Six Nations 2016 Wales vs Scotland

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Wales v Scotland

4:50pm - Saturday the 13th of February 2016

Principality Stadium, Cardiff

Teams

Wales
15 Liam Williams
14 George North
13 Jonathan Davies
12 Jamie Roberts
11 Tom James
10 Dan Biggar
9 Gareth Davies
1 Rob Evans
2 Scott Baldwin
3 Samson Lee
4 Luke Charteris
5 Alun Wyn Jones
6 Sam Warburton (c)
7 Justin Tipuric
8 Taulupe Faletau

Reps: Ken Owens, Gethin Jenkins, Tomas Francis, Bradley Davies, Dan Lydiate, Lloyd Williams, Rhys Priestland, Gareth Anscombe

Scotland

15. Stuart Hogg
14. Sean Maitland
13. Mark Bennett
12. Dunc Taylor
11. Tommy Seymour
10. Finn Russell
09. Greig Laidlaw (c)

01. Alasdair Dickinson
02. Ross Ford
03. Willem Nel
04. Richie Gray
05. Jonny Gray
06. John Barclay
07. John Hardie
08. David Denton

Reps: McInally, Reid, Fagerson, Swinson, Cowan, Hidalgo-Clyne, Weir, Lamont



Referee is unfortunately George Clancy (IRFU) which ruins the game generally.

Touch judges: John Lacey (IRFU) & Federico Anselmi (UAR)

TMO: Graham Hughes (RFU)

Cyril wrote:

maestegmafia wrote:Massive improvement in the scots since last week.

They did seem to find more gaps and score tries this week. Lesser opposition today or a better performance all round? Lots of holes in the Welsh defence. I think the Scots will be disappointed with that defeat as they were ahead for long periods and got in with some tries.

Scotland played well but Wales should be congratulated for breaking their duck in line breaks & getting over the line eventually.

majesticimperialman wrote:

glamorganalun wrote:

majesticimperialman wrote:I just posted this on the wrong thread, and have to delete it.

So i will post on the right thread right now.

So Wales won today with a try that should not of bee given. I am talking about the Davies try.
How the hell did the TMO not spot this?

But the try was given and Wales won the game.

But a question too all Wales fans. Are you happy with the way Wales played today. ( FORGET THE WIN) I am asking are you happy with the way Wales played.

What with Wales being one of the most settled teams in the NH. Should they have won with more points? And should they have played a lot better?

I thought Wales were poor, they have not changed booting the ball for length, no cutting edge and having to go back to the smashing game. I still believe our forwards and backs coaches need to be replaced, same faults and lack of new ideas/set plays. I believe we have the players to improve in the squad but we seem to be going backwards. Team selection is also an issue for me, if you play for Cardiff you have a good chance of getting into the squad until they are found out.

I suspect both Ireland and Wales only has 6 days to recover from a hard match which may explain their perfromances.

i too think Wales was poor. I also think that using the 6 day turn around for their performance ( poor performance.) an excuse.  I also agree with you that Wales attack game as not changed since  i don't know 2012 maybe?
Pass the ball to jamie roberts to bosh the ball up the centre of the field. I think the best play was North's try.

Still as they say a win is a win. So well played Wales for getting the win. But i still think they are way off how they can play.

On the way to Cork so yet to watch game again on TV but impressions at the game were that our 9's service is often too slow at the base and he is taking one step before delivery.Our box kicking and tactical kicking today was shocking and NZ's back 3 will destroy us in the summer if it's not addressed.It seems clear to me that Warbs must play at 7 because against an international back row Justin is too readily outmuscled.If he plays 7 we need a different version of Warrenball.Btw,that Jonny Gray could be a right world class monster with the right coaching.Pleased we won but I thought the outcome very uncertain for a long time.

Cyril wrote:

glamorganalun wrote:

Cyril wrote:

offload wrote:

majesticimperialman wrote:With regards to Scotland, they looked very  poor last week against England.

Scotland looked like they could play for a year. and not score a try..And they (Scotland ) was at home last week.

Yet this week  they travel to Wales and score 2 trys.

I personaly think Scotland should of won ( deserved to have won) against Wales today.

I personally (see what I did there) don't give a monkeys about Scotland who simply raised their game against better opposition this week.  

So... you expect Wales beat England? I look forward to you eating those words butty

Sometimes it is harder to play at home as you should know i.e., the recent  RWC

Yep, or last year's 6Ns?

Or the world cup where the host nation were absolutely embarrassing?

Duncan Taylor was awesome Roberts was even more awesome. Thoroughly deserved man of the match. Scotland much improved but much more to do.

Wales all the best for the rest of the tourney. I now have a gloating father to put up with for another year, although he even thought Scotland were unlucky...

Good luck lads.

You're Welsh and Scottish? That is bad luck

Cyril wrote:You're Welsh and Scottish? That is bad luck

Tell me about it

Still, at least it gives me another team to have a vested interest in that doesn't get drilled every 6N!

glamorganalun wrote:The Scottish prop tired and made loads of mistakes in the last 10 mins or more.  I hope James gets dropped, Cuthbert should be on the bench or M Morgan and not Anscombe, Morgam offers more than Anscombe does not tackle as clearly demonstrated today.

