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The 24-year-old has needed game-time and it now looks like he will get some meaningful minutes leading into the Six Nations
Wales tighthead Archie Griffin has been handed a major opportunity leading into the Six Nations after Bath prop Will Stuart suffered what appears to be a serious Achilles injury in the club’s Champions Cup win over Munster.
Stuart, an England international and British & Irish Lion, went down in the 47th minute of Bath’s 40-14 victory and received lengthy attention before being helped from the field. Bath head of rugby Johann van Graan admitted post-match that the early signs were not good.
“It looks like it’s his Achilles… he couldn’t even stand up when he got pulled off the field,” said van Graan.
“I’ll receive an update later, but it looks very serious.”
The injury is a sizeable blow for England boss Steve Borthwick ahead of the 2026 Six Nations, but it could hardly be more significant for Wales and Steve Tandy, with Griffin now moving up the Bath pecking order at a crucial time.
Griffin, viewed by many as Wales’ long-term answer at tighthead, has played just 50 minutes of Premiership rugby this season. He has spent the first half of the campaign stuck behind Springbok powerhouse Thomas du Toit, Stuart, and rising England U20s prospect Vilikesa Sela.
Despite calls for him to move clubs to find game-time, the 24-year-old has always insisted that training daily against world-class competition will make him a better Test prop.
“I think I certainly get that when I’ve got those two (du Toit and Stuart) ahead of me and then the opposite me,” Griffin said last month.
“I’ve got the likes of Bener (Beno Obano) and Franny (Francois van Wyk) and then Thomas when he goes across, I’m always getting tested.
“And those two honest are very helpful. I remember coming off the back of the Oz tour last year. I had an off-season and then Thomas was in the Rugby Championship, so I didn’t see him for eight, nine weeks.
“First thing he comes up to me, doesn’t even say hello, he’s like, “I watched your stuff from Oz. This is what I think you can do better’.
“I’m eager to do whatever I can for the (Wales) shirt, and just try and hold onto it for as long as I can and keep playing.”
Stuart’s injury now changes everything. With Bath stretched at tighthead, Griffin is expected to receive a far greater share of minutes during a pivotal period leading into Wales’ autumn campaign.
Under new boss Tandy, Wales have made it clear they are building around a core identity – “tough, brave and smart” – while also focusing heavily on improving their scrum after a difficult year up front.
Griffin, who has nine caps, has spoken openly about making scrummaging consistency his main work-on. Increased Premiership exposure now offers him exactly what Wales hoped for.
“Scrummaging for me has been a big work-on,” he said. Join WalesOnline Rugby’s WhatsApp Channel here to get the breaking news sent straight to your phone for free
“Around the park is something I can bring, but consistency in scrummaging is something I’ve been working on.”
With Keiron Assiratti and Chris Coleman, who is also currently out with an injury he suffered on Wales duty, also competing for the No.3 jersey, Tandy will welcome any chance for one of his most promising forwards to gain regular, meaningful minutes leading into a crucial Six Nations campaign.
