Welsh Team To Face South Africa (Assuming all are fit and well).

First topic message reminder :

Three weeks out, however things are begining to crystallise for September 11th. This is my team to face the Boks.

15 Halfpenny

14 North
13 Roberts
12 Hook
11 Williams

10 Jones
9 Phillips

1. James
2 Bennett
3 Jones

4. Wyn Jones
5 Davies

6 Lydiate
7 Warburton
8 Jones

Bench:
Mitchell, Burns, Faletau, Powell, Knoyle, Davies, Williams.

Reasoning:

1. Gethin- forget it at moment.
2. Bennett - best of bad bunch, but good in both England tests.
3. Faletau - need Ryan in the big one, Toby's time will come.
4. Jones/Hook - help me out here. I just think Roberts and Davies aint working. We need Hooks flair but the question is whether Jones is going to be up for this first game. All thoughts welcome.
5. Byrne, no form to merit being in the squad nevermind the team.


What do people think?

Bullsbok wrote:True biltong ! all i've heard over the last few weeks is how fit the welsh team is,its like people think the Boks have spent the last month chilling around a braai ? The welsh will be in for a massive suprise from the way they've been severely underestimating the World champions

I can only wonder from which orrifice you are "speaking" coz in my mental image your lips are not moving!

Cymroglan wrote:The world champions deserve respect but you recently have not looked like a world champion side.
You seem to be astounded that any side would dare think they have a chance of beating you

You do know SA have just beaten NZ ? You seem to be astounded that SA have a chance of beating Wales.

Taffineastbourne wrote:I can only wonder from which orrifice you are "speaking" coz in my mental image your lips are not moving!

Gawd you Saffers really are having a hissy fit aren't you? I haven't seen any of my fellow Welsh fans underestimating the task of beating SA, let alone writing your team off.

South Africa are rightly one of the giants of the game. Wales will be hard pushed to beat them at ANY time given the relative resources of the two countries.

But right now it is the World Cup. South Africa have an ageing side (I said ageing, not old) and a coach who plainly doesnt know his 'arris from his elbow. You have shown more frailty in the last 18 months than combined South African sides have in the previous 5 seasons.

So IF Wales are going to cause an upset (and yes, it WILL be an upset if it happens), their chances are better now than they have been for some time.

This isn't Wendyball - in our sport we dont have to seperate the fans, we all get along, we all love the game enough to appreciate the opposition's skills even if they are beating us.

Relax guys, enjoy a beer or two, enjoy the match! Good luck!

nottins Did you actually watch the game? NZ broke through several times it was only that uncharacteristically
poor handling that stopped them scoring a few times.
When on earth did I say that SA could not beat wales ? or did you just make that up.

Cymroglan wrote:When on earth did I say that SA could not beat wales ? or did you just make that up.

Where on Earth did I say you did ?

biltong

DR no replacement for BB...the BB VM 2nd row is the core of your pack. Couldn't care less about DR being a thug/not a thug...you know who bangs on most about it YOU!!

I didn't say we were the only fit side...but Boks are characterising their whole campaign on experience and where wales may find the inches they need is 1. Fitness...means our last third strength is even more potent 2. Predictability of a side that is based on experience....we look at the stats and we can say with some authority that SA will take on the game in a certain way

nottins wrote:

Cymroglan wrote:The world champions deserve respect but you recently have not looked like a world champion side.
You seem to be astounded that any side would dare think they have a chance of beating you

You do know SA have just beaten NZ ? You seem to be astounded that SA have a chance of beating Wales.

There,,,, and for somebody that does not like text speak you use a awful lot of smileys you would not put up pictures in real life would you,

Cymroglan wrote:

nottins wrote:

Cymroglan wrote:The world champions deserve respect but you recently have not looked like a world champion side.
You seem to be astounded that any side would dare think they have a chance of beating you

You do know SA have just beaten NZ ? You seem to be astounded that SA have a chance of beating Wales.

There,,,, and for somebody that does not like text speak you use a awful lot of smileys you would not put up pictures in real life would you,

Not wishing to get involved in bickering, but you are misreading what I wrote.

I'll use smileys as I like thanks as they are NOT text speak. Would you put multiple commas in the real life world ?

Nottins When did I say that that South Africa could not or even have a chance of beating Wales? You came on this thread and suggested I would be astounded if South Africa beat Wales.

Upset yes astounded no

Gatts wrote:biltong

DR no replacement for BB...the BB VM 2nd row is the core of your pack. Couldn't care less about DR being a thug/not a thug...you know who bangs on most about it YOU!!

I didn't say we were the only fit side...but Boks are characterising their whole campaign on experience and where wales may find the inches they need is 1. Fitness...means our last third strength is even more potent 2. Predictability of a side that is based on experience....we look at the stats and we can say with some authority that SA will take on the game in a certain way

Bakkies gets replaced By Danie at the 60min mark every game anyway so yes he's a decent replacement!! Dont worry with Bakkies out the Boks lose their Chief Enforcer but with Schalla back we got one of the worlds best loosies on the park as for the intimidation factor normally associated with the springbok pack, Bismarck Du plessis will fill in brilliantly off the bench . on a side note , Im curious why is it always the Welsh talking the most everytime . The world cup hasnt even started but we've had more press releases from the welsh camp than the Tri Nations combined.Everyone there seems to have something to say

Bullsbok This is the world stage let's sell the game we need the coaches to talk the more the better.
Non believers think our game is dull let's show them it's not.
A bit of pre match shadow boxing works well in other sports.

