Welsh World Cup Squad part 2

Anyone else think Ll Williams and Anscombe did well when they came on? Would definitely take them over Phillips and Hook at the moment.

IronMike wrote:Anyone else think Ll Williams and Anscombe did well when they came on? Would definitely take them over Phillips and Hook at the moment.

Certainly. Anscombe hasn't showed composure like that often this season. I think when playing for a better team he can flourish. Whilst Williams also had a good cameo I'm not so sure if I would take him over Phillips. They're around the same level, so either you go with someone who's had every honour there is, or go for someone whom has had a career marred by inconsistency. The order in front of them is Webb, and then Davies which I think everyone has figured out by now. As for back 3, the only unimpressive player there was Cuthbert. It wasn't a game for wingers and the inexperience of the other guys also showed. In spite of that I feel Walker, Amos and both Morgans did well. A big call would be taking some of those guys over Cuthbert. Baker was anonymous. Moriarty is raw, but the fact that he covers 6 and 8 might work in his favour. I think the rest picks itself. Next up I think Gatland will be focusing on how and where to reintroduce Lee and Liam Williams - both should start against Uruguay for me.

I am never afraid to admit if I was wrong and in Anscombe case I think I might have been. I still don't agree with the way he's been rushed in and given a DC but he showed more yesterday than Hook and if it's a choice between either then I would now take Anscombe.

From an outsiders point of view, I think Phillips and Hook is a negative way to go, particularly with Hook.  Some say he's not a 10, over the years hes been tried in just about every backline positions apart from 9 and the wings.  I think he is a player who needs real attacking momentum to get going wherever he plays.  I would say out of 10,12,13 and 15, 10 is probably where I would want him the least in a WC along with 15.  I don't think the Wales pack is going to give him the sort of platform he needs to really excel in his attacking game in a group with a massive England pack and scrum, and an Australia scrum and breakdown which has come out of nowhere to probably being the strongest in the southern hemisphere.  As far as 10 is concerned, I'd be going with Biggar first choice, Anscombe second choice with the additional benefit of him covering more than 10.  Priestland as the third 10 to go in case of emergencies.  

As for Phillips, he has a lot of heart and will always give his all, has some leadership credentials as well and offers a lot in the way of physicality which is a rare attribute for a 9.  I would take him but with Williams as first choice.

bedfordwelsh wrote:I am never afraid to admit if I was wrong and in Anscombe case I think I might have been.  I still don't agree with the way he's been rushed in and given a DC but he showed more yesterday than Hook and if it's a choice between either then I would now take Anscombe.

Well said mate.

I was ready to eat humble pie and admit my faith in him had been misplaced if he didn't show up. But I am very glad to see him do well.

Let's hope there is more to come

Artful_Dodger wrote:

As for Phillips, he has a lot of heart and will always give his all, has some leadership credentials as well and offers a lot in the way of physicality which is a rare attribute for a 9.  I would take him but with Williams as first choice.

Williams? Or do you mean Webb.

bedfordwelsh wrote:

Artful_Dodger wrote:

As for Phillips, he has a lot of heart and will always give his all, has some leadership credentials as well and offers a lot in the way of physicality which is a rare attribute for a 9.  I would take him but with Williams as first choice.

Williams?  Or do you mean Webb.

Ah yes indeed, Webb is the Ospreys 9 not Williams, my mistake.

I don't want to be too negative, I want to start by pretty much congratulating you guys here for being as knowledgable as you are and pretty much knowing what to expect from this game, I think the last week highlights how much thought and consideration there actually is here so

Also, as bad as the game was from a Welsh POV, I think Schmidt will be the more annoyed coach as when he sits down to rate his individuals and units he'll find that it's impossible to do so because no part of the Irish game was under pressure, infact Ireland could've played a probables v possibles game and found out more!

With regards to Wales, there were some positives and negatives, and it wasn't all doom and gloom, despite there being a lot of discussion around many performances there are certain players who are clearly not ready, or not needed in 4 weeks time..

Nicky Smith - Nowhere near international standard yet, hard to view him outside of getting folded in half come scrum time, and need to see more but I don't think he'd add anything in a RWC squad this time around.

Richard Hibbard - Totally lost, rushing around single handedly, lineout throwing was ropy, and offered little ball in hand, most importantly and annoyingly very little leadership from our most experienced forward!

