Alex Mann is one of two players to start every game for Wales under Steve Tandy
It’s perhaps testament to how unkind fate has been to Jac Morgan that this Saturday marks the 50th Test Wales have played since he made his debut against Scotland in 2022, yet he hasn’t started even half of those.
Having been thrust into the starting XV of the defending champions for his Test bow four years ago, he more than played his part in Wales’ last home victory in the Six Nations. In the years that have followed, he has quickly established himself as Wales’ most important player.
The solitary Welshman at the end of last year’s Lions tour, a captain of his country at the age of 23. When he is fit and available, he is the first name on the team sheet.
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And yet, of the half-century of Tests that have followed that first cap back in February 2022, Morgan has started just 19 of those – with his longest run of starts being seven matches between the back-end of 2024 and the 2025 Six Nations.
Remarkably, across those 50 matches, Wales have used 35 different back-row combinations. 13 involving Morgan, another 22 without him.
Incredibly, Wales haven’t gone through three straight matches using the same back-row. This weekend’s lot, are just the sixth complete back-row to be trusted to start a second match unchanged.
It’s not guaranteed they’d all start the next game against Fiji in the summer, given Morgan will be back from his shoulder injury by then.
All of this is to remind us that the back-row is an incredibly combative place to play. Chances come and go, with fate and timing as important as talent and ability.
You’ve got to be there to take it.
There’s also balance to consider. Those 35 different combinations haven’t always been comprised of the three best back-rowers, but rather how they work as a trio.
Which brings us neatly onto Alex Mann.
Along with captain Dewi Lake, Mann is the only Welshman to start every one of Tandy’s Test matches in charge of Wales. Nine in a row.
To say the Cardiff back-row is a vital part of what Wales want to do right now would, on the basis of Wales’ start to life under Tandy, be an understatement.
Clearly, whether it’s as a six or a seven, Tandy’s best back-row balance, right now, includes the 24-year-old from Aberdare.
The defensive performance in Dublin has naturally attracted headlines. The tackle statistics, as they tend to do, have fluctuated based on which data provider you trust.
But whether it was 32 or 33 Irish men felled last Friday, it’s still a Six Nations record.
Defensively, Wales have taken massive strides in the past two matches. Having shipped 50 points a match in Tandy’s first six Tests in charge, they’ve tightened things up – essentially halving that number against Scotland and Ireland.
There are a number of reasons for this. In key areas, combinations are growing more confidence in the principles of Tandy’s defence.
They’re keeping numbers on their feet, committing two to the tackle and looking more connected for it after some teething issues earlier in the campaign.
There’s an increased physicality, with Mann leading the way for dominant tackles by a Welsh player – with five in this tournament.
But it’s not just about putting in shots, it’s also how Wales have been smarter around the breakdown. It’s been obvious that there’s been less of a breakdown threat in the two-man tackle philosophy they’ve introduced.
However, the reintroduction of James Botham to the side after a year has offered them greater threat there. Only Rory Darge, Tadhg Beirne and Maro Itoje have more successful jackal attempts than Botham.
That’s all the more remarkable given Botham has only played 150 minutes in this tournament and Wales barely competed at the breakdown in Dublin last weekend.
Instead, they followed France’ blueprint against the Irish – putting one or less into rucks and competing on less than half.
That breakdown discipline has been a big improvement for Wales. Mann isn’t a natural jackaller in the mould of a Botham, Morgan or Tommy Reffell, but he’s a nuisance there – having hit the most defensive rucks for Wales in this tournament.
On occasion, he will come up with a steal, like the one near his own line against Scotland.
But just as important is being a pest and slowing down opposition ball to allow Wales to reset.
“It’s disciplined, but also it’s decision-making,” said Tandy about not competing a great deal last Friday. “Ireland’s break-down is outstanding as well, you look at the speed they get to the contact and that break-down, that’s just making, when we’re going for it to make the right decisions.
“You’ve got Dewi to throw into that mix as well. Rhys Carre is also going after the ball, Nicky Smith can go after the ball. It’s just not losing, it’s something that affects the defensive line as well, it’s just choosing those right opportunities and we feel we’re probably getting a good balance of discipline right across the board.
“Since the start of the tournament we have been very very good and you look at when we go to Ireland into that sort of environment with everything that Ireland threw at us.
“We held our nerve in a lot of that. So it’s good for us. But again, we need to be really consistent with that.
