There was a major shake-up in the Wales squad to face the Barbarians this Saturday and it was the selection of Dragons stalwart Lloyd Fairbrother.

Warren Gatland’s decision to create an unofficial Dragons game was a real bolt from the blue, especially considering he’s not a great player at 31. Of course the New Zealander does not have Thomas Francis, Henry Thomas and Dillon Lewis plying their trade outside the country. Wales, while Leon Brown and Keiron Assiratti are injured. Sign up to the Welsh rugby newsletter here.

But why did Gatland choose Fairbrother and what does the Dragons veteran have to offer Wales? rugby correspondent Stefan Tomás runs a fortress in New Wales.

Bottom

Fairbrother is originally from Cornwall and is entitled to live in Wales through his Blainavon-born mother. Before joining the Dragons, Fairbrother had spells at Exeter Chiefs, Cornish Pirates, Birmingham Moseley and Plymouth Albion.

Fairbrother’s home in Pontypridd is a long way from where he grew up, close to the beaches of Cornwall. He spent the last nine years at Rodney Parade and the Dragons took advantage of him, with Fairbrother playing 166 games for the Newport side.

The 31-year-old quickly became an iconic figure on Rodney Parade, earning the nickname ‘The Cornish Barrel’ thanks to his period-original mullet hairstyle, which caught the attention of his followers. Fairbrother has been consistent for the Dragons and showed remarkable mental strength in recovering from a torn Achilles tendon in 2021 that sidelined him for almost a year.

Playing style

Fairbrother’s main advantage is, without a doubt, its fights. The 31-year-old is a reliable scrumager who has done a commendable job for a weak Dragons group.

He has been competing with Welsh international Brown for the number three jersey at Rodney Parade in recent seasons and although he may not be as visible on the park as his rival, he has been working hard. Fairbrother is a decent carry at tight end who uses a lot of tackles in the park.

Fairbrother is a fan favorite at Rodney Parade and is highly respected by his teammates. The Cornish man has always been proud of doing unprecedented dirty work in the park and being one of the leaders of the pack of dragons.

“It’s easy to say you want to do this, but it’s really hard to get the guys’ support,” Fairbrother said in 2017. “Who’s going to be the bastard of the bunch, who’s going to do all the things that people do? do not see?

“Seri (Jones is a former forwards coach) wanted the back row to press the scrum and my job is to support them. When they do, it makes a huge difference in the fight.

“There is a real team mentality here. “Competing is good, it’s not about bitterness or pointing fingers, it’s about improving, working hard.”

What they say about Fairbrother

Those who coached Fairbrother speak highly of him and the Dragons’ former director of rugby, Dean Ryan, is a fan. “He is able to maintain the fight and create pressure, but his work rate and his ability to get off the line and make tackles has also grown a lot,” Ryan said in 2021. “Lloyd becomes a pillar of the team.”

Wales manager Gatland cited Fairbrother’s experience as the reason he selected the 31-year-old on Saturday.

“When you look at a player who was not available for us and then lost “Keiron (Assiratti) and Leon (Brown) this week we just had a little bit of experience,” Gatland said. – Although we used the selection to develop players for the future, we didn’t feel it was the right decision for this game. We needed a little experience. That’s why Lloyd started there.”