Aaron Jarvis - Struggled against IRelands first choice front row virtually, and wasn't particularly effective around the park, but the platform wasn't there for him to succeed, stands a decent shout at the RWC through desperation in the position.

Jake Ball - Was Jake Ball, big physical and does what he does, doesn't have the polish of AWJ, or the effectiveness of Charteris but at scrum time held his own very well.

Dominic Day - Was Jake Ball, big physical... wait what? actually impressed, he and Ball were strong at the scrum, despite the front ro being guided over them, and was physical around the park, RWC will depend if Ball and Davies are confirmed as better options, and alongside Ball offered littl help to Hibbards lineout struggles.

Ross Moriarty - Raw, and a bit wild, overy eager to impress and made a number of mistakes, but on the whole I was a little impressed, he was extremely eager to make an impact, however this RWC see's us with too many 6 options I think, maybe next time.

Justin Tipuric - Same old, hard worker, classy all around, not very effective at the breakdown but in this Welsh pack Mccaw would look lightweight too. Downside, the lack of leadership with an opportunity to step out of Warburtons shadow!

Dan Baker - One of the few real dissapointments, expected a big effort today, but he was anonimous for long periods. Ball carrying focused on the locks and Hibbard, but we need some sort of 8 back up for Falatau!

Mike Phillips - Expected slow, expected ponderous, but got frantic, panicked and useless, I could make a lowlight reel of that first half for Phillips alone.

James Hook - The only man to make Phillips look classy, kicking game out of hand was awfull, the entire backline stuttered because of his erratic nature, and defencively would have been better off running away from the Irish like Phillips did for 55m...

Scott Williams - A little dissapointing, physically he's there, he has the attributes but made a poor captain choice, and too many basic errors from such a talented guy, not helped by Hook inside him though!

Tyler Morgan - Out of his depth, dropped more than he caught, at sea in defence, and just didn't have the platform to show anything, late on with ball in hand a nice offload, but can't make up for 78 minutes of not good enough at this level.

Alex Cuthbert - If he was 6 foot he'd be invisible, he spent more time on the wrong side of the pitch covering in defence, and bobs around like a rag doll in the tackle, had little front foot ball to work with and wasn't running inside 10 lines like he does off Biggar and RP. As always though he's on the scoresheet.

Eli Walker - mmmm... I want to pat him on the back and punch him in the face at the same time, flashes of sheer quality foollowed by way too many brain farts, for me way too many mistakes to be considered for the RWC yet.

Hallam Amos - IMO the big winner from yeterday, like Moriarty he worked like a dog to get involved for the full 80, when put under pressure struggled a bit, some basic errors but on the whole you couldn't ask for more from a debut in that scenario, and has to be considered for back 3 cover, if not a wing start ahead of Cuthbert (Yes Dragons fans he deserves to be considered ahead of Cuthbert now, happy?)

Subs were difficult to judge, Falatau was quality and picked the pack up, Dacey won't be at this RWC and neither will Evans I think.

The interesting points...

Lloyd Williams - Under much more pressure than Phillips at the breakdown however loooked far more composed and his decision making and service was impeccible, extremely impressed by a player I generally dislike!

Gareth Anscombe - showed little all season then seemingly fixed Scott Williams and the Wales backline by being dependable, Hook ran his first 3 touches of the ball up blind allies, whereas Anscombe gave the attack some fluidity, and the first decent pressure kick of the game came from Anscombe on 55 mins, actually putting Felix Jones under pressure! The second came 3 minutes later where he found grass and we claimed the ball back! On this showing Anscombe looked good enough to write Hook off and give Anscombe another shot at the RWC.

James King and Scott Andrews didn't get too much of a chance to show anything, and Mathew Morgan does what Matthew Morgan does for Wales, comes on late, tries to do it all himself, looks lively but ultimately useless, you can't get away with running 15m sideways and playing a ground pass 3m out from your own try line!!
If Morgan wants to play international rugby he has to move to 9 or wing IMO.

Some of my rating may seem harsh, but we're 4 weeks out and 15 players need culling, I would drop...

Smith
Dacey
Evans
Phillips
Hook
Matthew Morgan
Eli Walker

Without looking back whatsoever, other players I would want to see, but the likes of King, Tyler Morgan etc prob won't get another shot anyway.

Looking at the team over the weekends game. I have listed who I think should be dropped this week after not performing.


