Phillips, Byrne, AW Jones/Bradley Davies?), Wales are not going to have the platform to make any plan work. I just hope the Scarlets players have such a resounding run-in to the season that they nail their names on the team-sheet for New Zealand.