Leigh Halfpenny is back in the mix for Wales – and Scarlets head coach Wayne Pivac thinks that the 2019 Guinness Six Nations table-toppers should be delighted.
Full-back Halfpenny missed three months of rugby after suffering a concussion as his side completed a clean sweep over Australia last autumn but has featured in back-to-back games for his club side, rejoining Warren Gatland’s ranks ahead of next weekend’s game against Scotland.
The 30-year-old kicked four conversions and a penalty as the Scarlets humbled Toyota Cheetahs 43-21 on February 24 before totting up a further five points with the boot in his team’s tight 10-6 triumph over Munster on Saturday.
And Pivac reckons that his return is good news for Wales as they bid to win Rugby’s Greatest Championship for the first time since 2013.
“Isn’t it great to have players performing at Test level, and then a guy like Leigh coming back from injury and playing the way he is?,” Pivac told BBC Sport Wales.
“It’s just great for those selectors but it (team selection) is a tough one, isn’t it? I’ll leave it to Warren Gatland.
“I thought he was great last week in the dry (against the Cheetahs) and great in the wet. He had a very good game.
“He’s doing everything asked of him at the moment. It’s great for Leigh and for the Welsh management.”
Halfpenny was the second-highest points-scorer behind France’s Maxime Machenaud in last season’s Championship and will be hoping to make his 2019 Guinness Six Nations bow when Wales head to BT Murrayfield in the opening match of Round Four (kick-off 2.15pm).
