Wales Italy match thread

[eirebilly]

First topic message reminder :

Afternoon all,

Well we are soon to kick off. I wish both sides the best of luck but secretly i will be hoping Wales win and go on to win the Slam .

[whocares]

Just how many tackles did Italy make in the end? Must be over 120 surely

133 vs 45 for wales

[majesticimperialman]

Well played to Wales for the win, and very well played to Italy for making sutch a game of it.

Did the ref play apart in the game?

I mean with regards to the break down, he seemed very quick on the whistle for both sides.

Again well played to Wales for the win today.

[eirebilly]

OH NO MY TV HAS FROZEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Your a woman, surely you have a hair dryer to unfreez it

[maestegmafia]

OFF TO THE PUB TO WATCH THE NEXT GAME...


CLANCY RUINED EVERYONE'S AFTERNOON, ITALIAN OR WELSH..!

[Cari]

I bet that Italian player appreciated getting smacked on the head with an inflatable leek as he walked into the tunnel...

[Cari]

Right, Billy...have you done a fred for the next game?

v

[gelodge]

That'll probably be the only Englishman who gets MOTM this weekend!

[Cari]

Leigh HP's binning was an absolute travesty looking at that.

[eirebilly]

Right, Billy...have you done a fred for the next game?

v

I have Cari, Ireland by 7

Whats yours?

[eirebilly]

Leigh HP's binning was an absolute travesty looking at that.

It looked 50/50 to me but what would a Welsh game be without a Welsh yellow card?

[nobbled]

Job done by Wales. How the Italians kept up that tackle rate I'll never know.
Well done Wales.

I think the yellow card killed the big finish for Wales to be honest.

Yes, Wales were looking ready to finish big until the yellow. Wasn't a yellow in my opinion.

[Cari]

I think I had Ireland by 5 or 6 Billy on SG....see you on the Oirish tred.

[eirebilly]

Thanks for the banter all, it was nice to have a clean thread with no Wumming

[Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler]

I assume all the welsh posters whinging about the yellow are also mad at clancy for the one he gave Lamont for protecting his face?

The amount of bleating every time one of the Welsh players gets carded is getting ridiculous. Entirely justified again this case, intent or not.

[Morgannwg]

How is it justified Peter? It wasn't even a penalty and neither was Priestlands in the England game.

[Knowsit17]

Not sure whether to laugh or cry. Agreed the Italian defence was superb all day but I swear there was so much poor decision-making from the Welsh backs, particularly Halfpenny and Priestland again. This must break the record for number of opportunities unfinished!

Suddenly not so confident ahead of next week but then again this could go a long way to teaching us a good lesson or ten.

We'll get butchered if it's more of the same, defo not the finished article by a long way.

Oh and that makes 6 cards in last 7 games

[Morgannwg]

Well according to mitey, that's 4 cards in 7 games because they were incorrect decisions, despite being given....

[Hound_of_Harrow]

A win is a win I guess, but Wales need to send Priestland back to his region to work on his game. His confidence has been shattered.

And I can't believe people seem to be blaming Parisse for 1/2p's binning. Clancy had a good view of that and blew for the penalty immediately. The tug on Parisse's shorts while he was still in the air gave Clancy no choice. Dangerous play and a yellow card.

[Cymroglan]

Just before the yellow card how did Clancy fail to see the knock on ? he called it backwards when it was blatantly forward

[Guest]

congrats to wales, however italy were very spiritied in defence...

however i have to ask..

how on earth does burton keep getting a game?!

[Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler]

Just before the yellow card how did Clancy fail to see the knock on ? he called it backwards when it was blatantly forward

He asked the AR who gave him no response. The Italian chap obviously knocked it forward, but then scooped it back before it hit the deck. I can only assume he thought it may have gone further back than it started.
He did spot it, but from his distance and angle he wasnt sure, and the AR was no use.

Not a great moment in officiating history.

[kingjohn7]

thought the Italian scrum half who came on looked pretty sharp, had nice service too

[Guest]

thought the Italian scrum half who came on looked pretty sharp, had nice service too

he did, however he kicked against england when he came on, and was dreadful!

[gowales]

congrats to wales, however italy were very spiritied in defence...

however i have to ask..

how on earth does burton keep getting a game?!

