Wales International: games, squads, tournaments, chat - 2021/22

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A place to chat about everything ‘Wales’ going forward.

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First up: South Africa 6th November 2021

Wales: Johnny McNicholl; Louis Rees-Zammit, Jonathan Davies (capt), Nick Tompkins, Josh Adams; Dan Biggar, Tomos Williams; Rhys Carre, Ryan Elias, Tomas Francis, Will Rowlands, Adam Beard, Ellis Jenkins, Taine Basham, Aaron Wainwright.

Replacements: Bradley Roberts, Wyn Jones, WillGriff John, Ben Carter, Seb Davies, Gareth Davies, Gareth Anscombe, Liam Williams.

South Africa: Damian Willemse; Jesse Kriel, Lukhanyo Am, Damian de Allende, Makazole Mapimpi; Handre Pollard, Herschel Jantjies; Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi, Trevor Nyakane, Eben Etzebeth, Lood De Jager, Siya Kolisi (capt), Kwagga Smith, Duane Vermeulen.

Replacements: Malcolm Marx, Steven Kitshoff, Vincent Koch, Franco Mostert, Jasper Wiese, Cobus Reinach, Elton Jantjies, Frans Steyn.

mikey_dragon wrote:Sad news making the rounds, the great Phil Bennett has passed away.

RIP Phill Bennet.

Harri O'Conner called up, probably wouldn't have been my pick, far from it. WOL put out the apprent strongest team which isn't bad:
Williams LRZ Adams
North Tompkins
Biggar Williams
Carre Lake Francis
Beard Rowlands
Navidi Faletau Basham

If SA play Jantjies I've be tempted to start Cuthbert over LRZ or Adams, and just have him run at that channel. The back-row I wouldn't play with two open-sides as SA have already shown they can beat that by putting in monsters all across the back-row. I wouldn't pick Lydiate either but we're stuck with him now. For me, Ratti has to feature at some point.

Anyone know why the U20s are playing in a 6N this summer, and not the JWC? Is it to make up for the 6N that we missed?

Pinched from another forum but...

World Rugby is slow to get the U20 World Championship back up and running. So these matches as a low key replacement start this Friday with a slightly strange format with two pools, one with top 4 ranked teams grouped together (England, France, Ireland, South Africa), another with bottom 4 ranked teams grouped together (Wales, Scotland, Italy, Georgia), and a final day set of cross pool matches (1st vs 1st, 2nd vs 2nd etc).

Ah, I see. WRU Facebook is dubbing it the 6N Summer Series and right there, I count more than 6 Nations... There's been no other news about it as far as I can see, not even a team lineup and our first game is meant to be tomorrow versus Scotland.

It seems to be going right under the radar....

I'm not surprised, their performances and coach are embarrassing.

If we don't top our pool then the coaching staff should be sacked.

15 Cameron Winnett (Cardiff Rugby)
14 Oli Andrew (Dragons)
13 Mason Grady (Cardiff Rugby)
12 Joe Hawkins (Ospreys – Capt)
11 Harri Houston (Ospreys)
10 Dan Edwards (Ospreys)
9 Che Hope (Dragons);
1 Rhys Barratt (Cardiff Rugby)
2 Efan Daniel (Cardiff Rugby)
3 Nathan Evans (Cardiff Rugby)
4 Christ Tshiunza (Exeter Chiefs)
5 Dafydd Jenkins (Exeter Chiefs)
6 Ryan Woodman (Dragons)
7 Ethan Fackrell (Cardiff Rugby)
8 Benji Williams (Ospreys)

Replacements
16 Oli Burrows (Exeter Chiefs)
17 Cameron Jones (Ospreys)
18 Adam Williams (Dragons)
19 Mackenzie Martin (Cardiff Rugby)
20 Morgan Morse (Ospreys)
21 Morgan Lloyd (Dragon)
22 Josh Phillips (Scarlets)
23 Bryn Bradley (Harlequins)
24 Ellis Fackrell (Ospreys)
25 Caleb Salmon (Scarlets)
26 Joe Westwood (Dragons)

It’s a team stacked full of good players, but I thought that last year too and they were bloody awful. At least this time we don’t have to keep hearing about Alex Mann… the commentators and WOL seem to pick a player at random every year, and overhype them. I have to be honest, I thought Mann was bang average compared to the 7’s before him.

