​After 12 games in charge, Wales head coach Steve Tandy returns to a familiar starting point with Ben Thomas and Max Llewellyn paired in midfield for Saturday’s Nations Championship clash with South Africa. Since taking the reins last summer, the head coach has rolled out five different starting centre combinations. It appeared he had settled on the Scarlets duo of Joe Hawkins and Eddie James after a seven-game spell together. Yet Wales conclude 2025-26 with the partnership Tandy used in his first two matches, as Thomas and Llewellyn get another opportunity against a Springbok side renowned for power in Durban.
Wales’ centre partnerships under Tandy have been: Hawkins and James for seven Tests (France, Scotland, Ireland, Italy, Barbarians, Fiji, Argentina); Thomas and Llewellyn for two (Argentina, Japan); Hawkins and Llewellyn for one (New Zealand); Hawkins and Roberts for one (South Africa); and Thomas and James for one (England). Hawkins and James teamed up after Llewellyn’s injury during the Six Nations and have remained as the first-choice pairing since. However, the team has leaned heavily on their driving line-out for attacking momentum, and in defence there have been rough patches against Fiji and Argentina in the opening rounds of the Nations Championship, with Wales conceding 38 clean breaks.
“The centre partnership probably hasn’t fired as we hoped it would after the promise shown at the end of the Six Nations,” commented former Wales and Lions centre Jonathan Davies on Scrum V The Warm Up. “There were a few missed tackles and gaps in defence. Teams have been able to gain ground on us quite easily.” Thomas from Cardiff and Llewellyn from Gloucester linked up for the first two fixtures of Tandy’s tenure, against Argentina and Japan in Cardiff.
Opportunity arrives in the final game of 2025-26 against a Springbok pairing of Jesse Kriel and Damian de Allende, with Davies questioning whether it’s missed a chance to test some bulk in the midfield. “Ben and Max were the preferred centre partnership back in November and now get another chance,” he said. “Do I think it’s the right choice? I wouldn’t. I’d have preferred Eddie moving to 12 and Max at 13.” Eddie Hawkins is at his best at 12 and possesses ball-playing ability that he hasn’t shown much in his early Wales caps. Max Llewellyn brings a physical presence with additional experience to remain at 13.
I’ve not found my feet back in rugby – Rees-Zammit. From Niue to a new Wales cap – James’ Pacific heritage. The hardest test – Wales need a reaction in South Africa. Tandy holds the casting vote in selection meetings, but the attack is shaped by Matt Sherratt, who worked under former Wales fly-half Gareth Anscombe at Cardiff. “Matt Sherratt values that second ball-player at 12,” Anscombe noted on Scrum V The Warm Up. “Right now, Wales are lacking something.”