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It’s almost four years since Rhys Patchell last played in the centre, but if that’s the role he’s asked to fill for Wales this autumn he won’t need a second invitation.

Warren Gatland is set to go down the dual playmaking route at 10/12 for this campaign, mirroring the tactic he employed by pairing Johnny Sexton and Owen Farrell together on the Lions tour.

And he’s made it clear that all four outside-halves in his squad - Dan Biggar, Rhys Priestland, Owen Williams and Patchell - are being considered as options for the inside centre birth.

(Image: Huw Evans Agency)

By preference, Patchell is very much a 10 and that’s one of the main reasons he moved to the Scarlets from Cardiff Blues, where he was vying with Gareth Anscombe for the berth and finding himself shifted to full-back.

It’s a switch that has paid off, with the 24-year-old helping his new team claim the PRO12 title last season and his sustained good form earning him a call-up for this autumnal squad.

Yet for Wales, his caps have tended to come elsewhere, as a replacement centre in Japan in 2013 and a starting full-back in New Zealand in 2016.

And now he finds himself name-checked by both Gatland and Rob Howley as a potential 12 for the coming campaign.

It’s a number he hasn’t worn on his back since filling in there for the injury-hit Blues in a Heineken Cup tie away to Glasgow in December 2013.

But whatever the next few weeks brings, the eloquent Cardiffian is ready to go with the positional flow.

“I have been quite clear on my stance (about wanting to play 10),” he said.

“But I suppose the needs of the team come before whatever ambition you have personally.

“We have got a lot of good ball players in and around those positions and I am sure anybody who is picked will be thrilled to be asked to do a job, whatever jersey that job may entail.

“I assume I have been picked as a 10 on the basis that’s all I’ve played since the start of last season.

“But if Warren Gatland or Rob Howley say would you be willing to have a crack at playing 12 for us, then that’s not something you turn down.

(Image: Getty Images)

“If that’s how it pans out, then that’s how it pans out.”

Whatever part he ends up playing this autumn, Patchell is firmly in favour of the attack-minded, ball-in-hand approach which a dual playmaking approach points to.

“Warren has talked to us as a squad about getting our heads up and having a scan and, if it’s on, then have a crack,” he said.

“If we pass poorly then, that’s on us. But if it’s on, it’s on. That’s something everyone has to buy into.

“And the boys seem excited about the way we are going to play, excited about shifting the ball about and having a crack at the opposition.

“I think the way the game has gone means there’s a lot more attacking opportunities. The ball is easier to hold on to now with the way the laws have gone.

“I enjoy that because it means we get to attack more and especially the way we play at the Scarlets.

“The more we can get the ball and hold on to it, the better it is for us because we can put pressure on the opposition.

“People don’t come to see the ball being put in the air and held up, then a scrum from that, then a penalty from the scrum, then a kick to the corner and a lineout drive.

“My take on the game is that people don’t come to see that. They come to be excited and entertained.

“If you are able to hold on to the ball a bit more and play a bit more, people are more likely to be entertained and the product hopefully is a bit better.”

That’s certainly the approach adopted at the Scarlets, where backs coach Stephen Jones favours keeping the ball alive and playing with width.

“We are fortunate that Stephen said this is the way we are going to play,” said Patchell.

(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency)

So what’s the biggest thing he has learned from the former Wales and Lions fly-half?

“There is so much,” he replies, after a pause for reflection.

“There are a lot of little things we work on and I suppose it’s making sure we get all those little things right and then the big things happen off the back of that.

“Every Monday, we will sit down and have a chat about the game, what went well and what didn’t go so well, what was I looking it, did I feel comfortable with what we were trying to do?

“That has been great for me. That’s why I went to play at the Scarlets, to play 10 and learn off Stephen. I am thrilled that’s happening.

“He loves it, fair play. But he doesn’t just love it, he understands it and he has got a really good way of communicating. Very rarely would you ever think he’s struggling for words to explain what he wants to say.

“Stephen is very precise and concise in what he says.

“He has been really enjoyable to work with and I feel my game has come on through being able to work with him.

“I have managed to string some decent enough performances together and obviously the Wales coaches like what they have seen.

“It’s nice that it’s been appreciated.”

But suggest to him he’s now playing the best rugby of his life and Patchell makes it clear his focus is on more prosaic practicalities.

“I have learned not to think too much about it,” he said.

“I worry about making breakfast on time, then making training on time, doing all right in training, getting to lunch and that’s how my day goes.

“At the end of it, I’ll sit down and think what went well, what didn’t go so well.”