Cuthbert should hahahahahaha

True Raven wrote:

Shifty wrote:

glamorganalun wrote:The Scottish prop tired and made loads of mistakes in the last 10 mins or more.  I hope James gets dropped, Cuthbert should be on the bench or M Morgan and not Anscombe, Morgam offers more than Anscombe does not tackle as clearly demonstrated today.

I don't understand what James has done wrong, ok he's not fashionable, but he's not letting anyone down,  that break he made was fantastic and if the cover tackle didn't come I wonder if you'd still be posting this.

His tackle to save the try last week against Ireland shows he's a decent player.  Cuthbert doesn't deserve to be in the squad, never mind match day squad, he's been too poor for too long and James in my opinion has made no where near the same amount of errors that Cuthbert has done in the last few seasons.  I think there are other things that need looking at before we consider dropping James.

James lacks top end pace for an international winger and should never have been caught by a centre but I agree with you that's he's done nothing wrong and should keep his place.  I think people are forgetting just how bad cuthbert was

Apparently Amos lacks top end pace. I think Amos would've scored James' run, if for no other reason that he can hand off. Top end speed. Such a cementheadism

Shifty wrote:

offload wrote:

Shifty wrote:

glamorganalun wrote:The Scottish prop tired and made loads of mistakes in the last 10 mins or more.  I hope James gets dropped, Cuthbert should be on the bench or M Morgan and not Anscombe, Morgam offers more than Anscombe does not tackle as clearly demonstrated today.

I don't understand what James has done wrong, ok he's not fashionable, but he's not letting anyone down,  that break he made was fantastic and if the cover tackle didn't come I wonder if you'd still be posting this.

His tackle to save the try last week against Ireland shows he's a decent player.  Cuthbert doesn't deserve to be in the squad, never mind match day squad, he's been too poor for too long and James in my opinion has made no where near the same amount of errors that Cuthbert has done in the last few seasons.  I think there are other things that need looking at before we consider dropping James.

Agree about Cuthbert, but concerned because I don't know that James is the answer.  He was out of position for the first try and IMO, any international wing should be fast enough top score in a straight run in.  Not convinced by him.

Oh I totally agree, he's NOT international class, that's clear to see.  But I'm not sure who could come in to replace him.  I really can't think of ANY stand out wingers in Wales, if Halfpenny was fit, I might make the case for either him or Liam Williams.  Jordan Williams I might give a chance to he's so elusive, but probably too small.  Amos maybe?

Jordan Williams. Blinking heck. You really don't pay attention to current rugby.

majesticimperialman wrote:

glamorganalun wrote:

majesticimperialman wrote:I just posted this on the wrong thread, and have to delete it.

So i will post on the right thread right now.

So Wales won today with a try that should not of bee given. I am talking about the Davies try.
How the hell did the TMO not spot this?

But the try was given and Wales won the game.

But a question too all Wales fans. Are you happy with the way Wales played today. ( FORGET THE WIN) I am asking are you happy with the way Wales played.

What with Wales being one of the most settled teams in the NH. Should they have won with more points? And should they have played a lot better?

I thought Wales were poor, they have not changed booting the ball for length, no cutting edge and having to go back to the smashing game. I still believe our forwards and backs coaches need to be replaced, same faults and lack of new ideas/set plays. I believe we have the players to improve in the squad but we seem to be going backwards. Team selection is also an issue for me, if you play for Cardiff you have a good chance of getting into the squad until they are found out.

I suspect both Ireland and Wales only has 6 days to recover from a hard match which may explain their perfromances.

i too think Wales was poor. I also think that using the 6 day turn around for their performance ( poor performance.) an excuse.  I also agree with you that Wales attack game as not changed since  i don't know 2012 maybe?
Pass the ball to jamie roberts to bosh the ball up the centre of the field. I think the best play was North's try.

Still as they say a win is a win. So well played Wales for getting the win. But i still think they are way off how they can play.

You obviously don't watch Wales properly. The "attacking" game has changed, because we don't get crashes too often and now try playing with width, as in chuck the ball wide ASAP without drawing people.

I didn't really see Roberts crash too much today. When did you often, bar the try?

RiscaGame wrote:

glamorganalun wrote:The Scottish prop tired and made loads of mistakes in the last 10 mins or more.  I hope James gets dropped, Cuthbert should be on the bench or M Morgan and not Anscombe, Morgam offers more than Anscombe does not tackle as clearly demonstrated today.

Cuthbert should hahahahahaha

Actually having caught up with my post again. Matthew Morgan defensive? Jesus H Christ

Commiserations Scotland anyway. I gave up the ghost at half time and text my bro in law praising you. I knew cement head would give us stick, but didn't think we could wake up like we did.

I think it's time to bench Tipuric again.

To be fair Risca i used to have an Ospreys season ticket and go and watch the other 3 regions on the weeks we were away as well as watching a premiership game on Saturdays. but the last 2 years that has dropped off considerably since we bought a static caravan in pendine. Now we occasionally go and see carmarthen quins, narberth or tenby. but this season that has been rare. i guess we just got out of the habbit of going to rugby games. i have been watching the televised games involving the ospreys, but not much else, this year.

JD was very disappointing for me, kicked away everything.