“We’ve got to be consistent and then building reputations with referees, building reputations that we are really, really clean, but we’re super aggressive in what we do as well.”
Botham’s presence has undoubtedly helped Wales’ efforts in terms of holding their nerve. It’s a little easier to buy in on not competing when you know there’s someone like Botham who can make an impact when the opportunity arises.
“Jim (Botham) has been great since he’s come in, his athletic ability,” adds Tandy. “He gives us opportunities over the ball, as does Manny, but Jim’s decision making at the breakdown has been excellent too.”
Wales assistant coach Dan Lydiate highlighted the “unseen work” of the pack earlier in the week that is driving each other on to be better. The mid Walian is a man who knows all about what it takes to wear the six jersey.
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He’s a fan of Mann’s. “He is some talent and is a young man with a hell of an engine who reads the game really well on both sides of the ball,” said the 2012 Six Nations player of the tournament.
“He’s great to work with and his stats from last weekend were unbelievable. You’ve got to have the will and want to keep putting your body in front of people, which he has in abundance.
“He is a very good rugby player and no matter the number on his back you know what he will deliver.”
Statistician Russ Petty tweeted earlier this week that Dafydd Jenkins has made the most combined carries, tackles and rucks hit in this year’s Six Nations. Mann is fifth on the list.
When you break it down to how often a player is making one of those contributions, Ben Carter, Tomas Francis, Botham and Jenkins are all doing one of those three things every 70-odd seconds. Mann is no slouch either, having an impact every 78 seconds.
Obviously, there’s his defensive and ruck work, but there’s also his carrying. Only Lake and Wainwright have carried more.
But, on the other side of the ball, it’s not just as simple as just trucking it into contact. Because while he’s made the third most-carries, he’s ranking 13th for metres made in this Wales squad.
Instead, much of his focus is putting others through contact. Only Tomos Williams and Dan Edwards have made more passes in this Wales squad during the Six Nations.
The likes of Carre and Lake have benefitted from Mann’s ability as a playmaking option on the gainline.
“I think Manny is class,” says Tandy. “I think when I talk about people getting better, Manny in and around the working week is incredible in how he wants to get better both sides of the ball.
“He’s a massive ball player for us. With the game at the minute you need forwards who can play like backs. I believe Manny can do that.
“His attention to detail on how he maps out his week, how he plans, how he recovers and his nutrition. He gets the most out of it and I think with Manny there’s so much more to come.
“He’s still a young man and he’s getting used to backing up Test matches. He’s been involved in all the Test matches since I’ve been here.”
“He’s repeating his work, he’s recovering better, you see the effort he put in on the weekend and I think he’s got the ability, not only on both sides of the ball but his lineout and his kick chase stuff is exceptional as well.”
Since Ben Carter started calling the lineout, Mann has become Wales’ most frequent target. It’s perhaps no coincidence it’s improved, too.
Last Friday, it was Mann getting his dues thanks to those remarkable tackle stats, but ultimately, it’s the sign of a pack coming together than, on Saturday, it could be any of them that is earning the plaudits.
“It’s connection,” says Lydiate about what makes a good back-row balance. That sentiment also probably extends to the balance of the pack as a whole. “I knew what the other guys would deliver, so it’s about fitting the pieces of the puzzle together.
“When you have that synergy, what number is on your back doesn’t matter because you know what the other guys will give. You try and complement each other. We have gone through a bit of a transition and are figuring out who the best combinations are.
“We are probably still on that journey with the style of play and the way that the international game has gone.
“The boys have put in some big shifts and you can see them complement each other, along with those off the bench.
“We’ve got Jac to come back into the fold, who is world class. The boys at the moment are setting the standards that others have to go higher than if they are to wrestle the jerseys off them.”
Of course, had Morgan been fit, what odds the Lions back-row would have started these next eight matches following that first November Test against Argentina?
And would Mann necessarily have been Tandy’s go-to man then? Perhaps not, although he did start at six alongside Morgan in Tandy’s first game.
Maybe they see Mann as another version of Morgan, if slightly different in execution.
Morgan, in many ways, is a bit of unicorn for Wales’ back-row. He possesses an all-round game that is genuinely world class.
He can be one of Wales’ best carriers, jackal threats, tacklers and lineout options.
Mann isn’t necessarily all of that, but there’s a real all-court property to his game, too. Clearly, Tandy and his coaching staff recognise that.
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