Welsh team vs England discussion

by Guest Sun 12 Feb 2012, 5:25 pm

Right then, a somewhat unconvincing first half performance, but came out firing in the 2nd, personally I thought Shingler did alright coming in as a late replacement, but he is no 7, if it were up to me I'd have him at 6 if anywhere.

I thought our back line played pretty well today, even Hook showing nice hands if sometimes a bit indecisive.

Hopefully North, Warburton and Tipuric will be fit for the next match, so who would you keep and who would you drop?

by Shifty Sun 12 Feb 2012, 5:29 pm

15 Leigh Halfpenny
14 George North
13 Jamie Robinson
12 Jonathan Davies
11 Alex Cuthbert
10 Rhys Priestland
9 Mike Phillips
8 Toby Faletau
7 Sam Warburton
6 Dan Lydiate
5 Alun-Wyn Jones
4 Ian Evans
3 Adam Jones
2 Matthew Rees
1 Gethin Jenkins

by TycroesOsprey Sun 12 Feb 2012, 5:39 pm

AlynDavies wrote:15 Leigh Halfpenny
14 George North
13 Jamie Robinson
12 Jonathan Davies
11 Alex Cuthbert
10 Rhys Priestland
9 Mike Phillips
8 Toby Faletau
7 Sam Warburton
6 Dan Lydiate
5 Alun-Wyn Jones
4 Ian Evans
3 Adam Jones
2 Matthew Rees
1 Gethin Jenkins

Alyn you dont actually mean Jamie Robinson at 13 do you? you actually mean Jamie Roberts and at 12? at least I hope so Shocked

, the wings are the wrong way around too not just the centres. Tumbleweed

by miteyironpaw Sun 12 Feb 2012, 5:43 pm

I think Poite will be the first name on the team sheet. He played a blinder for Wales tonight Wink

by Shifty Sun 12 Feb 2012, 5:44 pm

TycroesOsprey wrote:Alyn you dont actually mean Jamie Robinson at 13 do you? you actually mean Jamie Roberts and at 12? at least I hope so , the wings are the wrong way around too not just the centres.

Yup sorry, thats what I mean, drink + excitement of Wales winning caused the mistake... luckily Poite didnt spot it and Wales got away with murder again! Hug

by Rory_Gallagher Sun 12 Feb 2012, 5:44 pm

I think Davies at 12 and Roberts at 13 is the right way around personally, and I think it would suit the two of their games more. But that is just my opinion of course.

by Pete C (Kiwireddevil) Sun 12 Feb 2012, 5:46 pm

miteyironpaw wrote:I think Poite will be the first name on the team sheet. He played a blinder for Wales tonight

Poite had a shocker all round. It's all very well "selecting" him, but you can't rely on him being so consistently bad next time.

by TycroesOsprey Sun 12 Feb 2012, 6:04 pm

The good thing for Wales is the return of some pack members to give us a boost. AWJ paired with Ian Evans would actually have been my first choice even if Charteris and Bradley were available. Along with Smiler at hooker it improves our lineout no end. Thats harsh on Ryan jones who will go from captain to bench but best for teh team.

Our front row will be our first choice so we should get yteh edge on what yesterday was a very ordinary England scrummage until castrogiovanni went off.

Warburton returning in the back row basically means our first choice pack will be on the park that will give us a decent share of possession.

The backs should say the same as long as Georgie hasnt hurt himself too badly, If he has then Byrne to come into full back and Halfpenny onto the wing.

England are likely to bring Tuilagi back which will make them dangerous in midfield, somthing they havent been so far. A lot of people are calling for Dixon and Flood to come in at halfback and Morgan at 8. I doubt Lancaster will make that many changes but clearly England will need to offer more in attack. We have managed to win with a depowered pack so far and I would argue that the English eight are nowhere near as fearsome or bullying as the Irish and Scots have been.

At the moment Englands back three dont look happy and Ashton looks a shadow of teh player he was last year but him and Foden are two world class players with bags of pace. Flood at halfback will give England more invention so its going to be a tough selection for the England coach. Gatland has a pretty easy job with his I think and that settled nature and continuity will guve Wales an edge.