We have to go back to the Lyd/Fal/Warb backrow, thats two weeks in a row Lydiate has been bullied at the breakdown and against the physical French we need Warburton in his best position and Lydiate at his defensive best.

bedfordwelsh wrote:JD was very disappointing for me, kicked away everything.

We have to go back to the Lyd/Fal/Warb backrow, thats two weeks in a row Tipuric has been bullied at the breakdown and against the physical French we need Warburton in his best position and Lydiate at his defensive best.

I agree Bedford but I assume you mean Tips. Doh Sorted lol

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:

Cyril wrote:You're Welsh and Scottish? That is bad luck

Tell me about it

Still,  at least it gives me another team to have a vested interest in that doesn't get drilled every 6N!

Or you could just do like emack and be English/Scottish and support NZ

Hmm... at the end of the day our fitness and set piece quality decided the day, but we were outplayed and out-thought for long stretches.

Liam Williams and JD have both been poor since their return to Welsh colours. Both seem to have forgotten how to pass and show no guile or spatial awareness. Dan Biggar's positional kicking was well below his usual standards. Tom James? Not really - but perhaps no-one else atm. Anscombe? Oh dear. In contrast, Priestland did alright.

AWJ and Charteris were immense, Faletau very good too.

Scotland looking threatening these days. Hogg very dangerous; Sheridan bossed the high ball; Laidlaw ran the show for them. Altogether very composed.

Some North magic aside it was pure gatlandball from Wales. It's not pretty but its effective and the players totally believe in it. Scotland played well but that 15 min spell in the second half cost them. Good game, enjoyed it.

Cyril wrote:You're Welsh and Scottish? That is bad luck

That's not bad luck, he just chose the wrong team to support!

Cyril wrote:Or you could just do like emack and be English/Scottish and support NZ

That's shocking, you can't just dump your country and support the one that always wins.

I think we're just going to have to be patient with wales trying to develop an attacking game, the problem is they either go wide without engaging the opposition defenders or they all stand to deep

Anyone else thoroughly bored by the 6N so far? Tension, yes. But entertainment? Not so far for me.

Griff wrote:Anyone else thoroughly bored by the 6N so far? Tension, yes. But entertainment? Not so far for me.

It's always like this after a World Cup, if teams don't have new players in the team they have new tactics. All of this makes the error count pretty high

Shifty wrote:

Cyril wrote:You're Welsh and Scottish? That is bad luck

That's not bad luck, he just chose the wrong team to support!

Cyril wrote:Or you could just do like emack and be English/Scottish and support NZ

That's shocking, you can't just dump your country and support the one that always wins.  

Haha was born and raised in Scotland shift

I suppose Martyn Williams comment brightened me up the best when he compared us to 2004 Wales, plenty of talent just need to get a win!

Taylor and Hogg were our stand out performers though. Laidlaw had a good game too. Wales did look good when they got their act together. They had a really good 20 minutes and that was enough. I believe we can win our next 2 games. Italy away and France at home. With the way Ireland players are getting injured they could be a shadow of themselves by the time we play them on super Saturday.

samuraidragon wrote:Hmm...  at the end of the day our fitness and set piece quality decided the day, but we were outplayed and out-thought for long stretches.

Liam Williams and JD have both been poor since their return to Welsh colours.  Both seem to have forgotten how to pass and show no guile or spatial awareness. Dan Biggar's positional kicking was well below his usual standards. Tom James? Not really - but perhaps no-one else atm. Anscombe? Oh dear. In contrast, Priestland did alright.

AWJ and Charteris were immense, Faletau very good too.

Scotland looking threatening these days. Hogg very dangerous; Sheridan bossed the high ball; Laidlaw ran the show for them. Altogether very composed.  

One of Wales big problems in attack yesterday was that Biggar was clearly not fully recovered from his injury, he was frequently taking and giving the ball standing still. He did seem to loosen up as the game went on, hopefully he will be fully recovered for the France game.

With a fully fit Biggar the centres will have far more cutting edge, Liam Williams has not played for 6 months and will get better as the tournament goes on.

A mix up between Priestland and Faletau going for the same man opened up the gap for Taylor's try, but I agree Anscombe should have done better. Tom James looks to be out of his depth, got caught from behind by a centre and frequently out of position in defence. Amos not being selected as he is not fast enough, looks like James isn't also!

My changes for France should be Amos for James, Lydiate for Tipuric and on the bench, Aled Davies for Lloyd Williams and possibly James for Jenkins? Not sure about Anscombe, if there was a fit three quarter who could cover centre and wing, I would replace him, but there isn't so he probably stays.

Well for the first time in years I was convinced we would lose to Scotland, I think that's a sign of an improved team. Whatever Scotland were doing, it worked because for a lot of the time Wales were kept at bay. We had a good brief period and that was enough, which says more about Scotland than us. Our defence isn't working, we need to go back to a rush defence - so far we look too slow and teams are making a lot of metres against us. I don't think the players were bad, but Gatland and Edwards should consider looking at the game they're trying to get them to play.

Some good tries were scored by both. That was a good individual effort from Taylor at the end but that was a poor effort from Anscombe! Our set piece is much improved from the world cup and it's about time. On the first try, I thought it was touched by a Scottish hand hence onside. To be 100% certain though you would need superman vision, and unsurprisingly all the Scottish and English posters on here now have that.

