rhys preistland. has he lost it.

some would ask if he ever had it. i think he has been due his chance for some time. he only got the eye of gatland after filling in at the last minute for jones in the rwc11 warm ups. he was nailed on from then on.

he had a shaky game against england. that was in no small part due to englands supprisingly good and aggressive defense, closing down priestland's space.

yesterday many would have seen yet another shaky performance and would point to the lack of trys as stark evidence of this. however, he did nothing wrong, he had few if any howlers and everything he did do he did well.

but the crucial thing, the stand-out thing for me, that which shows he is still the excelent flyhalf we all (many of us) thought he was, he always made the right choice.

preistland is one of wales' great recent finds. as a flyhalf he will be under more scrutiny than any forward or any other back because he is our 10, and that is still the most important shirt in wales.

well done preistland. keep it going

The Italian gameplan was to mark him out of the game and they did that very well i feel. He is still learning the international game but i see that he has alot of potential to be a great international 10.

stick with him i say,still a young guy learning his trade...he had great RWC.....possibly because of low expectations of a young welsh side reducing pressure...now expectations are high hes maybe feeling it a bit.....experience will help this...

He never had it. Even in the world cup he aimlessly kicked away the ball in good attacking positions. Not good enough I'm afraid.

We can get away with it in the 6n but I can't see us beating on of the big 3 with him at 10.

Second season syndrome maybe?

Noone better than him in Wales.The job is his.If anyone better comes along then he is out.That is how selection works.

Have to agree with young guns. Did he ever have it?!?! His decision making is quite poor. His kicking game is sometimes dreadful for an international 10. He has barely got a break in him and I think he's been Sussed out by the opposition. At the WC he had the luxury of being an unknown, but you need a bit more than that and it'll be interesting to see if he can up his game. He's already lost the kicking duties and his restates are right oou if Stephen Jones' book!!
I think Gatland will and should stick with him. Apart from Hook, there isn't a lot of competition. Biggar's not up to it and Tovey has largely disappointed again this season, so for now he should be safe.

Priestland had a good game yesterday, made all the right decisions at the right time, kicked very well and released centres/drew the defence.

It wasn't an all singing all dancing performance, but the sign of a good player is making the right decisions at the right time and only going for something if it's on - not trying to get all the glory yourself and getting into trouble.

I can't deny that Priestland links well with his backs. He blew a certain try though. When the backs were lined up out left, he chose to give it to Faletau who was coming on a straight line. He should have used Toby as a decoy and thrown out wide. Aimless kicking isn't good decision making either.

freeman lowell wrote:stick with him i say,still a young guy learning his trade...he had great RWC.....possibly because of low expectations of a young welsh side reducing pressure...now expectations are high hes maybe feeling it a bit.....experience will help this...

Spot on with that comment

I was never quite sold on Priestland, but he has had some good matches. For the most part he did well in the RWC, but was still a little up and down. The question is whether that was due to his being new on the International scene and teams still needed to figure him out.

Or, as AlynDavies mentioned above, is his current form due to the second season syndrome?

He is now 25 years old and is no longer a young 'un. This is when he should be rounding into form.

He was the main reason we got as far as we did in the RWC. If he can get back to that sort of form this Welsh side will be a formidable opposition for anyone. I'm surprised Gatland didn't play Hook after 55-60 mins. He could really have done with a good 20 mins at FH, now if Priestland has a mare or get's injured against France, Hook will come on a little undercooked, and will get stick once again from the Welsh supporters.

If Priestland needs surgery after the 6N then I would start Hook at FH out in Oz and have Tobey as back up.

It's not 2nd season syndrome. He only made his 1st start in June. He's not even had a full season yet. I think that it helped that he was a relative unknown at the WC, but as I've said. Has he been sussed out?

Whilst I dont think Rhys is at his best he is still our best option at 10. Italy yesterday came to Cardiff with one plan, pressurise the halfbacks, slow down welsh ball and blitz on the defence. They did that admirably. Both Priestland and Phillips struggled because the Italians were targetting them. Its simple if you can stop the welsh midfield and wingers getting the ball you can stop the welsh scoring. England did the same in Twickenham.

What is needed at that point is for a couple off big lumps to hit the rucks clearing out better and for the forwards to pick and go stopping the italians from spreading out into a defensive line. Our boys didnt do that and persisted with the running game. That tells me that they need to be a little more streetwise when playing a team that comes to spoil, keep the ball in the forwards more and kick to territory more. We did that better in the second half and the tries came.

Priestland will learn from the last couple of games. Sometimes he has to tell Phillips and the forwards to take it on and that he doesnt want slow ball shovelled out to him when he has a flanker in his face. What is lacking is not skill but experience and thats not so suprising given his age and caps.

manofgwent wrote:It's not 2nd season syndrome. He only made his 1st start in June. He's not even had a full season yet. I think that it helped that he was a relative unknown at the WC, but as I've said. Has he been sussed out?