Twickenham is a tough place to go but Im not scared of their pack anymore and so far the backs look impotent offensively.
1. Gethin
2. Rees
3. Adam
4. AWJ
5. Evans
6. Dan
7. Sam the Captain
8. Toby
9. Phillips
10. Priestland
11. North (Halfpenny)
12. Roberts
13. JD
14. Cuthbert
15. Halfpenny (Byrne)

16. Paul James
17. Owens - should be rewarded for his display today, normally not a fan.
18. Ryan
19. Tipuric (Shingler)
20. Lloyd Williams
21. Hook
22. Sc Williams

by Guest Sun 12 Feb 2012, 6:15 pm

Havent seen AWJ since his injury, is he up to it?

by TycroesOsprey Sun 12 Feb 2012, 6:20 pm

AWJ played against Edinburgh and came through fine, going to need work on his fitness and I would expect Ryan to make another cameo at lock with 20 mins or so to go but hes been lineout captain and at the moment whoever was making the calls in the first half was screwing them up badly.

by funnyExiledScot Sun 12 Feb 2012, 6:39 pm

It would be tough on Ryan Jones to leave him out, he's put in two very strong performances, and although not a natural lock by any means, he was more effective that Ian Evans today I thought. That said, you couldn't ditch Lydiate from 6. A tough one.

My Welsh squad against England:

1.Jenkins 2.Bennett 3.A Jones 4.Evans 5.AWJ 6.Lydiate 7.Warburton 8.Falatau 9.Phillips 10.Priestland 11.Halfpenny 12.Roberts 13.JD 14.Cuthbert 15.Byrne

16.James 17.Owens 18.R Jones 19.Tipuric 20.L Williams 21.Hook 22.S Williams

I've assumed that Rees, Charteris, B Davies and North are not available.

by TycroesOsprey Sun 12 Feb 2012, 6:48 pm

Rees is available north we dont know yet.

by **Biltong** Sun 12 Feb 2012, 6:49 pm

Will warburton and North be available for this match?

by Cymroglan Sun 12 Feb 2012, 6:55 pm

Barring any training injuries Warburton will defiantly be ready he has nearly two weeks to recover.

by TycroesOsprey Sun 12 Feb 2012, 6:59 pm

After that Scottish battering I expect quite a few boys are going to be in the treatment room over the next week. Lots of rehab and conditioning, two weeks off couldnt come at a better time for us.

I still cant get over how physical that match was for a six nations game!, thats two really hard fought matches, at least our boys are gonna be battel hardened!

by Guest Sun 12 Feb 2012, 7:03 pm

Looking forward to this game, England are poor at the moment but no mater how poor England are they are always good at home.

If Wales want to win this one the bench must be strong.
Im still going to put my neck out and say Wales to win around the 20 point mark to England's 15 points, but only if we have our best players available.

by **Biltong** Sun 12 Feb 2012, 7:13 pm

It was a physical game and it was fast as well.

Really enjoyable.

by Guest Sun 12 Feb 2012, 7:23 pm

It's all about style,the way Wales refuse to kick to touch and keep the ball in play forces teams to take a far more positive approach also they score tries forcing the teams to try harder because 3 pointers wont win them the match.

Pretty much the opposite end of the spectrum of the current English squad.

by wales606 Sun 12 Feb 2012, 8:20 pm

If Ryan Jones is dropped then I will eat my hat.

Then eat Gatland.

AWJ to the bench perhaps.

by Guest Sun 12 Feb 2012, 8:25 pm

AWJ has to be on the bench you just can't walk back into the squad

by Guest Sun 12 Feb 2012, 8:47 pm

wales606 wrote:If Ryan Jones is dropped then I will eat my hat.

Never thought I'd see the day where 606 posters would say that. But he has earned his place fair play.

by bedfordwelsh Mon 13 Feb 2012, 9:18 am

Unless injury forces his hand then I wouldn't chnage the starting XV, I would however change the forwards on the bench.

