Welsh weaknesses

The French believe they have found them, can 606v2?

Mental toughness - have they got what it takes? few of these players have been in this position before, a knockout semi final in a major tournament, everyone is different when put under pressure the younger members of the team have done well so far but I’m sure they won’t be sleeping to well tonight.

Hooker/Lineout – this is a weak link and one that I’d make sure the ref is watching, the Welsh throw in rarely appears to be straight and if I was the French captain I’d have a little word with the refs.

Pomposity, over- confidence (without reason) arrogance and just below the surface of the Welsh psyche, is a sub-strata of brittleness and yes, contrarily, given the other reasons, but hefty dollup of doubt!

However, despite being a die hard loather of everything to do with Welsh Rugby, i will be supporting them, even though they don't deserve any support from this side of the border, but Noblesse- oblige.

smh obvious troll is obvious

Hersh Wales are in the semi final now stop being so negative come on get behind the team you love talking about so much.

Come on

But what are there weaknesses Cymroglan, as I said the French said they have found them, to me they don't look like they have many, can the brilliant rugby brains on 606v2 find them?

Hersh these were two possible 'weaknesses' I identified before the Ireland game.

Unfortunately these perceived weaknesses weren't apparant against Ireland and I suspect they won't be against France either.

At this stage I would say there are more question marks about the French than the Welsh.

HERSH wrote:The French believe they have found them, can 606v2?

Mental toughness - have they got what it takes? few of these players have been in this position before, a knockout semi final in a major tournament, everyone is different when put under pressure the younger members of the team have done well so far but I’m sure they won’t be sleeping to well tonight.

Hooker/Lineout – this is a weak link and one that I’d make sure the ref is watching, the Welsh throw in rarely appears to be straight and if I was the French captain I’d have a little word with the refs.

Good idea, we should ask the MODS to do a review of your blatant humourless WUMs and put you out of your misery until Oct 24th

One weakness is Shane taking the ball into contact. He got turned over 4 times against Ireland, could be dangerous if the French do it tomorrow.

Both sides have weaknesses, and it'll be down to which team exploits them the most that gets the win (obviously )

But do any of us really care about the French, if England hadn't gifted them so many points England would have won.

I'm behind Wales here, but how can the French beat them.

I agree about Shane rugbydreamer could be a mistake to keep giving him the ball.

Gatts how is this a wum?

re-read the post!

How is it a WUM?

You wrote it.

Key man for France yet again is Imanol Harinorduquy.Can young Toby and the rest of the Welsh backrow keep the fearsome Basque quiet?

It is noticeable that in matches Harinordoquy starts in France rarely lose. He is the French talisman. Why they only started him against England I don't know.

So you have nothing say on rugby then Gatts, why are you here?

Rather sad and pathetic really.

beshocked the same question was asked when we faced the Irish backrow.

You can't live off the glory of your last game!

I hope the Welsh lads aren't or they'll be in for a shock tomorrow.

HERSH wrote:So you have nothing say on rugby then Gatts, why are you here?

Rather sad and pathetic really.

When you say something worth commenting on i will let you know but as usual most of what you write is thinly veiled WUM.

Very sad and pathetic really

Then you're rather dull to think this is a wum.

As for asking for me to be banned just says to me that your the sort of bloke who wave's a fake yellow card at the ref.

That has no place in our game or 606v2

What people need to realise that both sides have some very good players and many would say that France would win if the match was decided on individual talent.
I believe at the moment that wales are playing far better as a unit and team effort will win the day for us.

english warrior wrote:Pomposity, over- confidence (without reason) arrogance

Firstly we're discussing Wales not England and secondly if there is any over confidence on here the players won't be feeling it.

cymroglan the French backrow is more fearsome than the Irish one when on form.

Imanol Harinorduquy is better than Jamie Heaslip whatever the Irish might say. He is the French talisman.

Thierry Dusatoir and Julien Bonnaire are both quality players too.

As a backrow unit the French one is very good.

Can the youthful Welsh backrow keep the French veterans quiet? We'll see.

HERSH wrote:Then you're rather dull to think this is a wum.

