Wales v Scotland Saturday 14th March 2020

First topic message reminder :

Wales v Scotland
6N 5th Round

Principality Stadium
Cardiff

KO 14.15

Well Scotland and Wales draw the long straw and are the ones to be able to get their 6N competition played and out of the way. The way results have gone this time around was always going to make this an interesting game and now everyone is going to be concentrating on this match.

Cardiff, as it has often been said, has not proved to be a happy hunting ground for Scottish teams for a long long time. Is this year going to be any different. Well form might suggest that it may be. A Wales side in transition, new coach, new style and several newish players, have so far struggled a bit this year. Plenty of heart on show as always, but not really quite getting the new tactics and consequently making far to many errors. They have also been handicapped by an appalling injury list and that may be getting even worse following the very bruising match against England last weekend.

Scotland, on the other hand have built pretty well into the tournament and played their best game so far in beating France comfortably at the weekend. France, it should be reminded, were fancied to tie up their first GS in a long time after winning their first three games.

Scotland's own tournament has not been incident free, with Finngate taking centre stage and a lot of Scottish fans dissatisfied with the direction Toonie seemed to be taking this Scottish team and calling for his head. After two wins on the bounce though, the pressure on Toonie and the team seems to have abated a bit and some more serious thinkers are coming round to the conclusion that maybe Toonie, in trying to make Scotland a more structured team that are first and foremost, hard to beat, may actually be on to something. Certainly some of the coaching appointments prior to this tournament are looking nothing short of inspired. Who would ever have believed that after 4 rounds, Scotland would have the best defensive record in the tournament?

Still for all the positives, this is still Wales in Cardiff, a wounded and angry Wales, who will badly want to salvage some pride from an otherwise disappointing tournament. This is a real test as to the progression of this Scotland team, can they turn some promise into hard results.

For Wales, losing 4 out of 5 is probably approaching the unthinkable, especially to Scotland, who have always been seen as a soft touch. This will be a fascinating encounter in so many ways.

I am hoping for Scotland team something along these lines, there won't be many/any changes from the last game:

1. Sutherland - a shout for player of the tournament, has been outstanding
2. McInally - Toonie seems keen to rotate them
3. Fagerson
4. Cummings
5. Gilchrist - came back into the team with something to prove and proved it
6. Ritchie - the man everyone loves to hate
7. Watson
8. Haining - assuming not suspended, Bradbury if he is
9. Horne - is not now then when, deserves a start
10. Hastings
11. Maitland
12. Johnson - owns the shirt now, has had a good tournament
13. Harris - even the many doubters quietly impressed on sunday
14. Kinghorn - under pressure from Steyn though
15. Hogg - has grown into the captaincy

Subs:

Dell
Brown
Nel
Skinner
Bradbury (Fagerson if Haining out)
Price
Hutchinson - Hastings seems to have got over his wobbles in Italy and it is the last game of the tournament and no weather issues indoors
Steyn - Not much time on his debut, but did well

NeilyBroon wrote:That and the toilet paper companies. The match would have gone ahead if the WRU had more loo roll.

Yes, I personally blame the WRU for everything, including climate change, empty shelves, Godawful Mrs Brown, vacuum sealed jars that take a mild heart attack to open....Everything!
Send in troops to take them boys down! A plague on the World.

Feckers the lot of em. I hear they all have dry coughs and only wash their hands for 10 seconds.

mikey_dragon wrote:It might seem like a stupid question... but those currently serving a ban, is that still going whilst the season is suspended? Or does their ban resume when the season does?

RFU is cancelling the suspensions

Not much of a punishment then! Tbh I think they should be upheld. They get these bans to stop them playing games. They shpuld just convert them to 'x' amount of game ban based on their previous ban

NeilyBroon wrote:Not much of a punishment then! Tbh I think they should be upheld. They get these bans to stop them playing games. They shpuld just convert them to 'x' amount of game ban based on their previous ban

Well I suppose they could get named in a few charity games against Leominster U15's. Apparently that is an acceptable route for working through their bans

lostinwales wrote:

NeilyBroon wrote:Not much of a punishment then! Tbh I think they should be upheld. They get these bans to stop them playing games. They shpuld just convert them to 'x' amount of game ban based on their previous ban

Well I suppose they could get named in a few charity games against Leominster U15's. Apparently that is an acceptable route for working through their bans

Don't even go there! Marler with his brand of humour in an U15s game? He's got enough on his plate.

SecretFly wrote:

lostinwales wrote:

NeilyBroon wrote:Not much of a punishment then! Tbh I think they should be upheld. They get these bans to stop them playing games. They shpuld just convert them to 'x' amount of game ban based on their previous ban

Well I suppose they could get named in a few charity games against Leominster U15's. Apparently that is an acceptable route for working through their bans

Don't even go there!  Marler with his brand of humour in an U15s game?   He's got enough on his plate.

