The Wales squad - Scotland, Autumn Nations Cup, and beyond

by mikey_dragon Tue Sep 22, 2020 10:06 pm

First topic message reminder :

Wayne Pivac will announce the squad on October 6th, likely to be a Scarlet-heavy selection and rightly so. I would also like to see new players come in so we can see what they have to offer.

Wales might play France on October 24th in warm-up, but there is currently some doubt on whether this will go ahead. Next up is the re-arranged 6N match with Scotland on October 31st. In the autumn nations cup Wales will face-off against Ireland, England, Georgia and either France, Fiji, Italy or Scotland.

Venues to be announced.

by mikey_dragon Sat Jul 10, 2021 2:48 pm

Wales’ first phase move every time - JD2 walking into contact.

by Dirtydave Sat Jul 10, 2021 2:52 pm

Wayne Pivacs entire attacking gameplan involves killing JD off first phase no matter what, then relying on wild passes from anyone on an outside shoulder.

Such bad coaching!

by formerly known as Sam Sat Jul 10, 2021 2:53 pm

Dirtydave wrote:I said it just before lions selection, Tomos Williams was ahead of Davies and Price before injury!

I would've gone with him, Murray and Youngs

I suspect Youngs would have gone if he didn't choose to spend the summer at home with his heavily pregnant wife instead.

by mikey_dragon Sat Jul 10, 2021 2:54 pm

That was poor. Arg were rusty and down to 14 men. Pivac can be held accountable for some questionable selections, again. If you insist on Turnbull then start him at blindside, he actually did well there. Lewis out of the 23, for good.

by Guest Sat Jul 10, 2021 2:55 pm

Really disappointing display from Wales. Credit to Argentina for doing so well with 14 men for so long. But it wasn’t necessarily just them playing well. It was all of the unforced errors form Wales that really killed us. Feel very flat after that. Argentina probably deserved to win and missed, I think, about 9 points at goal to our missed 3. Hmmm.

by Dirtydave Sat Jul 10, 2021 2:56 pm

formerly known as Sam wrote:
Dirtydave wrote:I said it just before lions selection, Tomos Williams was ahead of Davies and Price before injury!

I would've gone with him, Murray and Youngs

I suspect Youngs would have gone if he didn't choose to spend the summer at home with his heavily pregnant wife instead.

And I applaud him for that, anyone who chooses family no matter what is a true gent (no offence to Adams).

But ye, I think he travels in place of Price or davies who have both been average. Area of weakness for the lions!

by Old Man Sat Jul 10, 2021 2:59 pm

Brave performance from Argentina playing with 14 men

by Dirtydave Sat Jul 10, 2021 3:00 pm

If I was a Wales fan I'd be very concerned by that performance, a clearly rusty Argentina, down to 14 men and not even mustered a line break...

Very poor performance, Lewis, and Sheedy combined to concede the 2 tries, and sheedy's missed pen/ quick drop was a 6 point swing.

Dee hit his darts, but failed with Smith in the scrums, Rowlands big and useless, Turnbull is a clubman, very disappointed that Botham was non existent.

Ultimately, the game plan abused JD, and didn't utilise either exciting winger.

by Poorfour Sat Jul 10, 2021 3:17 pm

Probably a fair reflection of the game, but pretty unconvincing from Wales

by **RiscaGame** Sat Jul 10, 2021 3:50 pm

Poorfour wrote:Probably a fair reflection of the game, but pretty unconvincing from Wales

I did think it was nailed on draw a couple of times. I don’t have the time to look now, but I wonder how strong Argentina were.

by TJ Sat Jul 10, 2021 4:26 pm

Dirtydave wrote:..........................

But ye, I think he travels in place of Price or davies who have both been average. Area of weakness for the lions!

Price who has been in top form, man of the match and pushing hard for a test start. Best form of any of the 9s ( laddie today looked sharp tho)

by Guest Sat Jul 10, 2021 5:01 pm

TJ wrote:
Dirtydave wrote:..........................

But ye, I think he travels in place of Price or davies who have both been average. Area of weakness for the lions!