Forwards on the bench for me would be:

James
Rees
AWJ
Tipuric

by RubyGuby Mon 13 Feb 2012, 9:24 am

15 Leigh Halfpenny
14 George North
13 Jamie Roberts
12 Jonathan Davies
11 Alex Cuthbert
10 Rhys Priestland
9 Mike Phillips
8 Toby Faletau
7 Sam Warburton
6 Dan Lydiate
5 Alun-Wyn Jones
4 Ian Evans
3 Adam Jones
2 Matthew Rees
1 Rhys Gill

Gethin on the bench with Rhys Webb, Tipuric, Owens, Ryan and a couple of others thumbsup

by bedfordwelsh Mon 13 Feb 2012, 9:27 am

Ruby,

Even as a critic of R Jones it would be harsh if he's dropped, how well did AWJ go on Friday anyone know.

by RubyGuby Mon 13 Feb 2012, 9:32 am

Harsh perhaps, but for me you if you have a choice between a first rate 2nd rower and a player out of position (particularly given the lineout) it's a no brainer for me. If he's fit enough for the O's he's fit enough for Wales IMO thumbsup

by HERSH Mon 13 Feb 2012, 9:33 am

16 Poite (or any IRB Ref)
15 Halfpenny
14 North
13 Robinson
12 Davies
11 Cuthbert
10 Priestland
9 Phillips
8 Faletau
7 Warburton
6 Lydiate
5 Wyn Jones
4 Evans
3 A Jones
2 Rees
1 Jenkins

by RubyGuby Mon 13 Feb 2012, 10:09 am

I think Nigel Owens is reffing the England v Wales match with Poite on the line - Rollaind to bring on oranges at half time for the welsh whilst Dave Pearson brings on sour grapes for the english thumbsup

by SecretFly Mon 13 Feb 2012, 10:17 am

RubyGuby wrote:I think Nigel Owens is reffing the England v Wales match with Poite on the line - Rollaind to bring on oranges at half time for the welsh whilst Dave Pearson brings on sour grapes for the english

Do you need a Welsh ref to lose against Wales? I think they (the Welsh) did okay so far with the French one and the English one. I think they might be rightfully worried if Owens turned up.

by Higher_Ground Mon 13 Feb 2012, 10:22 am

A lot of people looking to parachute Matthew Rees into the starting hooker position, without much justification in my opinion. He hasn't played a lot of rugby recently, barely any in fact, and the shirt isn't his, it's Bennett's.
Not sure rushing him back for a game at Twickenham is exactly what's called for. Bennett's throwing in is much improved, you'll notice that a few of the lineouts we lost on Saturday, noone even jumped, and you can't blame the hooker for that.

As for Ryan Jones, I guess this is what they call a good headache, first time I can really say I know what that feels like. I assume England are going to try to bully us a bit up front - although I don't think they can - so I would start with Evans and AWJ, if AWJ comes through another game for the Ospreys ok on the weekend.
Sub AWJ for Ryan Jones on 60 mins, where he can hopefully come on to great effect with his ball carrying and general footballing ability.

I would be happy with either Gill or Jenkins at 1.

by HERSH Mon 13 Feb 2012, 10:23 am

I'd have Nigel Owens Shocked

by RubyGuby Mon 13 Feb 2012, 12:54 pm

HERSH wrote:I'd have Nigel Owens

That's your personal choice mate, no probs here thumbsup

by wales606 Mon 13 Feb 2012, 7:22 pm

HERSH wrote:16 Poite (or any IRB Ref)
15 Halfpenny
14 North
13 Robinson
12 Davies
11 Cuthbert
10 Priestland
9 Phillips
8 Faletau
7 Warburton
6 Lydiate
5 Wyn Jones
4 Evans
3 A Jones
2 Rees
1 Jenkins

Your the second person to think Robinson should be playing at 13

Tbh, I think bringing him back to Wales and parachute him into the first team would be a bit harsh on Roberts, Beck and Williams.