H Amos (Newport Gwent Dragons) IN
A Cuthbert (Cardiff Blues) IN
T Morgan (Newport Gwent Dragons) IN
S Williams (Scarlets) IN
E Walker (Ospreys) IN
J Hook (Gloucester Rugby) OUT
M Phillips (Racing Metro) OUT
N Smith (Ospreys) OUT
R Hibbard (Gloucester) IN
A Jarvis (Ospreys) OUT
J Ball (Scarlets) IN
D Day (Bath Rugby) OUT
R Moriarty (Gloucester Rugby) IN
J Tipuric (Ospreys) IN
D Baker (Ospreys) IN
R Evans (Scarlets) IN
K Dacey (Cardiff Blues) OUT
S Andrews (Cardiff Blues) OUT
J King (Ospreys) OUT
T Faletau (Newport Gwent Dragons) IN
Ll Williams (Cardiff Blues) IN
G Anscombe (Cardiff Blues) IN
M Morgan (Bristol Rugby) IN

I'm surprised Hallam Amos has received such praise. Thought he looked very shaky at full back. Whilst not wanting to tear him apart and say he's useless or shouldn't go to the World Cup, the first high ball he had to deal with he dropped it unchallenged, and then a minute or two later, he dived over the top of a grubber kick.

I don't think he made as glaring an error as those in the subsequent 75 minutes, but I also don't think he played particularly well, or showed that he would be a good addition to the final squad. Did I miss something? I'm genuinely intrigued to hear what other people thought of his performance.

miaow wrote:I'm surprised Hallam Amos has received such praise. Thought he looked very shaky at full back. Whilst not wanting to tear him apart and say he's useless or shouldn't go to the World Cup, the first high ball he had to deal with he dropped it unchallenged, and then a minute or two later, he dived over the top of a grubber kick.

I don't think he made as glaring an error as those in the subsequent 75 minutes, but I also don't think he played particularly well, or showed that he would be a good addition to the final squad. Did I miss something? I'm genuinely intrigued to hear what other people thought of his performance.

That's incorrect, as I remember him taking it well. The next one he didn't, but I remember him being challenged. I think you must have missed something, he'd be a great addition to the squad. It wouldn't surprise me if he still gets left out of the squad for Cuffbutt though.

Deffo not drop Rob Evans, he has to be 2nd choice behind Jenkins. I would take Morgan and Walker as they're good enough, but I doubt they'll be picked.

Yeah fair enough, it was the second high ball, but it was hardly a challenge from Trimble. He barely got off the ground, just stretching up with his arms. Amos flapped at it unfortunately, poor technique in what is now a vital skill for a three quarter, especially as he was under a pretty ordinary challenge from the opposition.

I'd also add the panicked run he made to cover the short side, only to leave the openside exposed, allowing Darren Cave to score on the inside shoulder unopposed. He just looked a little shaky without the ball, undoubtedly in part due to the lack of structure the whole team was showing in defence. Couldn't have been easy for a full back. I just think he would have been far less exposed if playing on the wing, as Eli Walker was. But I suppose this was part of the test, to see what he could do at full back.

I don't doubt Amos' ability and long term prospects, but could you elaborate on what I might have missed of his performance? I honestly wouldn't say he stood out amongst the Welsh players, forwards or backs, but I'm willing to hear you out.

This trail team just goes to show what a paucity of class we have behind the very well established first xv….in some ways the consistency we have had in that team for several seasons has prevented us bringing others on at a time when we desperately need to be able to field more than 1 quality side. It annoys me that while either sides seem to be able to bring in their new new guys while having their old guard there to do a job when required, we just can't get that right…Hook and Phillips spring to mind. Huge opportunity for them to show their class, Philipps with some trademark breaks around a pack on the back foot and Hook using his head and his boot to at least kick Wales out of trouble.

I think you've got to ask how much the game really means. Hook looked like he knew he was in last chance saloon, and played that way; he threw his body into the tackles, and took the ball into contact with more tenacity than we've seen in the past. Unfortunately, he's not very good at that, and it feels jarring seeing him play that way. He should be commended for the effort though.

