Leigh Halfpenny! ! How important is he for Wales??

If Wales loose Leigh Halfpenny due (too injury) or should he decide to go and play in France and not be avalible for Wales selection. Then in all honesty i cannot see Wales scoring many points at all.

For the last 2 games he has kept Wales in the game with his boot.

discuss.

Great player & just about the only Welsh player showing form at the moment. Some of his effort & form needs to rub off on the rest of the squad & quick.

Very important, but a fullback he is not. Get him back on the wing.

Echoing the above posts, we wanted him at fullback when we had very little other options, now we have more "natural" fullbacks in Liam Williams and Tom Prydie coming through, its evident his best position is on the wing.

Griff, I agree. Halfpenny' is more suited to wing. At FB, we need a bigger athlete with real presence, with some great footwork as well as pace, and a big boot. Byrne is a better FB, Liam W might turn out to be (though he needs to add at least another 4 - 5 K of muscle), and the likes of Prydie need to bulk up a bit too.

How Wales do in the next 6N will have a lot to do with injuries. We really miss Adam and Lydiate, but we need centres with greater footwork and guile and a more balanced centre partnership. Stoddart was a strong runner before injury and may hit form after his comeback, as might Henson (who is now playing regularly). Pretorious becomes available from Dec, which strengthens back row options. The players available to the squad could be far greater if we get luck with injuries -- including the likes of Craig Mitchell.

I agree OspreyDragon. I'd try Liam Williams because a) he's the form 15 in Wales (although Byrne is apparently playing well but I don't get to watch him) and b) he's a slippery customer who runs great lines and has the balance needed for a top 15. Halfpenny is a talented athlete but for me he's better as a finisher or one on one with the touch line near him rather than the open spaces he finds himself in at full back. He doesn't seem to know what to do with the space. And, he falls over far too much. He runs the ball back and slips and falls at the feet of the defender time and time again: turnover city!

In 1/2P; North and Cuthbert we have a very settled back 3 - We need to sort the 10 out get JD back and have a decent platform to work from. Oh and perhaps drawing a man before passing would be a good idea along with longer studs for 1/2 p

1/2p should play 2nd 5/8ths.

Is a 2/8ths a 1/4 back

anotherworldofpain wrote:1/2p should play 2nd 5/8ths.

Isn't 2nd 5/8ths the same as inside centre? That would take a big shift in style away from the large crash ball centre that we have always employed. Thing is, I can see us trying it but not actually changing the way we play, i.e. halfpenny will end up running crash ball!!!

I am up for this change in principle, but not with halfpenny. His distribution is not great at 15 so I don't feel it would be good enough from 12. Dare I say it though, the one we don't mention Gavin Henson, at his best fills this role perfectly. Great distribution and kicking game, good defender, good vision, can play the bash game when needed. Such a shame he's a liability in other areas. Such a waste...!

RubyGuby wrote:In 1/2P; North and Cuthbert we have a very settled back 3 - We need to sort the 10 out get JD back and have a decent platform to work from. Oh and perhaps drawing a man before passing would be a good idea along with longer studs for 1/2 p

To be honest Cuthbert has not really shown much form of guts this season, IMO. He has been good on the attack, but defensively he has really lacked. Just looking at the Samoa game, he backed away from the Number 8 when he was on the run, leading to the first try. He was not on his wing, which Khan ran down for the second try, and he allowed Lemi to out pace him (and get the kick off) for the third.

Maybe if he were to be put on the bench, Halfpenny moved to his wing and Liam Williams brought into fullback we would have a far more solid defense, without really losing too much in attack.

I also prefer Halfpenny on the wing, where he is a deadly finisher and great in one on one situations. He has done a superb job at 15, and his bravery and heart are amazing - but running from deep into crowded midfields is not his strength, nor tackling head-on from a static position (as in 1st Argie try).

I also think that having one giant wing is great, but having two AND a crashball centre (excellent players though they all are) is too much of a good thing. Our tactics currently are "get it out to the big boys," hence the total absence of offloads, chips, grubbers. We should learn from Beale & Barnes.

I agree with ScarletSpiderman there. Cuthbert has been doing alright for his region, but that hasn't carried over to Wales for a while now.

Just to point out too that you mention Cuthbert not being on his wing, but I was shocked to see Kahn Fo'utaili (sp.) run over Jamie Roberts in the first instance! That's what allowed him to carry on and chip through for the try!

Griff wrote:I agree with ScarletSpiderman there. Cuthbert has been doing alright for his region, but that hasn't carried over to Wales for a while now.

Just to point out too that you mention Cuthbert not being on his wing, but I was shocked to see Kahn Fo'utaili (sp.) run over Jamie Roberts in the first instance! That's what allowed him to carry on and chip through for the try!

Griff - you're right. Jamie was too frontal and static, and Kahn ran all over him, also the try scorer shook off RP with consummate ease.