Because Botes is worse (at 10). I think they would have been playing Orquera this 6 nations but hes injured

[Knowsit17]

The yellow was legitimate, just dull by Halfpenny. Either you challenge in the air or you wait until he's back on the ground before tackling, you don't wait until he's in midair and then jump into his waist. One of many moments of dreadful hesitation by Halfpenny today.

Having said that I do think Parisse milked it at least a little. Still a yellow though, for plain stupidity if nothing else.

[Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler]

A lots being said about the Italian defence but they were missing tackles all game. The aggression at the breakdown was where they did well.
Wales on the other hand were just clinic and ruthless ..98% tackling success. Made the Italians look even more hopeless than they were with the ball in hand.


Overall I think Wales are looking a really strong side now. The weak point only seems to be Priestland whos confidence seems to have taken a real kicking. Gatlands done his best to back the lad, but can he stick by him another week for the big game?

[gowales]

I worry about our creativity though. We seem to bosh it up a bit too much. I think we'll need more variety against the French.

I think he'll start Priestland next week but if he's playing badly then i think we'll see Hook on around the 60 min mark

[wales606]

Frustrating, but a decent win.

Clancy was very whistle happy (for both sides - but it disadvantaged Wales as they dominated possession)

Italy did well at playing the ref at the breakdown - Tipuric was good in the loose, but we missed Warburton at the rucks, Lydiate having a quite game didn't help.

Ah well, roll on France.

[wales606]

Yeah, Wales attack was not that good, but fair play, the defence was superb again.

It will be a battle of the defence next week, and I think Wales are stronger than France.

[maestegmafia]

I assume all the welsh posters whinging about the yellow are also mad at clancy for the one he gave Lamont for protecting his face?

The amount of bleating every time one of the Welsh players gets carded is getting ridiculous. Entirely justified again this case, intent or not.

Stuff the card who cares made no difference to the result.

But Clancys new interpretation of the breakdown was absolutely insane.


I bet the percentage, territory and tackle counts are insanely biased one way, but the moron with the whistle managed to equalise the penalty count between the teams.

An awful waste of money for all the fans when the IRB let such an idiot ruin a game.

[Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler]

gowales,

With a big backline like that why wouldnt you bosh it up?

Seemed to me Wales had a gameplan of tiring out the Italians early by playing at them as much as possible then exploiting it later on. For the most part it worked.
Maybe Ive just been watching England too much recently but Wales had a lot more variation that Ive seen from them recently. Switching the direction of play, mixing up backs and forwards, backs coming inside, loops, missed passes. They seem pretty well drilled just lacked a bit in intensity and can up against a side who concentrated on making sure they didnt leave gaps and organising their defensive line quickly.
Wales couldve ran away with that game.

Of course France will be tougher opposition but then Wales will probably play a bit differently. id certainly expect them to take their kicks rather than going for touch early. France struggled against Italy and Ireland more than Wales did...I have reason to doubt Wales can match them.

[Biltong]

But Clancys new interpretation of the breakdown was absolutely insane.


I bet the percentage, territory and tackle counts are insanely biased one way, but the moron with the whistle managed to equalise the penalty count between the teams.
An awful waste of money for all the fans when the IRB let such an idiot ruin a game.

It sounds vaguely familiar.

[Knowsit17]

Going to need to execute much more against France or they'll cut us apart, we can expect to pay far more consequences for that amount of missed opportunities than Italy could manage today.

Names like Fofana and Malzieu spring to mind. Good thing Medard is out.

[Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler]

Maesteg,

The reason Wales were getting penalised is because the Italian players were getting to the breakdown first and getting their hands on the ball.
thats not the refs fault, its the Italian defensive system and Welsh attacks fault.

Its not a new law or interpretation by any stretch once released you have to play the ball.

You are obviously very upset that Italy dared to try against your beloved Wales but dont blame the ref for that. England had to put up with them showing attacking ability and stringing more than 3 passes together at one point.

[Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler]

But Clancys new interpretation of the breakdown was absolutely insane.


I bet the percentage, territory and tackle counts are insanely biased one way, but the moron with the whistle managed to equalise the penalty count between the teams.
An awful waste of money for all the fans when the IRB let such an idiot ruin a game.