Personally I think Roberts should play 12 and JD2 can carry on at 13. Whistle

by Shifty Mon 13 Feb 2012, 7:54 pm

HERSH wrote:I'd have Nigel Owens

Careful you never know, Lee Bryne may be the jelous type, especially with regards to his Exes!

by slartibartfast Mon 13 Feb 2012, 9:18 pm

just watched the game again

we really missed a proper openside - gethin was eveywhere - shingler looked like a six playing seven

I don't care what anyone says about wales getting the rub of the green with the ref, they really didn't. he was pants both ways. Who's the ref for england match?

The was one point where scotland had the ball in wales half for about 10 mins, turned it over - wales then run the length of the field - wales made more yards in one play than scotland had in 30 phases.

by Guest Mon 13 Feb 2012, 9:21 pm

Walsh is the ref for the England game, Warburton will have a field day at the breakdown.
Walsh lets you compete like crazy at the breakdown and England don't have a real disruptive 7

by Breadvan Tue 14 Feb 2012, 6:23 am

viewtothegym wrote:It's all about style,the way Wales refuse to kick to touch and keep the ball in play forces teams to take a far more positive approach also they score tries forcing the teams to try harder because 3 pointers wont win them the match.

Pretty much the opposite end of the spectrum of the current English squad.

Wales weren't exactly ripping the Scots to bits when the side were even. It took a man sausage up and the loss of 2 blokes for yous to run/walk in the 3 tries. Wales deserved the win no doubt, played better but to suggest a vast difference in playing style compared to what Eng have faced so far is a bit thin tbh...

by maestegmafia Tue 14 Feb 2012, 8:27 am

Breadvan wrote:
viewtothegym wrote:It's all about style,the way Wales refuse to kick to touch and keep the ball in play forces teams to take a far more positive approach also they score tries forcing the teams to try harder because 3 pointers wont win them the match.

Pretty much the opposite end of the spectrum of the current English squad.

Wales weren't exactly ripping the Scots to bits when the side were even. It took a man sausage up and the loss of 2 blokes for yous to run/walk in the 3 tries. Wales deserved the win no doubt, played better but to suggest a vast difference in playing style compared to what Eng have faced so far is a bit thin tbh...

I watched the match for the first time this morning. I disagree with you Bread. Scotland had far more verve than in their first match.

England are a very negative team. They play just like Saracens RFC. If Wales don't award England a charge down try then their attack is impotent, restricted to Farrells boot at best.

I don't think Twickenham is that daunting to this welsh squad, a few of them have one there and the last time we were there we were very close, if anything it is inspiring.

Wales need to hope fitness and form stay good, work on the set piece.

England need to look at selection. Inthe backs Ashton's doing nothing, the centres don't create, the halfbacks look out of depth. Backrow look very limited not a unit. The pack have few ball carriers. Locks are average, Front row looked good once Italy brought on Subs.

by Breadvan Tue 14 Feb 2012, 8:47 am

Yeh I agree to some extent mm. Maybe I'm looking for excuses but I don't think we've had the chance to play well yet. First game v Scotland, always going to be cagey. It was silly pens and giving the ball away in the red zone that cost us and then playing in the snow in Rome. I dunno, maybe playing a team like wales will bring the best out of Eng?

Losing to Wales to won't annoy me as much Wink

this time because of where we are at the moment. Caretaker coach, new players etc. I just hope it won't be a one sided game and Eng get battered.

by maestegmafia Tue 14 Feb 2012, 10:28 am

Breadvan wrote:
Losing to Wales to won't annoy me as much this time because of where we are at the moment. Caretaker coach, new players etc. I just hope it won't be a one sided game and Eng get battered.

Considering the situation England are in, sort of reinvention rather than, building, by the look of it, then as a fan you should not be dispondent should they lose. In fact of I were you I would be more dispondent about winning by the oppositions callous mistakes twice in a row while playing little rugby yourselves. It papers over the cracks, something many England fans have been all too aware of for nearly ten years.

