00:00Since Adelaide Parks left the Welsh number 12 jersey after the 2026 Nations, Wales have
00:07played 61 tests, winning just 19. That stark decline Contrash Sarpley with the team's
00:13peak a year earlier, when they briefly held the world number one spot and reached the
00:182019 Rugby World Cup semi-finals. Now at their lowest point in the world
00:24rankings, Wales are trying to rebuild, having ended an 18-tests losing streak. But with the
00:30game mid in crisis, optimism remains cautious. The midfield has been a constant area of instability.
00:39Since Parks' exit, Wales have fielded 26 different centre partnerships, with 13 players starting
00:45at number 12. Only three, George North, Josh Adams and Joe Roberts, have worn the jersey
00:50more than once. Nick Tompkins started consecutive campaigns in the jersey twice, first in the 2022
00:59under Wayne Pivac and again in 2023 when Warren Gatlin made him first choice for the World Cup
01:05and Six Nations. These were the only occasions he started five successive tests.
01:11Jonathan Davis, Joe Hawkins and Ben Thomas also had five match runs with Davises coming during the
01:172021 Six Nations title. Hawkins is spanning a coaching change and Thomas is covering Wales' most
01:24recent tests into the Japan tour. If Thomas starts against Argentina on November 9th in Cardiff,
01:31he would become only the third Welsh player alongside Davises and Tompkins to start six successive
01:38matches at number 12. This highlights Wales' desperate need for midfield stability.
01:43If Thomas starts against Argentina on November 9th in Cardiff, he would become only the third
01:50Welsh player alongside Davises and Tompkins to start six successive matches at number 12.
01:58Hayward must find a starting point and bring stability. How he manages the number 12 jersey could
02:04define the future of Wales' midfield and that hope is unlikely and five years from now it could be a game
02:11of musical chess.
02:13of musical chess.
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