Wales Summer Tour

First topic message reminder :

Original opening post answered, changed to tour thread...:

So Welsh summer squad has been anounced as :-

Wales squad

Forwards: Rob Evans (Scarlets) (25 Caps), Nicky Smith (Ospreys) (18 Caps), Elliot Dee (Dragons) (7 Caps), Ryan Elias (Scarlets) (2 Caps), Rhodri Jones (Ospreys) (16 Caps), Samson Lee (Scarlets) (38 Caps), Dillon Lewis (Cardiff Blues) (2 Caps), Tomas Francis (Exeter Chiefs) (31 Caps), Adam Beard (Ospreys) (2 Caps), Bradley Davies (Ospreys) (62 Caps), Seb Davies (Cardiff Blues) (4 Caps), Aaron Wainwright (Dragons) (*uncapped), Cory Hill (Dragons) (15 Caps), James Davies (Scarlets) (1 Cap), Ellis Jenkins (Cardiff Blues) (6 Caps), Ross Moriarty (Gloucester) (20 Caps), Josh Turnbull (Cardiff Blues) (8 Caps).

Backs: Aled Davies (Scarlets) (8 Caps),  Gareth Davies (Scarlets) (32 Caps), Tomos Williams (Cardiff Blues) (*uncapped), Gareth Anscombe (Cardiff Blues) (15 Caps), Rhys Patchell (Scarlets) (8 Caps), Hadleigh Parkes (Scarlets) (6 Caps), Owen Watkin (Ospreys) (4 Caps), Scott Williams (Scarlets) (55 Caps), Josh Adams (Worcester Warriors) (2 Caps), Hallam Amos (Dragons) (15 Caps), George North (Ospreys) (73 Caps), Tom Prydie (Scarlets) (5 Caps).

Red indicated "call-up".

Withdrawn from Original Named Squad or replaced due to injury:  Luke Charteris (Bath) (74 Caps), Josh Navidi (Cardiff Blues) (11 Caps), Aaron Shingler (Scarlets) (17 Caps), Steff Evans (Scarlets) (9 Caps), Wyn Jones (Scarlets) (8 Caps).


2018 summer tour schedule
Saturday, 2 June KO 2200hrs BST [1700hrs local]

South Africa 20 - 22 Wales (Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, USA)

Team details:

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Saturday, 9 June KO 2040hrs BST [1640hrs local]

Argentina 10 - 23 Wales (San Juan del Bicentenario Stadium, San Juan)

Team details:

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Saturday, 16 June KO 2040hrs BST [1640hrs local]

Argentina 12 - 30 Wales (Estadio Brigadier López, Santa Fe)

Team details:

TV Coverage reported by WOL to be Channel 4, in their first outing into Rugby coverage before they take on some European coverage next season.

So... thread open for discussion on the Wales Summer tour 2018.


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So 3 out of 3. Great Summer Tour, have we learned anything, are Wales and England "Poles apart"...

TightHEAD wrote:Those poor Argies don't stand a chance in this game as the Ref was born in Cardiff!

World Rugby is a Farce for allowing this to happen.

And he’s an IRFU red so we know he’s crooked too

Wyn Jones ruled out of Wales tour (BBC)

Good first half. Taken our tries well and some great defence. Interesting calls for Gatland to make next week, with the way Davies has started and with how Ellis Jenkins went last week. Gareth Davies has been sharp too, aside from a couple of box kicks.

RiscaGame wrote:Good first half. Taken our tries well and some great defence. Interesting calls for Gatland to make next week, with the way Davies has started and with how Ellis Jenkins went last week. Gareth Davies has been sharp too, aside from a couple of box kicks.

For me, Gatland is in a difficult/no win situation again. It all comes down to what people think is the point of these tours - if it’s a development tour them he has to start the likes of James Davies and Tomos Williams. However, if people feel that all capped internationals should involve the best players available then players like Gareth Davies need to start. I’m often on the fence and, once again, think a bit of middle ground is the best way - development alongside experience. So I’m hoping that if he does ring the changes next week then at the very least there’s 5 or 6 experienced players in there to help steady the ship.

Welsh game management is so much better than the opposition; Argentina have turned down numerous 3 pointers, only to be beaten back by a determined Welsh defence.

Wales could be the first northern hemisphere side today to hold on to a lead!

