 James Hook struggled at fly-half against Leinster last weekend |
Jonathan Davies believes the Ospreys are damaging Wales' international prospects by continually switching James Hook between fly-half and centre. Davies says Hook needs time to develop as a fly-half in order to provide dependable back-up for Wales' first-choice number 10 Stephen Jones. "If something does happen to Stephen Jones, who plays stand-off for Wales?" asked former Wales captain Davies. He added: "It's not a good idea to move James Hook out of stand-off." Less than a week after publically stating he wants to play at fly-half for region and country, Hook finds himself selected at inside centre for the Ospreys' visit to Glasgow Warriors on Friday. The 24-year-old, who received a late call to join the Lions tour this summer, struggled for consistency last season as he was switched between both positions.  | 606: DEBATE |
He started at fly-half in the last two Ospreys games - both ending in defeat - but makes way for Dan Biggar for the trip to Scotland. Director of rugby Scott Johnson has already stated his side will follow their own coaching and playing agenda, even if it conflicts with the direction being taken by Wales. And former Wales fly-half Davies says the conflict of interest has already reared its head over Hook's handling. "You do need a run of games at 10, I do believe, if you are going to play there in international rugby," said former fly-half Davies on BBC Radio Wales' Scrum V programme. "If something does happen to Stephen Jones, what does happen in the autumn [internationals] to Wales? "Sometimes it's easy to change positions and say that James Hook is a 13 or a 12, but if something does happen to Stephen Jones, who plays stand-off for Wales? "That's the question because I don't think we've got that much strength in depth at the stand-off position at the moment and maybe we've got far better strength in depth at centre than we have at stand-off. "On the national scales, I don't think it's a good idea to move James Hook out of stand-off."
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