Whoever touched the ball or not is irrelevant - the offside offence was due to the 9 running forwards from being in front of the kicker before being put onside ... so he was only in a position to gather the ball due to being offside in getting into that position.

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:Haha was born and raised in Scotland shift

I suppose Martyn Williams comment brightened me up the best when he compared us to 2004 Wales,  plenty of talent just need to get a win!

Taylor and Hogg were our stand out performers though. Laidlaw had a good game too. Wales did look good when they got their act together. They had a really good 20 minutes and that was enough. I believe we can win our next 2 games. Italy away and France at home. With the way Ireland players are getting injured they could be a shadow of themselves by the time we play them on super Saturday.

I got panned by the Scottish posters for suggesting Scotland should do what Wales did in the 2003-2004 time period a few days ago.

I get the impression you can beat Italy though, France will probably depend on weather Wales can beat them in Cardiff first. If their still on for the slam when they come to Scotland it's going to be hard.

Shifty wrote:

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:Haha was born and raised in Scotland shift

I suppose Martyn Williams comment brightened me up the best when he compared us to 2004 Wales,  plenty of talent just need to get a win!

Taylor and Hogg were our stand out performers though. Laidlaw had a good game too. Wales did look good when they got their act together. They had a really good 20 minutes and that was enough. I believe we can win our next 2 games. Italy away and France at home. With the way Ireland players are getting injured they could be a shadow of themselves by the time we play them on super Saturday.

I got panned by the Scottish posters for suggesting Scotland should do what Wales did in the 2003-2004 time period a few days ago.  

I get the impression you can beat Italy though, France will probably depend on weather Wales can beat them in Cardiff first.  If their still on for the slam when they come to Scotland it's going to be hard.  

I wouldn't be surprised to see Scotland win all their last matches

RiscaGame wrote:

glamorganalun wrote:The Scottish prop tired and made loads of mistakes in the last 10 mins or more.  I hope James gets dropped, Cuthbert should be on the bench or M Morgan and not Anscombe, Morgam offers more than Anscombe does not tackle as clearly demonstrated today.

Cuthbert should hahahahahaha

Cuthbert I wouldn't mind Morgan coming onto the bench, but I guess his chance of doing so will come against Italy.

Seagultaf wrote:

samuraidragon wrote:Hmm...  at the end of the day our fitness and set piece quality decided the day, but we were outplayed and out-thought for long stretches.

Liam Williams and JD have both been poor since their return to Welsh colours.  Both seem to have forgotten how to pass and show no guile or spatial awareness. Dan Biggar's positional kicking was well below his usual standards. Tom James? Not really - but perhaps no-one else atm. Anscombe? Oh dear. In contrast, Priestland did alright.

AWJ and Charteris were immense, Faletau very good too.

Scotland looking threatening these days. Hogg very dangerous; Sheridan bossed the high ball; Laidlaw ran the show for them. Altogether very composed.  

One of Wales big problems in attack yesterday was that Biggar was clearly not fully recovered from his injury, he was frequently taking and giving the ball standing still. He did seem to loosen up as the game went on, hopefully he will be fully recovered for the France game.

With a fully fit Biggar the centres will have far more cutting edge, Liam Williams has not played for 6 months and will get better as the tournament goes on.

A mix up between Priestland and Faletau going for the same man opened up the gap for Taylor's try, but I agree Anscombe should have done better. Tom James looks to be out of his depth, got caught from behind by a centre and frequently out of position in defence. Amos not being selected as he is not fast enough, looks like James isn't also!

My changes for France should be Amos for James, Lydiate for Tipuric and on the bench, Aled Davies for Lloyd Williams and possibly James for Jenkins? Not sure about Anscombe, if there was a fit three quarter who could cover centre and wing, I would replace him, but there isn't so he probably stays.

Another thing I've noticed with you Seagul is that you're always keen to criticise Biggar yet you won't have a negative comment said about Priestland despite the fact that most of what's said about him is justified. Also what you're saying about Biggar allowing the centres to have more cutting edge seems to contradict what you have been saying about RP being able to get the backline moving better - which of course is also untrue.

I'd certainly drop James, everything I've said about him before this tournament is true and I'm not surprised. I'd have Amos take his place. I would also start Lydiate now that the myth of Tips and Warbs being the better option has finally been exposed. I'd have Anscombe as 10 cover and Allen to come onto the bench. Also Davies' passing is still too slow, which is strange because last year it wasn't. The sooner a fit and on form Webb comes back in the better.

Heaf wrote:Whoever touched the ball or not is irrelevant - the offside offence was due to the 9 running forwards from being in front of the kicker before being put onside ... so he was only in a position to gather the ball due to being offside in getting into that position.

Are you certain of the laws here? BTW I see this happen in like every game when the scrum-half makes a box kick! You're really clutching at straws now and if this was the other way around EVERY poster on here would be telling us welsh how it's a non-issue. Suck it up Heaf, you lost to the better team on the day, and you were a bit lucky to get a scoreline that flattered Scotland after they decided to stop playing.

maestegmafia wrote:

Shifty wrote:

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:Haha was born and raised in Scotland shift

I suppose Martyn Williams comment brightened me up the best when he compared us to 2004 Wales,  plenty of talent just need to get a win!

