Fit-again Taulupe Faletau gives Wales ‘nice Murrayfield selection headache’

Taulupe Faletau will this week face his first nervous buildup to a Wales team selection since making his international debut in 2011. The Bath No8 has been a fixture in the team since then but, having recovered from a knee injury, he has to break into a back row who have made a strong start to the Six Nations for Saturday’s encounter with Scotland at Murrayfield.

Faletau, who completed only his second match of the season for Bath against Harlequins last weekend after aggravating a knee ligament injury on Christmas Eve that he had initially sustained on the opening weekend of the season at Northampton, came on as a second-half replacement against England in the last round of the championship.

He took over from Ross Moriarty in the 52nd minute, to the surprise of many, including the England flanker James Haskell, as the Gloucester back-rower had been one of the home side’s standout players. Wales pointed out afterwards that their GPS data showed Moriarty was tiring and added that they had a world-class player on the bench. Their other options were to bring on Faletau for one of the two flankers, Sam Warburton and Justin Tipuric, but they were also excelling.

“Ross is playing well and so are Sam and Justin,” said Faletau, whose only other appearance for Wales this season was off the bench against South Africa in the final autumn international. “We work together and whoever plays is worthy of starting. It is down to the coaches to decide. It was good to wear the jersey again, even if the result did not go our way. The performance was there and everyone is looking forward to the next game. The defeat to England means our destiny is out of our hands but if we win our final three games and others slip up, who knows.”

The 26-year-old Faletau had avoided serious injury during his seven years with Newport Gwent Dragons but after joining Bath last summer he lasted 12 minutes on his debut before sustaining an injury that kept him out of action for more than 10 weeks. Last Saturday was only his sixth start of the campaign.

“I was just glad to be playing for 80 minutes again,” he said. “It has been frustrating but injuries are part of the game and I knew I would have to deal with it at some time. They come around for everyone and it has been my time. I am glad I joined Bath. I have moved there with my family and we are really enjoying it. It is a rugby town but, unlike Wales, people leave you alone.”

England are the team to catch in the Six Nations. “Eddie Jones has worked wonders,” Faletau said. “They are 16 games unbeaten and they have got that winning edge about them, which means that they come out on top in tight situations, as they did against us.”

Wales name their side to face Scotland on Thursday and the back row will occupy most of the coaches’ time. “You have to look at the threats of the opposition and the game we want to employ,” said the forwards coach, Robin McBryde. “We are blessed with the players we have and it is a very keenly contested area. It is a nice headache to have.”

Scotland will be without their captain, Greig Laidlaw, and the No8 Josh Strauss, who have been ruled out of the rest of the Six Nations through injuries they sustained in France in the last round. But the forwards John Hardie, John Barclay and Fraser Brown, who were replaced in Paris because of head injuries, are expected to be fit, along with the wing Sean Maitland and the centre Mark Bennett, who were injured playing for Saracens and Glasgow respectively at the weekend.

“Mark and Sean did not train today but we hope they will on Tuesday,” said the Scotland defence coach, Matt Taylor, who revealed no decision had been made on who would take over the captaincy. “We have a number of leaders in the group and Vern [Cotter, the head coach] has sat down with them and talked about their roles. We are looking for them to come to the fore.” Ali Price and Henry Pyrgos are vying for Laidlaw’s scrum-half jersey.