Cardiff Rugby Club once had a spell with Gareth Edwards, Brynmore Williams and Terry Holmes in their books.

For the avoidance of doubt, this is what a half-power skirmish in depth looks like.

With Edwards ending his career, David Bishop appears on the radar at Arms Park, playing a solitary game for his hometown club.

Despite the mythical open-air factory made famous by Max Beuys, Cardiff seemed to have a world-class No. 9 assembly line at the time.

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The position has traditionally been a strength in Wales, with perhaps more great players than any other role. To the previous four we can add Dickie Owen, Haydn Tanner, Rex Willis, Chico Hopkins, Robert Jones, Robert Hawley, Dwayne Peele and Mike Phillips. It is clear that Hopkins only won one match with Edwards to compete with him at the national level, but as Clive Rowlands put it, “if he had been eligible to compete in any other country he would have won 50 matches”.

A single union cap would also be a controversial fate for Bishop, a situation which sparked a petition containing thousands of names to be turned over to the Welsh Rugby Union. Feelings about his exclusion were so strong that when Wales international Robert Jones walked into Swansea’s Pontypool Park for a Welsh Cup match in 1988, he was spat upon by one fan and hurled an umbrella at him by another. and offered to battle for a third.

Bishop’s face didn’t quite fit, but Jones was a great player in his own right.

Fast forward to 2023 and Wales are hoping one of their scrum halfs will prove they are arguably the best of this generation.

Warren Gatland has put his faith in Tomos Williams and the Cardiff international has shown he is a great player off the international stage. It’s still fresh in the memory how Williams crushed the Ospreys at Swansea 15 months ago with a brilliant shot for Jarrod Evans to score. Back then, a foreigner dropping by to watch a Cardiff game would not have left feeling that there was a debate going on about Wales’ number 9.

But Wayne Pivac has started three Six Nations innings in 2022 and Keiran Hardy has started all three Tests in South Africa in the summer.

Warren Gatland left with Williams but there were calls for Rhys Webb to start against England and Wales. Internet commentator and Welshman Graham Price has called for Hardy to be picked for a possible clash with Italy on Saturday.

Free-spirited off the pitch and on it, Mark Ring added a fourth name when he said he would have Gareth Davies in his Wales squad, saying: “He’s skilful, quick and doesn’t let the opposition intimidate him.” I still think he’s the best number 9 in Wales.” Davies’ recent performances for the Scarlets confirm that he has yet to give up on regaining his place in Wales.

It will be interesting to see if Gatland starts Williams against Italy. The Arms Park man was clearly playing in order, kicking repeatedly against England. If you don’t, you’re likely to be in trouble, as his boot work has only served to highlight Freddie Steward’s impressive aerial skills. It was like playing Björn Borg’s topspin forehand non-stop during the Swede’s prime.

The results weren’t great. “All we’ve done is put the MVP trophy in the hands of an England defender,” said Price, the Lions legend.

Williams is a better player than he looked last weekend, but Wales are not on the same page in many ways at the moment. When the Welsh number 9 broke through solo from the penalty spot to score three potential points that could have cut England’s lead to two, his teammates looked as surprised as their opponents. Ken Owens offered his support in the ensuing collapse, but the move did not cheer Wales.

In a subsequent podcast, former England defender Mike Brown recalled the episode, saying of the Wales scrum-half, “I can’t remember his name right now.” Williams’ job is to get people to remember his name. He’s good enough for that.

We just didn’t see it coming last time.

Gatland must now decide if anyone else deserves a chance or if the trades will be trades for trades.

Rhys Webb has played well for the Ospreys but has not started for Wales since the autumn of 2020. If self-confidence were the only requirement for playing Test rugby, Webb would automatically be the first choice. He fought his way back to nationals, but the old adage tells us that the wind blows harder the closer you get to the top of the mountain, and the old adage is correct. If Webb is to play for Wales again he must show in training why this is so.

The same goes for Hardy.

Meanwhile, Williams is hoping for another chance after the mixed reviews that followed his effort against England.

The Guardian once jokingly described the tackle on the rugby team as “an annoying little man with thinning hair who yells a lot”.

This is one way of looking at things.

There is currently no one in Wales who fits that description.

But they need one of their nines for inspiration.

Can any of them convincingly present themselves for the jersey just six months after the World Cup? This is exactly what Gatland will want. It’s what the team needs if Wales are to avoid the ignominy of finishing behind the rest of the league for the first time in 20 years.

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