Samoa Backline

To include the likes of
12 - EFS
13 - Mapasua
14 - Tagicakibau
11 - Tuilagi.

Ouch. Good luck Wales!

It will be one hell of a battle, its a 4.30am kick off isn't it?

Plus Paul Williams at 15. He's a very talented player and will add some rapier thrust to the bosh attack around him. EPS only made the bench against Australia such is the strength in the Samoan centres.

The Welsh defence has looked good but it will be tested a lot during this game and there will need to be a lot of bravery from the men in red if they want to win. Oz wimped out and were beaten despite having the ref onside.

JD2 and DocRob in the centre, North and Brew on the wings....bosh meets bosh.

bosh meets bosh.

Brew, really?

If we play with any sence, we will not be letting those lot see much if any of the ball and keeping it within the forwards until they all get knackered. But as i said we need a bit of sence first.

Id back Brew to bosh banahan

Thats a lovely looking backline, who'll be the halfbacks? I know the ospreys scrumhalf is with the squad (presumably)?

Please excuse my lack of names, i struggle with spelling and I do not envy commentators.

LordDowlais wrote:If we play with any sence, we will not be letting those lot see much if any of the ball and keeping it within the forwards until they all get knackered. But as i said we need a bit of sence first.

Something which you'd have to admit, Wales have done very badly in the warm up matches. To be fair, when the opportunities have arisen, they have taken them, but those opportunities have been few. If Samoa get 60-70% posession then you're in real trouble, any team would be.

Great White, although the Samoa pack isnt to be taken lightly (at all) its hardly the equivalent of the English pack is it?

Our scrum is considerably better with Adam Jones back (see Argentina game), its merely our lineout, which to be fair is alright up until the crucial moments we could really do with some possession:(

But then again, I dont expect the sort of set-piece challenge from samoa that England (or Argentina) bring, they're not bad there, but I'd be a little more than disappointed if they got the better of Wales there.

Well, we'll see, Fiji weren't England either, but they still won. You can be sure that any posession the Pislanders do get will be turned into effective attack/counter attack. I think its fair to say that Wales will have to beat both to be absolutely sure of second place. Not an easy group at all, and certainly an attritional one.

Its definitely the group of death, but I still think Wales should have too much for them both, it does mean however, gatland could possibly be genius, i dont think Wales know how to play the attack from anywhere sort of game anymore.

That, and isnt it about time we could look back at 1 world cup and say "aaaaaaah, we showed them islanders who's boss".

The gap has closed for sure.

we cannot afford to kick in field to either fiji or samoa, i dont car ehow much fitter we supposedly might be, it takes seconds to score a try and from open play it comes second nature to these guygs, we must play territoryand make them play from there own half and then punish mistakes be it penalties or whatever with points on the board, take the game beyond them and take that formidable backline out of the equation-kind of like alot of the top sides with stronger packs do to us ;-)

But then again, I dont expect the sort of set-piece challenge from samoa

Samoa's set piece is still very much their achillies heel. Wales should dominate in those areas otherwise they really will be in trouble. I don't think keeping it up tight is really that viable an option against Samoa anymore. As seen against Aus they will attack the breakdown and will counter ruck in numbers, having monstrous backs means they can counter ruck forwards out wide using their wingers. Wales need to keep the ball moving but crucially keep the ball in Samoa's half, Wales should win the kicking game and with the Welsh suddenly quite clinical in attack and adept at ball retention then they could do sufficient damage.

The best way to beat Samoa is;
1)target the set pieces and use a tactical kicking game to force line outs and win territory
2)keep the ball moving so they don't have a breakdown to target and so that their big hitters don't have time to realign and rush out to smash your ball carriers (Samoa will give away penalties out of frustration)
3)take the ball on in numbers, one man on his own will be turned over

BATH_BTGOG wrote:bosh meets bosh.

Brew, really?

You rate Bananaman - your opinion holds little weight

Luckily (for Wales) you've got Alain Rolland. If he goes to trend he'll keep penalising the Samoans endlessly for indiscretions such as not being from Europe.

Probably bring out the yellow card around about the 12 minute mark.

Penalise every single Samoan tackle for being either "late" or "high" regardless of whether it is or not.

I expect you'll get a couple of penalty tries for no obvious reason, and generally you'll be fine.

Should be a close game then.

gregghost watch out for barnsey mate hope you dont get him in any or your countries matches ;-)

We've got him on Saturday - then with any luck will avoid him to the point in the competition where hopefully only the trustworthy referees are still around, meaning we should avoid him altogether. Just to clarify. For anyone who was going to deliberately take that the wrong way. Just to be clear. If I haven't been already.

i actually detest allain roland, his voice is annoying and he slows the game down which just makes it boring to watch, saying that i could nae a few referees who i hate,

wayne barnes
steve walsh
allain roland
the other irish ref...with white hair whats his name?

Ah c'mon. Steve Walsh is great.

Hands down the best referee in the world, if not ever.