However, he was also guilty of drifting wide with the ball in hand in the first few phases too frequently. Anscombe's introduction only emphasised this. Hook tried, and didn't do too badly behind a well beaten pack, but really he was never going to be able to put in a performance that deviated from his strengths and inherent pattern of play, which is to take the ball to the line. Wales also very rarely look to kick the ball into open territory, the kicks are- in theory, at least- almost always contestable up-and-unders, made in the hope of retaining possession and gaining territory. In a game such as this, where Wales presumably wanted to play at a decent tempo and string the phases together, I doubt Hook would have been told to kick differently to how he did; we all know the punishment for deviating from the gameplan as well.

Perhaps motivation regarding the status of the game applies more to Mike Phillips. He has less to prove, but arguably more to lose. If he went into the game all guns blazing, there's the possibility his style of play would put him out of the world cup. Whilst not at the forefront of players' minds, the last thing they want at this stage is to injure themselves this close to the tournament. Phillips should make the squad. It would have been naive of him to put more on the line than he did.

Hook should shave only ever been a 13 or 15. But he doesnt kick well…so a 13…he isn't that quick though so maybe a 15….ah feck it i give up.

Anscombe just overtook him in the solid 10 can play 15 as well stakes.

maestegmafia wrote:Looking at the team over the weekends game. I have listed who I think should be dropped this week after not performing.


H Amos (Newport Gwent Dragons) IN
A Cuthbert (Cardiff Blues) IN
T Morgan (Newport Gwent Dragons) IN
S Williams (Scarlets) IN
E Walker (Ospreys) IN
J Hook (Gloucester Rugby) OUT
M Phillips (Racing Metro) OUT
N Smith (Ospreys) OUT
R Hibbard (Gloucester) IN
A Jarvis (Ospreys) OUT
J Ball (Scarlets) IN
D Day (Bath Rugby) OUT
R Moriarty (Gloucester Rugby) IN
J Tipuric (Ospreys) IN
D Baker (Ospreys) IN
R Evans (Scarlets) IN
K Dacey (Cardiff Blues) OUT
S Andrews (Cardiff Blues) OUT
J King (Ospreys) OUT
T Faletau (Newport Gwent Dragons) IN
Ll Williams (Cardiff Blues) IN
G Anscombe (Cardiff Blues) IN
M Morgan (Bristol Rugby) IN

Cuthbert is a liability in defence, and he offers little in attack to counterbalance that. I'd drop him, but I bet that late try (which any winger worth his salt could have run in) saves him.

Hibbard will probably be saved by other hookers' inexperience.

Depends how many hookers make the squad. If just two then the former test lion might not make the cut.

I think Cuthbert may make the next round but may not make the final 31.

Amos and Morgan both looked more dangerous. Cuthbert needs to up his work rate massively.

I imagine we will take 3 hookers which I guess will save Hibbard likewise I guess we will take 3 No9s which might save Phillips.

I'm sure they will be retained for one more round. But I'm not sure we will take three hookers and three scrumhalfs

Be interesting to see who he drops this week now

It was about ten players from memory. May be more?

I would guess at Smith, Dacey, Andrews, Thornton, Day, King, Ll Wiliams, Hook, Allen and Dixon.

Could add Hook, Jarvis and one of the back three to that list as well.

maestegmafia wrote:I'm sure they will be retained for one more round. But I'm not sure we will take three hookers and three scrumhalfs

I'd be very surprised if we didn't.

miaow wrote:

maestegmafia wrote:I'm sure they will be retained for one more round. But I'm not sure we will take three hookers and three scrumhalfs

I'd be very surprised if we didn't.

True

We have had four I some of our Six nations squads.

I would guess at Hibbs, Owens and Baldwin making it. Dacey to get dropped this week.

I'm not sure Evans has done much to oust Paul James scrummaging abilities, and with Lee/Jarvis/Francis near already there he has much needed experience!

Morgan (M) and Walker are certainly not good enough, both offer an attacking threat, but so mistakes in international rugby are match losing ones, and both are capable of losing matches IMO.

As an Ireland fan I was pretty annoyed that Wales didnt seem bothered at all for this game. It almost seemed like some sort of ploy to just treat as if it wasnt a test match from the start and not take it seriously for some reason.

What scrummaging abilities? James is a card machine. I've no idea why some people rate him so highly when it comes to scrum time.

mikey_dragon wrote:What scrummaging abilities? James is a card machine. I've no idea why some people rate him so highly when it comes to scrum time.

He may give away the odd penalty, but he doesn't get folded in half by the likes of the Irish front row, who he's played and got the upper hand on on numerous occasions.