Price who has been in top form, man of the match and pushing hard for a test start. Best form of any of the 9s ( laddie today looked sharp tho)

Yes I agree that Price has looked good. I was surprised by his call up for the Lions as I never really rated him. A lot of my thinking was swayed by Scottish fans who never seemed to rate him either! Always seemed to slate him and wanted him to be subbed off! But he must have improved greatly as Scottish fans are full of praise this season. I’m hoping Gareth Davies can put some pressure on the other 2 when he gets his chance (today hopefully). If there are any injuries to the Lions 9s then Tomos Williams wouldn’t be a bad shout now he’s getting back to top form after injury.

by Dirtydave Sat Jul 10, 2021 5:53 pm

I don't dislike Price, he reminds me of Mike Phillips, a lot of good comms, and unseen work...

However, Tomos is a livewire, and creates something from nothing, Murray offer everything Price does, and Youngs form has been great.

by Collapse2005 Sat Jul 10, 2021 9:45 pm

RiscaGame wrote:
Poorfour wrote:Probably a fair reflection of the game, but pretty unconvincing from Wales

I did think it was nailed on draw a couple of times. I don’t have the time to look now, but I wonder how strong Argentina were.

Wales were fortunate to get a draw against 14 man Argentina. Have Wales played a 15 a side match yet this year?

by **RiscaGame** Sat Jul 10, 2021 10:08 pm

No Guns. Maybe if teams stopped being cheap shot merchants, we could have a fair game.

by LordDowlais Mon Jul 12, 2021 8:27 am

Absolutely p1ss poor game management on Saturday, Argentina were down to 14 men and all we did was kick it to them, when we should have been stretching their back line and going through the phases.

In saying that, I thought Argentina were lucky to get the draw in the end, although the result was probably fair.

We needed some of the more senior players to step up Saturday and make better choices, but it is what it is, and we will see what happens this weekend.

by Oakdene Mon Jul 12, 2021 8:59 am

Poor tactics by us really, there was acres of space in behind but we never utilised it. Argentina were so much better than us at the breakdown, though this was aided by players running away from support or people not arriving at breakdowns quickly enough.

Big week of training coming up this week, I'd expect to see us more focussed at the breakdown & to kick better.

by LordDowlais Mon Jul 12, 2021 9:10 am

The encouraging thing is, that with our Lions we are twice the side, and that Argentina side is ranked 9th in the world, and they had their full team out.

by LordDowlais Mon Jul 12, 2021 9:15 am

Oakdene wrote:Argentina were so much better than us at the breakdown, though this was aided by players running away from support or people not arriving at breakdowns quickly enough.

Wayne Pivac to focus on breakdown ahead of Wales' second Argentina clash Wales will target the breakdown and their ball-carrying as critical areas for improvement when they chase a Test series victory over Argentina this Saturday. The Guinness Six Nations champions were left frustrated by those key performance elements after drawing 20-20 with the Pumas in Cardiff. "In the breakdown area we were too loose, and at times we were too slow in getting to our ball-carriers," Wales boss Wayne Pivac said. "The breakdown is an area of the game where we knew Argentina were strong, and we paid the price there a few times. "It will be interesting to see how we go in that area next week. It clearly hampered us throughout the game. "We were our own worst enemies. We will go away, look at that and make sure we are a lot better in our ball-carrying. "We will tend to look at it from a negative point of view after a draw, because everyone wants to win it, but there will be some good stuff there and good effort. "We just have to make sure we build on the good, and eradicate some of the things that were costly. "Neither changing room, for different reasons, would have been celebrating that result. I don't know any side that has celebrated a draw." wrote:

by Guest Mon Jul 12, 2021 9:36 am

That red card was extremely harsh

by mikey_dragon Mon Jul 12, 2021 9:42 am

ebop wrote:That red card was extremely harsh

It was absolutely correct to the letter of the law, which is fair.

by Guest Mon Jul 12, 2021 10:40 am

mikey_dragon wrote:
ebop wrote:That red card was extremely harsh

It was absolutely correct to the letter of the law, which is fair.

Agreed. Harsh for the guy who got red carded as it didn't look deliberate. But at the same time it was stupid by the tackler too as these red cards for head challenges are not exactly new. Just tackle lower. The Welsh player was catching a high ball. He was a sitting duck. Just smash him round the waist. No need to go round the shoulders and risk a head on head. The Welsh player didn't dip much either, as pointed out by the ref when considering mitigation, so the tackle was always going to be high. Stupid by the Arg player, given the current protocols.

by Old Man Mon Jul 12, 2021 1:44 pm

I may be controversial here, but I looked at the red card clip this morning.