I agree with commentary that Argentina seem to be playing as if they’re in the S18 league (their whole squad is from the Jaguares, after all) and as such are not expecting any competition at then ruck (as is the style in S18 rugby). They’re just not used to the opposition committing players to the ruck and Wales are having a field day on the floor.

The Argies are dreadful, still give England a game mind.

Argentina have regressed so much. They're just slow and predictable. Wales are just tackling them till Argentina make a mistake

Bit harsh there on Argentina. Not sure I’d call that crawling. But I suppose he didn’t get to his feet either so perhaps justified. I’d probably be a bit miffed if it was disallowed for Wales though.

Well, job done I suppose. Good win. Shame we couldn’t build on the first half performance. We seemed to just defend for the whole of the 2nd half (Gareth Davies/George North nearly-try aside) but mostly around the half way line so little danger of conceding. Little attacking from us at all in the 2nd half. Quite boring in the end. Argentina seemed to come alive with only 5 minutes to go.

Good win for wales solid professional performance.

Good win by these guys, I wouldn't make many changes next week, just enough to ensure we can wrap up our summer tour with a good win. I thought Arg knocked our attacking on ball on a few times and got away with it, not sure why that is.

Wales played at pace today and defence was fairly solid. Some of the supposed 2nd and 3rd team players did well; Dee, Beard, Seb Davies, Cubby, Amos... Dillon Lewis is good around the field and not the scrum, I expect Leon Brown to walk back in once he is available.

That backline should improve next week. When you consider Webb is unavailable, Halfpenny has lost all his pace and Liam Williams has been crap since joining Sarries it's pretty much first choice, just JD2 to come in for the unspectacular Williams.

Congrats Wales, a good win.

Having seen quite good Welsh teams dismantled in the southern hemisphere the wins in Washington and Argentina are welcome.There have been some good individual performances.But let's get real.Wales are playing a style of rugby about 10 years out of date.They have beaten 2 very poor teams and show no signs of matching the rugby seen on display at the weekend in NZ,Oz and Jo'burg.If,and it's a big if,Wales want to be seen as serious contenders for the WC then more possession and better use of it,along with far fewer stupid penalty offences and our 9's not semaphoring their intentions would be a good start.

A good win for Wales but this point is a valid one:

exile jack wrote:along with far fewer stupid penalty offences

While a lot of attention has been given to England's discipline woes according to stats in one of today's papers Wales are not that far behind. In their last 4 tests England have conceded 51 Penalties, Wales 48. (South Africa just 24) England ceded territory and control of the game with a plethora of dumb penalties - Wales will not want to descend to our level.

LondonTiger wrote:A good win for Wales but this point is a valid one:

exile jack wrote:along with far fewer stupid penalty offences

While a lot of attention has been given to England's discipline woes according to stats in one of today's papers Wales are not that far behind. In their last 4 tests England have conceded 51 Penalties, Wales 48. (South Africa just 24) England ceded territory and control of the game with a plethora of dumb penalties - Wales will not want to descend to our level.

With all do respect, this is a very inexperienced young side, penalties and handling errors all part of the learning curve. Its the same old experienced England internationals doing the same old stupid sh*t.

Given Wales’ dominance at the breakdown I think we should exploit that by starting with two 7’s. I’m going to select a bit of a mix and then text it to Gatland in the morning while he is in a similar time zone.

Amos, Adams, Watkin, Parkes, North, Patchell, Davies - Evans, Dee, Francis, Beard, B Davies, S Davies, Cubby Davies, Jenkins (c).
Elias, Smith, Lee, Hill, Wainright, T Williams, Anscombe, S Williams.

Just saw Moriarty was Wales's top tackler last week with 26. Not too shabby.

Luckless Pedestrian wrote:Just saw Moriarty was Wales's top tackler last week with 26. Not too shabby.

And people say he was quiet...

munkian wrote:

Luckless Pedestrian wrote:Just saw Moriarty was Wales's top tackler last week with 26. Not too shabby.

And people say he was quiet...

He was just just, now once did I hear him shouting

mikey_dragon wrote:Given Wales’ dominance at the breakdown I think we should exploit that by starting with two 7’s. I’m going to select a bit of a mix and then text it to Gatland in the morning while he is in a similar time zone.

