Rookie centre Hawkins seeks to build on his rapid rise after impressing new Wales coach Gatland

There hasn’t been much to be happy about in Welsh rugby so far this year, but the emergence of Joe Hawkins as a potentially long-term option in midfield has been cause for joy.

Ospreys center Hawkins, 20, made his Test debut against Australia in November and earned just his second cap in Wales’ opening Six Nations defeat to Ireland last weekend.

He is set to retain his place in Warren Gatland’s squad for Saturday’s trip to Scotland when it is confirmed on Thursday.

On what was a disappointing day for Wales and head coach Gatland against Ireland, Hawkins provided some nice touches. He wasn’t perfect, but you wouldn’t expect him to be yet.

‘Personally, I was happy overall. I tried to get as involved in the game as possible,” Hawkins said. “I have always tried to be as complete as possible. The way the game goes can’t be too one dimensional. I like to play with the ball, but you also have to be able to hit it a bit.

The appearance of Joe Hawkins has provided a much-needed boost for Wales.

‘All the youngsters are eager to get involved, train hard and maybe give the older guys a bit of a boost. In the field, it would probably be quite easy to go inside yourself a little bit. But if you want to compete with the players in camp, you have to try to be bold and express yourself.”

Hawkins may only have two caps, but each has been under different head coaches. His goal against Australia came in Wayne Pivac’s last game in charge.

Gatland liked what he saw of Hawkins while working on Wallaby’s game as a TV commentator and is now with him at the Welsh camp.

“There’s a lot of good things about him, good footwork,” Gatland said of Hawkins after the Ireland defeat.

“He showed good touches, footwork and timing.”

Hawkins said, “I guess what you want is a little backing from the head coach to go play and do your thing.” He has given me a lot of confidence.’

Hawkins is set to retain the Welsh No 12 shirt for Scotland, who are riding high after the Calcutta Cup win over England in the first round. Gatland have never lost to Scotland as Wales head coach.

He faces a big decision on whether to retain veteran Alun Wyn Jones or replace him with Exeter’s Dafydd Jenkins. The aging Wales side paid the price for a terrible first half against Ireland.

Their best players in the opening weekend were their three rookies of Jac Morgan, Hawkins and Rio Dyer. Three more youngsters at Jenkins, Christ Tshiunza and Rhys Davies, are pushing to be in the selection mix. Full back Leigh Halfpenny (back) and prop Tomas Francis (calf) are the main fitness questions.

Scotland will also confirm their squad this morning (THURSDAY) and head coach Gregor Townsend is unlikely to make any major changes to the squad that impressed at Twickenham.

Townsend’s men are firm favorites for the Murrayfield clash but have struggled to back up major wins in previous years. They must do it this weekend to be considered a top set.

The 20-year-old earned just his second cap in Wales’ opening Six Nations defeat to Ireland.

“Historically we’ve had some great wins but we haven’t always managed to back them up,” admitted former Harlequins Scotland center Huw Jones.

We will come to the end of a championship and we will always be disappointed by how we have done. We can’t have it again. We know that we are good enough to beat teams in this competition.

‘The most important thing for us is to build momentum. We come every year and we like to think we have a chance (of the Six Nations title), but we haven’t shown it.

“We’ve had some great wins, but we never put them together on a consistent basis. Building momentum is key now. Winning the first two games would be huge and that will give us confidence.’