Posted by As the 2026/27 season comes firmly into view many supporters begin to look across their team’s squad and convince themselves that it’s more than good enough to do something special.
At Cardiff it’s no different, and there’s a lot to like about this year’s Blue & Blacks. Scott Sio is a great addition to the front row, Teddy Williams being back fit will be like a new signing at lock, having Jarrod Evans and Callum Sheedy battling it out for the 10 jersey can only spur them on, Steff Emanuel and Tom Bowen are another year older and better in the back line.
It’s an exciting time across the board but with one glaring exception – outside centre.
Now that’s not to say that there’s no talent available in this position, in fact the total opposite is true, there is an abundance of quality players who could wear 13 for Cardiff. However, if you were to ask the Arms Park regulars what their depth chart for the position was I suspect you’d have some pretty varied answers.
The truth is that this is all Rey Lee-Lo’s fault. The Samoan was so consistently good for the club, and for so many years, that there was never really any need to consider who might be backing up the great man or the next cab off the rank in one of the toughest positions to master, particularly defensively.
Now that Lee-Lo has selfishly deprived us of watching him play by retiring though, the mantle has fallen to Harri Millard to play every minute of every match in that 13 jersey. Last time out he started 13 of 14 league games before getting injured on the South Africa tour at the end of March, a sign perhaps of the physical toll it had taken on him.
That is clearly unsustainable, and there is also a question around whether Millard is the right man to be the first choice outside centre given the struggles the attack suffered last season. Obviously the departure of Matt Sherratt played a part, but there was a feeling the back line lacked a bit of physical punch where the Mountain Ash man is more of a speed threat.
So what are the other options? Well Le Roux Malan has been signed this summer and although he has played at inside centre for the majority of his career so far, he does have some outside centre experience. At 6’3″ and tipping the scales at 100kg he is more likely to have that physical presence at the gain line, coming short off 10 or 12.
There’s also Jacob Beetham who slid into the 13 jersey away at Dragons to give Millard his one non-injury rest last season, an all-round skillset with size and speed albeit lacking in positional experience, while Ben Thomas shifted out one from 12 in the final few weeks of the campaign but largely just played as a second inside centre alongside Rory Jennings.
Perhaps the most interesting question is what to do about Mason Grady? The big man made his first 12 starts for the club at outside centre, and won his first two Cymru caps in the position in the 2023 Six Nations, but after returning from injury last season has featured exclusively on the wing under Corniel Van Zyl.
The 24-year-old is in danger of suffering from Owen Lane-itis, the last Academy graduate who came through as an outside centre but found initial success on the wing at senior level and never made the move into midfield, despite there seemingly being a need for that to happen.
It’s a similar pattern that we’re seeing with Elijah Evans already, who came through the pathway as a 13 but has largely enjoyed first team exposure on the wing. Of course there’s a natural reticence to throw players into the frying pan that is outside centre, but that does seem to go too far and ultimately deprive the club of prospects in that position.
With plenty of experienced defensive wingers such as Josh Adams and Harri Millard should he revert there, along with the likes of Jacob Beetham and Iwan Stephens who read the game well, and Ben Thomas on the inside shoulder to lead the defence, the risk of putting a young player or inexperienced player in at 13 can be mitigated defensively.
That subsequently opens up all sorts of exciting possibilities in attack, where the likes of Grady can get their hands on the ball a lot more and threaten opposition sides both physically on the inside or with his pace on the outside.
Perhaps it’s about being brave, perhaps it’s even about being a bit reckless, and perhaps there’s an element of picking the right team for the right games and the right conditions, but if we’re going to unlock the full capability of this Cardiff side with ball in hand then finding a midfield combination that can be a threat is going to be key.
Not just for this season, but for a few years to come.
Cardiff Rugby Life 