Wales Summer Tour Squad

First topic message reminder :

Squad announced:-

Forwards (22)

Corey Domachowski (Cardiff Rugby / Caerdydd – 10 caps)
Kemsley Mathias (Scarlets – 2 caps)
Gareth Thomas (Ospreys / Gweilch – 30 caps)
Elliot Dee (Dragons / Dreigiau – 51 caps)
Dewi Lake (Ospreys / Gweilch – 12 caps)
Evan Lloyd (Cardiff Rugby – 2 caps)
Sam Parry (Ospreys / Gweilch – 7 caps)
Keiron Assiratti (Cardiff Rugby / Caerdydd – 6 caps)
Archie Griffin (Bath Rugby – 1 cap)
Dillon Lewis (Harlequins – 57 caps)
Harri O’Connor (Scarlets – 1 cap)
Henry Thomas (Castres Olympique – 4 caps)
Ben Carter (Dragons / Dreigiau – 11 caps)
Cory Hill (Secom Rugguts – 32 caps)
Dafydd Jenkins (Exeter Chiefs / Caerwysg – 17 caps)
Matthew Screech (Dragons / Dreigiau – 1 cap)
Christ Tshiunza (Exeter Chiefs / Caerwysg – 10 caps)
Mackenzie Martin (Cardiff Rugby / Caerdydd – 3 caps)
Jac Morgan (Ospreys / Gweilch – 15 caps)
Taine Plumtree (Scarlets – 2 caps)
Tommy Reffell (Leicester Tigers / Caerlŷr – 18 caps)
Aaron Wainwright (Dragons / Dreigiau – 48 caps)


Backs (14)

Ellis Bevan (Cardiff Rugby / Caerdydd – uncapped / heb gap)
Gareth Davies (Scarlets – 76 caps)
Kieran Hardy (Scarlets – 21 caps)
Sam Costelow (Scarlets – 12 caps)
Mason Grady (Cardiff Rugby / Caerdydd – 11 caps)
Ben Thomas (Cardiff Rugby / Caerdydd – 2 caps)
Nick Tompkins (Saracens / Saraseniaid – 36 caps)
Owen Watkin (Ospreys / Gweilch – 38 caps)
Rio Dyer (Dragons / Dreigiau – 19 caps)
Keelan Giles (Ospreys / Gweilch – uncapped / heb gap)
Josh Hathaway (Gloucester Rugby / Caerloyw – uncapped / heb gap)
Liam Williams (Kubota Spears – 89 caps)
Jacob Beetham (Cardiff Rugby / Caerdydd – uncapped / heb gap)
Cameron Winnett (Cardiff Rugby / Caerdydd – 5 caps)

Moronic by Liam Williams to put us there though.

Actually, think Botham doesn’t help matters with that lineout try, as if he hits the maul effectively, then our butty probably doesn’t get round.

He was desperate to ignore that knock-on, I imagine that was another intervention.

What was he thinking there!

Gatland’s job is still safe though!

That's quite the try...!

It had to have been. Was clear as day live and should’ve been given straight away.

That’s not great. Silly penalty again for the crossing and we’ve coughed up another try because of it.

Williams just got hooked

Probably just as well!

Good reply from Dyer

He had no right to score that

Game on!

Oh Riiiiiioooooo. You’ll always have my heart.

Does Gatland now realise you shouldn’t pick a hooker (converted from back-row) who doesn’t have pro experience? How is it even a discussion…

That looks like it is probably the game

Btw whose idea was it to flog this Wales squad even more with a game against the feckin Queensland Reds next Friday. It's the last thing they'll want to do.

Also not sure who will front up for the Reds because their season ended 6 weeks ago!

Gatland does seem to have a lot of critics. Does he have any vocal supporters among high profile pundits or former players?

My 2 p worth as a neutral

I loathe Gatlands style of playing and setting up teams. However he does create teams that are better than the sum of the parts. Its not his fault the players are not there for a variety of reasons. If you had say Townsend as a coach then you would lose more games by bigger amounts playing more attractive rugby and you might win a couple more or you might not. Gatland is a safety first coach

Are the team playing to their potential under Gatland? Is there another better coach out there who would take on the job?

It's a bit of a freak situation for Welsh rugby to be reliant on the group of players they currently have. Would any coach in world rugby do a better job?

Whose fault is it that there's been such a drop off in quality from the golden generation?

Whose fault is it that there's been such a drop off in quality from the golden generation?

Again IMO and its an unpopular one - the insistence on having all wales international players in the URC is a key factor. It blocks opportunity for young players to get game time so the current crop of young players coming thru have little experience and it stops established players getting experience outside the URC

Finn Russell is a better player for his time in France for example

TJ wrote:

Whose fault is it that there's been such a drop off in quality from the golden generation?