Filthy Mcnasty ?

think its allan lewis,

TheGreyGhost wrote:We've got him on Saturday - then with any luck will avoid him to the point in the competition where hopefully only the trustworthy referees are still around, meaning we should avoid him altogether. Just to clarify. For anyone who was going to deliberately take that the wrong way. Just to be clear. If I haven't been already.

Well, don't worry, you'll only have to avoid him as far as the Qf's anyway. At least your boys wont have far to go to drown their sorrows.

Unless we get England, new zealand's world cup whipping boys, of course.

i actually detest allain roland, his voice is annoying and he slows the game down which just makes it boring to watch, saying that i could nae a few referees who i hate,

Add Nigel 'in at the side is fine' Owens to that list he's a terrible ref.

TheGreyGhost wrote:Unless we get England, new zealand's world cup whipping boys, of course.

As opposed to NZ, everybody else's WC whipping boys, of course.

Everybody else's? really?

France x 2, Aus x2 , SA...feels like it GG...

Don't IRB regulations prohibit Wayne Barnes and Romain Poite from officiating the final??????

Taylorman wrote:France x 2, Aus x2 , SA...feels like it GG...

Amen. But of course, it was Wayne Barnes' fault. LOL.

Wayne Barnes is an excellent ref. THe truly dire ones are Steve Walsh and the saffer who's name I can't bear to say as he has no idea about scrums.....

You want to get Dave Pierson in there, he's a quality ref and likes a laugh during the match too.

bathmad wrote:Wayne Barnes is an excellent ref. THe truly dire ones are Steve Walsh and the saffer who's name I can't bear to say as he has no idea about scrums.....

Calling a referee "excellent" because you like they way he grossly favours whoever plays NZ is hardly accurate.

What you mean is "I like Wayne Barnes because he openly cheats so that NZ lose, and then Paddy O'Brien backs him up".

TheGreyGhost wrote:

bathmad wrote:Wayne Barnes is an excellent ref. THe truly dire ones are Steve Walsh and the saffer who's name I can't bear to say as he has no idea about scrums.....

Calling a referee "excellent" because you like they way he grossly favours whoever plays NZ is hardly accurate.

What you mean is "I like Wayne Barnes because he openly cheats so that NZ lose, and then Paddy O'Brien backs him up".

Stop being a pathetic whinger. Professional referees do not cheat. They may make mistakes that can favour one or another team but thats the rub of the green, since they're human. In fact, your constant accusations are borderline libel and just make you look more and more stupid with every repetition. I can't be the only one on 606v2 to be tired of your boring, repetetive, childish and baseless ranting which it seems must surely be borne out of a sense of personal or national inadequacy. You truly are a vile cancer.

Taylorman wrote:France x 2, Aus x2 , SA...feels like it GG...

Since when did France, South African and Australia become "everybody"?

Great White wrote:

TheGreyGhost wrote:

bathmad wrote:Wayne Barnes is an excellent ref. THe truly dire ones are Steve Walsh and the saffer who's name I can't bear to say as he has no idea about scrums.....

Calling a referee "excellent" because you like they way he grossly favours whoever plays NZ is hardly accurate.

What you mean is "I like Wayne Barnes because he openly cheats so that NZ lose, and then Paddy O'Brien backs him up".

Stop being a pathetic whinger. Professional referees do not cheat. They may make mistakes that can favour one or another team but thats the rub of the green, since they're human. In fact, your constant accusations are borderline libel and just make you look more and more stupid with every repetition. I can't be the only one on 606v2 to be tired of your boring, repetetive, childish and baseless ranting which it seems must surely be borne out of a sense of personal or national inadequacy. You truly are a vile cancer.

When they make a few mistakes in the game is one thing. But making 26 "mistakes" against just one team, sounds less like an accident to me.

The fact is that WB is clearly a very ambitious man. It was a coup for him to be the youngest ever referee in the RWC knock-outs. He knew that NZ had tried to block his appointment following his performance in the Scotland game. If you are looking for a motive beyond the obvious advantage to England if NZ went out, then look no further.

But making 26 "mistakes" against just one team, sounds less like an accident to me.

Mistakes or contentious calls?

There's an element of tin-foil hats going on there GG, but GW you don't half set out to get offended/annoyed/embroiled in arguments with him. It's as incessant as his inflammatory comments.

Wasn't this post originally about the threat Samoa poses in the "Group of Death", especially from their backs?

You're right, he's the sort of person who's brave as anything in the 2D world of computer forums, but is the sort of person normally found on the floor of public bars with a bleeding nose in the 3D world.

formerly known as Sam wrote:

But making 26 "mistakes" against just one team, sounds less like an accident to me.

Mistakes or contentious calls?

Mistakes.

And I'm using the word kindly.

how did we get from the Samoa backline to the 26 non-penalties of a 2007 World Cup quarter final that didn't involve Samoa?

just asking....

Samoa have a very talented backline, they also have some decision making in the half backs now. However, their forward pack is the weakness, big guys, but the front 5 arent renowned for their fitness and they cant bring on high quality props at 60 minutes. Its these last 20 Id expect wales to take it away from them. Up until then is dependant on the Welsh gameplan (keeping it tight and keep the scoreboard ticking over however we can) and nerve.