Shane Williams has warned Wales defence coach Steve Tandy that dropping Sam Costelow for the New Zealand match could damage the fly-half's confidence, after Tom Shanklin called for Dan Edwards to start. The former Wales internationals are split over the No 10 jersey for Saturday's Nations Championship clash with the All Blacks at the Principality Stadium.
Shanklin backs Edwards for attacking threat
Shanklin believes Edwards should replace Costelow, despite the Scarlets fly-half helping Wales secure a 28-21 victory over Japan. Costelow started that match, with Ospreys youngster Edwards introduced from the replacements bench in the second half.
Shanklin identified the fly-half position as the one change he would make to the starting XV, arguing Edwards could offer a greater attacking threat against New Zealand.
"I'd go with Dan Edwards at 10," said Shanklin on Scrum V. "There were a couple of opportunities in the Japan game I thought where Sam Costelow ended up kicking the ball away."
"I think [Edwards] will be better for Wales' attack against New Zealand because you are going to need more ball movement. I think Dan is a better option at that and getting the backline going. He is probably more of a threat ball in hand as well and offers a bit more in attack."
Williams urges continuity after Japan win
Williams strongly disagrees, believing Tandy must resist changing a winning team and risk undoing the confidence Costelow has built up.
"If you said now that Sam has had his go, now we're going with Dan, he [Costelow] is going to lose all that confidence he's gained from the good things he did yesterday [against Japan]," Williams said.
"We can't then say come back now against Australia and dominate again because I don't care who you are, it affects your confidence. So I would not make any changes. They've got the job done with the bonus point win and I don't think anyone played poorly, although there is a lot to work on."
Rees backs scrum-half rotation
Former Wales scrum-half Richie Rees also supports continuity in selection, making the case for Costelow to retain his place. "What I wouldn't do now is go chopping and changing over the next couple of weeks," said Rees. "So I would keep Sam at 10."
Rees also believes Tandy needs to give Wales' other scrum-half options more opportunities, after Tomos Williams again played the full 80 minutes against Japan. Reuben Morgan-Williams was an unused replacement, despite Wales having other options in the squad, including Che Hope.
"The difficulty we've got is there's huge trust in Tomos because he is one of the best players on the field," said Rees. "We also have to start blooding someone else behind Tomos and giving them that opportunity. If not against Japan at home, then when? Reuben has been playing well over the last two years and we also have Che Hope in the squad."
