He is Wales’s third-most capped player with 81 internationals tucked away in the closet, and it seems now that he is domiciled as the last line of defence, back at full-back, and yesterday at the Stadio Flaminio in Rome he marked his 10th start in the No 15 jersey with a most assured and competent performance.
He led Wales to their second successive victory in this season’s Six Nations championship — remarkably the first time they have managed to do this since 1994 — and their first away success in the championship for four frustrating years.
So two straight wins on the bounce, without always dominating or playing as well as they did in defeat last autumn against New Zealand and South Africa, have raised