Taylor and Hogg were our stand out performers though. Laidlaw had a good game too. Wales did look good when they got their act together. They had a really good 20 minutes and that was enough. I believe we can win our next 2 games. Italy away and France at home. With the way Ireland players are getting injured they could be a shadow of themselves by the time we play them on super Saturday.

I got panned by the Scottish posters for suggesting Scotland should do what Wales did in the 2003-2004 time period a few days ago.  

I get the impression you can beat Italy though, France will probably depend on weather Wales can beat them in Cardiff first.  If their still on for the slam when they come to Scotland it's going to be hard.  

I wouldn't be surprised to see Scotland win all their last matches

I think Scotland will beat Italy and France, but I'm not so sure about Ireland.

As for Wales vs France, we need to sort out our game plan. In recent years all you have had to do is hold France at the set piece and driving lineout in order to beat them, but this year I think their attack is much better, perhaps at the expense of their defence (at least this was the case against Italy). France are good it getting it wide to their rapid wingers so a blitz defence against them is suicide. I'd revert back to a rush defence and have our scrum half and open side sweep behind for the box kick.

mikey_dragon wrote:

Seagultaf wrote:

samuraidragon wrote:Hmm...  at the end of the day our fitness and set piece quality decided the day, but we were outplayed and out-thought for long stretches.

Liam Williams and JD have both been poor since their return to Welsh colours.  Both seem to have forgotten how to pass and show no guile or spatial awareness. Dan Biggar's positional kicking was well below his usual standards. Tom James? Not really - but perhaps no-one else atm. Anscombe? Oh dear. In contrast, Priestland did alright.

AWJ and Charteris were immense, Faletau very good too.

Scotland looking threatening these days. Hogg very dangerous; Sheridan bossed the high ball; Laidlaw ran the show for them. Altogether very composed.  

One of Wales big problems in attack yesterday was that Biggar was clearly not fully recovered from his injury, he was frequently taking and giving the ball standing still. He did seem to loosen up as the game went on, hopefully he will be fully recovered for the France game.

With a fully fit Biggar the centres will have far more cutting edge, Liam Williams has not played for 6 months and will get better as the tournament goes on.

A mix up between Priestland and Faletau going for the same man opened up the gap for Taylor's try, but I agree Anscombe should have done better. Tom James looks to be out of his depth, got caught from behind by a centre and frequently out of position in defence. Amos not being selected as he is not fast enough, looks like James isn't also!

My changes for France should be Amos for James, Lydiate for Tipuric and on the bench, Aled Davies for Lloyd Williams and possibly James for Jenkins? Not sure about Anscombe, if there was a fit three quarter who could cover centre and wing, I would replace him, but there isn't so he probably stays.

Another thing I've noticed with you Seagul is that you're always keen to criticise Biggar yet you won't have a negative comment said about Priestland despite the fact that most of what's said about him is justified. Also what you're saying about Biggar allowing the centres to have more cutting edge seems to contradict what you have been saying about RP being able to get the backline moving better - which of course is also untrue.

I'd certainly drop James, everything I've said about him before this tournament is true and I'm not surprised. I'd have Amos take his place. I would also start Lydiate now that the myth of Tips and Warbs being the better option has finally been exposed. I'd have Anscombe as 10 cover and Allen to come onto the bench. Also Davies' passing is still too slow, which is strange because last year it wasn't. The sooner a fit and on form Webb comes back in the better.

Read my post, I am not critising Biggar I am saying that he was not fully fit and this affected his and Wales play. I do defend Priestland against the trolls who criticise everything he does, such as his game against Ireland last week when most knowledgeable critics agreed that he played well. There is no doubt that a fit Biggar is number 1 choice but quite why do you now want to drop Priestland from the bench after playing so well in Dublin for an occasional 10 whose only contribution yesterday was to miss a try saving tackle?

Mikey - First of all I wasn't bothered who won as I don't support either team - and yes I'm pretty sure of the laws so just trying to get the facts right.

A player who is in an offside position is liable to sanction only if the player does one of three things:
 
•  Interferes with play or,
•  Moves forward, towards the ball or
Fails to comply with the 10-Metre Law (Law 11.4).
 
Offside and moving forward. When a team-mate of an offside player has kicked ahead, the offside player must not move towards opponents who are waiting to play the ball, or move towards the place where the ball lands, until the player has been put onside.

The 9 moved towards the ball before being put onside - therefore it was a penalty based on the laws.

Creeping forward happens in all games, but he was clearly put onside by his own player, before it came off a Scottish player anyway.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/35573246

"It came off their player, it was fine" Davies told BBC Wales Sport.

Gospel. It's funny how the English always jump on things like this when they happen to think it's gone in Wales' favour. It happens every year.

Seagultaf wrote:

mikey_dragon wrote:

Seagultaf wrote:

samuraidragon wrote:Hmm...  at the end of the day our fitness and set piece quality decided the day, but we were outplayed and out-thought for long stretches.

Liam Williams and JD have both been poor since their return to Welsh colours.  Both seem to have forgotten how to pass and show no guile or spatial awareness. Dan Biggar's positional kicking was well below his usual standards. Tom James? Not really - but perhaps no-one else atm. Anscombe? Oh dear. In contrast, Priestland did alright.

