Wales defence coach Steve Tandy has downplayed the significance of changing fly-half for their Nations Championship clash against Argentina, but the selection of Sam Costelow over Dan Edwards signals a shift towards more structured play. Speaking in Buenos Aires on Thursday, Tandy insisted the switch wouldn't fundamentally alter Wales' attacking approach, though subtle differences between the two playmakers are evident.
Differences Between Costelow and Edwards
Former Wales scrum-half Richie Rees highlighted the contrasting styles on the Scrum V podcast. "Sam gives you something different to Dan," Rees said. "Dan plays what he sees a little bit more, whereas Sam is a little bit more controlled and experienced in the game. His kicking game when he came on the field." Rees noted Edwards' wayward kicking against Fiji, including a missed touchfinder that landed 15 metres from the line, whereas Costelow's precise kicks to the corner set up two tries.
Edwards endured a tough outing against Fiji last Saturday, physically battered by an aggressive defence that affected his kicking. A week out of the firing line may benefit the Ospreys man, though he remains a fine fly-half, particularly in the red zone. However, Wales likely want more phase play than they managed against Fiji, where backs had little involvement in the first half and were vulnerable to Fiji's breakdown.
Wales' Attacking Strategy
Looking at how Scotland attacked Argentina, playing to wide channels for linebreak opportunities, Wales' attack is expected to be more involved this week. Despite scoring six tries against Fiji—their first such tally since 2021—Wales will aim to break down Argentina's defence between the 15-metre lines, similar to Costelow's previous start against Scotland in the Six Nations.
In that match, Wales set out their stall from the first attacking set, using a lineout with multiple options to prevent Scotland's defence from flying up. On subsequent phases, they ran shapes now regular for Wales: a forward running an unders line off the nine, with a bank of forwards sweeping around. This textbook Matt Sherratt structure, akin to rugby league, helped Wales steal metres.
Costelow's Key Strengths
Costelow's ability to stay attached to his pod and call for the ball out the back is a clear strength. "Sam was out the back of things going forward and you can see the game a lot more clearly," Sherratt said during the Six Nations. "What I was really pleased was Sam was brave. It's very easy just to let a game happen sometimes... if it was 50-50 to call for a ball out the back and we were 3v3 on an edge, he went for it."
Wales will feel confident that Costelow's ball-playing ability can get them into wider channels to create mismatches. Ellis Mee had two tries ruled out against the Barbarians last month, but the first showcased Costelow's work in structured play. That's the key—structured play. Wales will look to stretch Argentina but won't go crazy with ball in hand.
Balancing Structure and Transition
"There was a lot of transition," Tandy said of the Fiji win. "Hopefully we'll have some more opportunities to string some more phase attack together but we won't go away from how we play. We've got our game model as we saw during the Six Nations. The Fiji game definitely broke out but we got it back to certain parts of structure. But there will probably need to be more of an all-round game to really test Argentina on the weekend."
When it's time to kick, Costelow will kick. If Wales' game model works well, those kicks will come off the front foot, putting Argentina under pressure.