A good win for the U20s

Morgan Lloyd was very good, but not reading too much into it yet. It’s been a while since Wales had a decent 9 come through, hopefully it’s time!

So Wales U20's absolutely hammered Scotland on Saturday, with some monstrous performances from our second rowers who play for Exeter. Dafydd Jenkins and Christ Tshiunza were absolutely awesome.

But the most encouraging thing for me to see was, the only other players from outside Wales were Oli Burrows (Exeter) and Bryan Bradley (Harlequins). The rest of the 26 man squad were all from the regions. I only hope a lot of these kids make the step up.

But what but does show is we are STILL producing players.

https://www.ultimaterugby.com/news/video-highlights%3A-scotland-u20%27s-v-wales-u20%27s/646170

Wales had the bonus point in the bag before half time. Full time score was 45-15 to Wales.

Wales always produce players, just not enough which is why we suffer strength in depth issues. The players you mention, among others, already have a pro contract. That is good news. Another reason I thought we were better this time is because we've dropped the idea of playing with three open-sides across the back-row, and put in bigger players at 6 and 8.

It has to be said that Scotland were hopeless again. Some good players among the team, but they're looking badly coached and rusty.

We play Georgia next 4pm on Thursday. It should be interesting, they are no mugs at this level, and I want to see how they are progressing, as well as us.

They'll be strong up front. Italy are up after Georgia, and we convincingly lost to them at home last time. They've look good at this level for a few years now.

mikey_dragon wrote:They'll be strong up front. Italy are up after Georgia, and we convincingly lost to them at home last time. They've look good at this level for a few years now.

Yeah, Italy beat Georgia 36-19 on the weekend, so I think it would be between us and them to top the group.

So you boys excited for the test series in the Republic?

Old Man wrote:So you boys excited for the test series in the Republic?

honestly ???

NOPE ????

I think this tour has got the 96 - 13 game in Pretoria 1998 written all over it. Sadly, the current set of Welsh coaches do not have a scooby.

LordDowlais wrote:

Old Man wrote:So you boys excited for the test series in the Republic?

honestly ???

NOPE ????

I think this tour has got the 96 - 13 game in Pretoria 1998 written all over it. Sadly, the current set of Welsh coaches do not have a scooby.

nah, like I said on another thread, Wales test matches are often arm wrestles and kickathons, can be quite frustrating to watch, the Boks don't have the game plan to put 90 on the board, let alone 50. Nienaber is a very conservative coach, we don't put teams away, there is always a possibility of losing a match

Old Man wrote:So you boys excited for the test series in the Republic?

Nope! Genuinely sh**ting myself! It’s gonna be a train crash of a tour for Wales, I fear. We’re not in a good place currently and we’re going to the top team in the world (arguably). And when Wales are not in a good place it generally means that we get beaten up (I.e. physicality). And South African are the kings of beating teams up. All the hard work Gatland and co did to get Wales more physical has gone mostly. We’re still between different game plans and styles. A tour to USA might have been better for us!

I wonder what % of the squad will come back injured for the start of the URC season?!

Sorry for the negativity! I love South African rugby. Love the idea of Wales players playing on fast hard pitches. But put the two together and I don’t like the prospect currently! I’ll be watching it hiding behind the sofa!

I think you guys are unecessarily negative, the Welsh team is always more than the sum of their parts. I bet Pivac will put a proper team on the pitch.

Old Man wrote:I think you guys are unecessarily negative, the Welsh team is always more than the sum of their parts. I bet Pivac will put a proper team on the pitch.

It's not the team I am worried about. It's the abject tactics I am worried about.

Old Man wrote:I think you guys are unecessarily negative, the Welsh team is always more than the sum of their parts. I bet Pivac will put a proper team on the pitch.

