The players who made Gatland sit up and take notice in big Welsh derby as Six Nations preparation ramps up

The Scarlets got their season back on track with a vitally important Welsh derby win over Cardiff at the Arms Park yesterday.

While it was a big five points for Dwayne Peel's side, Warren Gatland will also have been keeping a close eye on proceedings in the Welsh capital, even if he does currently reside on the other side of the world. With Wales' Six Nations opener against Scotland at the Principality Stadium just eight weeks away the Welsh management will be closely monitoring the performances of all four regions, with special attention paid to all derbies.

Rugby correspondent Steffan Thomas takes a close look at the players who would have impressed Gatland yesterday.

Scarlets half-backs

Apart from Ellis Jenkins' red card for a dangerous tackle on Dan Davis the main difference between both sides at the Arms Park were the Scarlets' half-backs. Both Gareth Davies and Ioan Lloyd were superb and controlled proceedings throughout.

The narrative from Gatland of late has centred on blooding the next generation of Wales international, and it is unlikely the 33-year-old Davies will be around at the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia. But the Six Nations can never be about development and Davies is currently head and shoulders above any other scrum-half in Wales.

In fact you could argue Davies is in the form of his entire career. He remains a deadly running threat but his game management is currently his point of difference. The man from Newcastle Emlyn will also be important in mentoring up and coming number nines like his Scarlets team-mate Archie Hughes over the coming seasons.

Lloyd is an interesting one. On the face of it Lloyd isn't the type of outside-half Gatland has historically selected with the 22-year-old a high-risk player who likes to attack from anywhere, as was evident when he made a 70-metre break from his own 22 on Saturday.

But he also has a lot of control while his game management has come on leaps and bounds over the last couple of months. With Dan Biggar and Gareth Anscombe out of the equation, Lloyd did his chances of a Wales call-up no harm with a player-of-the-match performance at the Arms Park.

Eddie James

I can already hear readers rubbishing this selection but just bare with me. James has only played a handful of professional games but he fits the mould of the type of player Gatland has always favoured.

The New Zealander, like most international coaches, wants carriers throughout his side, and the 6ft 4ins, 16st 3lbs midfielder has the physical attributes to one day play international rugby. James was quietly effective at the Arms Park, getting over the gain-line while his offloading game is also an effective tool in his armoury.

He remains a work in progress, and he probably isn't quite ready for international rugby yet, but Gatland may include the odd player who he thinks could come good over the next four years. For years Jamie Roberts was one of Wales' key players, getting his side over the advantage line from inside centre.

Could James fulfil that role for Wales in the future? Time will tell but he certainly has the physical attributes and with Joe Roberts currently sidelined with injury he should have plenty of game-time at regional level to prove his worth.

Johnny McNicholl

With experienced pair Leigh Halfpenny and Liam Williams now out of the equation, Wales will have to go down a different route at full-back during the Six Nations. The smart money is on either Josh Adams or Louis Rees-Zammit moving from the wing to full-back, while Cai Evans is also a serious contender to wear the number 15 shirt during the Six Nations after a series of excellent displays for the Dragons.

But don't forget Scarlets speedster Johnny McNicholl, who could provide Wales with an answer in the short term. The 33-year-old hasn't played a Test match for a couple of seasons and his high-risk brand of rugby may not be to Gatland's liking.

But the Scarlets man is the best attacking full-back in Welsh rugby, with his predatory finishing ability and his playmaking skills getting the west Walians out of many holes in the past, including at the Arms Park yesterday where he picked some excellent lines along with crossing for a crucial try late on. But Wales have historically preferred a safer option at full-back who plays the percentages.

McNicholl doesn't fit the bill in that regard but given Wales' lack of depth at full-back he has an outside chance of making the squad.

Cameron Winnett

As has already been said above Gatland is looking for some strength in depth at full-back. Winnett is a very intelligent footballer who is strong in the air and has good positional sense.

He is a dangerous broken field runner who makes good decisions in attack. If there is room for a bolter in Gatland's Six Nations squad it will be at full-back, and Winnett must surely be considered. Whether he quite has that little bit extra to develop into a top-end international-class player remains to be seen but he is certainly someone who needs to be looked at.

Despite finding himself on the wrong side of the result Winnett was very good against the Scarlets. He scored an early try while he also kept Cardiff in the game by tracking back to stop Lloyd after the Scarlets playmaker had made a sizzling break.

Keiron Assiratti

The 26-year-old impressed Gatland during the summer but ultimately missed out on Wales' final World Cup squad. When you consider Wales' three World Cup props Tomas Francis (Provence Rugby), Dillon Lewis (Harlequins) and Henry Thomas (Montpellier) are all plying their trade outside of the country it's going to severely cut down the amount of access Gatland gets to these players.

It would make sense for Gatland to push through some Welsh-based tightheads and one would assume Assiratti would be at the head of that queue. He played reasonably well against the Scarlets, playing a big part in the Cardiff scrum gaining the upper hand.

Assiratti was up against the experienced Wyn Jones and must have been doing something right considering Jones got penalised three times early on in the game. Assiratti can carry and is a talented ball player, while his scrummaging is good at regional level.

What he needs to find is consistency, but Gatland will have been reasonably content with Assiratti's performance at the Arms Park.

Mason Grady

It perhaps wasn't his most prominent game, which is understandable given Cardiff played over half the game with 14 men, but he looked good whenever he had the ball. Cardiff seem to have settled on Grady playing on the wing, but given all his Wales caps have come at number 13 to date, it'll be interesting to see what Gatland does during the Six Nations.

He was solid defensively yesterday, and threatened the majority of times he had the ball, but over the course of the season Gatland will likely have been extremely impressed with his performances. Grady is pretty much a shoo-in for the Six Nations squad but it will be interesting to see how he is used moving forward.