Carrying Injured Players

Whilst overall I liked the make up of our (Wales) WC Squad I did from the off query Gatlands' decision to take injured players sucj as R Jones and Jenkins.

Ok so Jenkins had played and looks fit enough now to start but there is still doubts over R Jones to even play against Namibia.

Now what with injury to Lydiate plus M Williams, Turnbull and Delve all out because of injury that decision is looking more dodgy as time goes on.

Then you have McBryde coming out to say AWJ can play 6, did he not see what happened last time he played there for us and as for B Davies playing there get real, he;s not even first choice 2nd row at the moment.

Whilst I am pretty sure we could get away with AWJ at No6 against Namibia I wouldn't want to go in against any quarter final opponents with him there so it probably leaves up with Powell Faletau and Warburton having to play against Fiji and then Ireland if we make it.

I feel now its time we got a replacement out there just in case.

old story which always has a bad ending- lets play people out of position.
the coaches dont appreciate the full skill set of the positions, thats why players faults are not dealt with.
take mike phillips, he should have been coached out of this stepping and pass which has huge consequences to the rest of our game, especially late on in a match when everyone drops off the pace.
this idea of people being able to 'fill in' is wrong. ryan should not be there,someone else could have had a substantial bit of the action by now.

Powell is more than good enough for both Namibia and Fiji. No issue here; give Lydiate time, because his class demands it. If we don't have him fit for the QFs, bring in the replacement, who is looking likely to be Jon Thomas, Justin Tipuric and Rob McCusker, in that order, atm with Delve, Turnbull and Martyn injured.

Ryan should definitely have gone. He covers 4, 5, 6, and 8. And he does cover, not just 'could do a job there'. Also, it's one of those injuries that, I imagine, has dragged, and is difficult to tell when it will have subsided to the point of 'match fitness', because, if not an athlete, he probably would have felt fine for a while now.

Same with Gethin; no viable replacement at LH, as Bevington cannot scrummage and Iestyn Thomas is obviously not in favour/in keeping with the ultra modern professional ethos of the squad. He is also world class. He was more of a risk than Ryan, having not played much rugby in a year.

miaow wrote:Powell is more than good enough for both Namibia and Fiji. No issue here; give Lydiate time, because his class demands it. If we don't have him fit for the QFs, bring in the replacement, who is looking likely to be Jon Thomas, Justin Tipuric and Rob McCusker, in that order, atm with Delve, Turnbull and Martyn injured.

Ryan should definitely have gone. He covers 4, 5, 6, and 8. And he does cover, not just 'could do a job there'. Also, it's one of those injuries that, I imagine, has dragged, and is difficult to tell when it will have subsided to the point of 'match fitness', because, if not an athlete, he probably would have felt fine for a while now.

Same with Gethin; no viable replacement at LH, as Bevington cannot scrummage and Iestyn Thomas is obviously not in favour/in keeping with the ultra modern professional ethos of the squad. He is also world class. He was more of a risk than Ryan, having not played much rugby in a year.

Agree with all your comments regarding Ryan and Powell is fine v Namibia but i would prefer a RJ/TF/SW backrow for Fiji if DL not fit....Powell is a liability and seems to get worse under pressure. His body pos means he is almost useless going into contact and his tackling (read judo throw) may be numerous but that isn't enough if RJ is available who also provides a brain we really need in the pack....for a first receiver Powell has probably the worst hands of a back row forward i have ever seen. GJ has already stood up and should start v Namibia with a view to starting him again v Fiji. We need his extra presence in the loose.