Judging by the stale atmosphere that hangs over another laborious autumn campaign for Wales, it is not surprising the teenage wing Keelan Giles is considered the breath of fresh air Rob Howley’s side so badly needs.
Diminutive and quick – very quick – Giles excites. The 18-year-old was drafted in as cover on the summer tour to New Zealand, having scored two tries in Wales’s opening match at the Junior World Championship, and was a key part of the side that completed the Under-20 Six Nations grand slam in March.
At 5ft 8in, a shade over 12 stone and having scored eight tries in his only five appearances for the Ospreys, Giles inevitably draws comparisons to Wales’s all-time record try scorer, Shane Williams, and is now in line for a senior Test debut against Japan on Saturday.
It may seem like a rapid rise but for Leigh Halfpenny, who made his Wales debut as a teenager in 2008, Giles has long been on the radar. “Keelan is doing well. He has put in some fantastic performances for the Ospreys. He is a huge talent,” said Halfpenny. “He is [like me] a Gorseinon boy, I remember seeing him play one Sunday morning with the club’s mini side, under-eights or nines I think, and you could see there was something there, he had a lot of gas then! It is good we have got competition for places and boys pushing for each other.”
Howley has repeatedly warned against underestimating Japan, who won away to Georgia last Saturday, and the last time they met in 2013, the Blossoms, then coached by Eddie Jones, triumphed, albeit with 15 Wales players seconded to the Lions.
Howley did, however, confirm there would be more changes – he made six for the nervy 24-20 triumph over Argentina – and was clear that age would be no barrier for Giles, who turns 19 in January.
“Keelan has been brought into the squad and he is someone who has been fast-tracked, and if we can give him the opportunity, it doesn’t matter about age, we’ll put him in,” said Howley after a victory over the Pumas that ended a run of five straight defeats but did little to address the obvious need for some sparkle.
Liam Williams is the only outside back in form with Halfpenny still readjusting to international rugby after a lengthy absence, Alex Cuthbert out of sorts, Hallam Amos injured and George North, who could make way for Giles, too peripheral.
Halfpenny and North, who scored two tries on debut against South Africa aged 18 in 2010, are proof that Wales have history when it comes to selecting youngsters on the wing. But for every success story, there remains the example of Tom Prydie, still Wales’s youngest ever player but stranded on five caps having won his first six years ago, also as an Ospreys youngster.
Halfpenny, though, has urged Giles to seize his opportunity. “From my experience, I remember the guys in the squad just made it so easy for me to come in and feel comfortable, and just said go out and enjoy it and I think that is what you have got to do,” he added. “You dream of moments like that as a kid, to pull that Welsh jersey on, you have just got to enjoy it. It is amazing how quickly time goes. It only feels like yesterday that I was the young kid coming in.”
