Planet Rugby Forum

Frodder wrote:

Anonymous. wrote:

nuffsaid wrote:

New guy wrote:A win would be nice but a narrow loss with signs of improvement on last week would be fine.

I think the players will be more up for it this time though.

I have yet to see a satisfactory explanation of why Wales wouldn’t have been up for the first game? It’s a claim I have seen / heard a few times now.

I know your team can be slow starters and understand that players will be rusty first time out, but not up for it?

They lost and that means they were not up for it

It beats blaming the ref

A fair point. Unless the ref wasn’t up for it either

nuffsaid wrote:I would like to see McConnachie given at least one run-out at full-back if he’s fit. He’s experienced there and has a very suitable skill set from what I have seen and heard of him.

Plus, it’s a position where we are in serious need of improvement. It’s certainly worth a good look and can only assume that Eddie will have at least toyed with the idea in camp. It might even be why he got the call up

What do you mean he’s experienced there? He’s a sevens guy who’s barely played pro 15s, let alone an experienced fullback. He was a wing/fullback at Hartpury afaik

The guy’s a rookie

JM2K6 wrote:

nuffsaid wrote:I would like to see McConnachie given at least one run-out at full-back if he’s fit. He’s experienced there and has a very suitable skill set from what I have seen and heard of him.

Plus, it’s a position where we are in serious need of improvement. It’s certainly worth a good look and can only assume that Eddie will have at least toyed with the idea in camp. It might even be why he got the call up

What do you mean he’s experienced there? He’s a sevens guy who’s barely played pro 15s, let alone an experienced fullback. He was a wing/fullback at Hartpury afaik

The guy’s a rookie

He is at pro level but he mostly played fullback at Hartpury for four years I believe - thus he has experience there.

I expect much more of the same.

Wales looked undercooked and lacked cohesion, which nothing will solve in a week. Whereas the England team appear to have peaked (or be peaking) earlier, and looked hungrier.

nuffsaid wrote:

JM2K6 wrote:

nuffsaid wrote:I would like to see McConnachie given at least one run-out at full-back if he’s fit. He’s experienced there and has a very suitable skill set from what I have seen and heard of him.

Plus, it’s a position where we are in serious need of improvement. It’s certainly worth a good look and can only assume that Eddie will have at least toyed with the idea in camp. It might even be why he got the call up

What do you mean he’s experienced there? He’s a sevens guy who’s barely played pro 15s, let alone an experienced fullback. He was a wing/fullback at Hartpury afaik

The guy’s a rookie

He is at pro level but he mostly played fullback at Hartpury for four years I believe - thus he has experience there.

I'm sure he said in a recent interview he only did one year @ Hartpury and it was in National Leagues at that...

Did 3 years at Nuneaton too I think

Raggs wrote:Named 31 but can still use other players in the warm-up. Dombtandt isn't there but ewels is i believe.

I know he can pick them, just would be surprised is all

nuffsaid wrote:

JM2K6 wrote:

nuffsaid wrote:I would like to see McConnachie given at least one run-out at full-back if he’s fit. He’s experienced there and has a very suitable skill set from what I have seen and heard of him.

Plus, it’s a position where we are in serious need of improvement. It’s certainly worth a good look and can only assume that Eddie will have at least toyed with the idea in camp. It might even be why he got the call up

What do you mean he’s experienced there? He’s a sevens guy who’s barely played pro 15s, let alone an experienced fullback. He was a wing/fullback at Hartpury afaik

The guy’s a rookie

He is at pro level but he mostly played fullback at Hartpury for four years I believe - thus he has experience there.

More than Daly, anyway.

LandOTurk wrote:

TopNacker wrote:

openclashXX wrote:I would go

15 McConnochie
14 Cokanasiga
13 Joseph
12 Tuilagi
11 May
10 Farrell
9 Youngs
1 Marler
2 George
3 Sinckler
4 Itoje
5 Kruis
6 Lawes
7 Ludlam
8 Wilson

16 Singleton
17 Genge
18 Cole
19 Ewels
20 Kvesic
21 Heinz
22 Ford
23 Daly/Watson

Like it but I would like to see the Ford/Heinz combo again as they opened things up in a way that Farrell/Youngs close things down with pointless kicking away of possession. Shame that in a Pre RWC friendly we are already having to pick a lock in the back row. For me Underhill hasn’t played enough games in the last 12 moths to merit selection. Dombrandt could provide cover across the back row and is a good line out option.