GunsGerms wrote:As an Ireland fan I was pretty annoyed that Wales didnt seem bothered at all for this game. It almost seemed like some sort of ploy to just treat as if it wasnt a test match from the start and not take it seriously for some reason.

It's hard to blame the 8-10 players who have rarely had a sniff of international rugby or were on debut, none had a platform to play with.

I would be annoyed as an Irish fan too, this match was a training match for the odd player to stake a claim, whereas it would provide enough fodder to drop a lot of them, Smith, Moriarty, Phillips, Hook, Tyler Morgan, Matthew Morgan can now all be dropped without whinging that they never got a shot.

Was that Irelands 1st choice front row? Cian Healy wasnt there!

miaow wrote:Yeah fair enough, it was the second high ball, but it was hardly a challenge from Trimble. He barely got off the ground, just stretching up with his arms. Amos flapped at it unfortunately, poor technique in what is now a vital skill for a three quarter, especially as he was under a pretty ordinary challenge from the opposition.

I'd also add the panicked run he made to cover the short side, only to leave the openside exposed, allowing Darren Cave to score on the inside shoulder unopposed. He just looked a little shaky without the ball, undoubtedly in part due to the lack of structure the whole team was showing in defence. Couldn't have been easy for a full back. I just think he would have been far less exposed if playing on the wing, as Eli Walker was. But I suppose this was part of the test, to see what he could do at full back.

I don't doubt Amos' ability and long term prospects, but could you elaborate on what I might have missed of his performance? I honestly wouldn't say he stood out amongst the Welsh players, forwards or backs, but I'm willing to hear you out.

How does he have poor technique? He has good technique and has continued to show it throughout his career.

True with regards to that, but as you seem to allude to, it was more of a team error. I don't see why you single out the guy getting his second cap. A little bit of an error rate was to be expected from some of these guys, but not the poor team performance I guess.

In a game where the opposition seemed to dominate possession and territory, ideally not a game for back 3 players, I think guys like Amos and Walker did well almost every time they touched the ball. The showed desire and skill, something that is lacking in the more experienced guys. They continued to make ground and beat defenders. We only saw glimpses of their capabilities, I would gamble and go with them over Cuthbert and see how they do with the first team.

Fanster wrote:

GunsGerms wrote:As an Ireland fan I was pretty annoyed that Wales didnt seem bothered at all for this game. It almost seemed like some sort of ploy to just treat as if it wasnt a test match from the start and not take it seriously for some reason.

It's hard to blame the 8-10 players who have rarely had a sniff of international rugby or were on debut, none had a platform to play with.

I would be annoyed as an Irish fan too, this match was a training match for the odd player to stake a claim, whereas it would provide enough fodder to drop a lot of them, Smith, Moriarty, Phillips, Hook, Tyler Morgan, Matthew Morgan can now all be dropped without whinging that they never got a shot.

I doubt very much Tyler will be dropped - judging him on his first international outing partnered with a very lack lustre Scot Williams behind an awful pack is redonkulous.

propdavid_london wrote:Was that Irelands 1st choice front row?  Cian Healy wasnt there!

It wasn't far off. Best and Ross were playing. The Leinster back-up players are good too as is Kilcoyne, certainly better than our third choice players.

Fanster wrote:

mikey_dragon wrote:What scrummaging abilities? James is a card machine. I've no idea why some people rate him so highly when it comes to scrum time.

He may give away the odd penalty, but he doesn't get folded in half by the likes of the Irish front row, who he's played and got the upper hand on on numerous occasions.

I suggest you look into that. At one point he had the highest penalty count in the premiership for a prop. I've seen him get folded on occasion too, hence why I could never understand why some people rated him as good as Jenkins. How often has James faced Ross? I do remember Ospreys having a dominant pack at one point, but I'm not sure if it was James or Bevington getting the nod with Hibbard, Jones, Evans, etc.

mikey_dragon wrote:

miaow wrote:Yeah fair enough, it was the second high ball, but it was hardly a challenge from Trimble. He barely got off the ground, just stretching up with his arms. Amos flapped at it unfortunately, poor technique in what is now a vital skill for a three quarter, especially as he was under a pretty ordinary challenge from the opposition.

