Where now for stars Gatland left behind?

Mar 23 2008 by Simon Roberts, Wales On Sunday

WARREN Gatland returned to New Zealand this week, leaving Welsh rugby – including the players – with plenty of food for thought.

Where once we talked about Wales’ small pool of talent, everybody is talking about Wales’ new strength-in-depth.

The New Zealander blew through Welsh rugby like a tornado, completing a remarkable Grand Slam. Now the initial blast has died down, it is time to survey the scene.

His greatest achievement – surpassing his clean sweep of the Six Nations – is to have focused the minds of every Welsh player.

His ‘Team Wales’ philosophy meant he only used a 28-man squad for the seven weeks of the Six Nations campaign, two less than Wales had for the 2007 World Cup.

Gatland admitted he sought to create an ‘exclusive club’ of players.

“I wanted to make sure players were aware how lucky they were to make the squad and to make it a place where players outside of the squad knew they had to work hard to get selected,” said Gatland, when he announced his squad back in January.

He certainly did that. The New Zealander also reminded his new charges about their responsibility to the jersey.

Where once certain players were perennial fixtures in the squad, now nobody is guaranteed anything.

Those now on the outside looking in will feel that more deeply than anyone.

Ten players from Gareth Jenkins’ World Cup squad didn’t make Gatland’s first one – the first ‘casualties of Warren’.

Kevin Morgan, Chris Horsman and Gareth Thomas were injured or ruled themselves out of selection.

But World Cup-squad members Dafydd James, Jamie Robinson, Ceri Sweeney, Will James, Colin Charvis, Michael Owen and hooker Rhys Thomas all found themselves out of favour.

That’s before we even talk about the likes of Brent Cockbain, Robert Sidoli or Dafydd Jones, who weren’t even considered for selection.

Gatland has said nobody has been ruled out the equation.

And while Scarlets wing James and Dragons flanker Charvis are in the twilight of their careers, Gatland knows what both of can do; so don’t be surprised if they feature sometime in the future.

But what about the rest?

They could all be in contention for Gatland’s long-term aim of the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand.

Blues hooker Rhys Thomas can still be expected to have a long Test career ahead of him – once he wins his place back as his region’s first choice. He’s too good a player not to do that.

Team-mate Jamie Robinson could do the same but the most fascinating question hangs over the man who lifted the trophy when Wales last won the Grand Slam in 2005, Michael Owen.

The No 8 has an undoubted X-factor, but he divides rugby opinion.

The Saracens-bound Dragons star is not a traditional ball-carrying backrower but is one of the best footballers in the business.

For certain coaches, he has become a square peg in a round hole and has even played second row for his country.

The fact he featured alongside current captain Ryan Jones and Martyn Williams in the Grand Slam-winning back row of 2005 appears to have been forgotten.

Incredibly, those three haven’t played together as a unit since that Six Nations campaign.

Gatland does like robust ball-carriers at No 8. Any coach who has had the luxury of working with Jones and Lawrence Dallaglio knows how rare and important they are to any side.

But Owen’s prodigious talent has been recognised by former Wallaby coach Eddie Jones, who signed the Pontypridd product for Saracens

Jones is a sound judge of talent and clearly sees Owen offering his London-based outfit something different in the daily grind of the Guinness Premiership.

The consensus is that Owen’s decision to head to England will either make or break his Test career.

Then again, Gatland made a big deal of ‘breaking’ Welsh players but he has actually been the making of them.

Now the players have to decide if they want to be part of the Gatland revolution.