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February 16, 2009

Posted on 02/16/2009

A return to the glory days?

Kevin Garside, writing in The Daily Telegraph, believes that youngsters such as Leigh Halfpenny could put Wales on the road to greatness.

"There you are," said Jeremy Guscott. "Just throw the young lads the ball." He was eulogising the moment when Delon Armitage said no to the text book and chose instead to hit the instinct button, exploding through the Welsh lines to score.

"Warren Gatland would have smiled had he heard it. While Guscott was fulfilling his media engagements the Wales head coach was similarly disposed below stairs, the glow of victory on him as he praised England, knowing they were never as close as the numbers suggested when Armitage dived under the posts.

"What Guscott was proposing in his punditry Gatland is doing for real. Last autumn he threw the Welsh jersey at an uncapped 19-year-old for the visit of South Africa. The kid had played only seven games as a professional for the Cardiff Blues. Five Tests into his international career, Leigh Halfpenny ensures that Shane Williams can have a day off whenever he likes.

"He raced off his wing like Gerald Davies in a bygone age, vapour trailing from his heels as he crossed for the Welsh try. And when the captain called for his boot he boomed the penalty between the posts from a mile away."

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