With the Rugby World Cup just over a year away, Wales’ preparations are about to enter their final phase ahead of next September’s showpiece event.
Wales will play no fewer than 12 matches between now and the beginning of the tournament, including a trip to the ‘home of rugby’ to play England before departing for Japan.
The three World Cup warm-up matches will also include a return match in Cardiff and a game against Six Nations champions Ireland.
Those final preparations will provide departing head coach Warren Gatland with a final chance to fine-tune his side before heading to Japan, but there is a lot of work to do and questions to be answered before then.
There were concerns ahead of the summer tour to Argentina that Wales’ inexperienced touring squad, attempting to establish a new expansive style, would come undone to a tough Argentinian side.
Such concerns were replaced with a feel-good public optimism however, as individuals like Hallam Amos, James Davies, Adam Beard and Ellis Jenkins lead Wales to two convincing victories and a third-place world ranking.
The squad has now developed a strength-in-depth, with young players complimenting the established stars who have been a constant in the squad during Gatland’s reign.
Such depth provides as many questions as it answers however, including what is Gatland’s strongest 15? The first inclination of who is where in the pecking order will be presented during November’s autumn international series.
Wales welcome usual suspects Australia, South Africa and Tonga to the Principality Stadium, as well as a rare autumn visit from Scotland, who travel to Cardiff for a trip historically reserved for the Six Nations championship.
The autumn has provided stumbling blocks for Wales in the past, as they have been unable to turn the Principality Stadium into a fortress the same way England have Twickenham and Ireland the Aviva Stadium.
Substandard performances against the southern hemisphere’s finest have been all too regular, but Gatland will hope the series will provide his squad with an opportunity to kick on from their summer success.
He will then hope the Six Nations will act as a be a toughening exercise. He will likely choose a squad that will be similar to the one he expects to take to Japan. Only when we see how Wales compete against the likes of England, Ireland, France and Scotland will we really know where their World Cup hopes lie.
Until then, it’s difficult to predict exactly how they will head into next year’s World Cup. They are now without retired captain Sam Warburton who has led them into the last two campaigns, and their first choice team is currently unknown. Warren Gatland will also be a year into a long goodbye by then, but as their recent summer tour showed, there is reason to be optimistic.
Pool D presents plenty of obstacles with Australia, Fiji, Georgia and Uruguay standing in the way of a third consecutive World Cup quarter final appearance. However, with a squad showing depth not previously seen in the professional era and twelve tough games to address selection questions, Gatland will hope his side is in its best shape possible heading into his final duty at the top of the Welsh game.