Former Wales and British & Irish Lions hooker Richard Hibbard insists the Wales No 2 shirt he filled 38 times for his country will be up for grabs when some of the front row contenders battle it out on Judgement Day this weekend.
An ankle injury for the Dragons’ Elliot Dee has ruled him out of a direct head-to-head against the Scarlets’ Ryan Elias, but the Ospreys’ Dewi Lake is on the comeback trail, and he will face off against Cardiff’s in-form Liam Belcher.
That means, even without Dee – who is replaced by youngster Brodie Coghlan – three of the four hookers in action will have ambitions to make Warren Gatland’s squad when the Wales coach names his group for the summer tour next week.
“The thing about the Wales number two shirt at the moment is that no-one owns it outright,” says Hibbard. “I think this weekend is a great opportunity for someone to put themself at the front of that line.
“It wasn’t a great Six Nations for Wales but for Warren Gatland, this is already now a new era and that goes for the hooker position, where there are a few contenders looking to stake their claim.”
With Lake having suffered an injury on the eve of the Six Nations, Dee and Elias shared the hooking spot through the tournament – Dee started four matches and Elias one.
At last year’s World Cup, however, Lake was the first choice, and the former Wales co-captain is being backed by Hibbard to reclaim his previous status in the pecking order.
“It’s a shame for Dewi that he has had these injuries. Every time you think he’s going to crack on and make that place his own, he seems to pick up an injury,” adds the former Ospreys, Gloucester and Dragons star.
“I rate Dewi very highly. To be fair to Elliot, he has really taken his chance well. He is great at getting around the park and Gats really rates his throwing accuracy.
“I think Ryan Elias is also a very good player, although I think there is another gear there for him to go up that he hasn’t quite found yet on the international stage. I don’t know whether that’s a confidence thing, but I think he’s played enough at Test level now that we should be seeing him push on.
“If he does take that next step, then he’s also got the ability to make that shirt his own. The good thing for Gatland is that hooker is one of the few positions in the team where we seem to have a bit of depth.
“Behind Lake at the Ospreys is Sam Parry, who I would rate as another international contender, while Cardiff have also got Evan Lloyd.”