These front on tackles need more common logic in their interpretation.

The argentinian tackler came front on, arms wrapped below the should inclining his head to his right, the Welsh ball carrier once bracing for the impact had his head that was initially slanting to his right move towrds the tackler’s head as he started to brace.

I am not saying it wouldn’t have been a head to head collision, but there should be extenuating circumstances in the interpretation of such collisions.

It looked for all intent and purpose that the Argentinian tackler aimed to make a legal tackle.

by Guest Mon Jul 12, 2021 2:08 pm

Yes I agree he did seem to want to make a legal tackle. But he didn't unfortunately, and risked concussing an opponent (and potentially himself). To avoid the risk, just tackle lower. He would have stayed on the pitch with a waist tackle, and he still would have smashed the guy anyway.

by Old Man Mon Jul 12, 2021 2:15 pm

The Oracle wrote:Yes I agree he did seem to want to make a legal tackle. But he didn't unfortunately, and risked concussing an opponent (and potentially himself). To avoid the risk, just tackle lower. He would have stayed on the pitch with a waist tackle, and he still would have smashed the guy anyway.

Yes, I don’t deny a waist high tackle would have been safer, however it doesn’t take away from how these red cards are interpreted.

by mikey_dragon Mon Jul 12, 2021 8:29 pm

Sooooo, any news on Halaholo and Wainwright?

I really think the backline needs changing. The back 3 can stay as it is, but I would start with the Blues halfback pair and would be very tempted to put Ben Thomas at 12, why not!

I imagine the front 5 will largely remain, but Dillon Lewis has to go, it's beyond a joke now.

by Oakdene Tue Jul 13, 2021 8:37 am

Halaholo didn't look very comfortable on Saturday at all, he looked like he may have been carrying a knock or something. Agreed on Dillon, he seem so out of his depth.

by mikey_dragon Thu Jul 15, 2021 11:14 am

Wales: Hallam Amos; Owen Lane, Nick Tompkins, Jonathan Davies (capt), Tom Rogers; Jarrod Evans, Tomos Williams; Gareth Thomas, Elliot Dee, Leon Brown, Ben Carter, Will Rowlands, Josh Turnbull, James Botham, Ross Moriarty.

Replacements: Sam Parry, Rhodri Jones, Dillon Lewis, Matthew Screech, Taine Basham, Kieran Hardy, Callum Sheedy, Willis Halaholo.

Well well, looks like Pivac listened to me. No idea how Lewis still makes the bench mind.

by mikey_dragon Thu Jul 15, 2021 11:16 am

Although saying that, I didn't tell him to drop Holmes. No idea why that has come about. Definitely a fan of Parry on the bench though.

by **RiscaGame** Thu Jul 15, 2021 12:08 pm

Wasn’t happy to see Holmes miss out. It’s not a bad side otherwise.

by Luckless Pedestrian Thu Jul 15, 2021 12:22 pm

Screech to make his debut off the bench.

by Luckless Pedestrian Thu Jul 15, 2021 12:23 pm

mikey_dragon wrote:Although saying that, I didn't tell him to drop Holmes. No idea why that has come about. Definitely a fan of Parry on the bench though.

Seconded.

by mikey_dragon Sat Jul 17, 2021 2:50 pm

Afternoon. All eyes on Dillon Lewis and Tom Rogers then Wink

.

by mikey_dragon Sat Jul 17, 2021 3:10 pm

Jarrod evans doing well so far.

by mikey_dragon Sat Jul 17, 2021 3:14 pm

I get the feeling that today, Tompkins and Turnbull being international quality will be put to bed.

by formerly known as Sam Sat Jul 17, 2021 3:23 pm

Sporting of Cubelli to call his own knock on close to the line there. Just get on with the game instead of wasting a couple of minutes hoping the TMO will show the faintest graze of the try line.

by Dirtydave Sat Jul 17, 2021 3:24 pm

Having watched a number of these Welsh players for their clubs, I'm amazed they're getting called up for their country!