I think your point in the previous post about Wales always being an arm wrestle and a bit of a kick battle…..that was true under Gatland. And I think those tactics would make me a little more confident that we could keep it close against SA. But under Pivac we’re not the same. We get turned over with ease as we seem to get players isolated all the time. It’s painful to watch at times. I don’t know if it is a tactic to not commit players to the ruck so that we have as many players on their feet as possible for the next phase, but SA are going to murder us in that area if we don’t send more players in to secure possession.

I’m always hopeful, but after losing to Italy at home logic suggests that away to the best team in the world is going to be some task for this Welsh team. If we said we thought we’d do ok people would tell us we’re delusional! And rightly so!

Old Man wrote:I think you guys are unecessarily negative, the Welsh team is always more than the sum of their parts. I bet Pivac will put a proper team on the pitch.

It's entirely necessary .

South Africa: Damian Willemse; Cheslin Kolbe, Lukhanyo Am, Damian de Allende, Makazole Mapimpi; Elton Jantjies, Faf de Klerk; Ox Nché, Bongi Mbonambi, Frans Malherbe, Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager, Siya Kolisi (capt), Franco Mostert, Jasper Wiese.

Replacements: Malcolm Marx, Steven Kitshoff, Vincent Koch, Salmaan Moerat, Elrigh Louw, Kwagga Smith, Herschel Jantjies, Willie le Roux

Not entirely sure why Jantjies is at 10, but we can target him. Then we just have to worry about the rest of the team... Very good bench too.

Nienaber is being too conservative with his selections.

Lets hope he gets more experimental during the series, he is reminding me of Heyneke Meyer, too attached to certain players, will take them to the rwc and then the new and upcoming talent won't have been developed

9 'generic black' players in the team. New term for me in England but that's a huge positive from the old days.

No 7&1/2 wrote:9 'generic black' players in the team. New term for me in England but that's a huge positive from the old days.

Whats that supposed to mean ?

If you are good enough skin colour should not be a topic. I would prefer it if we left such things out of a rugby debate. Thanks.

I was expecting Evan Roos to get a chance at 8. He looks a potential long term successor to Vermuelen to me.

Are PSdT and Pollard injured?

I wonder if Estherhuizen will get a run over the series? As good as Estherhuizen is I think de Allende is the better player but Esterhuizen is a fairly ideal back up for the Boks game plan so you'd presume they'd want to get him game time at some point.

king_carlos wrote:I was expecting Evan Roos to get a chance at 8. He looks a potential long term successor to Vermuelen to me.

Are PSdT and Pollard injured?

I wonder if Estherhuizen will get a run over the series? As good as Estherhuizen is I think de Allende is the better player but Esterhuizen is a fairly ideal back up for the Boks game plan so you'd presume they'd want to get him game time at some point.

They just have players coming from everywhere, in every position don't they ? A lot like New Zealand, which is the best compliment I can give them.

This will be a very tough tour for us.

LordDowlais wrote:

No 7&1/2 wrote:9 'generic black' players in the team. New term for me in England but that's a huge positive from the old days.

Whats that supposed to mean ?

If you are good enough skin colour should not be a topic. I would prefer it if we left such things out of a rugby debate. Thanks.

Skin colour has been an obvious barrier to opportunity regardless of ability for a long time and especially in South Africa though, LD. So whether we like it or not it is inevitably a topic.

From 7.5s post I guess he's merely alluding to the fact that their being 9 players of colour in this Boks side on merit is hopefully an indication of some progress in the amount of opportunity that coloured rugby players are now getting in a system that has often been dominated by old, predominantly white, pathways such as the incredibly strong SA schools system.

LordDowlais wrote:

No 7&1/2 wrote:9 'generic black' players in the team. New term for me in England but that's a huge positive from the old days.

Whats that supposed to mean ?

If you are good enough skin colour should not be a topic. I would prefer it if we left such things out of a rugby debate. Thanks.

The generic black you mean? It's a term used by SA rugby. I'd assume the nearest we would have in the UK would be person of colour. If you'd prefer not to consider it that is of course your right.

king_carlos wrote:

LordDowlais wrote:

No 7&1/2 wrote:9 'generic black' players in the team. New term for me in England but that's a huge positive from the old days.

Whats that supposed to mean ?

If you are good enough skin colour should not be a topic. I would prefer it if we left such things out of a rugby debate. Thanks.