Bullsbok wrote:

Gatts wrote:biltong

DR no replacement for BB...the BB VM 2nd row is the core of your pack. Couldn't care less about DR being a thug/not a thug...you know who bangs on most about it YOU!!

I didn't say we were the only fit side...but Boks are characterising their whole campaign on experience and where wales may find the inches they need is 1. Fitness...means our last third strength is even more potent 2. Predictability of a side that is based on experience....we look at the stats and we can say with some authority that SA will take on the game in a certain way

Bakkies gets replaced By Danie at the 60min mark every game anyway so yes he's a decent replacement!! Dont worry with Bakkies out the Boks lose their Chief Enforcer but with Schalla back we got one of the worlds best loosies on the park as for the intimidation factor normally associated with the springbok pack, Bismarck Du plessis will fill in brilliantly off the bench . on a side note , Im curious why is it always the Welsh talking the most everytime . The world cup hasnt even started but we've had more press releases from the welsh camp than the Tri Nations combined.Everyone there seems to have something to say

if you had George north you would want to shout about it

do please enlighten us on how many press releases the Welsh have made

incredibly delusional really, you guys bang on about VM and BB but can't just accept his loss is significant. DR one of the world's best....utility forwards maybe. As for picking Smit over BDP...I suppose that makes sense too, pick the ageing general to steer an ageing side

ML wrote:Gawd you Saffers really are having a hissy fit aren't you? I haven't seen any of my fellow Welsh fans underestimating the task of beating SA, let alone writing your team off.

South Africa are rightly one of the giants of the game. Wales will be hard pushed to beat them at ANY time given the relative resources of the two countries.

But right now it is the World Cup. South Africa have an ageing side (I said ageing, not old) and a coach who plainly doesnt know his 'arris from his elbow. You have shown more frailty in the last 18 months than combined South African sides have in the previous 5 seasons.

So IF Wales are going to cause an upset (and yes, it WILL be an upset if it happens), their chances are better now than they have been for some time.

This isn't Wendyball - in our sport we dont have to seperate the fans, we all get along, we all love the game enough to appreciate the opposition's skills even if they are beating us.

Relax guys, enjoy a beer or two, enjoy the match! Good luck!

ML, it is not so much the fans that have written the Boks off, it is the media, ex players and pundits.

Are you aware of the fact that the All Black team's average age is actually higher than ours?

Oh and there is no hissy fit.

Gentlemen, can I just make a kind reminder to everyone, we are two of the most passionate nations when it comes to rugby, I know things will get a little heated every now and then.

But let's just take it with a little understanding.

biltongbek wrote:Gentlemen, can I just make a kind reminder to everyone, we are two of the most passionate nations when it comes to rugby, I know things will get a little heated every now and then.

But let's just take it with a little understanding.

Have you
a. banged your head
b. started sniffing glue
c. quit sniffing glue
d. any of the above

e: All of the above.

biltongbek wrote:e: All of the above.

biltongbek wrote:
ML, it is not so much the fans that have written the Boks off, it is the media, ex players and pundits.

Of course they have. This is Wales - we only have Rugby , rain and sheep. People get bored of reading wet sheep stories so once every 4 years the media go WILD!

biltongbek wrote:
Are you aware of the fact that the All Black team's average age is actually higher than ours?

Yes - thats why I said ageing not old!

biltongbek wrote:
Oh and there is no hissy fit.

Maybe we all need to take a valium, cause I am psyched out of my mind, it is now real. the teams have been selected and we can use the all Black game as an appetizer.

ML wrote:

biltongbek wrote:
ML, it is not so much the fans that have written the Boks off, it is the media, ex players and pundits.

Of course they have. This is Wales - we only have Rugby , rain and sheep. People get bored of reading wet sheep stories so once every 4 years the media go WILD!

biltongbek wrote:
Are you aware of the fact that the All Black team's average age is actually higher than ours?

Yes - thats why I said ageing not old!

biltongbek wrote:
Oh and there is no hissy fit.

Is the stat about NZ team average referring to sheep too...I think NZ have more sheep than we do in Wales by a coefcient factor of .276, so if you correlate that inversely with the potential pleasure from sheep love and square it you will find the answer is

Wales 17
South Africa 12

Thanks for doing the half time calculation.

The rest of it goes like this.

Wales 17 + missed drop goal + forward pass+ missed penalty = 17
SA 12 + 7+3+5 = 27.

Yeah sounds about right.

I only leave here for a few hours and you're all arguing again - You're worse than my 2 kids - Now make up or I wont let you watch the games on the weekend

Wales: Hook; North, J Davies, Roberts, Shane Williams; Priestland, Phillips; James, Bennett, A Jones, Charteris, AW Jones, Lydiate, Warburton (captain), Faletau.