AWJ and Charteris were immense, Faletau very good too.

Scotland looking threatening these days. Hogg very dangerous; Sheridan bossed the high ball; Laidlaw ran the show for them. Altogether very composed.  

One of Wales big problems in attack yesterday was that Biggar was clearly not fully recovered from his injury, he was frequently taking and giving the ball standing still. He did seem to loosen up as the game went on, hopefully he will be fully recovered for the France game.

With a fully fit Biggar the centres will have far more cutting edge, Liam Williams has not played for 6 months and will get better as the tournament goes on.

A mix up between Priestland and Faletau going for the same man opened up the gap for Taylor's try, but I agree Anscombe should have done better. Tom James looks to be out of his depth, got caught from behind by a centre and frequently out of position in defence. Amos not being selected as he is not fast enough, looks like James isn't also!

My changes for France should be Amos for James, Lydiate for Tipuric and on the bench, Aled Davies for Lloyd Williams and possibly James for Jenkins? Not sure about Anscombe, if there was a fit three quarter who could cover centre and wing, I would replace him, but there isn't so he probably stays.

Another thing I've noticed with you Seagul is that you're always keen to criticise Biggar yet you won't have a negative comment said about Priestland despite the fact that most of what's said about him is justified. Also what you're saying about Biggar allowing the centres to have more cutting edge seems to contradict what you have been saying about RP being able to get the backline moving better - which of course is also untrue.

I'd certainly drop James, everything I've said about him before this tournament is true and I'm not surprised. I'd have Amos take his place. I would also start Lydiate now that the myth of Tips and Warbs being the better option has finally been exposed. I'd have Anscombe as 10 cover and Allen to come onto the bench. Also Davies' passing is still too slow, which is strange because last year it wasn't. The sooner a fit and on form Webb comes back in the better.

Read my post, I am not critising Biggar I am saying that he was not fully fit and this affected his and Wales play. I do defend Priestland against the trolls who criticise everything he does, such as his game against Ireland last week when most knowledgeable critics agreed that he played well. There is no doubt that a fit Biggar is number 1 choice but quite why do you now want to drop Priestland from the bench after playing so well in Dublin for an occasional 10 whose only contribution yesterday was to miss a try saving tackle?

Hahahahahahaha so anyone who dares to critique RP, or state the obvious by saying he's not up to playing at this standard are trolls? I guess all Bath fans are trolls too then. He didn't really play well but I've been over that. Anscombe can do the fly-half basics and can do them a lot better than RP, plus he doesn't blame everyone else if he has a bad performance. He hasn't really had much opportunity in the Wales 10 jersey, but his style of play really does suit what Wales are trying to do so that would be my choice.

How do you know Biggar isn't fit, has he told you? I don't think his play look afflicted at all. He was back to doing what he does well, and he put himself about a bit, got hit hard and carried on - that's the sign of a fit player.

Of course Davies is fully independent ... he was put onside eventually but by that time he had already committed a clear offence to get into that position.  The laws are clear.

Stop playing the anti-welsh card just because we're questioning a bad call by the officials - they happen in most matches and we talk about them - doesn't mean we're picking on Wales.

It happens in every game, at every box kick. Yet you only mention this one, hmmmm. I feel it's a non-issue and didn't really affect the game, and that fans are looking for excuses.

I was reading the same comments last year at multiple sites btw, same old regurgitated rubbish from the English.

mikey_dragon wrote:

Seagultaf wrote:

mikey_dragon wrote:

Seagultaf wrote:

samuraidragon wrote:Hmm...  at the end of the day our fitness and set piece quality decided the day, but we were outplayed and out-thought for long stretches.

Liam Williams and JD have both been poor since their return to Welsh colours.  Both seem to have forgotten how to pass and show no guile or spatial awareness. Dan Biggar's positional kicking was well below his usual standards. Tom James? Not really - but perhaps no-one else atm. Anscombe? Oh dear. In contrast, Priestland did alright.

AWJ and Charteris were immense, Faletau very good too.

Scotland looking threatening these days. Hogg very dangerous; Sheridan bossed the high ball; Laidlaw ran the show for them. Altogether very composed.  

One of Wales big problems in attack yesterday was that Biggar was clearly not fully recovered from his injury, he was frequently taking and giving the ball standing still. He did seem to loosen up as the game went on, hopefully he will be fully recovered for the France game.

With a fully fit Biggar the centres will have far more cutting edge, Liam Williams has not played for 6 months and will get better as the tournament goes on.

A mix up between Priestland and Faletau going for the same man opened up the gap for Taylor's try, but I agree Anscombe should have done better. Tom James looks to be out of his depth, got caught from behind by a centre and frequently out of position in defence. Amos not being selected as he is not fast enough, looks like James isn't also!

My changes for France should be Amos for James, Lydiate for Tipuric and on the bench, Aled Davies for Lloyd Williams and possibly James for Jenkins? Not sure about Anscombe, if there was a fit three quarter who could cover centre and wing, I would replace him, but there isn't so he probably stays.

Another thing I've noticed with you Seagul is that you're always keen to criticise Biggar yet you won't have a negative comment said about Priestland despite the fact that most of what's said about him is justified. Also what you're saying about Biggar allowing the centres to have more cutting edge seems to contradict what you have been saying about RP being able to get the backline moving better - which of course is also untrue.