It sounds vaguely familiar.

Yeah and we all called you a whinger too.....

[maestegmafia]

But Clancys new interpretation of the breakdown was absolutely insane.


I bet the percentage, territory and tackle counts are insanely biased one way, but the moron with the whistle managed to equalise the penalty count between the teams.
An awful waste of money for all the fans when the IRB let such an idiot ruin a game.

It sounds vaguely familiar.

Yeah and we all called you a whinger too.....

At least this time the result went with the better team.

No whining just a shame.

[Biltong]

Yep, and I am pretty sure my friend Maesteg was one of them.

[samuraidragon]

We won ugly, scoreline was fair. But plenty of food for thought for the French game. Wingers were excellent, halfbacks disappointing (again), and Gethin looked in trouble. Yellow was fair - you can't hit a man in the air. Are we getting worked out?

[maestegmafia]

I think the IRB need to pull their bloody socks up with regards to the difference between the good and bad referees and need to level the board a great deal more.

Fans are spending a lot of hard earned cash, players are training as much as they can, then at the game some prat with a whistle ruins either sides chances by reinventing the laws of the game.

[Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler]

I think the IRB need to pull their bloody socks up with regards to the difference between the good and bad referees and need to level the board a great deal more.

Fans are spending a lot of hard earned cash, players are training as much as they can, then at the game some prat with a whistle ruins either sides chances by reinventing the laws of the game.

Or maybe they just need to educate internerds in the basics of rugby?

[Shifty]

I think the IRB need to pull their bloody socks up with regards to the difference between the good and bad referees and need to level the board a great deal more.

Fans are spending a lot of hard earned cash, players are training as much as they can, then at the game some prat with a whistle ruins either sides chances by reinventing the laws of the game.

Maesteg calm down mate, I can't remember you being so angry before, you'd think Wales didn't win by a 21 point margin.

[Heaf]

Yellow card was correct. I don't believe there was intent it was simply clumsy but nevertheless dangerous.

[Shifty]

We won ugly, scoreline was fair. But plenty of food for thought for the French game. Wingers were excellent, halfbacks disappointing (again), and Gethin looked in trouble. Yellow was fair - you can't hit a man in the air. Are we getting worked out?

No I don't think so, Wales didn't need to get out of second gear to win, we retained the ball and spent 70 minutes attacking.

Wales did the same thing in 2005 with Scotland we went to sleep after we felt we won the game and saved our energy for the next game, that's all Wales did today.

All that mattered today was the win, we won, we have plenty in the tank next week for an all out battle with France. Keep the faith.

[Guest]

Alyn, I think the 2nd gear you talk about is down to our half backs. Philips is once again too slow and trys to take on too many people. Priestland is not putting people in the gaps like he was at the world cup. That could be the fault of the men outside him too, but on a number of occasions he delayed his pass until a welsh player was lined up for the tackle and then passed resulting in an immediate tackle and ground being lost. We were very static and flat in the backs too which made it a bit easier for the Italian rush defence as they were up in our faces straight away. We need to run from a bit deeper so that players can cut better angles and hit the ball at pace, making it harder for the defence to spot and to line up the hit.

[bedfordwelsh]

Did we go into the game expecting to win?

I know players will never say that openly but did they start to believe some of the hype that they only had to turn up to win?

Wingers were excellent always looking for work.

JD2 again looked dangerous.

Half backs need a kick up the jacksi, Phillips slipping back into old habits of being to slow.

Lydiate had another stormer but I think R Jones will seriously challenge Faletau for starting spot mext week.

[Biltong]

I tought Phillips was better at the ruck tonight, but when he goes on the run. he waited too long to pass or offload, and promising movements went begging because of it.

[bedfordwelsh]

bilton,

I have always said that what Phillips does he does well and that is his work around fringes and tying in back row but when we need quick ball he struggles.

[Biltong]

Yeah he has that habit.

[gowales]

True but if we play Lloyd or Rhys they just wouldn't have the same presence around the breakdown. He creates so much space for the outside backs because of his running threat

[bedfordwelsh]

go,

Not saying he shouldn't play, just he needs to have better awareness of when to pass when to take it on etc.

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