As for asking for me to be banned just says to me that your the sort of bloke who wave's a fake yellow card at the ref.

That has no place in our game or 606v2

That took you two edits....class!

A , B, C, D , keep going you'll get there

in answer to the question though...

Welsh weaknesses could be the lineout but has so far been ok. Being a hooker and always worried about Bennetts throwing I can confirm that the lineout has been no more wonky than any other. Possibly the occasion could get to them but I think Gatland and Edwards will have them grounded.

I think that if there is any team that can unlock a rush defence it is France. I believe they will have studied our defence well and will make breaks. Our scramble defence will have to be very good.

I don't think James Hook is as solid a defender as Priestland or Jones so I expect to see him put under pressure. I also expect to see him under pressure in attack as well. I think France will definitely target our set piece to create turnover ball.

For Wales I think we will have to keep France down in their own territory. We need to force them to try to play from their own 22 and try to put pressure on the half backs. If we do this then I do believe we'll beat them but if we let them get a hold on the game I think we might struggle.

Hows that for an answer HERSH?

Thats more like it, cheers McKay

You see Gatts thats how to do it, oh sorry forgot you have no opinions on rugby, stick to football if I were you its more simple for your troll like brain.

HERSH wrote:But do any of us really care about the French, if England hadn't gifted them so many points England would have won.

I'm behind Wales here, but how can the French beat them.

For the first time ever I agree with you. I think England shouldve beaten France. I think you guys gifted them soft trys in the first half, and showed there not up to much when you put them under in the second. Too much media pressure maybe? I don't know the answer but I do think the wrong team went through!
Shame really,, England-Wales semifinal would have been an epic encounter :/

beshocked The French pack will not dominate but then again neither will we.
Wales have a very potent backline and in my opinion will answer more questions than will be asked of them.
French centre Aurelien Rougerie missed five tackles against England and neither him or partner Maxime Mermoz looked particularly fond of stopping Tuilagi.

wonder man England were rubbish and deserved to be sent home with the tail between their legs.

Hopefully it means the whole RFU and England management will be sacked. I have a few suggestions.

Lead weights could be attached to every senior RFU's leg and they could be dropped into the Thames. It would add to the waste in the Thames though.....

cymroglan is my point is that you should put all your efforts into stopping their most dangerous players like Harinorduquy and Medard.

HERSH wrote:You can't live off the glory of your last game!

I hope the Welsh lads aren't or they'll be in for a shock tomorrow.

Why not? England have been feeding off the glory of a certain match played on 22 November 2003 for 8 whole years! They've achieved little since, though, so that food can't be too nourishing.

"The French pack will not dominate"

But why not, there a mean bunch of lads with lots of experience. What if AWJ does another trip etc etc, there is no way to predict a game when France are playing.

I'm sorry Rugbydreamer, I should rise above it, but its hard not to.

Attack the post not the poster!

Runster who are the current 6 nations champions?

I think France are the epitome of a side who show mental frailty, pretty much all the time, one decent game per tournament aside, so I wouldn't wory too much about the Welsh deficiencies there.

Our lineout seems to have settled itself down since we realised that we have the tallest player in the tournament.

France can win this game, if Hook kicks aimlessly and our chase isn't 100% on the money, their back three can score from ANYWHERE.

However, I genuinely believe that if both teams play to the level of their previous best tournament game so far, Wales will win.
If both teams play to the best of their abilities, Wales will win.

Both of those eventualities are unlikely, and therefore, this game remains 50/50. Anyone predicting the winner and gloating about it afterwards is akin to someone lording it up after correctly guessing heads or tails.

HERSH wrote:Runster who are the current 6 nations champions?

How many Grand Slams have England won since 2003?

Agreed Higher_ground

Grand Slams are hard to come by this is true, but winning is all that matters, the history books only show the winner.

France have lost two games but could still get to the final and win.

beshocked wrote:wonder man England were rubbish and deserved to be sent home with the tail between their legs.

Hopefully it means the whole RFU and England management will be sacked. I have a few suggestions.

Lead weights could be attached to every senior RFU's leg and they could be dropped into the Thames. It would add to the waste in the Thames though.....

cymroglan is my point is that you should put all your efforts into stopping their most dangerous players like Harinorduquy and Medard.