Replacements: Bevington, Burns, B Davies, Powell, Knoyle, Scott Williams, Halfpenny.

We already made up, well I tried and then I was asked to share my glue.

Smirnoffpriest wrote:Wales: Hook; North, J Davies, Roberts, Shane Williams; Priestland, Phillips; James, Bennett, A Jones, Charteris, AW Jones, Lydiate, Warburton (captain), Faletau.



Replacements: Bevington, Burns, B Davies, Powell, Knoyle, Scott Williams, Halfpenny.

from where? Ryan injured?

Why is Hook 15 and Priestland 10? Priestland is the better 15, and Hook is supposedly our 1st choice 10 now - so why move him around. Suprised that they've dropped Davies for Chateris, thought they would have gone for Davies grunt - but I'm not complaining - just glad Powell isn't in the team

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/welsh/14774382.stm

https://www.606v2.com/t13454-welsh-side-v-sa-announcednorth-makes-the-cut-over-half-pint

much prefer my first pick

We have stuck James Hook at fullback again so what was the point of taking an out of form Lee Byrne in the first place!

Well it is a bold selection by Gatland, I will give him that! This really is a VERY attacking line up. Toby in instead of Ryan Jones (who doesnt even make the bench), Hook at 15 and Priestland at 10. I would rather have gone for the more defensively sound Byrne at 15 against the Boks who will pepper the back 3, but having both Priestland and Hook in the side is a far more attack-minded choice than I was expecting, and Hook is better than Priestland under the high ball.

I think this could all go horribly wrong, but the more I look at it, the more I admire Gatland's bravery in choosing the side.

He is going for broke in the first game, knowing that he can still qualify if they lose, but will get a HUGE advantage IF they can pull off a win.

Yes but charteris....why? Please explain why he has been picked OTHER than that he is taller than George North...and what is the huge advantage...win and we almost certainly would play NZ in the semi after playing Ire in a quarter

Thats unfair on Charteris............he was VERY good against England, far better display than Bradley has put in for some time.

A huge advantage to win because it all but guarantees our progression to the QF and takes the pressure off to a certain extent.

And yes - I would rather play Ireland in a quarter final than Australia! Plus leaving the group unbeaten would give the squad an immense lift.

ML wrote:Thats unfair on Charteris............he was VERY good against England, far better display than Bradley has put in for some time.

A huge advantage to win because it all but guarantees our progression to the QF and takes the pressure off to a certain extent.

And yes - I would rather play Ireland in a quarter final than Australia! Plus leaving the group unbeaten would give the squad an immense lift.

yes of course you are right but i still think we want to be runners up.....say we beak Boks....aussies play ireland sept 17, same day we play samoa...if Ireland beat Aussies reckon we might lose to Samoa!! If Aussies win we will avoid them but we will face NZ in the semis.

Just checked Wales caps...we have about 500 with another 80 0n the bench....

Gatts wrote:

luckless_pedestrian wrote:I didn't say I think it'll happen. What I'm saying is that it wouldn't be a huge surprise if it did.

?

Why bother...of course it would be a massive surprise....a bigger surprise than waking up next to George North in fact

A side that has beaten New Zealand in two World Cups, and beat them in New Zealand a couple of seasons ago, beating them again - I wouldn't consider that a 'massive surprise' at all.

I don't think we're going to agree on this one!

Anyway, on the Welsh team selection, I'm 100% happy with it. Let's take the game to them and let them worry about us. Fair play, Mr Gatland.

Who's worried.

Touche, Biltong!

Morning chaps, you guys sleep well

Morning Rubyguby, think about it, in 48 hours it is our turn.

CAN'T WAIT.

Its nice to see that sense of humour on fire Bilton - When I saw the welsh side I had the same feeling as I did when we played England at home recently, lightweight (ish), however we managed to win that by 10 and never really looked like losing when we scored the try, even though we had little posession - I think we have a 1 in 5 chance of winning this - Time to roll the dice I think - When I look at the SA bench and Wales bench I think there is a gulf there. Against those nasty Saffers there are likely to be injuries - Our replacements do not fill me with confidence but with that said - COME ON WALESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!


Me and George Sunday night

Man I am starting to feel for poor old George.

Fair point - Anyways I'm guessing you're George equivelant is someone like Juan Smit or John Smit - Who is it?

Juan Smith, for me the quintessential honest hard working south african, an example of how to be a star on the rugby field and an example to young kids in our country.

Well said, Biltong. Juan Smith is one of the greats and I imagine you'll miss him.

Cheers Bilton - Juan is a great role model and very much in the baby faced assasin mould

RubyGuby wrote:Cheers Bilton - Juan is a great role model and very much in the baby faced assasin mould

Cant stop thinking of Leo DiCaprio in Blood Diamond whenever I see him. They're brothers!

Yeah, De Caprio is the ugly one though!

compared to scott gibbs, they're both bluidy mona lisas