I'd also add the panicked run he made to cover the short side, only to leave the openside exposed, allowing Darren Cave to score on the inside shoulder unopposed. He just looked a little shaky without the ball, undoubtedly in part due to the lack of structure the whole team was showing in defence. Couldn't have been easy for a full back. I just think he would have been far less exposed if playing on the wing, as Eli Walker was. But I suppose this was part of the test, to see what he could do at full back.

I don't doubt Amos' ability and long term prospects, but could you elaborate on what I might have missed of his performance? I honestly wouldn't say he stood out amongst the Welsh players, forwards or backs, but I'm willing to hear you out.

How does he have poor technique? He has good technique and has continued to show it throughout his career.

True with regards to that, but as you seem to allude to, it was more of a team error. I don't see why you single out the guy getting his second cap. A little bit of an error rate was to be expected from some of these guys, but not the poor team performance I guess.

In a game where the opposition seemed to dominate possession and territory, ideally not a game for back 3 players, I think guys like Amos and Walker did well almost every time they touched the ball. The showed desire and skill, something that is lacking in the more experienced guys. They continued to make ground and beat defenders. We only saw glimpses of their capabilities, I would gamble and go with them over Cuthbert and see how they do with the first team.

I'd lay more blame for Darren Cave's try at Mike Phillips's feet, considering how experienced he is. Didn't he notice Ireland had turned the scrum and taken our back row out of the game? What was he doing drifting across?

It was always asking a lot of a player who played on the wing for most of last season to slot straight in at full back - especially given the rumours that there has been little focus the rugby-playing side of things in training.

Did seem like from a "neutral" that Wales drew out the white flag before a fire shot was fired.

Harsh perhaps but Wales didn't put out enough 1st teamers to threaten this Irish side in my opinion.

Only when Faletau came on did Wales have some semblance of fight in them and that was just 1 player galvanising them.

Could have been different if they had another two or three players gelling things together. It's not helpful to anyone's development if the match is one sided.

A lot of Welsh fans would have shelled out money to watch this match and they would have been disappointed.

Also where was Tomas Francis?

Francis will play in Dublin - I suspect he's being wrapped in cotton wool with Samson being touch and go.

I think some of our back line did well considering the awful pack in front of them.

As I predicted, a stuffing. Terribly unbalanced pack, and woeful halfbacks.

It's not fair on debutants though is it to have an awful pack?

Surely Francis starting at Millennium Stadium in front of the Welsh crowd would have been better?

Sure wrap him in cotton wool but he needs game time if you want him properly match fit for the RWC.


Faletau needs to be wrapped in cotton wool.

Agree to an extent, yes.

And there in was the problem, Francis IMO shouldve started, however Smith was so far off the pace it wouldn't have made that much of a difference!

Baker, Jarvis and Moriarty were similarly not up to standard.

But as much struggle as these players had Hibbard, Tipuric, and Phillips shouldve done more to help them out, especially in areas where a cool head was needed!

I'm not sure its fair to call Scott Williams lacklustre, when Hook was clearly the problem!

beshocked wrote:Did seem like from a "neutral" that Wales drew out the white flag before a fire shot was fired.

Harsh perhaps but Wales didn't put out enough 1st teamers to threaten this Irish side in my opinion.

Only when Faletau came on did Wales have some semblance of fight in them and that was just 1 player galvanising them.

Could have been different if they had another two or three players gelling things together. It's not helpful to anyone's development if the match is one sided.

A lot of Welsh fans would have shelled out money to watch this match and they would have been disappointed.

Also where was Tomas Francis?

That is harsh. Most of us knew they would be second best, but I can't fault the effort of the players. When I seen the Irish team announcement, I took one look at their pack and bench, and knew it would be a very tough day at the office. Considering the coaches apparently had some kiwi agreement you wonder if Schmidt put in a lot of first team players just to try and get one over on us.

As for selection, you've a point. There are a few players I wouldn't have selected and some I would have. For me, Francis should have been on the bench at least. Perhaps he will earn his first cap with the first team in Dublin.

I'd be very surprised and disappointed if he didn't .

mikey_dragon wrote:

beshocked wrote:Did seem like from a "neutral" that Wales drew out the white flag before a fire shot was fired.

Harsh perhaps but Wales didn't put out enough 1st teamers to threaten this Irish side in my opinion.

Only when Faletau came on did Wales have some semblance of fight in them and that was just 1 player galvanising them.

Could have been different if they had another two or three players gelling things together. It's not helpful to anyone's development if the match is one sided.