I agree with you England were rubbish. Which is why I don't France were that good imo. It was a game England definately deserved to lose. But if they hadnt been so.. well.. English! all tour and got there heads down, it wouldnt have been too difficult. Oh well, no tears from me

Runster you and Hersh should get a room together. I am sure you would get on like a house on fire.

Higher ground you would expect Wales to win but the French are the French. There still plenty of quality in the French side.

The way Wales are currently playing you don't have a weakness but if the game is tight the lack of experience could be a factor.

When we played France in Paris in this year's Six Nations, they won turnover ball so many times by realising that we were committing too few forwards to protect the ball. They just drove straight through the middle and took the ball. I only remembered about that this morning and now it's really worrying me. I just hope we've learnt from our mistakes.

Saturday will tell us whether Wales are on a roll on the Mental Toughness front. Bear in mind that we've had to overcome old WC nemesis in Samoa and Fiji as well as a rumbling Irish side and our self-belief has held out firm on those occasions. In any case it's hard to say the French aren't also prone to suffering mental collapse.

The lineout seems to have improved but that's not to say it can't come loose against France, especially with Bonnaire in fine form. I only remember Ireland stealing one of our throws while we managed to nick theirs at least twice, an exceedingly rare occurrence in Wales vs Ireland games!

I expect France to test our defence in a new way. Containing muscular forwards is one thing but is there a set of backs in the world better at slipping tackles than the French?

"but is there a set of backs in the world better at slipping tackles than the French?"

Yes, The All Blacks.

HERSH wrote:Agreed Higher_ground

Grand Slams are hard to come by this is true, but winning is all that matters, the history books only show the winner.

France have lost two games but could still get to the final and win.

Hersh - if you ask anyone on here how many Grand Slams England have won since 2003, they won't refer to the history books and say 'England are current champions', they'll refer to their own memory and say 'None'.

So what you're saying is that if France or Wales win the RWC it will be devalued because they didn't win every game?

There is no trophy for a Grand Slam, the winners receive the same trophy that England currently have at HQ.

Welsh weaknesses....beer, singing and Katherine Jenkings.
......yes in that order.

Six Nations is irrelevent to this game. Both teams have displayed completely different form, patterns and psychology. Wales have their best available front row back which makes a huge difference and France have lost a couple of games they would expect to win.

I genuinely don't think that makes a difference but I still can't call this game. Before the Ireland game I had a feeling Wales would win but of all the teams left in the world cup France were the ones I least wanted to play because they are so unpredictable.

From another angle... what do people think about the relationships between the team and their respective coach?

I don't really know what's happening in the French camp, but with Lievremont on the way out after the world cup, and an apparant disunity between him and his players, what affect will this have on the French performance?

In contrast, the Welsh team seem to be very much behind Gatland & co- there seems to be a unity and a bond that has deleoped throughout the whole Welsh setup recently, both between the players and coaches as well as the executive side. Surely this can only be a good thing for Wales.

HERSH wrote:So what you're saying is that if France or Wales win the RWC it will be devalued because they didn't win every game?

There is no trophy for a Grand Slam, the winners receive the same trophy that England currently have at HQ.

But Ireland beat you, you didn't get the Grand Slam, or the Tripple Crown.

You are aware there is a 6 nations trophy , which is awarded to the winners of the six nations?

RWC bandwagon supporters are flooding this site of late.

Please look it up on Google, before coming back.

Last 6 nations was devalued because everyone except England were experimenting different combinations and players for the world cup anyway

Not to sure about that IronMike teams have very few opportunities to try new players in the pressure cooker game situations like the 6 nations, even the AI have become a must win for most teams, maybe England should start playing easy teams like Canada and Fuji instead of NZ and SA and Aus

Hersh, how many Grand Slams have england won since they were last any good in 2003? Just answer the question.

I'm fully aware there is a trophy, Ive seen Wales lift it twice, both tripple crowns, both grand slams.

I used to be on 606 v1, by the way, and you were the worst WUMer on it. Lost the bragging rights now, though, haven't you?