So, if Williams is correct in his assumption, we could see Pivac's 'first-choice half-back pairing' line up together in Cardiff at the end of this month - 1002 days since their last outing together for Wales. So, despite only being two competitive matches in to his comeback from a serious knee injury which robbed him of two years, suddenly it feels as though Anscombe is, if not in pole position, then certainly in serious contention for a start against the All Blacks.Īs for Williams, a stunning start to the season against Connacht has put him in prime position to nail down a scrum-half jersey that has moved around a fair bit in the past two years. By now, all are familiar with the pros and cons of such a decision, but, for Pivac, the main one to take note of is the fly-half options it robs him off.ĭan Biggar will be in action for Northampton, while Callum Sheedy will be on duty with Bristol. On October 30, Wales host New Zealand for the first time in Pivac's reign in a match sitting outside of the Test window. So said Shane Williams in the Rugby Paper on the weekend.īy the end of the month, you might not require firearms to see whether that rings true. “If you held a gun to Wayne (Pivac)’s head and asked him for his first-choice half-back pairing, I have a hunch he’d pick Tomos (Williams) and Gareth Anscombe."