Over lunch in France during the World Cup, travel journalists were talking about how long it took before Ioan Lloyd was given the Welsh number 10 shirt.

Since Lloyd signed for the Scarlets, the joke has been that only after Wales and Warren Gatland return home will it be weeks before the two-cap international is fit to pull on the famous Welsh shirt. All this was said lightly, knowing how quickly players are catapulted into the national team, but, strangely, it turned out to be prophetic.

Within weeks, Sam Costelow was injured against the Barbarians in Wales and Lloyd, fresh from Bristol, was given the number 10 shirt by the Scarlets.

Lloyd, who has a long history in the role, became involved in the Welsh defender debate. After a presentation, another person familiar with the shirt, James Hook, said that Lloyd would be first choice if Wales played the following day.

Although the Scarlets struggled to maintain form, Lloyd’s spells were positive in what has been a difficult season in the west. It appears his name will be discussed at a coaches’ meeting ahead of Wales’ Six Nations squad announcement this month.

Of course, there’s no guarantee that Lloyd will be drawn into the controversy. Will Gatland necessarily trust the 22-year-old as an alternative? You are already investing in Costelow as a young and interesting option. He may want to balance that with a more experienced choice, be it Owen Williams, Jarrod Evans or Callum Sheedy following the retirement of Dan Biggar Test.

However, flyhalf is not the only position Lloyd is capable of playing. He returned to Wales to focus on midfield, having played on the defensive line at Bristol.

Wayne Pivac offered him the full-back position and Pat Lam tested him in all three positions before trying to use his playing skills in the center. Arguably, the more time and space Lloyd is given, the better he will be in terms of impact.

Even when he has been impressed in the first half of this season, that is largely due to his ability to choose when to intervene first and when to step back.

Although only 28 percent of his senior starters have been on the wings – compared to 36 percent on the wings, 26 percent in defense and 11 percent in midfield – this ability to combine a real running threat with the spirit of beating defenders through deflection with the ability to play – is something Gatland has occasionally addressed in the past.

In 2008, he often used Shane Williams as a playmaker at first and second receiver. The victory over Australia that year was based on two tries created by Williams.

The first, completed by the winger, was started by Williams running through Australia’s midfield from the second man, while the second goal came from Williams running down the flank of the first receiver before passing to Lee Byrne through the gap.

It was similar to the wing play that James Simpson-Daniel played for Gloucester and England in the early 2000s. After flirting with a second playmaker, Joe Hawkins, last year, Gatland may be tempted to find another top-class option in somewhere in your defense. line, with the full-back being a position where new options may be necessary.

Which brings us to the Scarlets’ New Year’s Eve loss to the Dragons. Again, fans had little positive cause after that, but it was Lloyd who, at least temporarily, raised hopes for Rodney’s rain-soaked parade.

With Costelow recovered from injury, Lloyd moved to full-back. The Scarlets didn’t create much in the pouring rain, but everything they did was the result of Costelow and Lloyd working together.

“These two will always thrive together as a partnership,” Scarlets manager Dwayne Peel said afterwards. “On the first attempt, we saw a great outside escape from Ioan.”

In fact, Lloyd brought on Kai Evans after Costelow grabbed his feet well to put the winger in front of the Dragons.

“He also did well on the second try,” Peel added. Once again, Costelow is excellent on his feet, but Lloyd has more time and space, allowing him to get past two defenders to score.

“The weather today was not favorable for the rugby competition,” continued Peel. “It was a terrible night. But these guys have a lot of emotion.”

This was evident as the Scarlets chased victory, with Lloyd consistently being the one most likely to defeat the Dragons.

On the counter-attack he created a chance for Keiran Hardy from scratch, whilst another clearance involving Costelow put Lloyd back into the line of the Dragons’ defence.

However, Ewan Rosser held him well and the Dragons survived a late attack.

Although he felt nothing but disappointment afterwards, the brief glimpses of Costelow and Lloyd together were a small consolation to Peel.

“The two of them together can be a good teammate whether Ioan plays as a 15 or a 10,” he said. “We have had some glimpses and this will continue. “They are both young and only 22 years old.”

Of course, it remains to be seen how much the Scarlets will see them working together this season. At least one will be in the Six Nations squad, so opportunities for both to play together may be limited.

However, it does at least indicate where the Scarlets need to go, if not change their fortunes, at least show some signs of improvement. Having two playmakers on the field sometimes allowed them to play with space, and the Dragons were caught off guard every time Costelow found Lloyd outside channel 13. But otherwise the Reds’ attack looked limited.

Confidence is low and the weather is terrible, but this Scarlets team has no top-flight experience at the moment. Relying on a choice game is probably not the way to change things.

Hopefully two of their best point guards working together is the way forward. And interestingly, as he returned to Wales to target the midfield, it could also be the best opportunity for Lloyd to return to the Test.

There’s no guarantee he’ll be anywhere near the Six Nations squad, but if he gets the nod, having him emerge from the depths of the defensive line at full-back could be more palatable to Gatland than entrusting him at fullback. sweater.