Ireland vs Wales - WELSH TEAM ANNOUNCED AT 11:50 THIS MORNING...!

Knowsit17 wrote:

leinsterbaby wrote:Ireland by 10. Sexton to make fools of the Welsh D. and score a sublime winner.

Heard that before. Also that Trimble is going to do exactly the same thing. And Heaslip. And O'Brien. The list goes on.

When will you sillies learn that, just like us, you can't cut it in both the Heino and in national colours? It's been a long established fact that no matter how godlike the boys might turn out in the former, they inevitably fall short in the latter! Yesterday twas BOD, POC, DOC and ROG, today it's Sexton, Earls and Trimble on a second wind, tomorrow it'll be Cave, McFadden and Keatley. Irish player after Irish player will look destined for greater honours only to be shunted into obscurity by one opponent or another when playing in green! You usually get the provincial honours while, either in performance or achievement, we usually top you at internationals.

Before and after his stormer in the HEC final, Sexton was made to look distinctly ordinary by a sublime and effective Welsh side. Why will that change now?

munkian wrote:

Eeeeep - which captain will it be ?

mankiaow wrote:The key for Wales was to kick on from a good WC. That hasn't happened.

luckless_pedestrian wrote:

mankiaow wrote:The key for Wales was to kick on from a good WC. That hasn't happened.

Give us a chance, we've only played once since then!

roddersm wrote:Fitzgerald likely wouldn't have started anyway. Pity for him because he was in great form and pushing for a recall. It's an area were we have plenty of options.

Healy is a worry but Tom Court can do a good job in his absence if need be. Leaves us a bit threadbare though.

Ireland are in pretty good shape injury wise.

Mankiow,

That one posters view not many welsh agree.

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:Is there any certainty over ROG vs Sexton starting for Ireland?

Planet Rugby's Preview for the 2012 Six Nations - Ireland wrote:With the 2012 Six Nations looming large on the horizon, we take a closer look at each of the protagonists. Next up, Ireland.

Ireland will be confident of winning the title despite being without Brian O'Driscoll, who is missing for the entire tournament due to shoulder surgery. They have a tough start - opening with Wales and France - but with a strong pack and provincial form, they will fancy their chances.

Last year: Beating the English in the 2011 finale somewhat papered over a poor Six Nations from Ireland as they fell to France and Wales. What was also worrying was their ability to only narrowly overcome Italy and Scotland as once again they couldn't translate the form of Munster and Leinster onto the international stage. What made life frustrating was that they could have overcome France had hooker Sean Cronin not dropped the ball with the try-line begging. Would Declan Kidney's side have then sneaked the title? Personally, O'Driscoll scored three tries for his country while Jamie Heaslip got two.

This year: What's new? Not much, but is that the problem? 'Tried and tested' is one phrase used by pundits while some readers are going with 'tired and tested'. We expect the same starting pack that fronted up against Wales in New Zealand to run out in the opening fixture, with only Fergus McFadden and maybe Jonathan Sexton replacing BOD and Ronan O'Gara. Off the field and it seems Gert Smal will remain in the coaching set-up despite rumours of him returning to South Africa. They are serious contenders of that there is little doubt but if the Irish fail to push hard for the title this year then it is likely heads will roll.

Key players: Three names immediately jump out of their pack and they are Cian Healy, Sean O'Brien and Stephen Ferris. That trio have been devastating for Leinster and Ulster respectively and also starred at the World Cup. Both the aforementioned flanks are carrying machines while Healy compliments them well in open play. Outside the forwards and the Irish possess Jonathan Sexton and Rob Kearney, with the latter having regained his form of 2009 for the Lions.

Prospects: Is their opener with Wales in Dublin the Six Nations decider? Some say yes, but the majority will no doubt be in agreement that if they defeat France the following week in Paris then the road to glory will have been eased considerably. Anything less than first or second will be a disappointment.

gowales wrote:Planet Rugby hyping up Ireland again...

Planet Rugby's 2012 Six Nations Preview of Wales wrote:With the 2012 Six Nations looming large on the horizon, we take a closer look at each of the protagonists. Next up, Wales!

Wales enter the Six Nations as hot favourites following their remarkable run at the World Cup in New Zealand. The big question though is whether they can kick on and land their second Six Nations title under coach Warren Gatland. They're unquestionably good enough to do it, but will they crumble under pressure?

Last year: Wales had a tiny chance of snatching the Six Nations crown off England - who had earlier been taken apart by Ireland - if they managed to beat France by 27 points in Paris. After suffering an opening defeat to England in Cardiff, Wales' mini-renaissance of three consecutive wins had formed the platform of their unlikely tilt at the title. In the end, the salient margin became the 10-point win needed by France to leap-frog Wales into second place while Gatland's troops were condemned to fourth.

