How Keira Bevan's positional change will give Wales 'another dimension'

Keira Bevan has spent much of her Wales career pulling the strings from scrum-half, but now, she has been handed the keys to the whole orchestra.

Head coach Sean Lynn has raised eyebrows by naming the experienced 83-cap international at fly-half, ahead of Wales’ WXV Global Series opener against South Africa at Cardiff Arms Park on Friday 18 September.

And judging by what Wales have seen from her so far, Bevan is not simply filling a shirt. She is making the position her own.

Her move was helped by an impressive end to the domestic season with Bristol Bears, where her performance against Gloucester Hartpury caught the eye of the Wales coaching staff.

Head coach Sean Lynn explained, “It was really impressive watching Keira play for Bristol Bears against Gloucester Hartpury at the tail end of the season. I thought she went very well in it.”

That performance prompted a conversation between Bevan and the coaching team – and what started as an idea has quickly developed into a genuine option for Wales.

“Ashley Beck and I had a conversation with her, and she’s been slotting in at 10,” Lynn added.

“She’s just given us another dimension and edge to our attack and she’s looking really comfortable.

“Keira will want the ball in her hands. Her kicking game is pretty smart in how she’s going about it too.

“From being a nine, she’s used to being the general and she’ll boss that on and off the pitch and drive our attack as well.”

According to the coach, the early signs have been encouraging, with her half-back partnership with Seren Lockwood working well in training, as Wales complete final preparations for the WXV Global Series.

“The partnership has been working very well in training, and we’ll see how we go with it.

“We know how much of a threat Seren Lockwood was coming off the Barbarian fixture, and Keira Bevan has been very, very good in training.

“As soon as we had that conversation with Keira, everything about her is what’s right for the team and that’s the mind shift I’m seeing from these players.

“The mind shift is, ‘I will do what’s best for the team,’ and that’s the bit that we’re all driving.”

Bevan herself has embraced the challenge, joking that she is becoming something of a “hybrid” as she adapts to the 10 jersey for the opening match.

“It’s different. I’ve got a lot more time on the ball,” she laughed.

“I’ve had a good conversation with Lynny and Ash and it’s essentially another string to the bow. If I can help out, I’m happy to do it, but ultimately, I still want to push for a starting nine jersey and with the Lions tour coming up, that’s where I want to be playing and what I want to push for.

“It’s a different style of kicking game. That’s something I’m coming to terms with a little bit, and normally I’m just head down and focusing on the ruck and the forwards that are in close quarters with me, whereas now it’s having a much wider range of vision and listening to comms coming from the outside a little bit more.

“Seren [Lockwood] is a class little player and we get on really well, so it’s easy to have those conversations with her and if I can help her in any way from being outside her, I’m more than happy to do that and I want to do that.

“We want to bring out the best in each other and challenge each other, and the connection is going well so far.”

And while the positional experiment is intriguing, Bevan is under no illusions about what Wales will need when South Africa arrive in Cardiff.

“We’ve got to front up. We’ve seen South Africa cause problems for teams. They’re very innovative and the way they play is really exciting, but ultimately if we don’t front up and win the physical battle, it could be a very tough day at the office on Friday.”

“If we can stay in it for 50 minutes, we back our fitness to finish strong.”

With 83 caps already to her name, Bevan has already made her mark in a Wales shirt. This one will just look slightly different, with the experienced scrum-half stepping out at No.10 for the WXV Global Series opener against South Africa this Friday 18 September.

It’s a different role for Bevan, but one she believes can add another dimension to her game – and Wales are ready to see it in action.