Making sense of Gareth Davies and his future as Wales scrum-half is impossible, as confusing as the part he played in the try that Wales glaringly butchered against France in Cardiff.
Talk about a flawed genius. The break, the acceleration from the first line of French defence, encapsulated the player and the danger he poses to sides much better than France. England at Twickenham on Saturday, for instance.
What happened next? Confronted by the next line of defence, Davies stopped, pirouetted like a seven-a-side player and, by kicking, did the one thing least calculated to exploit what he had already done. The try — his creation — was lost.
Criticism comes easy after such a misadventure when, except for the bounce of the ball, it could have ended just as Davies wished. But those excruciating moments also played into the narrative of a match when Wales, and specifically Davies in that important case, did not trust a more daring instinct.
How to get it right? For Davies there is a broader explanation that so frustrates Warren Gatland, the Wales coach, that he chose to bring up the subject before playing France. Remarkably enough, his Wales scrum-half has not been the Scarlets’ first choice since ending the 2013-14 season as the Pro12’s leading try-scorer.
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Injury followed, as well as the self-inflicted wound of a five-week suspension that ended last season prematurely after he had been Rhys Webb’s understudy during the 2015 Six Nations. Since then, Davies has benefited from the simple expedient of calming down.
Aled Davies is usually preferred in Llanelli, with Gareth a bit-part player, as he was for Wales until Webb’s foot injury before last year’s World Cup. It has turned out to be internationally, rather than regionally, that Gareth has been accumulating game-time.
It is like a trainee pilot getting his flying hours in on a jumbo jet and unreasonable to expect the absolute consistency of, say, a Conor Murray. The illustrious old converted scrum-half Shane Williams is among those punting Webb for serious consideration for a Twickenham return.
Davies, 25, has started each of Wales’ past eight Tests and, barring Webb being fast-tracked into the XV to face England now he is proving his fitness, will do so again at the scene of his decisive try last September. In effect it was the moment England went out of their own World Cup.
It is far from ideal, and helps explain how Davies could made the kicking choice — with a five-to-two overlap outside him — at that fateful point in the France game. Somehow, he was still made man of that match.
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He needs the rhythm of weekly rugby to sharpen his skills instead of acting as a regional reserve. In Webb’s absence, Aled Davies has also been in the squad but only as the No 3 behind Gareth and Lloyd Williams. On this, Gatland and the Scarlets’ Wayne Pivac do not agree.
Instead, the incumbent is having to learn as a full international, which would be tough enough if you have gone through the sub-international training most people need before contemplating a match of the magnitude of Wales’ next.
On the other hand, mention of Lloyd Williams kindles memories of the try his kick created for Davies in the World Cup against England, which in turn provides a reminder of how far Davies has travelled in a short time. In the previous Six Nations he was an impact sub for Webb.
When Wales were thrashing Italy in Rome in March last year, the nine-minute injection of his pace for the final push was timely enough — until he threw the intercept that gave Leonardo Sarto the Italian try that broke the spell.
Ultimately it may have cost them the title, as Wales were hammering away for a ninth try at the time. It amounted to a 14-point turnaround. If it had happened the other way around, Wales would have ended with a Six Nations points difference of 67. Ireland’s as champions — on points difference — was 63.
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That was an earlier example of the more recent France experience: Davies’ fortunes fluctuating more wildly and more swiftly in a matter of seconds than is tolerable when so much of international rugby is preordained.
And it got worse. A week after the Italy match, Davies was sent off — as replacement for Aled Davies — in the Scarlets’ home defeat by Edinburgh for sticking his head into that of the prone Andries Strauss over the touchline. He had been on the field two minutes.
Davies called his subsequent suspension “stupid”, though his adjective would have been better applied to his actions. His captain, the Wales hooker Ken Owens, said: “When you put your head close to an opponent like that, you’re not leaving the referee and officials many options.”
If this was evidence of a temperamental flaw or mere foolishness, Davies’ conduct for Wales during the World Cup and the Six Nations shows it has been addressed. His next task must be the obvious one of doing the right thing at the right time.