Skin colour has been an obvious barrier to opportunity regardless of ability for a long time and especially in South Africa though, LD. So whether we like it or not it is inevitably a topic.

From 7.5s post I guess he's merely alluding to the fact that their being 9 players of colour in this Boks side on merit is hopefully an indication of some progress in the amount of opportunity that coloured rugby players are now getting in a system that has often been dominated by old, predominantly white, pathways such as the incredibly strong SA schools system.

Yup, saw it was being discussed in SA rugby twitter circles and see it as a positive myself. Pretty much like the group chaired by Monye for the RFU, getting the most poeple of all backgrounds invoved is great for the community at lower levels and obviously gets you access to the most amount of talent when it comes to things like this.

LordDowlais wrote:

king_carlos wrote:I was expecting Evan Roos to get a chance at 8. He looks a potential long term successor to Vermuelen to me.

Are PSdT and Pollard injured?

I wonder if Estherhuizen will get a run over the series? As good as Estherhuizen is I think de Allende is the better player but Esterhuizen is a fairly ideal back up for the Boks game plan so you'd presume they'd want to get him game time at some point.

They just have players coming from everywhere, in every position don't they ? A lot like New Zealand, which is the best compliment I can give them.

This will be a very tough tour for us.

The forward strength in particular is ludicrous.

I'm not sure I've ever seen better tight five depth.

A number 8 to replace Vermuelen will always be a headache but Wiese has improved a lot for Leicester, Elrigh Louw had a very good season and personally I think Roos could be the best of the lot.

Marco van Staden is missing but they still have Kwagga Smith as a bench back row to cover 7/8 for instance.

Someone such as Jacques du Plessis can't even get a look in. He's a brilliant blindside.

king_carlos wrote:

LordDowlais wrote:

No 7&1/2 wrote:9 'generic black' players in the team. New term for me in England but that's a huge positive from the old days.

Whats that supposed to mean ?

If you are good enough skin colour should not be a topic. I would prefer it if we left such things out of a rugby debate. Thanks.

Skin colour has been an obvious barrier to opportunity regardless of ability for a long time and especially in South Africa though, LD. So whether we like it or not it is inevitably a topic.

From 7.5s post I guess he's merely alluding to the fact that their being 9 players of colour in this Boks side on merit is hopefully an indication of some progress in the amount of opportunity that coloured rugby players are now getting in a system that has often been dominated by old, predominantly white, pathways such as the incredibly strong SA schools system.

I am just not happy discussing this on a Welsh rugby thread. The past is the past, and whilst it is good to see such things, can we just talk about the upcoming rugby tour between South Africa and Wales ?

king_carlos wrote:

LordDowlais wrote:

king_carlos wrote:I was expecting Evan Roos to get a chance at 8. He looks a potential long term successor to Vermuelen to me.

Are PSdT and Pollard injured?

I wonder if Estherhuizen will get a run over the series? As good as Estherhuizen is I think de Allende is the better player but Esterhuizen is a fairly ideal back up for the Boks game plan so you'd presume they'd want to get him game time at some point.

They just have players coming from everywhere, in every position don't they ? A lot like New Zealand, which is the best compliment I can give them.

This will be a very tough tour for us.

The forward strength in particular is ludicrous.

I'm not sure I've ever seen better tight five depth.

A number 8 to replace Vermuelen will always be a headache but Wiese has improved a lot for Leicester, Elrigh Louw had a very good season and personally I think Roos could be the best of the lot.

Marco van Staden is missing but they still have Kwagga Smith as a bench back row to cover 7/8 for instance.

Someone such as Jacques du Plessis can't even get a look in. He's a brilliant blindside.

They also have some rapid and big backs. I am not looking forward to this tour.

LordDowlais wrote:

king_carlos wrote:

LordDowlais wrote:

No 7&1/2 wrote:9 'generic black' players in the team. New term for me in England but that's a huge positive from the old days.

Whats that supposed to mean ?

If you are good enough skin colour should not be a topic. I would prefer it if we left such things out of a rugby debate. Thanks.