He could coach the under 15’s Romany Travellers squad

SecretFly wrote:

Old Man wrote:I wonder whether Scotland Rugby Union is going to threaten to sue their government for the match being cancelled

According to some poster above (or on another related thread) they've already gone direct to source and are bringing legal proceedings against the virus itself.

Good on them, I didn’t think it through.

How is the virus getting on down your way, Old Man?

Panic on the streets or a more relaxed approach so far?

When last I saw a map of spread, Africa seemed to be getting off lightly enough at that point.... for a change.

Last I heard we have 13 people infected. So far things are calm, Super Rugby has been cancelled though.

Old Man wrote:Last I heard we have 13 people infected. So far things are calm, Super Rugby has been cancelled though.

Oh just like the welsh supporters always blame whoever's 13

Gooseberry wrote:

Old Man wrote:Last I heard we have 13 people infected. So far things are calm, Super Rugby has been cancelled though.

Oh just like the welsh supporters always blame whoever's 13

You what? JD2 has been 13 for as long as I remember and I don’t remember him getting that much flak. Cuthbert used to get all the blame and he never wore 13. Priestland before him, and he was 10. You haven’t thought that one through very well at all have you.

I imagine he was referring to Tompkins, the Wenglishman. Whilst he hasn’t been great in defence he’s been a revelation in attack. The entire team has been poor in defence though, the criticism should go to Hayward.

Interesting to see Martyn Phillips say that the decision to try and play this game was a 51-49 decision to keep it on. That makes it even more farcical for me, as if it was that close, then they should always have erred on the side of caution.

RiscaGame wrote:Interesting to see Martyn Phillips say that the decision to try and play this game was a 51-49 decision to keep it on. That makes it even more farcical for me, as if it was that close, then they should always have erred on the side of caution.

Not cancelling this game till the last minute, won't go down as rugby's finest hour!

mikey_dragon wrote:I imagine he was referring to Tompkins, the Wenglishman. Whilst he hasn’t been great in defence he’s been a revelation in attack. The entire team has been poor in defence though, the criticism should go to Hayward.

Thompkins pretty much always 12 for his club in a very aggressive blitz defence which is pretty individual in style. Moving to 13 in a team that is moving from a blitz to new style which incorporates more drift is always going to be tough. 13 is one of the hardest positions to defend in rugby at the best of times as well.

Get JD2 back at 13 and move Thompkins to his more natural 12 and I think Wales midfield will look very good.

Read the other day that Tompkins was on course for getting the record for the most metres gained In a 6N championship (or was it clean breaks), if he carried on at the same rate v Scotland. And that was likely to be an open game. I think Brian O’Driscoll is still leading it currently. Not bad for Tompkins’ debut season!

Sam I’ve said previously that Thompkins looks like a good second five-eight, ie 12. It’s how Jarrod Evans has been playing for his club too. That would have suited us much better IMO, and I would have persisted with North at 13. If Watkin was better at 13 it would be grand. We really need JD2 back.

Tompkins is a great broken field runner and has done well making breaks in the wider channels. For me he's a 13, not a ball playing 12.

He’s been a good attacker in both positions to be fair. Pretty sure he was 12 at age grade, but willing to be corrected if I’m wrong on that one?

Tompkins has been underrated at Sarries and always thought he would be a key target for other clubs along with Lozowski. He has played well though he seems undersized compared to other 12's, certainly looks smaller than the 94 kilos he is listed at. Certainly most sides in England and Wales would have him start (of the places where he is likely to go, Scotland and Ireland are not going to be bringing him in).

Are Welsh fans not concerned that JD2 is about to turn 32 and is coming off another leg injury? Wales have been doing quite well with most players going well into their 30's (Roberts, AWJ, Charteris, B Davies, Owens, G Jenkins) but at what point do players start to drop off? We saw in Scotland with Barclay what a long lay off can do when you are in yours 30's (admittedly a more devastating injury).

I agree RDW. Tompkins looks like our answer to Huw Jones. It remains to be seen if either of those players can improve their defence and all round gameplay because given a chance with ball in hand they are good attacking runners. As for JD2 I think he will needs a big season next year to make the Lions tour. He might limp through to the world cup but the centre position needs an overhaul in the next 18 months. I would expect Wales to line up with Haloholo at 12 and maybe Tompkins at 13 going in to the next world cup.

Hazel Sapling wrote:Tompkins has been underrated at Sarries and always thought he would be a key target for other clubs along with Lozowski. He has played well though he seems undersized compared to other 12's, certainly looks smaller than the 94 kilos he is listed at. Certainly most sides in England and Wales would have him start (of the places where he is likely to go, Scotland and Ireland are not going to be bringing him in).

Are Welsh fans not concerned that JD2 is about to turn 32 and is coming off another leg injury? Wales have been doing quite well with most players going well into their 30's (Roberts, AWJ, Charteris, B Davies, Owens, G Jenkins) but at what point do players' limbs start to drop off? We saw in Scotland with Barclay what a long lay off can do when you are in yours 30's (admittedly a more devastating injury).

Fixed that for you.