Wales legend demands more from top star as Tandy defends under-fire centre

Wales’ midfield will be critical against Japan as Wales look to unleash their talented back three

Wales legend Jonathan Davies says he wants to see more from Max Llewellyn this weekend and has tasked him to “step up” in the wider channels.

The Welsh centres – Llewellyn and Ben Thomas – came in for some criticism during the defeat by Argentina, however Steve Tandy has placed his faith in the duo again for the visit of Japan this Saturday.

Llewellyn had an extremely quiet afternoon against the Pumas and Davies, who occupied that No.13 jersey with great distinction for the Lions, Wales and the Scarlets, believes he is under pressure, with Nick Tompkins on the bench ready to replace him if he turns in a sub-par performance.

Tandy has selected Louis Rees-Zammit to start against the Brave Blossoms, while Blair Murray has also shown a lot of attacking prowess in a Wales shirt over the last year. And Davies believes Llewellyn has a big job to do in getting those players in the game against Eddie Jones’s side on Saturday night.

“There’s importance on the midfield to think, ‘We have got a very talented back three, how do we get them as many touches as we can?'” he told the Scrum V podcast.

“I was lucky I had Alex Cuthbert, George North, Leigh Halfpenny, Liam Williams, I was working to facilitate them. Our midfield has a job to get the best athletes on the ball.

“I felt that (Llewellyn) was out on the wing quite a bit. That may have been the system, but if I was in that system, I wouldn’t be happy.

“I would find ways of trying to get on the ball, because there was a moment where Jac (Morgan) took the ball in front of him – when you expect a back to control the forwards, regardless of who they are. You want to see him demanding the ball or having control of the attack and the style of play.”

He added: “I just want to see more. I want to see him on the ball and using his skillset.

“Nick Tompkins is busy, so there is probably a bit of pressure on him to put a performance in.

“We have lost a carrier in Jac in that wider area, that’s where we need Max to step up. Because Alex Mann and Olly Cracknell are not as competent as Jac in those wide areas.”

Tandy has defended Thomas after last week’s performance against Argentina.

The Cardiff playmaker was sin-binned in the first-half for kicking out at Pablo Matera, with some pundits believing he was lucky to avoid a red card. Others have questioned whether a second playmaking option at 12 works for Wales at the minute, with Thomas copping some flak on social media since last Sunday’s defeat.

While Tandy says he’s not aware of any online criticism, he did outline just how important the 26-year-old was to Wales’ plans.

“Ben is a quality player, and I think that’s the way we want to play, having that second pair of hands, and the vision that helps Dan in how we want to play as a 12,” he said. “There’s always within any international game, there’s always scrutiny, and again, even as coaches, we’re always debating what’s the right team and how we play it.

“But Ben has played consistently well for Cardiff. He’s done really, really well for Wales as well, and he played out in Japan. I thought there was a lot of interaction between that 10-12, and with Tomos (Williams) as well, I thought there was lots of positivity.

“Is there things each individual can get better on? 100 per cent. We sat in the room on Tuesday, we showed lots of the good, what we felt we worked on, but also a lot of the bits where, whether it be in and around the kick-chase, whether it be that kick-off right before half-time, how we get things a lot better.

“But again, I think we have to build that cohesion going forward.”

Tandy also explained how Thomas’ presence helps Dan Edwards, who has just a handful of caps at Test level after making his debut earlier this year, as he said competition for places in the squad was fierce. “Ben has played at 10 as well, but in fairness, just looking at how well Nick (Tompkins) has trained, and Joe Hawkins – these boys are close,” added Tandy. “They are making selection hard, because I thought the way Joe Hawkins trained yesterday was absolutely quality.

“Again, you see with Joe, I think he’s got similar qualities. But Ben, he’s played 10, second pair of hands, good kicking game, and Joe’s a big boy as well, so I think that is where that can help out our 10s.

“If we want to play with a bit of width and play to what we need to do, we’ve got to pick players that feel suited to how we want to play the game.”