When I saw the title I was going to come in and give my response. But you beat me to it.

Absolutely right. Too much short sightedness amongst fans. "He (any player) could do it last month. Why can't he do it this month?" Because he's a month longer down the line in opposition counterplans and strategies. Wales were something of an unknown quantity when they arrived at the WC. They had surprise and skill at their command and used it convincingly. But I'm afraid surprise is no longer a factor. Every Welsh player will be sussed and planned for, Gatland gameplans will also be gone over with a fine tooth comb. I'm afraid surprise is no longer a weapon and from now on skill will be the decider.

I am not sure if Priestland is the best 10 Wales have at the moment, i only know that he is the only one been given enough chances to be Wales best 10.

Would Biggar have been given as many chances that Priestland has had, would they not be saying the same thing abpout him?

But would changeing Priestlat for lets say Biggar, be better for Wales or not?

Maybe with Gatland sticking with Priestland be the best thing for Wales, cosistancey is better than regular rotation surely.

I think he deserves a bit of a break. He might or might not be the goods. But you dance with who brung ya, and for the rest of the 6 Nations, that's him. The time to reassess the out half position is after its over.

When I said 'second season syndrome' I wasn't being legalistic. And maybe I phrased it poorly. I was really referring to the lull in form which can sometimes follow a newish player who comes in and starts off well.

I completely agree, however, Priestland is 25 and needs to show he can be a consistent high performer. The question is whether this is a temporary lull in form or whether teams have figured out how to defend him.

Biggar is not an international class outside half. He is a good kicker but provides no threat with ball in hand and his distribution is poor. On top of that he is petulant and tiresome as an individual.

Both Tovey and Steffan Jones are better players with better attitude. Even Henson is a better team player than Biggar.

TycroesOsprey, I guess the other side of the Priestland discussion is if not Priestland, then who should it be? Are these other guys better options? Or do they need a run in the 10 jumper to find out?

after priestland it's hook, then henson

I honestly dont think that Priestland had a bad game, i really dont. Italy went out with a gameplan to mark him out of the game and they did just that but i thought that he did very well under those circumstances.

It will be interesting to see how he goes against France. They will have studied the England game and will target him bigtime, with considerably more firepower than Italy mustered.

samuraidragon wrote:It will be interesting to see how he goes against France. They will have studied the England game and will target him bigtime, with considerably more firepower than Italy mustered.

that is a bit worrying

I am not so sure that France will target Priestland to be honest. They will be trying to win the game more than contain and defend ala Italy yesterday.

If Priestland just pops up passes for Roberts, Faletau and the wings he'll be fine against France.

It's when he tries kicking or running it he looks so hopelessly out of sorts at the moment.

It will be all about the tactics.

I'd actually like to see shingler in a Wales shirt. I know he's obviously unlikely to pay but I think the boy is a rare talent. Priestland is my favourite Welsh fly half but i'm probably biased being a scarlet...

For now, there's no question that you stay with Priestland at 10. Whether you think he's a top fly half or not, he's the man in the shirt and I don't see anybody stepping up and pushing for selection.
You know what you get with Hook. He can look like a world beater, but he blows very hot and cold. It'll be interesting to see how Tovey goes for the Blues next season. He'll definately be more in the spotlight and it'll be interesting to see how he copes with the added pressure that playing for a more expectant team. We'll really see what Biggar's about next year, with the Ospreys very much weakened. Will Matthew Morgan force his way in? The new kid on the block will be Steffan Jones. Has a great boot, very skilful and like Morgan, has lots of potential. Personally I think Priestland is safe for the time being, but I'd put money on Jason Tovey winning his 1st cap next November. Rob Howley's will be drooling!!!

Hes a lovely player and will/shouldave better days but...

Maybe he isnt quite in the best of form at the moment. To me Wales look to have a lot of good things going for them at the moment but they lack subtlety or creativity and usually that starts with the no. 10. Saturday just seemed to be about bashing big guys on their own into the Italian line in the hope that eventually one would get through. It works - Wales have a huge team these days, great fitness, and enough patience to last the whole match - but I cant help thinking that it wont be enough against the SH teams who will be able to stand up to the physical bullying.

Sexton went through a bad run a while back. He may get over this.

Its pretty clear hes mentally shot at the moment, its a big call for Gatland as to whether to continue to back him and show faith hoping that helps him or relegate him risking further damage.
I dont see it just as teams having figured him out, hes clearly got his own demons too. His goal kicking deserted him for starters. The chargedown against England looked to rattle him as well
Itd be an easier task if he didnt only have a series of players hes dropped previously to take his place. Is he a flake of Cipriani proportions? Im not convinced of that yet but he is the obvious weak link right now for Wales. That and their discipline.