Wales hand debut to Josh Hathaway in first Test against Australia, avoiding repeat of Immanuel Feyi-Waboso saga

When the Cardiff-born Immanuel Feyi-Waboso chose to play for England and not Wales at the start of the year, Warren Gatland played down the importance of the Exeter wing tyro’s decision.

Feyi-Waboso’s performances at both club and international level this season have since shown he was a huge loss to Wales. 

Senior figures at the Welsh Rugby Union – including executive director of rugby Nigel Walker – weren’t happy Feyi-Waboso was lost to England and that was made clear to Gatland.

A matter of months later, the Wales head coach has moved quickly to ensure the same mistake isn’t made twice. 

Gatland has guaranteed Gloucester back Josh Hathaway, still just 20, won’t be lost to England by handing him an international debut for Wales against Australia in Sydney on Saturday.

Hathaway, like Feyi-Waboso, was eligible to play for England and Wales. He represented both countries at Under-20 level, but will be tied to a Wales, where he was born, now.

‘To get him in a red jersey is probably something we really wanted to do,’ Gatland told reporters in Australia on Thursday when questioned about Hathaway.

The quote was telling. It would have been another nightmare for Wales – and there have been plenty of those recently – if Hathaway had been lost to England like Feyi-Waboso. In May, Hathaway told Mail Sport he had yet to decide on whether to play for England or Wales but that international rugby had been his – as well as his father Darren’s – lifelong goal. 

‘International rugby has been a dream of mine since I was three or four years old,’ Hathaway said. 

‘As soon as I could speak, I said I wanted to play Test rugby. If I do, it would be a dream come true not just for me, but for my dad as well. I’ll do as much as I can to get there.’

Hathaway’s dreams are about to become a reality. He has had a breakthrough season with Gloucester and has impressed Gatland and the Wales management this summer.

‘He's just trained really well,’ Gatland said of Hathaway, who will become the 1,207th man to represent Wales.

‘For us, it's about, in some positions, creating a bit more strength. He gets an opportunity, with moving Liam Williams back to full-back and keeping some experience on the field.

‘He's looked really sharp in training. It's a good chance for him. I just wanted to find out about him.

‘We know what excellent attacking skills he's got. We've been working hard defensively with him.

‘It's a great opportunity for him.’

Hathaway’s supportive parents will be in Sydney for his first senior Wales appearance. Gatland has selected a more-than-interesting XV, with Cardiff’s Ben Thomas starting at fly-half for only his third cap. Thomas is used to playing inside centre at club level and is inexperienced internationally, so his picking ahead of Sam Costelow is a surprise. Thomas has never started a Test previously.

After the retirement of Dan Biggar and the unavailability of Gareth Anscombe, Costleow looked to be the long-term bet as Wales No 10. He is on the bench in Sydney.

As Gatland acknowledged, Williams’ selection at full-back provides Wales with some much-needed experience in what is otherwise a callow side. Ellis Bevan is at scrum-half alongside his Cardiff colleague Thomas. Bevan only made his Test debut in a heavy defeat by South Africa prior to Wales flying to the southern hemisphere. 

Wales’ Test series with the Wallabies isn’t headline rugby billing this summer, certainly in contrast to the humdinger meetings between New Zealand and England and South Africa and Ireland. But they promise to be intriguing matches nonetheless. Both teams are starting again from a more-than-low ebb. Wales have lost their last seven games and finished bottom of the Six Nations pile. Any sort of victory in Australia would be huge for Gatland and his young players. 

They are up against a Wallabies side in their first game under the guidance of former Ireland boss Joe Schmidt. Australia are looking to recover from a truly disastrous World Cup campaign. Eddie Jones was at the tiller for that nightmare tournament, but the controversial figure has now fled the scene of the crime to join Japan.

Wales hammered Australia 40-6 at last year’s World Cup, but it has been downhill since then.

In summary, expect the unexpected. This series is certainly hard to call. Australia’s side is also full of rookies, so Wales do have a chance. They will hope to make No 8 Aaron Wainwright’s 50th cap one to remember by sealing what would be a hugely welcome victory. 

‘We’ve had a good week of preparations here in Sydney and are excited to get out on field on Saturday,’ Gatland said.

‘This first Test is going to be a great challenge for us. Test matches are all about fine margins and we know we need to be accurate, keep our discipline, and stay in the fight for the full 80 minutes. There’s a lot of talent within the Australia squad and we know they will want to come out firing and put in a performance against us this weekend.'