Planet Rugby Forum

penguin

Ospreys have signed Wales-qualified lock Will Greatbanks from French second-tier club Soyaux Angouleme for 2024-25.

Ospreys say the 21-year-old's father was born in Wales.

Ospreys stockpiling all the locks...

penguin

Wales U20s: Matty Young;Huw Anderson; Elijah Evans, Macs Page, Aidan Boschoff; Harri Wilde, Rhodri Lewis; Josh Morse, Evan Wood, Kian Hire, Jonny Green, Nick Thomas, Thomas, Lucas de la Rua,Harry Beddall, Morgan Morse. Replacements: Harry Thomas, Jordan Morris, Sam Scott, Gethyn Cannon, Osian Thoma...

penguin

Adams again? Jenkins back to the second row with Beard. Kemsley Mathias and Harri O'Connor on the bench is a worry for the scrums late on. North and Tompkins back. In some places not enough change, in others it feels too much. That front row we're going to end with is going to be unbelievably raw.

penguin

Wales team: 15. Cameron Winnett, 14. Josh Adams, 13. George North 12. Nick Tompkins, 11. Rio Dyer, 10. Sam Costelow, 9 Tomos Williams; 1. Gareth Thomas, 2. Elliot Dee, 3. Dillon Lewis 4. Dafydd Jenkins (capt), 5. Adam Beard, 6. Alex Mann, 7. Tommy Reffell, 8. Aaron Wainwright Replacements: 16. Evan...

penguin

We do have some players with more power but they are either injured (Lake, Faletau, Fender, Tshiunza, Jac Morgan, maybe Plumtree - haven't seen enough of him to be sure, Leon Brown), unavailable (Moriarty, Ball - still only 32), not selected (Henry Thomas, Thomas Young) or too fat to consider, whic...

penguin

We do have some players with more power but they are either injured (Lake, Faletau, Fender, Tshiunza, Jac Morgan, maybe Plumtree - haven't seen enough of him to be sure, Leon Brown), unavailable (Moriarty, Ball - still only 32), not selected (Henry Thomas, Thomas Young) or too fat to consider, which...

penguin

<sigh> I know...

penguin

What does everyone want to see next week for Italy? I'd say it's fairly clear that there should be some changes. I really like Assiratti but this hasn't been an easy time for him, so I'd bring in Dillon Lewis, and retain the other two front rowers with Gareth Thomas and Dee both showing plenty of wo...

penguin

Monk Zombie wrote: ↑Mon Mar 11, 2024 8:31 am I don’t understand the doom and gloom. There is a lot to take away from the Welsh performance. At times the French looked very jittery in defence.

It's our default setting.

penguin

My point is that you're saying "this bloke who's had 4 caps in 7 years would have made a difference". I'm telling you that sounds mental. Nothing is certain, but putting on a raw 21 year old blindside was our choice, and we could have had a guy who has mixed it with the best and looked good, albeit...

penguin

Thomas Young is a fine club level player. There's nothing to suggest he can do it at test level, and you'd be insane to think he'd have made a shred of difference out there today. Very little to suggest he can't step up given he's been given four caps since his debut in 2017. He's class at the leve...

penguin

Did you see the final score? Do you really think that sifting through the binjuice on offer by the reejuns to fill the bench would have really made a difference? Thomas young is binjuice? 👌 If you're taking that line then there's really very little middle ground we can agree on. Thomas Young is a f...

penguin

So Thomas Young and Nicky Smith are the answer? I think you might have forgotten the question... Reffell going off was huge. Young is about the best like for like replacement we have. So yes. Selection was an issue, particularly the bench. We were 24-23 with fifteen minutes to go. A better bench mi...

penguin

Bringing on young when you lose reffell would have maintained breakdown presence. Smith would have been a breakdown threat too as well as a different kind of challenge for a big scrum. Someone who has had more than a year at hooker, and any professional start would have given them an option to fres...

penguin

Bringing on young when you lose reffell would have maintained breakdown presence. Smith would have been a breakdown threat too as well as a different kind of challenge for a big scrum. Someone who has had more than a year at hooker, and any professional start would have given them an option to fresh...

penguin

And had the wru been able to offer some flexibility we could have had a new star in feyi-waboso... Instead we're likely to see a Cardiff lad in white for a decade.

penguin

In some cases gatland has been forced to choose inexperienced players but on others he has deliberately left out the likes of Francis, Henry Thomas, and originally Dillon Lewis. He chose a youngster like Lloyd at hooker rather than a shorter term solution like a Sam parry. Today he got unlucky but w...

penguin

If we can manage two halves of rugby we might actually win a game one day. Clearly we wanted to keep the pace high but you still need some territory. Also, that winnett butchering of the overlap right after France scored around the hour was a huge moment. First time he's done something really wrong...

penguin

If we can manage two halves of rugby we might actually win a game one day. Clearly we wanted to keep the pace high but you still need some territory. Also, that winnett butchering of the overlap right after France scored around the hour was a huge moment. First time he's done something really wrong ...

penguin

I think we're doing pretty well under him, but I do think that there is a ceiling with Gatland. He makes us tough to beat, and it was a good move to bring him in for the world cup to right the ship in such a short space of time...but I would have liked to have seen someone come in after the world cu...