I expect much same Wales team simply because they don’t have much on the bench.

Wrong

15 Halfpenny
14 Lane
13 S Williams
12 Watkin
11 Amos
10 Patchell
9 T Williams
1 W Jones
2 Dee
3 Lee
4 Ball
5 Hill
6 Shingler
7 J Davies
8 Navidi

But Gatland isn’t actually going to select Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich though is he ?

nuffsaid wrote:

New guy wrote:A win would be nice but a narrow loss with signs of improvement on last week would be fine.

I think the players will be more up for it this time though.

I have yet to see a satisfactory explanation of why Wales wouldn’t have been up for the first game? It’s a claim I have seen / heard a few times now.

I know your team can be slow starters and understand that players will be rusty first time out, but not up for it?

The intensity was miles off where it should have been.

Maybe it was psychological or maybe it was the result of a month of "beastings" in Switzerland but either way we should start to see an upturn in physical performance over the next month.

If not somethings gone horribly wrong.

Almost started a new thread for this, but Eddie wants the roof shut apparently...

Raggs wrote:Almost started a new thread for this, but Eddie wants the roof shut apparently...

Cue another rant from Barrie John about Eddie bottling it?

Personally I think it shows how unimportant these warm up games are, as it certainly takes the pressure off Wales.

happyhooker wrote:Anyone any idea when the teams are being announced?

Huh??

HUH???

polyallstar wrote:

nuffsaid wrote:

JM2K6 wrote:

nuffsaid wrote:I would like to see McConnachie given at least one run-out at full-back if he’s fit. He’s experienced there and has a very suitable skill set from what I have seen and heard of him.

Plus, it’s a position where we are in serious need of improvement. It’s certainly worth a good look and can only assume that Eddie will have at least toyed with the idea in camp. It might even be why he got the call up

What do you mean he’s experienced there? He’s a sevens guy who’s barely played pro 15s, let alone an experienced fullback. He was a wing/fullback at Hartpury afaik

The guy’s a rookie

He is at pro level but he mostly played fullback at Hartpury for four years I believe - thus he has experience there.

I'm sure he said in a recent interview he only did one year @ Hartpury and it was in National Leagues at that...

Did 3 years at Nuneaton too I think

Yes, I think he was at Nuneaton. I have no firsthand knowledge of his time at Hartpury or anywhere else, I’m just going on media stuff I have read, like this from Somerset Live -

"I'd like to say my best position is full-back and that's where I'd like to be seen playing so I can give it a crack," McConnochie said.

"That's where I mostly played over four years at Hartpury, and wing as well. But I know we've got two great full-backs at the moment in Tom Homer and Darren Atkins.“

c69 wrote:

happyhooker wrote:

happyhooker wrote:Anyone any idea when the teams are being announced?

Huh??

HUH???

Who the feckless cares?

HH clearly does you heartless beast

c69 wrote:

happyhooker wrote:

happyhooker wrote:Anyone any idea when the teams are being announced?

Huh??

HUH???

Who the feckless cares?

You big meanie

nuffsaid wrote:

New guy wrote:A win would be nice but a narrow loss with signs of improvement on last week would be fine.

I think the players will be more up for it this time though.

I have yet to see a satisfactory explanation of why Wales wouldn’t have been up for the first game? It’s a claim I have seen / heard a few times now.

I know your team can be slow starters and understand that players will be rusty first time out, but not up for it?

I can only assume you don't watch much rugby.

Wales mostly look 'not up for it' at the start of every major tournament, and that's when they've been through a full preparation.

Take the fact that the actual tournament is still over a month away, and that they are not fully prepared (Gatland is meticulous), why would you expect them to look 'up for it'?