A lot of Welsh fans would have shelled out money to watch this match and they would have been disappointed.

Also where was Tomas Francis?

That is harsh. Most of us knew they would be second best, but I can't fault the effort of the players. When I seen the Irish team announcement, I took one look at their pack and bench, and knew it would be a very tough day at the office. Considering the coaches apparently had some kiwi agreement you wonder if Schmidt put in a lot of first team players just to try and get one over on us.

As for selection, you've a point. There are a few players I wouldn't have selected and some I would have. For me, Francis should have been on the bench at least. Perhaps he will earn his first cap with the first team in Dublin.

Yes, I'm sure Schmidt is so driven by his desire to 'get one over' on the Welsh that he tore up his plans for progressing the team toward the RWC.

What team do you think Schmidt should have put out? Not just any team, a weaker team for the sake of being weaker, but a team with purpose. A world cup reason for every selection...

Fanster wrote:

GunsGerms wrote:As an Ireland fan I was pretty annoyed that Wales didnt seem bothered at all for this game. It almost seemed like some sort of ploy to just treat as if it wasnt a test match from the start and not take it seriously for some reason.

It's hard to blame the 8-10 players who have rarely had a sniff of international rugby or were on debut, none had a platform to play with.

I would be annoyed as an Irish fan too, this match was a training match for the odd player to stake a claim, whereas it would provide enough fodder to drop a lot of them, Smith, Moriarty, Phillips, Hook, Tyler Morgan, Matthew Morgan can now all be dropped without whinging that they never got a shot.

Why would you start 8-10 players when the WC starts in just over a month? Seems farcical and doesnt do anyone any favours.

maestegmafia wrote:

miaow wrote:

maestegmafia wrote:I'm sure they will be retained for one more round. But I'm not sure we will take three hookers and three scrumhalfs

I'd be very surprised if we didn't.

True

We have had four I some of our Six nations squads.

I would guess at Hibbs, Owens and Baldwin making it. Dacey to get dropped this week.

Gareth Davies is equally capable on the wing in my opinion, certainly knows his way to the try line

IronMike wrote:

Gareth Davies is equally capable on the wing in my opinion, certainly knows his way to the try line

It's just as well wingers have no other responsibilities, and all they have to do is run a bit with the ball.

Chunky Norwich wrote:

IronMike wrote:

Gareth Davies is equally capable on the wing in my opinion, certainly knows his way to the try line

It's just as well wingers have no other responsibilities, and all they have to do is run a bit with the ball.

As a bench player it's good to have many strings to your bow.

I would certainly like to see Gareth Davies in the match day 23 for the big games.

Munchkin wrote:

mikey_dragon wrote:

beshocked wrote:Did seem like from a "neutral" that Wales drew out the white flag before a fire shot was fired.

Harsh perhaps but Wales didn't put out enough 1st teamers to threaten this Irish side in my opinion.

Only when Faletau came on did Wales have some semblance of fight in them and that was just 1 player galvanising them.

Could have been different if they had another two or three players gelling things together. It's not helpful to anyone's development if the match is one sided.

A lot of Welsh fans would have shelled out money to watch this match and they would have been disappointed.

Also where was Tomas Francis?

That is harsh. Most of us knew they would be second best, but I can't fault the effort of the players. When I seen the Irish team announcement, I took one look at their pack and bench, and knew it would be a very tough day at the office. Considering the coaches apparently had some kiwi agreement you wonder if Schmidt put in a lot of first team players just to try and get one over on us.

As for selection, you've a point. There are a few players I wouldn't have selected and some I would have. For me, Francis should have been on the bench at least. Perhaps he will earn his first cap with the first team in Dublin.

Yes, I'm sure Schmidt is so driven by his desire to 'get one over' on the Welsh that he tore up his plans for progressing the team toward the RWC.

What team do you think Schmidt should have put out? Not just any team, a weaker team for the sake of being weaker, but a team with purpose. A world cup reason for every selection...

I thought Schmidt was smarter than that...

Schmidt had the right idea, Gatland didn't. I would have left out some third string players in the Wales team, and first teamers in the Ireland team. I understand Ross, Ryan and Henry needed a game, but I didn't think Heaslip and Best should have been in the team. If Heaslip got injured that would have been a massive loss.

Heaslip never gets injured. He has only had one ankle injury in his career I think. He is indestructable.