This year: This time last year Wales entered the Six Nations under immense pressure having failed to record a single Test victory in seven consectutive attempts. Now they are favourites thanks to their World Cup heroics. Three of their five games are in Cardiff, while an opening weekend trip to Dublin is underpinned by the knowledge that Wales knocked Ireland out of World Cup contention at the quarter-final stage. However, injuries have not been kind to the Welsh who have to soldier on without the likes of locks Luke Charteris and Alun-Wyn Jones and hooker Lloyd Burns, while fly-half Rhys Priestland and prop Gethin Jenkins will miss the opening match in Dublin with flanker Dan Lydiate also in doubt. It's an early blow that Gatland can certainly do without, but still has plenty of talent to overcome this injury hurdle.

Key players: Toby Faletau caused a storm at the RWC in New Zealand, playing all seven of last year's World Cup matches, and was arguably Wales' find of the tournament where he finished as his team's top tackler and carrier. Needless to say, much of the same will be required. The same goes for Wales captain Sam Warburton - minus the red cards of course. However, even his sending off in the World Cup semi-final against France failed to damage Warburton's reputation as one of the rising stars of the game. In the backs, with Shane Williams retiring from Test rugby, it's a simple case of out with the old and in with the new as George North continues to make waves out wide.

Prospect: The gutsy displays shown throughout the World Cup, prove that Wales have the potential to go all the way... if they manage to keep fifteen men on the field for 80 minutes and make their kicks at goal count.

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:Its rare that Wales produces a side that stays good for longer than a few months. They do get few sly digs in at the end at least!

maestegmafia wrote:

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:Its rare that Wales produces a side that stays good for longer than a few months. They do get few sly digs in at the end at least!

You weren't Alive the early fifties or even the sixties or seventies then.

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:

maestegmafia wrote:

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:Its rare that Wales produces a side that stays good for longer than a few months. They do get few sly digs in at the end at least!

You weren't Alive the early fifties or even the sixties or seventies then.

Right OK lets assume I was talking 6 nations era

PS I thought it was only the English who kept bringing up Wales in the 70s?

maestegmafia wrote:

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:

maestegmafia wrote:

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:Its rare that Wales produces a side that stays good for longer than a few months. They do get few sly digs in at the end at least!

You weren't Alive the early fifties or even the sixties or seventies then.

Right OK lets assume I was talking 6 nations era

PS I thought it was only the English who kept bringing up Wales in the 70s?

Ok well Wales managed over a year of decent unbeaten six Nations rugby in 2008 and 2005...!

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:

maestegmafia wrote:

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:

maestegmafia wrote:

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:Its rare that Wales produces a side that stays good for longer than a few months. They do get few sly digs in at the end at least!

You weren't Alive the early fifties or even the sixties or seventies then.

Right OK lets assume I was talking 6 nations era

PS I thought it was only the English who kept bringing up Wales in the 70s?

Ok well Wales managed over a year of decent unbeaten six Nations rugby in 2008 and 2005...!

If the 6 nations lasted a year in those days possibly.

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:

maestegmafia wrote:

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:

maestegmafia wrote:

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:Its rare that Wales produces a side that stays good for longer than a few months. They do get few sly digs in at the end at least!

You weren't Alive the early fifties or even the sixties or seventies then.

Right OK lets assume I was talking 6 nations era

PS I thought it was only the English who kept bringing up Wales in the 70s?

Ok well Wales managed over a year of decent unbeaten six Nations rugby in 2008 and 2005...!

If the 6 nations lasted a year in those days possibly.

eirebilly wrote:

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:

If the 6 nations lasted a year in those days possibly.

Maest, you really walked into that one

maestegmafia wrote:

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:

maestegmafia wrote:

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:

maestegmafia wrote:

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:Its rare that Wales produces a side that stays good for longer than a few months. They do get few sly digs in at the end at least!

You weren't Alive the early fifties or even the sixties or seventies then.

Right OK lets assume I was talking 6 nations era

PS I thought it was only the English who kept bringing up Wales in the 70s?

Ok well Wales managed over a year of decent unbeaten six Nations rugby in 2008 and 2005...!

If the 6 nations lasted a year in those days possibly.

You are in an incredibly pedantic mood today aren't you...! How about back to the rugby. I am sure there is something far more interesting to you on one of the many threads relating to English rugby than there is on here.