Again IMO and its an unpopular one - the insistence on having all wales international  players in the URC is a key factor.  It blocks opportunity for young players to get game time so the current crop of young players coming thru have little experience and it stops established players getting experience outside the URC

Finn Russell is a better player for his time in France for example

It’s not though is it. 25 cap rule, and more loopholes than a loopy holey thing. Half the starting pack in this match play outside Wales! C’mon, at least be accurate

England have a much stricter set of rules. NZ too. Do any Irish players play overseas? I know Scotland do allow it, Italy too, but they’ve only 2 teams so you need players playing elsewhere to develop depth and to get game time. Not so much for those with 4 sides, a low cap limit, loopholes galore and some (but not as much as others) diaspora across the globe.

Why would having all our players play in the URC be a bad thing? Who is captured by Gatland’s law? I can think of just one - Joe Hawkins. Funny Gatland says he was never in favour of Gatland’s law, just a couple weeks ago he was moaning about players in other leagues being unavailable. The guy loses his mind more each week.

Wales squad vs Queensland Reds

Wales: Cameron Winnett; Rio Dyer, Nick Tompkins, Eddie James, Regan Grace; Sam Costelow, Gareth Davies; Kemsley Mathias, Evan Lloyd, Archie Griffin, Matthew Screech, Cory Hill (capt), Christ Tshiunza, Taine Plumtree, Mackenzie Martin.

Replacements: Efan Daniel, Corey Domachowski, Harri O'Connor, Dafydd Jenkins, Tommy Reffell, Kieran Hardy, Ben Thomas, Mason Grady.

Picking Hill as captain does not seem right, for a number of reasons, but that's Wales/Gatland for you.

I'm never a fan of these games.  Great for the neutral and the club side perhaps.  But the International team always seems to be in a lose-lose situation.  If you win then everyone says you should anyway as you're an international side.  Lose and they're ridiculed for not beating a club side!  I always think that now the game has gone pro a club side should really always have a very good chance of beating an international side as they've usually played together much more, spent years developing patterns and plays.  There are no amateurs in those sides anymore, just full time pros. Probably not far off an international team anyway.  Whereas international is a bit more pushed together with less prep time.  Look at all of the club wins over international sides in history.  All of the 'big 4' Welsh teams have beaten the SH teams multiple times when Wales has struggled to do the same!  Getting my excuses in early perhaps, but this has the potential to be like that game for Wales v Chiefs a few years back where we got d!cked 40-7!  I think we did better in the test matches v NZ that year! #nervous

I assume Reds will be missing a fair few internationals? I’m not interested in this and after today’s announcement even less so.

I’m also not happy that Dyer has to play again. The guy needs a break.

Warren Gatland ‘asking to be fired’ after ‘disgusting’ Wales captaincy call.

https://www.planetrugby.com/news/warren-gatland-asking-to-be-sacked-after-disgusting-wales-captaincy-call

mikey_dragon wrote:Warren Gatland ‘asking to be fired’ after ‘disgusting’ Wales captaincy call.

https://www.planetrugby.com/news/warren-gatland-asking-to-be-sacked-after-disgusting-wales-captaincy-call

More than a bit of a PR own goal.

Interesting read. Calling Robert Rees a journalist seems a bit of a stretch, but then I guess he does as much as many a Wales Online copy paster.

Hell of a game in Brisbane against a really fired up Reds team. Wales get a very late try to get the win in the end - how important a try that was!

Bad result really. Sounds like they got shredded loads.

I guess it’s a win, but ultimately means nothing.

Plus the farce of Cory Hill withdrawing/being withdrawn. Not a good day at all really.

Any chat on why Hill was a last minute withdrawal?

Wales were the better team for most of the game but the Reds had a real swing of momentum from 60 minutes onwards. Wales managed to get the try right at the death.

I missed most of it. By all accounts we were shocking again, yet after a one point win against a depleted Reds Howley is there strutting his stuff like he owns the team. Him and Gatland have passed the point of toxic.

Hill must have withdrew due to the backlash but this just makes his selection even more of a farce, which I didn't think would be possible!

Didn’t see the game but can see the score on BBC. We were 24-14 up at half time, so it can’t have been all bad. And that was with a player in the bin for 10 mins. But sounds like we let them back into the game.

Who tries to put a positive spin on this tour though?

Wales U20 have won just one game at the JWC, against Spain, and finished 8th. Wales U20 have been poor for 10 years, yet the WRU keep shifting their mates around from pillar to post. Wonder who the next boyo off the rank is, now that it's been proven Whiffin is also no good?

mikey_dragon wrote:Who tries to put a positive spin on this tour though?  

Wales U20 have won just one game at the JWC, against Spain, and finished 8th. Wales U20 have been poor for 10 years, yet the WRU keep shifting their mates around from pillar to post. Wonder who the next boyo off the rank is, now that it's been proven Whiffin is also no good?

Who?

You.

On the tour? Because I said we were up in the first half of the Reds game? Behave.