By Paul Jones
Wales have played six games since Hadleigh Parkes decided to pack his bags and head to the Panasonic Wild Knights in the Japanese Top League and in that time Wayne Pivac has tried four different players to fill the gap.
Nick Tompkins, Owen Watkin, Johnny Williams and George North have all been given a run in the Welsh midfield as the experiment of trying to find the right man to accompany Jonathan Davies has been given an extended run since Parkes won his 29th and final Welsh cap against England last March.
Davies has always thrived on playing with a regular centre partner – he started 46 times with Jamie Roberts for Wales and once with the British & Irish Lions and then played for region and country with Parkes – but the right balance has yet to be found for the 2020s.
Now 6,000 miles away in Ota, just outside Tokyo, Parkes is preparing to take his bow in Japanese rugby in a team coached by Robbie Deans and also boasting another headline recruit in former Saracens and England lock George Kruis. So how would be solve the problem of find his replacement?
“What a career Jonathan Davies has had so far – he will go down in history as one of the best. I’m sure he will be looking to nail down a third Lions tour this summer,” said Parkes.
“What he has done for club and country over a long period of time has been really impressive. He is regarded as one of the best defenders in the world in the 13 channel, but he is also a big, strong boy in attack with a big fend.
“I think Wayne Pivac has got a lot of good options in trying to finding the right man to play alongside him. Johnny Williams looks to have done well at the Scarlets, while Nick Tompkins had a great season last year and has a huge amount of potential.
“He is trying to get back to where he was last year. Owen Watkin is another with great potential and I’ve reading a few bits about his partnership with young Keiran Williams at the Ospreys.
“Owen and I got called up into the Welsh squad together and I’d love to see him succeed. It also sounds as though Jamie Roberts is going great guns as well and he could still do a great job. He’s only a few caps away from 100, so I’m sure he would love that.”
The Wild Knights don’t kick-off until 20 February, against the Ricoh Black Rams, so Parkes is relying on Kruis to tune in the TV to pick up the Six Nations matches this weekend to they can both run the rule over their former test team mates.
Having played professionally in New Zealand, South Africa and Europe, the 33-year-old Parkes is excited to be starting a new adventure. They didn’t call him ‘Holiday Parkes’ for nothing at the Scarlets.
“Being in Japan for the 2019 World Cup was an amazing experience and part of the reason I wanted to come back here. The food, the culture and the people – I loved everything about it,” said Parkes from his new home in Ota.
“I love to travel and for me life is all about experiences. I’m very fortune to play sport in a team environment, so you turn up and meet a lot of new people.
“Playing at the highest level with the Scarlets and Wales allowed me to travel across Europe and the rest of the world and to visit cities and countries that I had heard so much about in New Zealand.
“Whenever we had a few days off at the Scarlets my wife, Suzy, and I would book flights to different places just to go out into the world and see new things. The boys used to give me a lot of grief about that and dubbed me ‘Holiday Parkes’.
“But to be able to travel the world doing the thing you love, and get paid for it, is pretty special.”
Having not played competitively for almost a year, Parkes is hoping he can hit the ground running and deliver to a Wild Knights side packed full of Japanese internationals and seeking to repeat their hat-trick of titles between 2014-16.
“The Wild Knights are among the top five or six teams in the competition and the games against the best clubs will be really tough and very much on a par with the PRO14. The league is improving every season,” he added.
#GeorgeKruis and #HadleighParkes made their debut as Wild Knights yesterday!
➡️https://t.co/lgN4cxs01SThank you for your warm support for George and Hadleigh, who are expected to play an active role! @Panasonic_WK @JRFURugby @EnglandRugby @WelshRugbyUnion #PanasonicWILDKNIGHTS https://t.co/H0YUjtK43g
— Japan Rugby Town Kumagaya (@RTKumagaya) December 20, 2020
“It is going to be a fast game with lots of off loads and it will be exciting to be involved in. Beauden Barrett isn’t on our side of the competition, so, hopefully, we will meet him in the final.”
While the 60-cap rule mans he cannot be considered for Wales, what happens if he flourishes under Deans’ direction and hits peak form? Might Warren Gatland take a look at him, and 2017 Lion Kruis, for this summer’s scheduled trip to South Africa.
“There is a lot in the media about the Lions, but I haven’t thought about it too much. I’m just enjoying what I’m doing over here and being involved with such a prestigious club in Japan,” he said.
“I’d like to think my phone number was on speed dial with Gats, but I don’t think it is.”