The 28-year-old is back at his best and will become the youngest player to reach a century of international caps when he lines up for Saturday’s Six Nations tie against England
When Wales belatedly ended their 2020 Six Nations campaign against
Scotland in Llanelli last October, George North was a spectator, lost in his thoughts as he aimlessly kicked a ball around on the field when the teams returned to the dressing rooms after the warm-up. The wing had been dropped from the matchday 23 for the first time in his nine-year international career as he approached 100 caps for his country, and what made the blow worse was that his head coach Wayne Pivac said it had been an easy decision to make.
As it was. The player who had scored two tries in his international debut against
South Africa in 2010, whose power to get through tacklers as well as the pace to get around them made him a central figure in Warren Gatland’s team, had drifted out to the margins, involved infrequently and prone to mistakes. Doubt had replaced certainty and there was a question over whether a series of head injuries had taken their toll.