penguin

Wales team: 15. Cameron Winnett, 14. Josh Adams, 13. Joe Roberts, 12. Owen Watkin, 11. Rio Dyer, 10. Sam Costelow, 9 Tomos Williams; 1. Gareth Thomas, 2. Ryan Elias, 3. Keiron Assiratti, 4. Will Rowlands, 5. Adam Beard, 6. Dafydd Jenkins (capt), 7. Tommy Reffell, 8. Aaron Wainwright Replacements: 1...

penguin

Ryan Jones
@RyanJonesOnline
·
14h
Sorry to break it to you
@WalesOnline
, although super supportive of the game for Spacey (which will be awesome) it’s a different Ryan Jones on the team sheet - undoubtedly better than me anyway!!

penguin

He's already said he's not playing. Some kind of miscommunication.

penguin

Team for France. I suspect it will be a typical over-powering up front...but hopefully we see some more of the glimmers of quality from the likes of Morse, Ackerman and Anderson that give us something to cling to. Not 1 single Jones in the starting line up :thumbdown: It’s all been downhill for the...

penguin

The Dragons are having a close look at a massive Canada lock who is set to play for Pontypool in the Premiership until the end of the season. Four-times capped promising prospect Izzak Kelly to train with Dai Flanagan's squad. He's 6ft 6 and 19 stone 7...so I'm not calling him small but 'massive' i...

penguin

Wales U20s: Huw Anderson; Harry Rees-Weldon, Macs Page, Harri Ackerman (Captain), Walker Price; Harri Ford, Ieuan Davies; Josh Morse, Harri Thomas, Kian Hire, Nick Thomas, Osian Thomas, Lucas de la Rua, Luca Giannini, Morgan Morse. Team for France. I suspect it will be a typical over-powering up fr...

penguin

We don't have a defence coach and we're missing 18 players through injury... What are people expecting? At this low point I'll take some youngsters stepping up and looking like they can play at that level. Get some players back, maybe even recruit some proper front five players and then if we're st...

penguin

We don't have a defence coach and we're missing 18 players through injury... What are people expecting? At this low point I'll take some youngsters stepping up and looking like they can play at that level. Get some players back, maybe even recruit some proper front five players and then if we're sti...

penguin

Dragons ship 49 points to Ulster. Put the metaphorical pillow over our faces and put us out of our misery. Strangely there was quite a bit to like about the performance. Lots of good youngsters standing up. Will Reed, Brodie Coughlan, Ewan Rosser, Harri Ackerman... Mauling was strong. Struggled at ...

penguin

Fair play, that was looking ugly and they hung in there... Just. Second half, Dan Jones has one string to his bow and with the wind it might be enough to get them into it. Defence from first phase has been abysmal again but they've found a way to turn it over a number of times. On they other hand, I...

penguin

They are so bad. There's enough decent players to be better than they are. Grim stuff.

The only positive is that they'll have the wind second half and it does seem to be pretty strong. By that time they might be out of the game though.

penguin

Last couple of years he couldn't get a run because of concussions. To say he couldn't get ahead of Dan Jones is pretty unfair and makes out it was a straight shoot out rather than one bloke perpetually on the comeback trail. For Wales he never got much of a run. 11 of his 21 matches were off the ben...

penguin

Just caught some Super Rugby Highlights. Patchell is looking rather handy for the Highlanders. Didn’t see the whole game but the highlight reel included a try, another zipping pass to set up a try, a pass out the back door in a tackle to create a try and a lovely kick through for a try. Obviously i...

penguin

Cymru am byth

penguin

Johnny Mcnicholl back to NZ with immediate effect. Blow for Scarlets that - he looked outstanding in a terrible performance last time out. Could have done with his quality.

A player I really enjoyed watching, sorry to see him go.

penguin

The halfbacks are not the problem. The gameplan/forward power is the problem. Tomos is a buzzing, instinctive player. Sam Costelow and Ioan Lloyd both have an eye to run...Lloyd particularly. Our ruck ball is slow and our attacking patterns bereft of the sharpness and shape that makes defenders make...

penguin

I think that must be the A team backline. The Welsh team Cardey got capped in had the likes of Howley, Bateman...so lights years better. Still, the drop off to the A team is incredible.

However I'd still say we've put out worse backlines.

penguin

Of course we have. Your memory may be trying to fight it but apparently we once put out this backline 15. Matt Cardey 14. Jason Jones-Hughes 13. Simon Hill 12. Andy Marinos 11. Richard Diplock 10. Adrian Davies 9. Ryan Powell Now that is absolute gold. 2000? Matt Cardey only had 1 cap I think and t...

penguin

Of course we have. Your memory may be trying to fight it but apparently we once put out this backline

15. Matt Cardey
14. Jason Jones-Hughes
13. Simon Hill
12. Andy Marinos
11. Richard Diplock
10. Adrian Davies
9. Ryan Powell

Now that is absolute gold.

penguin

Dyer is going well, and Adams seems undroppable despite playing like dogshit. Can he play 15? Adams just needs to go back to Cardiff and get a run of games. More than anything he just needs to get the ball in his hands. Class player - just going through a bit of a dip. Mason Grady for France. A Dye...

Search found 9998 matches