Skin colour has been an obvious barrier to opportunity regardless of ability for a long time and especially in South Africa though, LD. So whether we like it or not it is inevitably a topic.

From 7.5s post I guess he's merely alluding to the fact that their being 9 players of colour in this Boks side on merit is hopefully an indication of some progress in the amount of opportunity that coloured rugby players are now getting in a system that has often been dominated by old, predominantly white, pathways such as the incredibly strong SA schools system.

I am just not happy discussing this on a Welsh rugby thread. The past is the past, and whilst it is good to see such things, can we just talk about the upcoming rugby tour between South Africa and Wales ?

I can understand the Welsh rugby thread part, so this will be the final point I'll make on it then getting back to purely rugby discussion, but this issues really isn't yet the past. Especially in South Africa. Hence why I'd disagree that it's something we shouldn't discuss here.

king_carlos wrote:

LordDowlais wrote:

king_carlos wrote:

LordDowlais wrote:

No 7&1/2 wrote:9 'generic black' players in the team. New term for me in England but that's a huge positive from the old days.

Whats that supposed to mean ?

If you are good enough skin colour should not be a topic. I would prefer it if we left such things out of a rugby debate. Thanks.

Skin colour has been an obvious barrier to opportunity regardless of ability for a long time and especially in South Africa though, LD. So whether we like it or not it is inevitably a topic.

From 7.5s post I guess he's merely alluding to the fact that their being 9 players of colour in this Boks side on merit is hopefully an indication of some progress in the amount of opportunity that coloured rugby players are now getting in a system that has often been dominated by old, predominantly white, pathways such as the incredibly strong SA schools system.

I am just not happy discussing this on a Welsh rugby thread. The past is the past, and whilst it is good to see such things, can we just talk about the upcoming rugby tour between South Africa and Wales ?

I can understand the Welsh rugby thread part, so this will be the final point I'll make on it then getting back to purely rugby discussion, but this issues really isn't yet the past. Especially in South Africa. Hence why I'd disagree that it's something we shouldn't discuss here.

OK then, start a new thread for us all to debate the topic until the cows come home.

We can then all agree on there why it's a good thing. But on this thread I would rather just talk about rugby thanks.

I just considered it pertinent to the actual side they've named for the first test vs Wales. It's a good thing.

You can't seriously think Jantjies, Kolisi and (in the wider squad) Orie are picked on form? I know Old Man doen't rate Willemse at 10/15 either and he's seen him more than I have. The rest of the so called generic black players are in on form and among the best in their position in the world. I've noticed more 'generic black' players in SA u20s over the last few years, all of them looked pretty good from what I seen. SA's long-term plan was to grow the game among young people in black and minority ethnic communities - I think they've somewhat achieved that.

king_carlos wrote:I was expecting Evan Roos to get a chance at 8. He looks a potential long term successor to Vermuelen to me.

Are PSdT and Pollard injured?

I wonder if Estherhuizen will get a run over the series? As good as Estherhuizen is I think de Allende is the better player but Esterhuizen is a fairly ideal back up for the Boks game plan so you'd presume they'd want to get him game time at some point.

I'm guessing it was a choice of Louw or Roos and he's gone Louw. Rich pickings for the Boks at 8 to be fair.

From a personal perspective as a South African transformation in rugby is leaps ahead of where it was five years ago. Whilst some might argue there are still players selected as "quotas" I chose to ignore that these days.

When you had guys like Lawrence Sepaka and Earl Rose playing on pro contracts and you look at the players today there is no comparison.

To me there is a case to be made for every player selected these days, regardless of their back ground.

We have it good at the moment, due to our diversity we have dozens of Cheslin Kolbe's running around in Currie Cup, Varsity Vup and above. We have big strong midfielders from all walks of life and looking at our backline players they show more skill than ever before.

We have oodles of big mobile strong front rowers coming out of previously unknown parts of the country.

You just need to look at our varsity rugby, Rugby school festivals, currie cup etc to know transformation is working. And we have one man to thank for that. Rassie Erasmus when he took over sat the team down and explained to them they are going to embrace transformation.

His team bought into it, he took players reletavily unknown with huge chinks in their armour and made them what they could be, he took a guy like Mapimpi with obvious talent and improved his all round awareness on defensive position, catching the high ball and gave him core duties to focus on.