Leigh Halfpenny wrote:TOMORROW we leave our camp here in Gdansk and head home to Cardiff, and most of the squad will be ready for that.

It has been another tough Polish trip for us all, we’ve done loads of those infamous cryotherapy sessions, plenty of weights and fitness, our fair share of tactical stuff and quite a bit of work on basic skills as well, such as passing.

I guess the nitty-gritty of match preparation will be stepped up at our Vale headquarters in the coming days.

I’ve also managed to do quite a bit of goal-kicking practice, which hasn’t been easy given the amount of snow on the ground over here.

Believe me, it has been cold, colder than we are used to in Wales.

For a couple of the days we weren’t able to train on the pitch because it was covered in the white stuff, but I made sure I cleared a patch of ground for place-kicking.

I don’t like to go more than a day without practising because I find if you do you lose your rhythm. Fortunately, even in these circumstances, it hasn’t happened.

I’ve been asked what I think of possibly getting the chance to kick regularly for Wales in the way I have started at the Blues. Well, I don’t know if that chance will materialise, but if it does, all I can say is that it would be a dream come true.

I think I’m ready for it and I would view it as a great opportunity, a reward for all the hard work I have put in to that part of my game over the last few years, practising every day at Gorseinon RFC.

I get asked whether I could handle the pressure, and I think I could.

My routine, no matter who I’m playing for or how big or hostile the crowd happens to be, is to imagine I am back on that field in Gorseinon.

You don’t think about the consequences of missing, you just put yourself in your own little world and try to do all the same things you would in practice.

Then you just let your technique take over, go through your routine, relax, and swing the boot.

I make it sound easy I know, but of course it isn’t, but I do think you have to back yourself in these situations, you have to have confidence.

As far as the whole squad is concerned, I think we will return from Poland in a stronger state.

Things are basic here. The rooms are quite sparse, the beds quite hard, the facilities just what you need and no more.

Put it this way, there are no complimentary bath robes or slippers here!

The food too, is so-so. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice enough and we have what we need. We wouldn’t be able to train so hard without refuelling properly.

But in Poland, they tend to like egg with everything, so if you have a chicken breast or a loin of pork, it will be cooked in egg. It’s ok up to a point, but I wouldn’t want it all the time.

The food on the whole is a bit bland as well.

But then it’s not meant to be a holiday camp is it? We’ve been looked after well, but as I say, I think we will be glad to get home.

One slight drawback here is there’s not a great deal to do away from the training.

There’s a cafe area where we go to sit about and kill time, and you can always have a massage in the team room if you want. But don’t go thinking we’ve been strolling out to the cinema and fancy restaurants every night. It’s not been an option.

Above all, though, I think we will return to Wales in a better place as a squad.

Trips like this bring everybody closer because you rely on your team-mates’ support in training and off the field if you’re feeling a bit down. We’ve all been helping one another.

I think the camp has toughened us mentally as well as physically and I guess you need that going into a tournament like the Six Nations.

Self-belief is going to play a key part in the next few weeks, and I think Poland will help hugely on that front.

Let’s face it, we haven’t got much of a chance to ease ourselves into it with the first game being in Ireland, which I don’t think could be a tougher first fixture.

Much will be made of their thirst for revenge after we beat them in the World Cup and, whatever anyone says, I think that is bound to be a factor we are going to have to deal with.

But in Dublin it is also going to be about dealing with the conditions – it’s usually a mixture of cold, wet and windy – and a home crowd which is as fervent as any you encounter in the Six Nations.

You have to execute things well, earn the right to impose your game-plan, but you also have to be in the right mindset and we cannot afford to be lacking in that department which I don’t think we will be.

Saying all that, let’s not forget there will be pressure on Ireland as well.

They will be the home side, and their supporters are going to expect them to hit the ground running and win.

I think the best way for us to approach it is to see the Ireland game as a fantastic opportunity to get off to a great start.

If we can win, then we know what a springboard it could potentially be for us to attack the rest of the tournament and go on to achieve what we want.

Whatever, I’m looking forward to an exciting week’s build-up and I am sure we will really start to taste that when we arrive back in Wales.

The Telegraph on Saturday Sam Warburton Interview wrote:Surely, the figure who carries the scarlet jersey as captain of Wales should be as emblematic of national conscience as Dylan Thomas or Tom Jones. And yet, he is half-English. So when the refrain of Hen Wlad Fy Nhadhau starts cascading from the Twickenham terraces in four weeks time, for the Six Nations collision with England, he will not feel a surge of Anglophobia.