I think England are less likely to take risks than Ireland or Scotland, that will limit Wales. But on current form Wales look like they should be able to win by ten points at Twickenham. If they don't either England will have improved dramatically or Wales will have let themselves down. This welsh side is a very good rugby team.

by HERSH Tue 14 Feb 2012, 10:35 am

Surprise surprise a Welshman thinks that the 'Welsh side is a very good rugby team' Laugh

England did enough to win their two games against two very stubborn teams at least we didn't lose in Rome when we were the 6 nations champions like another team I know!

by RubyGuby Tue 14 Feb 2012, 10:40 am

Wales need to be prepared for the mighty challenge of this unbeaten english team who are seting the 6 Nations alight with their free flowing rugby - In parts of Italy they were referred to as The Lancaster Bombers the way they have ripped shreds out of 2 of the most formidable rugby sides in the world game namely Italy and a free flowing try machine that is Scotland. If Wales are not at the top of their game they may be chasing white shadows all day and The Lancaster Bombers will move on striking fear into the opposition from every angle on the park - Wales you have been warned thumbsup

by HERSH Tue 14 Feb 2012, 10:50 am

This is the same Welsh team that set the rugby world alight during the RWC by finishing 4th

Played 7, won 4, lost 3

Also don't forget the world cup warm ups once again they set the pace

Played 3, Won 2, Lost 1

And who could forget last years 6 Nations.

Played 5, Won 3, Lost 2

by miteyironpaw Tue 14 Feb 2012, 10:55 am

HERSH wrote:This is the same Welsh team that set the rugby world alight during the RWC by finishing 4th

Played 7, won 4, lost 3

Also don't forget the world cup warm ups once again they set the pace

Played 3, Won 2, Lost 1

And who could forget last years 6 Nations.

Played 5, Won 3, Lost 2

Wales have suffered back to back losses to Australia. England, back to back wins. Home and away.

Wales couldn't beat Australia at home or on neutral territory - and that was before your all time record points scorer retired.

by RubyGuby Tue 14 Feb 2012, 10:57 am

HERSH wrote:This is the same Welsh team that set the rugby world alight during the RWC by finishing 4th

Played 7, won 4, lost 3

Also don't forget the world cup warm ups once again they set the pace

Played 3, Won 2, Lost 1

And who could forget last years 6 Nations.

Played 5, Won 3, Lost 2

Exactly, if this welsh team is not at its best, these free flowing strike runners in white will be running it in from all over the park - Wales you have been warned as Lancaster has threatened in his recent team talk that against Wales he will guarantee that both both Barritt and Farrell will be allowed to get over the half way line (not at the same time though)

by HERSH Tue 14 Feb 2012, 10:58 am

I also can't believe how lucky Wales have been since Warburton was wrongly sent off, it's like the rugby gods (or the IRB) are looking after them!

by Breadvan Tue 14 Feb 2012, 11:02 am

Yeh but that was then, this is now. Wales are playing well, we're not so...

by HERSH Tue 14 Feb 2012, 11:05 am

I've heard that Lancaster is considering the Barnes Wallis approach to breach the Welsh defences.

by maestegmafia Tue 14 Feb 2012, 11:10 am

HERSH, you should do the mature thing and agree that Wales are a decent side that if England can beat them, it will prove this England team may have a bright future.

The post you are currently writing are rather pathetic.

by Breadvan Tue 14 Feb 2012, 11:10 am

There's a few of us kicking around. Very Happy

I'm over the bridge for a few days later on in the week so I can wear my Eng shirt for a change.... rose

by Dai Tryin Tue 14 Feb 2012, 11:21 am

Waht is this myth/excuse that this is a new England side...apart from the coaching set up its the same team bar one or two new faces. So please do me a favour and stop telling us that they did well in the last two games given that this is a new side bedding in bla blah!
On another issue, Wales now im a fan who was ecstatic about our perfomances and progress in the WC pre France game, and obviously a bitter blow but thats life as a Wales supporter but this current crop of players are the fittest, mentally tough and professional group we have ever had, well along the progression curve that we could've hoped. But reading other posters on here make me question if we are as good as I believe...as a result before games im a bag of nerves but after watching I realise that we have an incredible group of talent, allied with an excellent coaching team. So heres to all the knockers raspberry

the secrets out good luck to everyone and enjoy the drama of what is the greatest rugby competition on earth notworthy

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