Posted by There are many questions that still remain for Steve Tandy and his Cymru side as the 2026 Guinness Six Nations prepare to get underway this weekend with a trip to face England at Twickenham.
How much will the side balance kicking with ball-in-hand, will there be an emphasis on physicality without an out-and-out openside, who gets the nod at full-back, is a 6-2 bench the way to go to match the opposition, and will there be a focus on youngsters ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup or more of an aim to win now.
My immediate focus though is on the midfield, and particularly the troublesome 13 channel which has been an issue for, realistically, six-and-a-half years now. Ever since the end of the 2019 Rugby World Cup where Jon Davies’ knee injury effectively ended his time as a test level outside centre, it’s been a case of botch jobs, chopping and changing.
10 men have donned the red 13 jersey since the end of that RWC, with Davies attempting to return to it five times, before George North had the longest stint with 24 caps at outside centre. Very much still playing as a winger week-in, week-out for Ospreys at the time of shifting inside internationally, he has now nailed down the midfield as his preferred position.
Around that Nick Tompkins (10), Max Llewellyn (9), Owen Watkin (9), Mason Grady (4), Joe Roberts (3), Johnny Williams (2), Uilisi Halaholo (2) and Josh Adams (1) have all started at 13 at various points, but as we enter this 2026 Six Nations it remains unclear who would be the starter even if everyone were fit, but especially with Llewellyn sidelined after being favoured during the Autumn.
I’ve had a look at the candidates in the current squad…
Owen Watkin
Starting with the most experienced of the four possibles for the outside centre role over the next few weeks, Watkin at 29-years-old has 43 caps to his name and well over 100 appearances for the Ospreys, splitting his career almost 50/50 between 12 and 13.
His last international appearance came just over a year ago when he tore his ACL away in Paris during round one of the 2025 Six Nations, having started at inside centre that night, but he’s returned to club action in solid form over the festive period and into January, scoring two tries in seven appearances where he’s started four times at 13.
Watkin is unquestionably the best defensive centre available to Steve Tandy currently, combining good reads with a physicality in the tackle and a trademark rip that has won many a turnover during his career, but the question mark is how well he would slot in to a Matt Sherratt attack in the position.
With the inside centre likely to once again be one of Joe Hawkins or Ben Thomas as a second five-eighth, the Ospreys man doesn’t quite have the acceleration or top end pace that a strike running outside centre would need, despite him having a good carry and fend. That speed was what Cymru lacked during the Autumn.
Eddie James
For my money the form centre available to Tandy currently, and the most well-rounded centre in the squad, there’s a strong argument to be made that James should be starting at 12 as a genuine carrying, passing and kicking threat.
However, having worn 13 five times for the Scarlets this season, he comes into the outside centre reckoning as someone who can pick some lovely lines in attack, has good distribution to get possession to the dangerous back three, and is physical through contact on both sides of the ball thanks to his 6’4″, 105kg+ frame.
There is a similar concern to Watkin around his acceleration, while his footwork needs some improving when one-on-one in attack and defence, but the biggest downside for James is his lack of experience in the position. At 23 he’s still a young player, and this season’s selections at 13 are his only exposure to starting at outside centre at senior level. It would certainly be a risk for Tandy to go with him.
Louie Hennessey
At 21-years-old and still an uncapped member of the Cymru squad, Hennessey is clearly the least experienced option in the running for the outside centre spot, but is also the only player who could genuinely be described as an out-and-out 13.
Having come through the pathway at Cardiff as an outside centre and then moved on to Bath, he has played the vast majority of his rugby in that position despite a few sojourns into 12 or on to the wing as and when required. He’s quick over the first five yards and continues to accelerate away from defenders, produces defensive reads beyond his years and has an elite level offloading ability.
Hennessey is the archetypal Matt Sherratt outside centre but, and it’s a big but, he’s incredibly green at senior level. He’s made just 12 appearances for Bath across the Prem and Champions Cup, starting only seven of those, while there was also 74 minutes in the United Rugby Championship while returning to Cardiff for a short loan.
It would certainly make sense in terms of his attributes fitting what this Cymru attack is trying to do, but there has to be a major question mark over whether exposing the young man to test rugby at this point of his career and during this national team rebuild would be the correct decision for the player and the team.
Mason Grady
Finally, the more left-field option available for Tandy as the much-hyped Grady returns to the Cymru squad for the first time since the 2024 Autumn Internationals after a tough run of injuries starting with the ankle issue picked up against Fiji during that test window.
Following that spell on the sidelines, Cardiff Head Coach Corniel Van Zyl told the media before Christmas that the 23-year-old would be concentrating on playing on the wing for now, just so as not to overcomplicate his return to fitness and get him back into the swing of turning out regularly. Six starts out wide have come since, before an appearance off the bench in the final game before going into national team camp.
Grady’s physical attributes speak for themselves when it comes to playing at outside centre as a 6’5″, 115kg+ man mountain who is also one of the fastest players on any team he plays on, but there remains question marks around his handling skills, defensive positioning and just general inexperience with many observers forgetting he is still very early in his career.
On the whole there are enough pros and cons for all four options, leaving Steve Tandy and his coaching staff with a tough decision to be made on who wears 13 at Twickenham and beyond.
From my perspective it’s easy to say I’d love to see Louie Hennessey get the nod as the best fit for the system, the most exciting natural talent and the player that would be most likely to get me to part with my money should he picked. However, I accept that Tandy & co have much more to think about than who would be the on-paper selection.
So it’s for this reason that I expect, and were I the Head Coach of Cymru would probably do the same, to see Owen Watkin get the nod this weekend and for the first part of the tournament. Experienced, consistent and with enough about him to make an impact on the game, if not quite the full bag when it comes to the attacking attributes required.
I do hope we see Hennessey sooner rather than later, though!
Cardiff Rugby Life 