“I don’t have the hatred that a lot of Welsh people have towards the English,” Warburton says, delicately. He is speaking in the lounge of his parents’ house in Rhiwbina, the affluent northern Cardiff suburb where he was raised and where father Jez, a fireman born in London, has just opened the door on this drizzly winter’s morning. “Half my family are English anyway. My uncle, my dad’s brother, came to see me play in the England game at the Millennium Stadium last year, and he wasn’t sure who to support.”

He points across the room. “I remember sitting in that chair and watching England win the World Cup final. My rugby hero was Jonny Wilkinson.”

Before any of his countrymen choke on their leek soup at this revelation, the evidence should also be advanced in defence of Warburton’s Welsh identity. He represents Cardiff Blues. His girlfriend, Rachel, used to compete for Wales in badminton. He attended Whitchurch High School, in the same class as Gareth Bale. His notion of heaven on earth is a family meal at Juboraj, the local curry house. In spite of the English connection, the rumblings of the red dragon still resound right through his chest.

But life has changed a touch for Warburton, the home boy, since his return from the World Cup. The joys of domesticity are not so readily available in his exalted position, or in the notoriety that has stalked him since his red card for upending Vincent Clerc became the signature moment of Wales’s heroic failure in New Zealand. “At the last meal I went for, I was asked for three autographs by the time I even had a starter,” he recalls.

“I can’t find many places in Cardiff where I won’t be bothered. I don’t mind it, but Rachel finds it quite frustrating, because she would rather have a more normal relationship in that way. There was one instance where I had a mouthful of food, and the guy just sat next to me and put his arm around me to take a photo. I don’t think that is quite appropriate.”

Celebrity is anathema to Warburton. Yes, he might drive a pristine white Mercedes, but do not expect him to follow Gavin Henson’s Strictly Come Dancing lead in donning the natty black sequins. “If a TV offer came around the corner,

I would never consider it during playing time. Rugby is all I have wanted to do for the last 13 years.
I remember having a conversation with my mum when I was about 10, saying that I wanted to be a professional sportsman. I know a lot of boys do, but I was serious. Every time I went for a run on the street, I had playing for Wales in mind. I’ve been a very determined individual. I don’t want people to think I’m getting ahead of myself.” Perish the thought.

Warburton gives the impression, at 23, that he would happily forsake the remorseless media glare for a few hours alone with his drum kit. Such a passion stems from his father, an avowed heavy metal lover. Having absorbed the power chords of Iron Maiden practically note for note, he craves the odd thrash on the cymbals himself.

“My dad has got about 600 metal albums, and drumming is the heartbeat of that music. I realised, ‘You only live once’, and it was something I had wanted to do for ages, so I woke up one morning and decided to buy some drums. My mum can’t get to grips with Ozzy Osbourne, but dad has tried to get me to a few concerts. To be honest, I bottled it. I don’t know if there’ll be a side to my father that I’ve never seen before.”

When he talks of split personalities, one wonders if the trait might be genetic. For few project a dichotomy of character quite as vividly as Warburton. On one side, there is the placid lad who points tenderly to a picture of elder sister Holly, a nursery teacher, on the wall. On the other, there is a Black Sabbath devotee itching to beat the living daylights out of a timpani. The contrast equally informs his rugby. The humble, hospitable host sitting on his parents’ sofa cannot easily be reconciled with the beast of an openside flanker, one of the finest and hardest No 7s in the world.

Warburton morphs, the moment he crosses the white line, into a devastating tackling machine. Two months ago, in a hit that seemed to channel all his World Cup frustration, he hit Eddy Ben Arous so hard for the Blues that it almost cut the Racing Métro prop in half.

“I was talking to Rachel about this,” he explains with a mock-guilty smile. “On the pitch I can be quite aggressive sometimes. I have thrown myself into tackles that I probably shouldn’t have. I do want, legally, to hurt someone if he gets on my nerves during a game. That’s in the nature of the sport. You come across certain characters who you want to put in their place. I can be confrontational in that sense. Then, off the field, I’m completely different. I’ve never been in a real fight in my life.

“There are extremes. My parents see that all it takes in a game is to receive a big hit, and it flicks a switch. I can feel my blood boiling. When I was a kid, my mother would shout, ‘Stay calm, Sam!’ She could see when I got riled up. My twin brother, Ben, has got even more of a short fuse than I have. At least Rachel knows I’m not like that in the house.”

A Shetland sheepdog called Ted lies asleep at his feet. Another one, Gus, is trotting around in the hall outside. The pair of them are named after Teddy Sheringham and Gus Poyet, in a reflection of the fierce Tottenham Hotspur allegiance that again owes much to paternal influence.

