IRB Rugby World Cup
Barry John says it's time for Wales' fringe players to show their worth
ESPN Staff
August 1, 2015
Gareth Anscombe
Gareth Anscombe© Stu Forster/Getty Images

Welsh legend Barry John has called on Wales' fringe players to prove their mettle as Warren Gatland's men prepare for their first World Cup warm-up against Ireland on Saturday.

The former fly-half, who won 25 Wales caps in the 1960s and 70s, picked out the likes Gareth Anscombe and Ross Moriarty as men he wants to see step up, with Wales' Pool A opener against Uruguay looming large on September 20.

Fly-half Anscombe is yet to make his Test debut after a controversial switch of allegiances from New Zealand to Wales, with a 2014 move from Super Rugby's Chiefs to Cardiff Blues. Gloucester flanker Moriarty is also waiting for his first cap, having previously represented England at under-20 level.

"[Saturday] appears as though this is going to be the one and only chance for those who are deemed to be on the fringes of the squad and so the pressure on them to perform will be huge," John told WalesOnline. "They either step up or they are gone in the cull which we all know is coming before the return fixture in Dublin.

"Probably the one untried Test player who has impressed me most has been Ross Moriarty, the young Gloucester back row who of course has well known family connections in the Welsh game.

"His display in that match [Gloucester's clash with Bordeaux-Begles] reminded me of a young Scott Quinnell, he knew when to use his physicality but he also had a deftness of touch. He looked a class act."

Comparisons with the great Scott Quinnell are certainly flattering - even if it must be remembered that John is Quinnell's uncle - but John reserved even more praise for New Zealand-born Anscombe, who had a mixed season in last term's Guinness PRO12 with a struggling Cardiff side.

"To my mind, there's no doubt Anscombe has something," John added. "He loves taking the game to the opposition and he does pose problems.

"I just hope that after the intensity of Wales' training camp he can do himself justice if, as I assume, he is given a shot against the Irish.

"Anscombe has to be backed, we've gone out on a limb to bring him here and he does have a range of skills and has shown he can mix it up with stuff like grubber kicks and delayed popped passes in midfield."

Wales, meanwhile, have been preparing for their clash with Ireland at a warm-weather training camp in Qatar - a tune-up that wing George North labelled the toughest stint he has ever experienced as a professional.

"The camp has savage in terms of intensity but facilities on offer have been fantastic," North said. "We have benefited from the heat stimulus as well as the altitude stimulus on offer [by sleeping in altitude chambers] and it's been that hardest thing I have had to do in pre-season. It's been a hell of a step up for the boys who were here from the last World Cup."

© ESPN Staff

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