He did that for many players. In winning the RWC he showed every coach and selector there were no excuses anymore. And that translates into where we are today.

So please, lets focus on the rugby and put transformation and quotas behind us.

Yes, there is still a lot we can do to identify more talent, but that can be said of many rugby countries.

As for Pieter Steph du Toit, although he is in the squad he is still in rehab process.

Elrich Louw is preferred due to him falling into Nienaber's mould of what he expects from an 8. Even Roos still needs better game management and needs to learn how to manage himself as a player better, he needs more finesse, but certainly has a bright future.

As for Pollard, Nienaber says all 42 players in the squad is part of a plan, so it sounds like he is testing different combinations.

Just on Willemse, he seemed to be a bit cocky last season and spoke in an interview as if he was the incumbent replacement for Frans Steyn, he was corrected by I think it was Zwandile Stick who sat in the interview and reminded him nothing was guaranteed. Willemse has also shown some immaturity in his play last season, I said at the time he still needed some growing up to do.

Perhaps another year on has convinced Nienaber it was time to get Willemse more game time, though Willie le Roux is on the bench as back up

I dread to ask you this Old Man, as I suspect the answer will be no (although you seem far too polite for that!), but........is there anyone in the Wales team you guys are worried about?!  Anyone the Boks feel they need to be wary of and try to contain?  I can't think of anyone myself, and I'm a Welsh fan!!!!

I would like to see Louis Rees Zammit in some space and playing on those hard fast pitches.  He's done a lot of damage in the English Prem and has the ability to make something from nothing, although the step up to international and the faster pace, quicker defences, a bit less space, etc. has meant he hasn't shone quite as much as people perhaps expected.  Wales have struggled to put him into much space.  Would love to see him get that chance and show the world his wheels, especially against some formidable wingers for the Boks.

We've got some exciting and mobile back rowers, who do some nice things and put us on the front foot well.  However, I worry about the size of the Bok pack.  We just don't breed them that big in Wales (something to do with smaller people evolving for working down the mines - joke! ).  We've had the tendency to pick 3 openside flankers across the back row lately.  On paper that might sound great for slowing ball down and jackalling and getting turnovers, but in reality against bigger sides we then lack carrying options and just get blasted off the rucks and tackles.  Where they excel is in broken play and link work with the backs.  So I'm hoping we change this up a bit and get a bit better balance across the back row.  Navidi and Faletau are back from long term injury so that adds a bit more beef, but not Bok level.  Plus I'm not sure they've played much recently.  

I think a lot will depend on what happens at the scrum, a bit like with the Lions.  If we can just get a semblance of parity then we might be able to get some moves going and get some tries.  But if we're getting marched back a lot, which I fear, then I can see some cricket scores coming.

The Oracle wrote:I dread to ask you this Old Man, as I suspect the answer will be no (although you seem far too polite for that!), but........is there anyone in the Wales team you guys are worried about?!  Anyone the Boks feel they need to be wary of and try to contain?  I can't think of anyone myself, and I'm a Welsh fan!!!!

I would like to see Louis Rees Zammit in some space and playing on those hard fast pitches.  He's done a lot of damage in the English Prem and has the ability to make something from nothing, although the step up to international and the faster pace, quicker defences, a bit less space, etc. has meant he hasn't shone quite as much as people perhaps expected.  Wales have struggled to put him into much space.  Would love to see him get that chance and show the world his wheels, especially against some formidable wingers for the Boks.

We've got some exciting and mobile back rowers, who do some nice things and put us on the front foot well.  However, I worry about the size of the Bok pack.  We just don't breed them that big in Wales (something to do with smaller people evolving for working down the mines - joke! ).  We've had the tendency to pick 3 openside flankers across the back row lately.  On paper that might sound great for slowing ball down and jackalling and getting turnovers, but in reality against bigger sides we then lack carrying options and just get blasted off the rucks and tackles.  Where they excel is in broken play and link work with the backs.  So I'm hoping we change this up a bit and get a bit better balance across the back row.  Navidi and Faletau are back from long term injury so that adds a bit more beef, but not Bok level.  Plus I'm not sure they've played much recently.  

