Wales assistant coach Adam Jones has revealed he was “shocked” by Warren Gatland’s decision to overlook Nicky Smith.
Former coach Gatland left Smith out of his squads entirely last year and although he recalled the Leicester Tigers loose-head prop for the Six Nations, he did not make the starting line-ups against either France or Italy.
After Gatland quit following 14 successive defeats, interim Wales head coach Matt Sherratt picked Smith to start against Ireland and the former Ospreys forward gave the kind of destructive scrummaging display he regularly produces for Leicester.
“To be honest, looking from the outside, I was shocked,” said Jones, about Gatland’s odd reluctance to select Smith.
“He made his Ospreys debut with me. I think it was against Munster in 2014. He’s been around for a while.
“I always remember him as a young fella. He’s always been strong, like gym-strong. I played against him for Cardiff and he shoved my head right up my backside.
“Albeit, the new rules, not the hit and chase, so my game had gone at the time. Maybe with the old rules, I’d have done okay.
“He was a strong boy and I’ve always thought he was a really good player. Going to Leicester and seeing him again, if you’re a Leicester prop, you have to have that scrummaging mentality. He’s certainly got it. He’s been excellent.”
Smith is likely to retain his No.1 shirt against Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday, leaving former first choice Gareth Thomas on the bench.
Ospreys prop Thomas has been one of Wales’ better players over the past couple of seasons, but although he may rate more highly than Smith when it comes to workrate around the field, the Leicester player has often proved the man to disrupt the opposition set-piece.
The likelihood is that Thomas will come off the bench to replace Smith at some stage against the Scots, as he did in the 27-18 defeat to Ireland last week.
“Gareth Thomas is a massive leader off the pitch for us and around the defence,” added Jones.
“They actually balance out pretty well. Both good scrummagers. Both came through a region with a long line of dominant prop forwards.
“So history dictates they have to be a good scrummager at the Ospreys. Nicky has been good.
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“I don’t know why he wasn’t picked, because I wasn’t here, but I’m glad to have him here. He’s been good for us.”
Scrum coach Jones insists the pressure is firmly on Scotland after Gregor Townsend’s men suffered back-to-back losses against Ireland and England, having started their campaign with a win over Italy.
Scotland’s latest setback came at Twickenham, where they failed to capitalise on several opportunities, ultimately falling to a narrow 16-15 defeat—a result that effectively ended their title aspirations.
Now, they welcome a Wales side still searching for their first victory under interim head coach Sherratt.
Despite an improved performance in their most recent outing—a 27-18 loss to Ireland—Wales remain on a 15-game losing streak.
Former Scotland scrum-half Rory Lawson has suggested that anything less than victory for Scotland this weekend would be unacceptable, and Jones acknowledges that the expectation is firmly on the hosts.
"There's no pressure on us, there's pressure on Scotland," said Jones.
"This is probably one of the best sides they've ever had, if not the best side they've ever had.
"They'll be expecting to beat us pretty comfortably at home, against a team that's lost 15 times.
"We haven't put much of an underdog tag on us, but results probably dictate we are.
"They'll relish being favourites. They'll expect to win. They've got good coaches. My old friend Steve Tandy has done a brilliant job with the defence.
"But we'll certainly go up there to put the frighteners on them a bit. You can rattle good players and get stuck into them."
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Despite their struggles, Jones believes Wales can take confidence from their spirited display against Ireland.
"We showed we can go toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the world and rattled them a bit," he said.
"We didn't get across the line, but we'll keep building on that with the confidence we've got."
Jones remains adamant that his team can claim victory in Edinburgh and end their prolonged wait for a win, stretching back to October 2023.
"There's no point going up there and being in awe of them," he added.
*"They've got a good side with some standout players. You've just got to rip into them as much as you can and I'm sure the boys will.
"I know I said they're the best Scottish team ever, but there's a bit of confidence and feel-good factor now with us.
"We want to get the monkey off our back, we're going up there to win. We're not going up there to make up the numbers."*
Jones also highlighted Wales' history of strong performances in the Scottish capital and believes his side can tap into that tradition.
"It's a good place to play, so let's get one over on them," he said.
*"The Welsh travel well. Max Boyce wrote a song about it so they always travel well up there. Traditionally we've done well against them, home and away.
"I played 12 games against them and lost one, although that was a long time ago now. We're not going to go up there daunted."*
