Half the Wales team is top level, the other half is riddled with conundrums

Over the first two rounds of the Gallagher Prem some of the best performers have been Welsh.

Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake have been outstanding for Gloucester, with Freddie Thomas also making a strong contribution.

Aaron Wainwright has made an impressive start to life at Leicester Tigers, while Tommy Reffell continues to deliver the consistency that has made him such a dependable performer.

Tomos Williams was arguably the Premiership’s outstanding scrum-half during his time at Gloucester and has carried that form into his new surroundings at Saracens.

There have also been impressive displays from the front row. Nicky Smith, now at Sale Sharks after his spell with Leicester, remains one of the Premiership’s most accomplished loosehead scrummagers, while Rhys Carre has impressed since returning to Saracens.

On Friday night, newly capped Wales international Kane James underlined his growing reputation with an excellent performance for Exeter Chiefs despite their defeat by Bath.

Alongside him, second row Dafydd Jenkins continues to be an important figure for Rob Baxter’s side, having established himself as a key member of the Exeter pack over the past few seasons.

Louis Rees-Zammit is also box office and was super in Bristol Bears' stunning victory over Northampton Saints last weekend.

When you look at the Wales side with a year to go before the World Cup, Steve Tandy has a handful of players who are genuine top-level internationals and would compete for places in the sides of many other tier one nations outside of New Zealand and South Africa.

Morgan and Wainwright are two excellent Test players in the back row who would surely be in contention for a British & Irish Lions tour this summer, had there been one.

Lake is another high-quality international hooker, while Carre showed during last year’s Six Nations that he is a serious player at the highest level.

Jenkins is also an international-class second row, while everyone knows what Rees-Zammit is capable of when he gets the opportunity to show it.

That gives Tandy a handful of players of genuine Test quality. The problem is that there simply are not enough of them, and there remain question marks over much of the rest of the squad a year out from the World Cup.

Tandy has two good looseheads in Carre and Smith, along with a couple of capable hookers, but tighthead remains an area of grave concern.

Tomas Francis will be 35 by the time Wales arrive in Australia and there is a worrying lack of international-class scrummaging tightheads coming through behind him.

Ben Carter has stepped up at lock and Adam Beard brings valuable experience, but Wales lack genuine carriers in the second row.

Teddy Williams has the skillset to make it at Test level, although it remains to be seen whether he has the physicality to make an impact against the best teams in the world. He deserves the opportunity to find out.

If Tandy can get his strongest pack on the field, Wales can be competitive in the Six Nations. The problem is the drop-off from first choice to second choice is considerable in most positions.

That is particularly apparent at scrum-half. Williams is a top-end international, as his selection for last summer’s British & Irish Lions tour underlined, but Wales lack comparable depth behind him.

Dan Edwards and Sam Costelow have potential, but neither is currently in the top bracket of international fly-halves. That is a problem for Wales because there is little margin for error when you are rebuilding at this level.

At present, Rees-Zammit is the only player in the backline who can genuinely be described as an elite talent. Wales remain short of a cutting edge behind the scrum and that is an issue.

Scarlets centre Eddie James has the potential to address some of that if he is moved back to his best position at inside centre.

At 6ft 4in and around 17st, James is an imposing physical presence. In defeats by Cardiff and the Dragons, he repeatedly made significant post-contact metres, carrying with the power to break the gain line and keep the Scarlets moving forward.

There is more to his game than brute force. James has surprisingly nimble footwork for a player of his size and has shown an ability to keep the ball alive with well-timed offloads.

There are other promising players coming through the system, including back rower Deian Gwynne, locks Will Evans and Luke Evans, fly-half Carwyn Leggatt-Jones, centre Steffan Emanuel and full-back Lewis Edwards. But most are still a few years away from being ready for Test rugby.

If Wales can get everyone fit, Tandy has the skeleton of a good side. What he does not yet have is the depth or the overall quality of player required to beat the better sides in the world consistently.

The rebuild under Tandy was always going to take years. Much will depend on putting the right structures in place and investing properly in the pathway so it can once again produce high-class international players.

There are, at least, some green shoots, but Wales are still some way from where they need to be.