Da iawn diolch wrote:

nuffsaid wrote:

New guy wrote:A win would be nice but a narrow loss with signs of improvement on last week would be fine.

I think the players will be more up for it this time though.

I have yet to see a satisfactory explanation of why Wales wouldn’t have been up for the first game? It’s a claim I have seen / heard a few times now.

I know your team can be slow starters and understand that players will be rusty first time out, but not up for it?

I can only assume you don't watch much rugby.

Wales mostly look 'not up for it' at the start of every major tournament, and that's when they've been through a full preparation.

Take the fact that the actual tournament is still over a month away, and that they are not fully prepared (Gatland is meticulous), why would you expect them to look 'up for it'?

It was a game against England.
They fielded a full strength team against a mix and match England side at Twickenham, and it was the first match in their preparation for the world cup. Winning would have extended a record breaking winning streak and cemented their place at the top of the world ranking.
Why the fudge wouldn't they be 'up for it'?

I read this article by Jamie Roberts saying being manshamed by a third string England team was a good thing. What has happened to the Welsh? Stand up for yourselves for pity's sake!


https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/49322285

nuffsaid wrote: Yes, I think he was at Nuneaton. I have no firsthand knowledge of his time at Hartpury or anywhere else, I’m just going on media stuff I have read, like this from Somerset Live -

"I'd like to say my best position is full-back and that's where I'd like to be seen playing so I can give it a crack," McConnochie said.

"That's where I mostly played over four years at Hartpury, and wing as well. But I know we've got two great full-backs at the moment in Tom Homer and Darren Atkins.“

Unconvinced that 4 years at Hartpury gives a relevant level of experience when facing Intl. sides. In fact I'd say that Daly's playing experience is more relevant albeit he is not making best use of it.

New guy wrote:

nuffsaid wrote:

New guy wrote:A win would be nice but a narrow loss with signs of improvement on last week would be fine.

I think the players will be more up for it this time though.

I have yet to see a satisfactory explanation of why Wales wouldn’t have been up for the first game? It’s a claim I have seen / heard a few times now.

I know your team can be slow starters and understand that players will be rusty first time out, but not up for it?

The intensity was miles off where it should have been.

Maybe it was psychological or maybe it was the result of a month of "beastings" in Switzerland but either way we should start to see an upturn in physical performance over the next month.

If not somethings gone horribly wrong.

The intensity was clearly 15.324% higher than expected

message #2527204 wrote:

Da iawn diolch wrote:

nuffsaid wrote:

New guy wrote:A win would be nice but a narrow loss with signs of improvement on last week would be fine.

I think the players will be more up for it this time though.

I have yet to see a satisfactory explanation of why Wales wouldn’t have been up for the first game? It’s a claim I have seen / heard a few times now.

I know your team can be slow starters and understand that players will be rusty first time out, but not up for it?

I can only assume you don't watch much rugby.

Wales mostly look 'not up for it' at the start of every major tournament, and that's when they've been through a full preparation.

Take the fact that the actual tournament is still over a month away, and that they are not fully prepared (Gatland is meticulous), why would you expect them to look 'up for it'?

It was a game against England.
They fielded a full strength team against a mix and match England side at Twickenham, and it was the first match in their preparation for the world cup. Winning would have extended a record breaking winning streak and cemented their place at the top of the world ranking.
Why the fudge wouldn't they be 'up for it'?

Because Gatland has built his preparation around peaking at the world cup, not the pre tournament friendlies, funnily enough.

terryfinch wrote:I read this article by Jamie Roberts saying being manshamed by a third string England team was a good thing. What has happened to the Welsh? Stand up for yourselves for pity's sake!


https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/49322285

I thought it was a 7th string side

4071 wrote:

P in VG wrote:

sockwithaticket wrote:

Jeff the Bear wrote:So, here we are, the richest and biggest Tier 1 nation in the world, against the smallest and poorest, and who also have massive injury problems.

It's going to be tough for us to even stay in touch.

I hope the mockers give this rancid offering what it deserves. Grand Slam champs, no.2 in the world and at home to boot. Wales should win this comfortably.