I'd certainly drop James, everything I've said about him before this tournament is true and I'm not surprised. I'd have Amos take his place. I would also start Lydiate now that the myth of Tips and Warbs being the better option has finally been exposed. I'd have Anscombe as 10 cover and Allen to come onto the bench. Also Davies' passing is still too slow, which is strange because last year it wasn't. The sooner a fit and on form Webb comes back in the better.

Read my post, I am not critising Biggar I am saying that he was not fully fit and this affected his and Wales play. I do defend Priestland against the trolls who criticise everything he does, such as his game against Ireland last week when most knowledgeable critics agreed that he played well. There is no doubt that a fit Biggar is number 1 choice but quite why do you now want to drop Priestland from the bench after playing so well in Dublin for an occasional 10 whose only contribution yesterday was to miss a try saving tackle?

Hahahahahahaha so anyone who dares to critique RP, or state the obvious by saying he's not up to playing at this standard are trolls? I guess all Bath fans are trolls too then. He didn't really play well but I've been over that. Anscombe can do the fly-half basics and can do them a lot better than RP, plus he doesn't blame everyone else if he has a bad performance. He hasn't really had much opportunity in the Wales 10 jersey, but his style of play really does suit what Wales are trying to do so that would be my choice.

How do you know Biggar isn't fit, has he told you? I don't think his play look afflicted at all. He was back to doing what he does well, and he put himself about a bit, got hit hard and carried on - that's the sign of a fit player.

Biggar was no where near fully recovered from his ankle injury and it affected his play. One of the features of his recent improvement has been that he has been taking and giving the ball running forward, yesterday he was frequently standing still. He did appear to loosen up as the game went on and hopefully after a two week break he will be back fully fit for the French game.

As far as Priestland is concerned everyone on this board is aware of your constant criticism of him, admittedly sometimes justified but often not.

Again, how did it affect his play? Did you just ignore what I wrote? If he was standing still (which I didn't notice) might you consider that was part of the game plan?

Oh no it's always justified, but I'm more critical of his fan club who can't accept the blatantly obvious. The sooner he vanishes into obscurity like Hook before him the better.

mikey_dragon wrote:It happens in every game, at every box kick. Yet you only mention this one, hmmmm. I feel it's a non-issue and didn't really affect the game, and that fans are looking for excuses.

I was reading the same comments last year at multiple sites btw, same old regurgitated rubbish from the English.

Scored a try from it but it didn't affect the game which finished with a four point difference ... interesting

mikey_dragon wrote:Again, how did it affect his play? Did you just ignore what I wrote? If he was standing still (which I didn't notice) might you consider that was part of the game plan?

Oh no it's always justified, but I'm more critical of his fan club who can't accept the blatantly obvious. The sooner he vanishes into obscurity like Hook before him the better.

Mikey he was unable to train on Wednesday and limping in the warm up how can that be fully fit? Your extreme views on Priestland are well know but apparently he is so rubbish that he is getting close to £300k at Bath, also I know Bath supporters who are critising Ford this season, the fact is Bath are not playing well so nobody looks good in a badly performing side. I am far from being a member of his fan club but I post my views objectively basing my comments on how they have performed rather than whether I like them or not.

Heaf wrote:

mikey_dragon wrote:It happens in every game, at every box kick. Yet you only mention this one, hmmmm. I feel it's a non-issue and didn't really affect the game, and that fans are looking for excuses.

I was reading the same comments last year at multiple sites btw, same old regurgitated rubbish from the English.

Scored a try from it but it didn't affect the game which finished with a four point difference ... interesting

If the try was disallowed (which would have been the wrong decision) then how do you know the game would have went the way it did? I thought Scotland were lucky to get their 2nd try hence the four point finish. These things happen in every match yet you don't dissect it. That's the interesting part.

Seagultaf wrote:

mikey_dragon wrote:Again, how did it affect his play? Did you just ignore what I wrote? If he was standing still (which I didn't notice) might you consider that was part of the game plan?

Oh no it's always justified, but I'm more critical of his fan club who can't accept the blatantly obvious. The sooner he vanishes into obscurity like Hook before him the better.

Mikey he was unable to train on Wednesday and limping in the warm up how can that be fully fit? Your extreme views on Priestland are well know but apparently he is so rubbish that he is getting close to £300k at Bath, also I know Bath supporters who are critising Ford this season, the fact is Bath are not playing well so nobody looks good in a badly performing side. I am far from being a member of his fan club but I post my views objectively basing my comments on how they have performed rather than whether I like them or not.

Well he looked fit, as I mentioned. He was able to walk away from a few bruising collisions like he usually does, that's the sign of a fit player. Haha here we go again, I was wondering how long it would be before the old "Bath bought him so he must be good" line would come out, how desperate . Go and ask Bath fans if they are happy with his form since he joined. His form is the same as it has been for over 3 years btw, rubbish. Ford looks rubbish for England too, besides that I can think of a few players who perform well in poor teams, so you're wrong there. You always say he plays well and when he does something wrong (which is often) you make excuses for him - therefore I don't think you're basing it on how RP has performed.

mikey_dragon wrote:

Seagultaf wrote:

mikey_dragon wrote:Again, how did it affect his play? Did you just ignore what I wrote? If he was standing still (which I didn't notice) might you consider that was part of the game plan?