Amos, Adams, Watkin, Parkes, North, Patchell, Davies - Evans, Dee, Francis, Beard, B Davies, S Davies, Cubby Davies, Jenkins (c).
Elias, Smith, Lee, Hill, Wainright, T Williams, Anscombe, S Williams.

I agree with 2 opensides, think I’d be tempted to go left and right flanker with them and keep Ross at 8 because he’s been solid where as Seb was awol last week. Otherwise, with the whole ‘developing and rotation’ view I’d go with the same team as you.

Wales team to face Argentina: Hallam Amos; Josh Adams, Scott Williams, Owen Watkin, George North; Rhys Patchell, Aled Davies; Rob Evans, Ryan Elias, Tomas Francis; Adam Beard, Cory Hill (C); Ellis Jenkins, James Davies, Ross Moriarty.

Reps: Elliot Dee, Nicky Smith, Dillon Lewis, Bradley Davies, Josh Turnbull, Tomos Williams, Gareth Anscombe, Tom Prydie.

Parkes is having a finger operation according to the press release

Wtf why Aled Davies ffs! Worst 9 in the world.

Samson Lee sent home with a lower back injury too.

I like the look of the team, again.  Shame about Parkes as I think he brings a lot to the Welsh team since he won his first cap.  Not a huge fan of Aled Davies (in comparison to Webb and Gareth Davies) but hoping he proves me/us wrong.  That front row looks strong.  Beard I was unsure about/unfamiliar with but he seemed to go well last week.  2 sevens in the back row could be great - we certainly caused them lots of trouble at the rucks last week, so an extra flanker and scavenger should hopefully see us right.

It will be interesting to see the tactics from both sides this week.  Will Argentina tear up their playbook which suits S18 rugby better, and compete more at the rucks?  That's what seemed to undo them last week and their coach alluded to competing more in this area if they are to win this week.  And if we anticipate that they will do that, will we in turn approach the game differently and bluff them by committing fewer players to the ruck and have more players in the defensive line?  I'm hoping for a good competition at the tackle instead, with our 2 sevens both putting their hands up for world cup selection.  

Looking forward to this.

Poor Wainwright - Turnbull FFS ?

That backrow though....

Happy with that team. Bit of impact off the bench in some places too. You don’t lose anything by starting Elias or Dee, so that’s fine. Our entire front row replacements are pretty handy. Also impact from 9 too. Hopefully Davies is hooked fairly early. Would maybe have had Seb Davies as lock replacement minimum, so he gets a chance in his actual position.

Argentina make 2 changes, one in the starting lineup and one on the bench.

So lets hope Wales will still be too strong for them.

Seeing the team rotation over this tour plus the fact we have left most of our first XV players (Lions) at home, this gives me a lot of encouragement that we're building in the right direction for next years RWC.

ScarletSpiderman wrote:

mikey_dragon wrote:Given Wales’ dominance at the breakdown I think we should exploit that by starting with two 7’s. I’m going to select a bit of a mix and then text it to Gatland in the morning while he is in a similar time zone.

Amos, Adams, Watkin, Parkes, North, Patchell, Davies - Evans, Dee, Francis, Beard, B Davies, S Davies, Cubby Davies, Jenkins (c).
Elias, Smith, Lee, Hill, Wainright, T Williams, Anscombe, S Williams.

I agree with 2 opensides, think I’d be tempted to go left and right flanker with them and keep Ross at 8 because he’s been solid where as Seb was awol last week.  Otherwise, with the whole ‘developing and rotation’  view I’d go with the same team as you.

I thought Seb was good and Ross a little ‘quiet’ as it’s been mentioned. Perhaps I was wrong. I went for that option as i felt it was the most similar to the Scarlets back row. Injuries seem to have blighted my selection anyway but on the whole I think it’s a good team again. Patchell will have his work cut out as Aled kills momentum every time he touches the ball, a surprising change given how dangerous Davies is going forward. Williams on the bench is just as good so I hope he gets another chance. The only players from the bench I’m in no hurry to bring on are Lewis and Turnbull. The rest will bring great impact. Beard was absolutely solid last week, hoping for more of the same from him.

No9 wrote:Seeing the team rotation over this tour plus the fact we have left most of our first XV players (Lions) at home, this gives me a lot of encouragement that we're building in the right direction for next years RWC.

