Gatland must gamble or lose
Warren Gatland and Wales must take more risks in the 2015 Six Nations if they are to have any chance of winning the biggest title of them all later on this year - according to Wales legend Jonathan Davies.
With a World Cup on the horizon, the 2015 Six Nations Championships takes on added importance for all the home nations.
And while Wales ended their hoodoo against Southern Hemisphere opposition with their victory over South Africa at the end of November, Davies has not seen enough yet to suggest Wales can consistently rival the world's best.
Davies has called on Gatland and co to unlock Wales' attacking potential before it is too late.
"One thing Wales have to do in these next five games is to come out and adapt and improve their attacking game," Davies said in an interview on the Six Nations website.
"The back three have not been utilised as well as they should have been, Jamie Roberts and Jonathan Davies in midfield need to work on getting that right because from an attacking point of view, Wales could and should be a lot better side.
"Looking at the World Cup, Warren has said he does not want to show everything that they have up their sleeve in the Six Nations.
"Wales have not been getting the best out of George [North] for a long time and yet he is on fire for Northampton and was so good for the Lions back in 2013.
"You have got to look at how these teams play, Northampton play a far more expansive game than Wales and that inevitably brings the best out of him.
"When you have got guys like George and Alex Cuthbert then we have got to make more of ball in hand, to show more creativity in midfield.
"Of course that cannot always be the case - we have shown we can be solid in the set-piece and play that way but you have to be able to play different styles of rugby if you want to win a World Cup."
While some might call it sacrilegious after his heroics for the British & Irish Lions in 2013, others in Wales have begun to suggest that Leigh Halfpenny's place at full-back is coming increasingly under threat.
And Davies has added his name to the growing chorus, proposing the in-form Liam Williams as the man to wear No.15 with Halfpenny switching to wing - where he first broke through into the Wales side.
"Where Wales have struggled is with strength in depth traditionally," he added.
"That's where the likes of New Zealand and Australia have the edge, with different levels of combinations.
"Leigh's goal-kicking is phenomenal but I would quite like to see him as a wing. He's not quite a natural playmaker at full-back in the same way that Liam Williams is.
"I would like Leigh to still be in the team but Liam at 15 has been playing out of his skin.
"You can't overlook Leigh's goal-kicking, he gives you that distance than Dan [Biggar] does not have and you need that win games at the end of the day."
And victories will be a priceless commodity in this year's Six Nations, which is set to be one of the most competitive for a long time according to Davies.
"This is so important, every year. It's a fantastic Championship to win and this year of all years, you can see how deep the competition is," added the 37-cap man.
"Scotland have improved a great deal in the autumn, Ireland are now the No.3 side in the world, France you never know what you might get from them but with Camille Lopez at stand-off they might have finally found some consistency and structure.
"Wales will want to win the tournament, make no mistake about it, because winning is the best preparation."
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