Oh no it's always justified, but I'm more critical of his fan club who can't accept the blatantly obvious. The sooner he vanishes into obscurity like Hook before him the better.

Mikey he was unable to train on Wednesday and limping in the warm up how can that be fully fit? Your extreme views on Priestland are well know but apparently he is so rubbish that he is getting close to £300k at Bath, also I know Bath supporters who are critising Ford this season, the fact is Bath are not playing well so nobody looks good in a badly performing side. I am far from being a member of his fan club but I post my views objectively basing my comments on how they have performed rather than whether I like them or not.

Well he looked fit, as I mentioned. He was able to walk away from a few bruising collisions like he usually does, that's the sign of a fit player. Haha here we go again, I was wondering how long it would be before the old "Bath bought him so he must be good" line would come out, how desperate . Go and ask Bath fans if they are happy with his form since he joined. His form is the same as it has been for over 3 years btw, rubbish. Ford looks rubbish for England too, besides that I can think of a few players who perform well in poor teams, so you're wrong there. You always say he plays well and when he does something wrong (which is often) you make excuses for him - therefore I don't think you're basing it on how RP has performed.

He certainly didn't look fit he looked as if he was playing with a damaged ankle which and not surprisingly it affected his game. As I said my comments are based on my honest opinion about how players actually play rather than whether I like them or not. So yes I think Priestland played well against Ireland, I would not go as far as Alfie Thomas and say he was World Class, but he did play well and certainly deserves his place as back up to Biggar. Actually I do know a number of Bath fans who are criticising many of their players, Priesland and Ford included, Ford however has had a very good game for Enland this afternoon as did Priestland for Wales against Ireland.

Seagultaf wrote:Mikey he was unable to train on Wednesday and limping in the warm up how can that be fully fit? Your extreme views on Priestland are well know but apparently he is so rubbish that he is getting close to £300k at Bath, also I know Bath supporters who are critising Ford this season, the fact is Bath are not playing well so nobody looks good in a badly performing side. I am far from being a member of his fan club but I post my views objectively basing my comments on how they have performed rather than whether I like them or not.

£300k a season?
His agent deserves a medal for getting him that deal, Bath got screwed.

Wales women beat Scotland today, so we've taken them 3-0 this season.

Shifty wrote:

Seagultaf wrote:Mikey he was unable to train on Wednesday and limping in the warm up how can that be fully fit? Your extreme views on Priestland are well know but apparently he is so rubbish that he is getting close to £300k at Bath, also I know Bath supporters who are critising Ford this season, the fact is Bath are not playing well so nobody looks good in a badly performing side. I am far from being a member of his fan club but I post my views objectively basing my comments on how they have performed rather than whether I like them or not.

£300k a season?
His agent deserves a medal for getting him that deal, Bath got screwed.  

Too right, I think on that salary he is one of the highest paid Welsh players! But ain't agents one of the problems, they advise their players to take the highest paying deal not because it's in the players best interest but because the agent himself gets the biggest commission. Priestland should have stayed at the Scarlets he would have benefited considerabley from Stephen Jones tutelage and the Scarlets have looked a side badly in need of a decent 10 this season.

a discussion on fecking dropped goals.......... dear Lord. Wiko has a lot to answer for.

mikey_dragon wrote:

Heaf wrote:

mikey_dragon wrote:It happens in every game, at every box kick. Yet you only mention this one, hmmmm. I feel it's a non-issue and didn't really affect the game, and that fans are looking for excuses.

I was reading the same comments last year at multiple sites btw, same old regurgitated rubbish from the English.

Scored a try from it but it didn't affect the game which finished with a four point difference ... interesting

If the try was disallowed (which would have been the wrong decision) then how do you know the game would have went the way it did? I thought Scotland were lucky to get their 2nd try hence the four point finish. These things happen in every match yet you don't dissect it. That's the interesting part.

I didn't claim the game would have gone the same way, in fact I'm sure it would have gone differently and we don't know what would have happened.  You're the one saying it didn't affect the game - which is clearly nonsense.

Seagultaf wrote:Too right, I think on that salary he is one of the highest paid Welsh players! But ain't agents one of the problems, they advise their players to take the highest paying deal not because it's in the players best interest but because the agent himself gets the biggest commission. Priestland should have stayed at the Scarlets he would have benefited considerabley from Stephen Jones tutelage and the Scarlets have looked a side badly in need of a decent 10 this season.

I was working tarmacing a drive of the guy whos the agent for most of the welsh rugby team a few years ago, his house is near Hensol in the lanes just off the Llantrisant M4 turn off. His estate is massive to be fair to him, just fields and land, he's done really well. He was showing me the plans on what he's building and I told him the barn, would of been a better location for a swimming pool, then he pointed to another area and told me the pools going there!
In the area we were building I asked him is all the car parking space was for, and that he could host a barbeque for the Welsh players, he looked aghast at me and said he could never put up with all of them whinging in one place at the same time, I had to laugh. Nice guy to be fair to him though. When people moan about the lack of money in Welsh rugby and I saw what he owned I know where it's gone!