Leigh Halfpenny?

is he back playing yet? Has he retired? or is he still out with injuries?

any one know.?

He played in the Top 14 playoffs

And final
Bit rusty still

Has he retired? Blinking heck mun.

I'm sure you could just google this, instead of writing inane articles?

I have not hear any thing of him for a while.

And thought his injurie/s might of forced him to retire from the game early

He might wish to have retired given the deciding try in the final came from him being turned over at the breakdown and then failing to make the cover tackle on the chip and chase from Rockocko in the resulting phase of play.

Is he staying at Toulon or coming back to Wales? Seemed to have the world at his feet at one point but that's in the past now. Good kicker though.

Who?

If Wales want to move to a more expansive style that may get them results againt the SH (and the stronger NH sides) then they would do well to stick with Williams at full-back. Halfpenny has a fantastic boot, is a deadly kicker and a brave defender (albeit with a suspect technique given his injuries). Biggar already provides a very solid option from the tee. Could he switch to wing and offer another option from the big guys depending how his pace is after his injury?

Think most have said for a while that Williams is our best option at XV but as long as he gets fully fit and regains form then Halfpenny will be back challenging for a Welsh place, hopefully though he will be considered in his best position which is on the wing.

The notion he's not an attacking XV is also wrong as he proved he can play that way with the Lions and in his early days as the Blues.

Its one thing that has puzzled me though between him and Williams. A lot of players stick to Gatlands game plan rigidly as if afraid to think for themselves and Halfpenny is one of these as his first instinct is to kick but that's not the case for Williams his seems to be run.

So why is one player not sticking to the plan while others are etc.

?

One is a Rebel, the other isn't?

Or maybe it's just that Gats has modified his philosophy a bit.  I certainly can't see any player in Wales being told to kick and then going in and not carrying out 'orders'.  If Gatland felt and still feels kicking is the option then Williams wouldn't be on that team whilst running against the philosophy.

Like you've said though, this talk of Halfpenny being a limited player is usually from rugby observers who have a limited knowledge of Halfpenny's career.  He has had plenty of explosive evasion to his game in the past when allowed to engage.

Wales needs to change the way that it plays as Warrenball has come up short against the SANZAR nations too often not to. 

I look at the tries that L Williams scored against the All Blacks and frankly, there is no way that Halfpenny would ever have done that. It's worth bearing in mind that the New Zealand press were only really impressed by Williams and George North in the Welsh backline. Tough crowd but they give credit where it's due. 

I have no doubt that Gatland will slot Halfpenny straight back into the 15 shirt, but given that Biggar's goalkicking is very solid, I think that would be a regression for Wales.

Is it just me or does North seem to be one of the few players who really raise their game vs SH teams? I mean, he's always a threat but one we have learned to largely deal with. He just seems to cause more mayhem down South. From my English point of view Williams causes more problems.

SecretFly wrote:?

One is a Rebel, the other isn't?

Or maybe it's just that Gats has modified his philosophy a bit.  I certainly can't see any player in Wales being told to kick and then going in and not carrying out 'orders'.  If Gatland felt and still feels kicking is the option then Williams wouldn't be on that team whilst running against the philosophy.

Like you've said though, this talk of Halfpenny being a limited player is usually from rugby observers who have a limited knowledge of Halfpenny's career.  He has had plenty of explosive evasion to his game in the past when allowed to engage.

Fly,

That's what puzzles me, is it Williams just blatantly ignoring team tactics (he's done it even before modified philosophy). If it is I find it hard to believe Gatland would still pick him.

bedfordwelsh wrote:

SecretFly wrote:?

One is a Rebel, the other isn't?

Or maybe it's just that Gats has modified his philosophy a bit.  I certainly can't see any player in Wales being told to kick and then going in and not carrying out 'orders'.  If Gatland felt and still feels kicking is the option then Williams wouldn't be on that team whilst running against the philosophy.

Like you've said though, this talk of Halfpenny being a limited player is usually from rugby observers who have a limited knowledge of Halfpenny's career.  He has had plenty of explosive evasion to his game in the past when allowed to engage.

Fly,

That's what puzzles me, is it Williams just blatantly ignoring team tactics (he's done it even before modified philosophy).  If it is I find it hard to believe Gatland would still pick him.

I think Sanjay is one of those who understands the gameplan, but also plays on instinct. He started shining regionally the same time as Cuthbert did for the Blues back in 2011 when the other players were away with the RWC. Seeing as it has taken this long for Sanjay to get a run of games at fullback, and even then it was only when Gats hand has been forced, I think it shows that Gatland is not too keen on his style.

During the first test, when he made the break that set Rhys Webb up for the try, the replays shown gats reaction, and to be honest he didn't look too pleased.