I think a lot will depend on what happens at the scrum, a bit like with the Lions.  If we can just get a semblance of parity then we might be able to get some moves going and get some tries.  But if we're getting marched back a lot, which I fear, then I can see some cricket scores coming.

In all honesty I don't know the Welsh players very well, however I rate Dan Biggar highly, purely from memory he has an educated boot en have contested his own kicks well against us in the past, I stillrate George North and I am assuming he will be employed in the midfield. Gareth Davies is a class act and so is Liam Williams. Iknow there is quite a bit of hype around Zammit and I think you are right, if he can get some space out wide he is good for a couple of tries.

You need to understand South Africa doesn't play the "we are going to put you away" style game. Our game plan is frustratingly structured and most of our plays come from counter attack against organised defences.

If you think of the way the Bulls played in the URC, it is direct rugby with one off forward crashball that works well when you can physically dominate the opponent, the Bulls did add some variation to the forward runners with quick shift offloads to change the point of contact. It has definitely benefitted them, but that still needs to transend into the Bok game plan.

Our maul can be effective, but because it is so predictable I think opposing coaches do their homework on it and by memory last november it was countered well.

We lack variation in attack and don't have much variety in our phase play which can often be stopped and slowed down. One thing when looking at the past half a dozen matches vs Wales is when both teams refuse to play rugby from inside their half you get a kind of stalemate which leads to long periods of slow boring rugby, and whilst many believe the Boks only play slow boring rugby this type of match can lull them into a comatose state where they lose momentum and fall away dramatically with their game play.

If Nienaber decides to really play rugby we should be able to beat Wales comfortably at home, but this is not something Nienaber has been willing to do.

Some key men for Wales over the past 10 years there Old Man. When fit and on form they have won a number of games for us, no doubt. Dan Biggar has been in some good form for Northampton this season so hopefully he can bring that on tour with him. George North has been out injured since before the Lions tour (anterior cruciate). Managed to play a couple of games at the end of this season but was out for 12 months before that so a big ask to step up into international rugby. Fingers crossed he pulls it off. With Gareth Davies - one of my favourite players for Wales over the last 10 years - he really nosedived in form a couple of years back. Was really struggling. Not really regained it fully but some signs of him improving this season for Scarlets I think. Same with Liam W. Returned to his home team of Scarlets after a successful spell with Saracens in England, but lots of criticism for being out injured and then being away with the Wales/Lions teams, so he didn't play much for them and has now signed for Cardiff. Form hasn't been great. They Scarlets have deleted him from their website already so I can't check how much he's played since he returned! But it wasn't the local boy homecoming everyone was hoping for. Wiki suggests it was just 11 appearances in over 2 and a bit years back at Scarlets.

So lots of good names on paper but sadly a lot of them have been out of form or getting on a bit, or a bit of both. There's often a 'Lions hangover' the season after a Lions tour in the NH and I don't think this season was any different. They often say that France get their tournament win during the Lions hangover season, and lo and behold they did just that this year. So I don't know if lots of the Wales squad were fatigued from that, or suffered confidence issues from it (the loss, performance and/or not being picked) or what it was, but this year has obviously been a bit of a car crash for both the Wales team and the clubs.

I don't really pay much attention to only form when it comes to class players at club level.

Siya Kolisi often looks like he is just cruising through a season until it comes to test rugby.

Class players have the ability to step it up when they hit the test arena.

Pivac 'masterstrokes' again.

Wales team to face South Africa: L Williams; Rees-Zammit, North, Tompkins, Adams; Biggar (capt), Hardy; G Thomas, Elias, D Lewis, Rowlands, Beard, Lydiate, Reffell, Faletau.

Replacements: Lake, Carre, Francis, Alun Wyn Jones, Navidi, T Williams, Anscombe, Watkin.

If Francis is fit, then he should be starting (in my opinion). I would also have started Navidi.

I suppose it doesn’t really matter who we select though.

That is a distinctly 2nd choice looking front row that we've got starting. 3rd choice perhaps, you might say. And against the Boks! 'kin ell!