Alex Mann featured regularly during the 2024 Six Nations
Rewind the clock some 13 months and Alex Mann was a permanent part of the Wales team throughout the 2024 Six Nations, starting four times, while the legendary Adam Jones even went as far as to say “Mann is going to be a proper rock star!”
Granted that particular Championship didn’t go to plan given Wales picked up their first wooden spoon for 21 years but the athletic backrower was one of the better players and looked destined for a long stint at Test level.
But a mixture of injuries and the form of other players put the brakes on Mann’s international career for the time being.
The 2024 Six Nations was a bad one for Wales but Mann’s physicality, technical excellence at the breakdown along with his footballing abilities in the wide channels acting as a link man were big plus points.
Mann touched down for a try on his Test debut against Scotland and also crossed the whitewash in the defeat to England at Twickenham in 2024. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby.
The only question mark was around his size, with the man from Aberdare on the small side when it comes to international backrowers at 6ft 3in and 97kg, according to the Cardiff Rugby website.
When Gatland left Mann out of his squad for last summer’s tour of Australia he believed the Cardiff backrower needed to spend some time bulking up.
“He’s got skills that you look at to see if players can go to the next level,” said Gatland back in June 2024.
“He has the ability to scan really well in defence and attack and he communicates exceptionally well.
“But it was tough for him because he’s not the biggest and he was just battered in terms of how much effort and performance he put in.
“The best thing for him is to have that break, have a good pre-season in the gym and put on a bit of size.”
But Gatland is gone now and his long-term successor may take a different view on Mann who has been in good form for Cardiff over the past couple of months.
Mann spent the majority of his time out injured attempting to bulk up in order to better effect a game from a physical point of view. Join WalesOnline Rugby’s WhatsApp Channel here to get the breaking news sent straight to your phone for free
“When I was out with the injury, we tried to turn the negative into a positive and focus on it as an opportunity to keep up physically with the demands of professional rugby,” Mann told the Cardiff Rugby website.
“That’s been through hours in the gym and non-stop eating! If I compare this season to last in terms of my physical attributes, I would say I am in a better place. I have developed leaps and bounds really.
“Maybe before in games I would create the space, but just due to size or the physicality of it I would come off second best. Hopefully now I can start putting my foot forward in the physicality side of things and get stuck in.”
Mann has certainly been getting stuck in and was outstanding in Cardiff’s 36-19 victory over the Ospreys on Judgement Day, with a yellow card for a late tackle the only blot in his copybook.
The industrious backrower finished the game as the top tackler with 21, three of which were dominant, while he won three turnovers and crossed for a brace of tries.
As far as Mann is concerned he ticks a lot of boxes when it comes to the requirements for a top-end Test player but there has always been a question mark surrounding his size.
Granted Test rugby is a significant step up but Mann has been fairly dominant physically in the United Rugby Championship and EPCR Challenge Cup this season. Get the latest breaking Welsh rugby news stories sent straight to your inbox with our FREE daily newsletter. Sign up here.
The challenge is being able to stand his ground physically at Test level to allow his impressive skill-set to shine through.
Take a look at the Wales backrow at the likes of Jac Morgan, Tommy Reffell, Taulupe Faletau and Aaron Wainwright – they are virtually guaranteed selections.
But there is a chasing pack with the likes of Taine Plumtree, James Botham, Taine Basham, Morgan Morse, Morgan Morris and Christ Tshiunza all fighting for places in the squad.
There is no reason Mann can’t compete hard for a place in Wales’ squad this summer and add to his tally of five caps over the next few years.