Did you watch last weekend's game?!

That was part of Wales' plan. They don't want to be distracted by the World No. 1 tag or by going for a world record sequence of wins. They have now ensured that the focus will be entirely on the WC whilst the pressure will be back on the Kiwis as the top ranked side in the world.

Smart.

With the record gone I really think getting to No1 at the weekend means nothing to them. Beating England is everything.

New guy wrote:

nuffsaid wrote:

New guy wrote:A win would be nice but a narrow loss with signs of improvement on last week would be fine.

I think the players will be more up for it this time though.

I have yet to see a satisfactory explanation of why Wales wouldn’t have been up for the first game? It’s a claim I have seen / heard a few times now.

I know your team can be slow starters and understand that players will be rusty first time out, but not up for it?

The intensity was miles off where it should have been.

Maybe it was psychological or maybe it was the result of a month of "beastings" in Switzerland but either way we should start to see an upturn in physical performance over the next month.

If not somethings gone horribly wrong.

Fair enough. Something was wrong in their approach - maybe just the timing of conditioning etc., but I don't expect Wales to as "off" this weekend as they were last weekend.

Even though we'll put out a stronger team, I'm nervous that the Youngs-Farrell axis will not give us the quality of ball that we had last weekend. Add to that the fact Wales will have had it up them from Gats and I'd expect a different outcome on Saturday.

A narrow Wales win would be back in line with the expected result this time around - frankly it was the expected result last time, so getting a good one out of one game is already putting us ahead of where I thought we'd be.

Home game against Ireland should be a narrow win for us if we can click and start getting in the zone... and then Italy.

I think four wins from these games is too much to ask, so I'd put my money on a Wales win for this weekend.

Independent's England back row :
Itoje
Kvesic
Wilson

yiman wrote:Independent's England back row :
Itoje
Kvesic
Wilson

Fúcking hell.

yiman wrote:Independent's England back row :
Itoje
Kvesic
Wilson

Protecting the backrow players then.

Launchbury
Lawes
Itoje
Kvesic
Wilson

Targeting the scrum and lineout massively then.

New guy wrote:

message #2527204 wrote: It was a game against England.
They fielded a full strength team against a mix and match England side at Twickenham, and it was the first match in their preparation for the world cup. Winning would have extended a record breaking winning streak and cemented their place at the top of the world ranking.
Why the fudge wouldn't they be 'up for it'?

Because Gatland has built his preparation around peaking at the world cup, not the pre tournament friendlies, funnily enough.

Well if they couldn't get themselves 'up' for that game for the reasons mentioned, then I don't fancy their chances as much as I did.
They won't be 'up' for this week's game either, then?

message #2527204 wrote:

New guy wrote:

message #2527204 wrote: It was a game against England.
They fielded a full strength team against a mix and match England side at Twickenham, and it was the first match in their preparation for the world cup. Winning would have extended a record breaking winning streak and cemented their place at the top of the world ranking.
Why the fudge wouldn't they be 'up for it'?

Because Gatland has built his preparation around peaking at the world cup, not the pre tournament friendlies, funnily enough.

Well if they couldn't get themselves 'up' for that game for the reasons mentioned, then I don't fancy their chances as much as I did.
They won't be 'up' for this week's game either, then?

I'm not really sure what you were expecting. Sunday was game 1 of a potential 11 over the next 2 months. The first 4 dont matter one iota and the following 7 matter a great deal. All preparation is going towards the big games in October, and yes that means Wales wont play very well for the next few matches.

In 2011 Wales were pretty comprehensively beaten by England in the first warm up game. In 2015 wales were absolutely hammered at home against Ireland in the first warm up game. This is just how Gatland approaches world cups. I'd expect to see a game on game improvement between now and the Quarter Finals.

NG, just go with the flow mate. We were hammered by the better team playing their reserves. England are RWC favourites as Ben who has stated today

yiman wrote:Independent's England back row :
Itoje
Kvesic
Wilson

Congrats to Wales No1 ranked side in the world

Da iawn diolch wrote:

nuffsaid wrote:

New guy wrote:A win would be nice but a narrow loss with signs of improvement on last week would be fine.

