Jonathan Davies

Age: 33
Caps: 100
Club: Scarlets

Fittingly for a player of his talent Davies brought up 100 Tests caps for Wales and the British and Irish Lions last week, coming off the bench in the second half.

Having Davies on the field to help close out a tight win over Scotland was a boost for Wales, with his reading of the game in attack and defence still excellent.

Will he be fit enough to start at Twickenham? Pivac would welcome Davies’ experience but it feels far from an automatic selection at this stage.

“He is still the best defender out of the five, but I’m not sure how much he will feature,” notes Shanklin. “You need confidence in your ability and that comes with experience. If you mess it up in defence, you leave huge holes around you which lead to tries. Davies forced Finn Russell back inside, and that’s what you want from your defenders.”

Uilisi Halaholo

Age: 31
Caps: 8
Club: Cardiff Rugby

Pivac noted when Halaholo was first called up by Wales that there was no one else like him, and the combination of power and pace that the Cardiff centre offers certainly appeals. There were question marks however about his defence following Wales’ win in the autumn over Australia.

Halaholo was meant to be in action for Cardiff this weekend (whose game was cancelled anyway due to Storm Eunice), but suffered an eyelid laceration in training. Wales still expect him to be available for selection against England and he would add welcome energy from the bench. With England set to welcome back Manu Tuilagi in midfield however, Wales may want to opt for a similarly powerful ball-carrier, despite his lack of match time.

“He offers something different to all of them,” says Shanklin. “He has a very good stepping game, at beating defenders one-on-one. And he’s probably the best one at taking the ball to the line. Most teams play off 12 with the No 10 coming round the corner, and he is probably the best at that. He is probably my first name on the team sheet [out of the five when fit].”

Josh Adams

Age: 26
Caps: 39
Club: Cardiff Rugby

It all hinges on whether Wales want to see Adams at 13 again, after a tough outing against Ireland in Dublin. Adams was not entirely at fault for Wales’ defeat and his opportunities in attack were limited given Wales’ struggles for possession and territory as they were outplayed by Ireland’s pack.

For now, he’s better off being used on the wing. Although the prospect of Adams being put into space in midfield with his acceleration and finishing ability should be examined at some point, given that Adams has 18 Test tries already to his name.

“If you look at the centres coming through in Wales, there is not a massive amount of quality,” believes Shanklin. “They’re good players, but that is one of the reasons why George North was moved into the centre. Take away Adams’ offside penalties and yellow card against Ireland, and it wasn’t a bad performance. He became the focal point of why Wales didn’t do well, but you need to look beyond that.

“I’m not sure Wales will play him there again in the Six Nations, but Cardiff should. He is good at reading games, busy, has a good skill-set. He has all the attributes to become a good centre and you need a pacey option at 13. It would only add to his game. He’ll play no matter what, he’s that good. He can become a bit like Tommy Bowe was for Ireland, you can fit him in anywhere. They should persist with him at 13.”