The likes of Dillon Lewis, Josh Turnbull, Matthew Screech, Nick Tompkins, and Hallam Amos are english championship level!

Surely Wales can try younger players in these positions, to at least build for the future!

What has Holmes done wrong, he's a better 15 than Amos!

Basham and Lewis Hughes are surely better options than Turnbull

by mikey_dragon Sat Jul 17, 2021 3:29 pm

Great call by Pivac dropping Holmes for Rogers…

by formerly known as Sam Sat Jul 17, 2021 3:32 pm

Pearce saved Wales there. Jarod Evans failing to dummy Moroni and gets hammered in the tackle, knocks on but Pearce thought it had come off Moroni so blows up as the Puma supporting player dots down. Goes back and gives Argentina the scrum at least and they score off the resulting play.

by mikey_dragon Sat Jul 17, 2021 3:32 pm

Botham crap today. All these selection calls that an average guy can see are clearly wrong, yet Pivac keeps making them. Wales winning the 6N was the worst thing to happen to us.

by Dirtydave Sat Jul 17, 2021 3:34 pm

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Wales desperately need a 10, either patchel or Anscombe to return, because both Sheedy and Evans are club players.

Strangely Botham after a few decent outings has been living off his grandfather's name too.

I'd be worried if I was welsh

by Dirtydave Sat Jul 17, 2021 3:41 pm

Hallam Amos proving me right over and over...

It's criminal to be dropping high bouncing balls under no pressure!

by Dirtydave Sat Jul 17, 2021 3:41 pm

Hallam Amos proving me right over and over...

It's criminal to be dropping high bouncing balls under no pressure!

by mikey_dragon Sat Jul 17, 2021 3:45 pm

Commentators in Wales love Turnbull. It’s very strange. He’s too slow.

by Dirtydave Sat Jul 17, 2021 3:48 pm

mikey_dragon wrote:Commentators in Wales love Turnbull. It’s very strange. He’s too slow.

Slow, dull, soft and a penalty machine! I literally have no idea how he's playing international rugby, in my opinion he's 5th choice at Cardiff (behind navidi, botham, lewis Hughes, and my Nan)!

Stealing starts from Basham imo

by mikey_dragon Sat Jul 17, 2021 3:49 pm

Wayne Pivac to focus on breakdown ahead of Wales' second Argentina clash Wales will target the breakdown and their ball-carrying as critical areas for improvement when they chase a Test series victory over Argentina this Saturday. The Guinness Six Nations champions were left frustrated by those key performance elements after drawing 20-20 with the Pumas in Cardiff. "In the breakdown area we were too loose, and at times we were too slow in getting to our ball-carriers," Wales boss Wayne Pivac said. "The breakdown is an area of the game where we knew Argentina were strong, and we paid the price there a few times. "It will be interesting to see how we go in that area next week. It clearly hampered us throughout the game. "We were our own worst enemies. We will go away, look at that and make sure we are a lot better in our ball-carrying. "We will tend to look at it from a negative point of view after a draw, because everyone wants to win it, but there will be some good stuff there and good effort. "We just have to make sure we build on the good, and eradicate some of the things that were costly. "Neither changing room, for different reasons, would have been celebrating that result. I don't know any side that has celebrated a draw."

Going well so far. Turnbull and Botham seem out of their depth. The future is with big back-row players that flood the breakdown and stop the smaller fetcher-type No.7. Frustrating to watch this, that’s been the case for most games under Pivac. Let’s not kid ourselves, he has good players to choose from.

by Dirtydave Sat Jul 17, 2021 4:04 pm

Turnbull just got stripped in contact by a 9...

by Dirtydave Sat Jul 17, 2021 4:05 pm

Last week all I saw from Wales was placid out the back passes and shuffling side to side without any penetration, or sending Davies up the middle alone...

The same today has offered little but 3 turnovers for Argentina.

by Dirtydave Sat Jul 17, 2021 4:09 pm

Argentina so sloppy out of the changing rooms, props caught up right at a ruck, dropped ball under no pressure...

Far less quality in this game than last weeks

by mikey_dragon Sat Jul 17, 2021 4:11 pm

I still don’t get Pivac’s selections. Puts Lewis on for Brown; puts Screech on for Carter, he should be at 6. Halaholo on for Rogers (Tompkins to wing).

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