I think the players will be more up for it this time though.

I have yet to see a satisfactory explanation of why Wales wouldn’t have been up for the first game? It’s a claim I have seen / heard a few times now.

I know your team can be slow starters and understand that players will be rusty first time out, but not up for it?

I can only assume you don't watch much rugby.

Wales mostly look 'not up for it' at the start of every major tournament, and that's when they've been through a full preparation.

Take the fact that the actual tournament is still over a month away, and that they are not fully prepared (Gatland is meticulous), why would you expect them to look 'up for it'?

I have been playing then watching Rugby for at least 55 years, so don’t patronise me. I think I mentioned slow starters / rusty / usual platitudes etc. Still can’t understand “not up for it”.

message #2527204 wrote:

New guy wrote:

message #2527204 wrote: It was a game against England.
They fielded a full strength team against a mix and match England side at Twickenham, and it was the first match in their preparation for the world cup. Winning would have extended a record breaking winning streak and cemented their place at the top of the world ranking.
Why the fudge wouldn't they be 'up for it'?

Because Gatland has built his preparation around peaking at the world cup, not the pre tournament friendlies, funnily enough.

Well if they couldn't get themselves 'up' for that game for the reasons mentioned, then I don't fancy their chances as much as I did.
They won't be 'up' for this week's game either, then?

In the immortal words of Zapp Brannigan, "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is spongy and bruised.". It's probably more accurate to say that we irrespective of how up for it we were, we didn't have it in us to go all out...which given the time of the season, makes sense.

Last week was just one game so we can't read much at this stage. If Wales are breathing heavily again this time around then despite Gatland's arguments, he may well have a nasty case of the England 2015s on his hands.

In England's first WC warmup of 2015 they showed signs of a depowered scrum, lack of bite in contact, power game gone and cardiovascular struggling. After one game we weren't alarmed. After two against opponents we'd power-bullied in the 6N, alarm bells were ringing. This problem did not improve to reach 6N levels of performance before we were already out of the tournament. The high altitude Denver training camp over the summer has now infamously been pinpointed as the cause and its purpose according to those close to Lancaster's thinking was to breed forwards who could run like the wind for 80 mins to compete with NZ's. He was badly found out.

That's the clear ray of hope for Wales, Gatland would never be that complacent and naive.

Wales: Liam Williams; George North, Jonathan Davies, Hadleigh Parkes, Josh Adams; Dan Biggar, Gareth Davies; Nicky Smith, Ken Owens, Tomas Francis; Jake Ball, Alun Wyn Jones (C); Aaron Wainwright, James Davies, Ross Moriarty.

Subs: Elliot Dee, Wyn Jones, Dillon Lewis, Aaron Shingler, Josh Navidi, Aled Davies, Jarrod Evans, Owen Watkin.

Disappointing that’s a Biggar is starting. Seems a real step backwards.

Don’t know why we aren’t starting Navidi either unless he’s carrying a knock.

Hope Tomos recovers soon - can’t bare much more Aled Davies

Shingler covering lock. He could really have done with a start to get his match fitness up there. He looked like a fish out of water last week.

cubby boi wrote:Disappointing that’s a Biggar is starting. Seems a real step backwards.

Don’t know why we aren’t starting Navidi either unless he’s carrying a knock.

Hope Tomos recovers soon - can’t bare much more Aled Davies

Would have been a big ask to throw Jarrod in at the deep end on his first cap.

Shingler covering lock has calamity written all over it

That's pretty close to your 1st team that's available, save navidi, isn't it??

New guy wrote:

cubby boi wrote:Disappointing that’s a Biggar is starting. Seems a real step backwards.

Don’t know why we aren’t starting Navidi either unless he’s carrying a knock.

Hope Tomos recovers soon - can’t bare much more Aled Davies

Would have been a big ask to throw Jarrod in at the deep end on his first cap.

Shingler covering lock has calamity written all over it

Not sure Shingler covering lock works with Lewis and Dee also on the bench who are both poor scrummagers.