Warren Gatland has named his team to play Australia and has made the bold decision to select Cardiff Rugby’s Ben Thomas at fly-half.

Thomas is set to win his third cap for Wales on what will be his first start for his nation when they face Australia on Saturday.

The former Cardiff academy graduate has played at 10, 12 and at full back for the blue and blacks but this will be his first start at fly-half for the national side.

Thomas’ Wales debut did come at fly-half however, a second half substitute for Callum Sheedy against Canada in 2021 with his second cap coming off the bench at 12 against New Zealand that autumn.

This is the first time he has been selected since Warren Gatland returned as head coach in December 2022.

Why Now?

Despite having been a regular part of Cardiff’s 23 since 2019, this season has seen Thomas well and truly blossom.

The now 25-year-old started 17 of 19 games last season and spent most of his time at inside centre with just one start at 10, albeit a player of the match display during a 14-36 win over the Sharks in South Africa.

He has been Cardiff head coach Matt Sherratt’s go-to man, filling his vision of a second playmaker at 12 whilst also captaining his side against Lions and Ospreys on judgement day.

So, what are his strengths?

Physicality

One area which Thomas has noticeably improved is with his ball carrying.

He is a more physical presence than in previous seasons, as demonstrated by his try on Boxing Day against Dragons, cutting a sharp angle off nine and busting through the would-be tackle of Taine Basham to score.

He may not be as physically imposing as others at 12 but with a mix of smart angles, late footwork and the dual threat of good handling he has consistently been able to cross the gainline for Cardiff this season.

He has also improved defensively with very few busts made through his channel this season.

In fact, of all the centres to play for Welsh regions in the URC this season, Thomas’ tackle completion percentage of 86% is the third best of those who played more than 120 URC minutes this season.

That’s not to say Costelow’s tackling is a weakness, with his own tackle success rate in the URC at 89%, but merely to note the improvement in that area of Thomas’ game.

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Running threat

Thomas made eight clean breaks in the URC last season, behind only Mason Grady in terms of Welsh qualified centres at the Welsh regions.

More often than not, he makes the correct decision at the right time as demonstrated with his show-and-go against Racing 92 on route to setting up Tomos Williams’ try.

He also possesses a good turn of pace, as seen with his interception against Munster.

Distribution

Thomas’ distribution has been superb this season, able to link play well with the ball out the back or feed runners on the short ball.

In total, Thomas completed the second highest number of passes by centres in the URC this season.

His tip on passes have been a particular feature with him making the joint-third highest amount in the URC this season and this coupled with his heightened threat as a ball carrier will hopefully succeed in getting Wales’ attacking game going.

Goalkicking

Here is a question mark for Thomas. With Tinus de Beer Cardiff’s primary goalkicker, opportunities to kick for goal have been limited for Thomas this season.

In total he attempted 11 kicks in the URC this season, succeeding with eight.

Costelow has the higher kick percentage of 79%, six percent better than Thomas, but has been guilty of missing a couple of very makeable penalties this season for both club and country.

Gatland had previously backed Sam Costelow as the 10 for Wales’ future, however, he has selected Thomas in one of six personnel changes to the Wales side which lost to South Africa.

Alongside Thomas, there is a return for Six Nations captain Dafydd Jenkins, along with Tommy Reffell, Christ Tshiunza and Archie Griffin, while Gloucester wing Josh Hathaway will make his debut.

Against them will be a new look Wallabies side with new head coach Joe Schmidt has selected two debutants in his starting XV and five more on the bench, while flanker Liam Wright captains the side on his sixth international cap.

Thomas may have to bide his time to showcase all of his skills in the Wales 10 jersey however with Gatland expected to ask his team to strip back to the basics and focus on the fundamentals of kicking, defence and fitness.

Wales Team:

L. Williams; J. Hathaway, O. Watkin, M. Grady, R. Dyer; B. Thomas, E. Bevan; G. Thomas, D. Lake (capt.), A. Griffin, C. Tshiunza, D. Jenkins, T. Plumtree, T. Reffell, A. Wainwright.

Replacements:

E. Lloyd, K. Mathias, H. O’Connor, C. Hill, J. Botham, K.Hardy, S. Costelow, N. Tompkins.

Australia Team:

T. Wright; A. Kellaway, J. Flook, H. Paisami, F. Daugunu; N. Lolesio, J. Gordon; J. Slipper, M. Faessler, T. Tupou, J. Williams, L. Salakaia-Loto, L. Wright (capt.), F. McReight, R. Valetini.

Replacements:

B. Pollard, Isaac Kailea, A. Alaalatoa, A. Blyth, C. Cale, T. McDermott, T. Lynagh, D. Pietsch.