Warburton needs scant invitation to wax lyrical about his cherished Spurs. “If I had to play in any stadium but the Millennium, it would always be White Hart Lane. I have been an avid Spurs fan since I was six. There’s a picture of myself and my brother in full kits — I had Sam No 9 on the back, he had Ben No 10, and that was it. Dad used to say, ‘Once Tottenham, always Tottenham’, so I’ll never change.”

Rachel assumed that the addition of a dog of their own might curb her beau’s wilder nature. “She’s still trying to persuade me,” he admits. “She wants a Labrador or a Golden Retriever straight away. But Ted and Gus are 11 next year. Their life expectancy is about 12, so I don’t want to get another until one of them goes. I would feel like I was cheating on them otherwise.”

The pleasure of reading is another outlet to which his girlfriend has sought to introduce him. “She failed abysmally at that! If I’m at home, I’ll watch something like Property Ladder because I love real estate. Or I’ll do some food shopping, which I find quite therapeutic. That’s what I do to keep busy. She thought reading would be a good idea to distract me, but I’d prefer to find my little niche and get ready for my games that way.”
During a recent Wales squad meal, Warburton spent at least half an hour discussing the property market with team-mates Ryan Jones and Shane Williams, who have their own letting agency. Already the prospect of a miniature Cardiff land empire is one that entices him. “I’d like to pursue a career in that kind of field. I recently moved to Thornhill, an estate just a few miles away. But as we speak I’m looking at houses in Rhiwbina. We absolutely love it here.”

Few diversions are possible, though, when Warburton maintains such a monkish dedication to training. Brother Ben works as a physiotherapist for Newport-Gwent Dragons, and the art of staying in peak condition has evidently been transmitted. The gym routines he is practising in preparation for the Six Nations sound formidable.

“If I don’t do a certain number of sessions per week, then I’m not mentally right for the game. I like to do weights that make me feel powerful and explosive. I do quite a lot of extra skill work in my spare time — I bring in a tennis racket and a ball, just for hand-eye co-ordination.”
He comes across as almost Wilkinson-esque in his work ethic. “That’s a compliment,” he beams. “I wouldn’t say I’m obsessive, because I can switch off from rugby pretty easily. I don’t even have a rugby ball in my house.”
Warburton’s innate competitiveness has been stoked by the reward of the captaincy. He intuits the shift towards greater athleticism in modern rugby — as exemplified by Wales wing George North, the muscle-bound 19 year-old whom he affectionately labels a “freak” — and wants to establish an example.
Does he feel he possesses natural leadership qualities? “I struggle to find them now,” he says, modestly. “When Warren Gatland chose me, I was suggesting that there were other people better. I was putting myself down a bit.

“But he showed me illustrations of what I did during a game. If we won an important penalty, I would turn wildly excited and start patting everybody on the back. Or there was a key decision to be made, I would snatch the ball off somebody to make sure nobody took a rash one. In time, I recognised what my own style was. I haven’t tried to be like anybody else.

“I just thought that I would do it my way. If you walked into a training session and you had no inkling before who the captain was, it wouldn’t be immediately obvious. I don’t really impose myself on fellow players. I don’t believe that’s the right way. You shouldn’t single yourself out as being above others.”
At Wales’s World Cup base in Auckland, Warbuton’s absence of ego was manifest, as he rejected the captain’s prerogative to demand a room to himself. Instead, he chose to share with Dan Lydiate, his back-row partner on the blindside. “It did bother me. Waking up on a big match day, it can be daunting on your own. You’re more isolated, more nervous. If you have someone else with you, it’s fine. I like being part of the team.”
Games were scarcely more auspicious, of course, than the semi-final against France in which Warburton played a mere 19 minutes. After the red card, and the anguish it caused him and his parents, he claims finally to have moved on. “I did see a programme about it about six weeks later, which I got quite upset about. It was called That Semi-Final, on BBC Wales.

"They showed the tackle and the reaction of the crowd who had been at the Millennium that morning. That’s when it really hit home how big it was. Other than that, it’s done. I lost my grandfather before Christmas, which puts it in perspective.”
With that, Warburton takes his leave. He is ready for the next task in the day of a reluctant superstar. It is time to walk the dogs.

bedfordwelsh wrote:Lets just hope none of our French trio get injured this weekend.

maestegmafia wrote:Byrne is not included in the Clermont Auvergne squad this weekend, Hook is at flyhalf for USAP, Phillips is at nine for Bayonne.

Cymroglan wrote:54 min gone Phillips playing OK even though his side is doing badly.