Wales finally have their five World Cup back rowers but the next decision is almost impossible

There was always likely to be a big debate about the first-choice Wales back row for the World Cup, but now it’s a narrative with a new twist.

Such has been the quality in the breakaway department, that it’s long been anticipated there would be a major selection headache come Japan.

Well, that’s indeed shaping up to be the case, but maybe not in the way people expected.

It says a lot that Wales have lost Taulupe Faletau, they have lost Ellis Jenkins and yet we are still faced with the question of how on earth do you decide on the starting back row?

Much of that, of course, is down to the emergence of Aaron Wainwright as a player of real international calibre.

He only started playing rugby four years ago, joining Whiteheads RFC on the outskirts of Newport, having focused on football as a teenager, while he was lining up for Cardiff Met as recently as 2017.

Yet now he’s heading for the World Cup.

That’s pretty much nailed on, with the 21-year-old having been Wales’ outstanding player over the course of the back-to-back warm-up games against England.

He offers something different, with his youthful dynamism, huge work-rate and ability to read the game, while all of a sudden on the weekend he morphed into the go-to man at the lineout.

So he’s on the plane. But might he even be further down the road than that?

When the luckless Faletau was ruled out of the autumn adventure in Japan with a broken collar bone, the equation seemed a pretty straightforward one.

Wales would surely be going with the back row which had served them so well during the Grand Slam when it came to the pivotal group game against Australia in the final week of September.

So Navidi, Tipuric, Moriarty it is then. Job done.

Or maybe not.

Suddenly, things have got complicated again.

The argument for selection which Wainwright has put forward over the part couple of weeks is a pretty compelling one, with Warren Gatland describing his performance in Saturday’s 13-6 victory over England as “outstanding”.

Yet that was also the word he used to describe Josh Navidi, and rightly so.

The Cardiff Blues back rower was called into action after just 23 minutes when the unfortunate James Davies had to leave the field with concussion.

It was his first game of rugby since the gruesome elbow dislocation he suffered playing against the Scarlets the week after the Grand Slam in March.

But talk about hitting the ground running.

You wouldn’t believe he had been out of the game for five months as he carried on just where he had left off in the Six Nations.

Within a couple of minutes of being the field, he had won a penalty over the ball and not too long after that he was to play a decisive part in what was to prove the only try of the game.

It was a moment which probably went unnoticed at the time, with the spotlight on Dan Biggar’s two pinpoint cross-kicks.

But looking back at the footage, you can see just how crucial Navidi’s intervention was.

After Josh Adams had taken Biggar’s initial kick, made good ground with sharp feet and offloaded to Jonathan Davies, it was then all about quick ball to outflank a disorganised England side down to 13 men with Anthony Watson in the sin-bin and Willi Heinz off the field injured.

And that’s where Navidi came in. Showing an absolute determination to be first to the breakdown, he had embarked on a lung-busting 60 metre run upfield and, when Davies hit the deck, there he was to clear-out two English defenders and drive them back, presenting the ball on a plate for Biggar to put the scoring dink in for George North.

Then, come the game’s final decisive moment, the dreadlocked warrior was to the fore once again.

It was an anxious ending, with England securing an attacking lineout just metres out, giving them a last-gasp chance to snatch the draw.

But as they set up the maul and began to rumble forward menacingly, in came Navidi with a couple of pals to drive them back, legs pumping away in a display of pure power.

Those were the moments that really stood out, while overall it was just business as usual from one of the most consistent performers in Welsh rugby.

It was also further proof of his versatility as he returned to his old openside berth with aplomb, having excelled on the blindside during the Grand Slam.

Slowing down England’s ball was a key factor in the victory and Navidi was at the forefront of that effort, both putting in the dominant hits and spoiling their day at the breakdown.

So, as with Wainwright, the question is how do you leave him out of the starting back row?

But then where does that leave us with Moriarty and Justin Tipuric who were also immense during the Six Nations?

The former offers the aggression, the carrying clout and the physicality. The latter brings the footballing ability, the link work and the tireless defence.

How could you omit either of those two?

Then, on top of that, you have Aaron Shingler, who sent out a reminder of what he has to offer at the weekend.

Coming on as a half-time replacement for dead leg victim Wainwright, he slipped back into his old pivotal role at the lineout, both with his leaps skyward and his telescopic arms in driving maul defence.

It was great to see him firing again after so long out with serious knee damage and he will only get better with more game-time, while his ability to cover lock makes him a valuable asset.

What Saturday has done is pretty much nailed down the five back rowers for the final World Cup squad.

It was a huge opportunity for James “Cubby Boi” Davies to stake a claim on a rare Test start, but sadly his hopes were dashed by a bang to the back of the dead.

So it does look as though the quintet for Japan will be Navidi, Wainwright, Moriarty, Tipuric and Shingler.

But when it comes to perming five into three, that’s when it gets tricky.

As it stands, you couldn’t say any of them are absolutely certain to start the big one against Australia in Tokyo on September 29.

The No 6 could be Navidi, Wainwright, Moriarty or Shingler.

The No 7 could be Tipuric, Navidi or Wainwright.

The No 8 could be Moriarty, Navidi or Wainwright.

It’s a real head-scratcher and I’m glad it’s Gatland’s call rather than mine!