True, but seeing as Turnbull and Aled are in the squad our depth isn’t as good as we need it to be. There’s still a few minor issues:
1. The form of Liam Williams and Halfpenny, which is absolutely rubbish but they’re expected to come back in.
2. Scrum half, our only one that doesn’t blow hot n cold is Webb. I feel his form/career will take a nose dive in France. Davies and Williams are good, while third spot should be between Jonny Evans and Rhodri Williams.
3. Since Biggar’s loss of form, no fly-half nailed down the spot, but I feel Patchell is close and continuing to head in the right direction. Anscombe is a good 3rd choice player.

I still feel we’ve come a long way from making changes and nearly losing to Japan/Georgia however, and the only is up!

The scores on this tour look like one of those IQ tests...

What is X and Y in the sequence...

20 - 22, 10 - 23, X - Y

My guess would be 0 - 24, so if that's the final score I'll be over the moon

In case you cant see it...:

mikey_dragon wrote:

No9 wrote:Seeing the team rotation over this tour plus the fact we have left most of our first XV players (Lions) at home, this gives me a lot of encouragement that we're building in the right direction for next years RWC.

True, but seeing as Turnbull and Aled are in the squad our depth isn’t as good as we need it to be. There’s still a few minor issues:
1. The form of Liam Williams and Halfpenny, which is absolutely rubbish but they’re expected to come back in.
2. Scrum half, our only one that doesn’t blow hot n cold is Webb. I feel his form/career will take a nose dive in France. Davies and Williams are good, while third spot should be between Jonny Evans and Rhodri Williams.
3. Since Biggar’s loss of form, no fly-half nailed down the spot, but I feel Patchell is close and continuing to head in the right direction. Anscombe is a good 3rd choice player.

I still feel we’ve come a long way from making changes and nearly losing to Japan/Georgia however, and the only is up!

I think the fact that even though we left lots at home, there were experienced players still in the side in key positions (Anscombe may not have huge caps, but he is experienced. Same for Patchell and Parkes) has been a big difference between the teams we put out this tour and the joke teams we feild in the AIs against minnow nations.

Going to be weird if we lose tomorrow, because after last week I’d have to be disappointed, but I also didn’t expect wales to win a game pre tour.

I’m a bit concerned by Owen Watkin at 12. Haven’t been that impressed with him as a player yet (club or country). Hoping he proves me wrong. Seems he’s playing 12 and Scott Williams at 13, whereas from memory Watkin has featured for wales at 13 in the past. Big boots to fill in terms of the injury to Parkes. Parkes is solid and gives a lot of go forward, but does a lot more creative stuff than the one dimensional Jamie Roberts used to do. Not sure Watkin can do that from 12? But hoping he can prove me wrong. Might have gone for Williams at 12 and Watkin at 13, but then Williams has never really excelled at 12 either (in a Wales shirt, not sure about Scarlets?) so perhaps that was the thinking behind it.

Watkin and Williams are similar players in my opinion. Both seem to be able to do the physical stuff, whilst having other skills and pace. I’d say Scott is 13 defensively where Edwards wants his defensive lead, but they could probably end up switching around for the attacking stuff.

RIP the Welsh National anthem, it is being murdered here.

Sneaky tactic by Arg. Jumping and (perhaps deliberately) knocking on near our own line which means we have a scrum on our own line and they can put pressure on us! No advantage given.

Aled Davies’ passing not the best. Sprayed a few high, low, behind, etc.

What a try by Josh Adams!

Wales cruising here for the second week in a row. They look very comfortable.

Argentina getting in good positions but so many mistakes.

Couldn’t see he was in front there? Just heard that he said the winger was in front but he didn’t take anyone out?

Davies’ passing and thinking is ridiculous.

Try disallowed for Wales. Good variation used to nearly score it though. A chip over the top to the centre lurking on the wing. More of that will keep the defence from drifting in off the wing and defending narrowly. Might get some joy through the middle then.

Argentina in all sorts of trouble at the breakdown for the second week running. And this time with an SH ref!

Good try Argentina.

North having another very quiet game. Needs to get the ball in a bit of space and get a good run to give him some confidence back.

Adam Beard - ironically the only clean shaven member of the Wales pack!

Sh*t passing at times from Wales today. That time by Patchell I think, missing a pass to the wing and a good chance of a try.

Wales keeping the scoreboard ticking over though. 5-25 to wales on 52mins.