The only weakness in Halfpenny's game.

As I have said in previous posts, I reckon Halfpenny has been the best player for Wales for the last wee while, and probably the best player of the Lions nations in this year's 6N tournament.

However as Jiffy noted in his Lions selection he thought Hogg would offer a greater attacking threat in the summer. It could be argued that he is right.

Since Wales have discovered North and Cuthbert, Halfpenny is not invited to attack the line like for instance Byrne did when he was the choice 15. Is this a tactical thing for Wales in that North and Cuthbert are so devestating when attacking the line at angles?

I personally think Halfpenny should be invited to attack in the backline more often since he offers something differant from the rapid powerhouses on the Welsh wings.

I think to win against England at the weekend, Wales will have to try something other than destructive route 1 rugby. When Scotland scored their tries against England it came from Elusive running from Hogg and Maitland whilst the blunt instruments of Visser and Lamont were effectively shut out by Barrett and 12trees.

Basicly to to sum up I think Halfpenny's elusive running style will cause the English defence more problems than Roberts, North and Cuthbert smashing up all the time.

Do the Welsh posters agree with me? Would they like to see Halfpenny used more in set piece moves and attack the backline?

Discuss...

I thought you were going to say his inherent laziness as a result of being Welsh.....

Halfpenny is a tricky runner with plenty pace, and I agree, if there is a perception that he isn't a good attacking fullback, it must be because Wales (or rather Howley) prefer him deep, rather than coming into the line more often than not.

Hogg hasn't come into the line much in the last couple of games either, but then again we haven't had the ball an awful lot!

Aye...

Young Halfpenny seems reluctant to back his fantastic pace 90% of the time, opting to kick. That said most would believe anything Hogg could do Halfpenny could do better.

Be great to see him stretch his legs a bit in the last game.

I don't think he has a weakness in his game. As FES says his role has been to remain deep - probably as North and Cuthbert aren't the best kickers. Always looks a threat going forward with ball in hand to me.

More's the pity.

Personally I reckon he's a good attacking player and its the nature of the welsh backline rather than Halfpenny himself which prevents him from being utilised more.

Certainly is the one player who has the pace to upset the English... Ashton outside, one thing their backline lacks.

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:.

Since Wales have discovered North and Cuthbert, Halfpenny is not invited to attack the line like for instance Byrne did when he was the choice 15. Is this a tactical thing for Wales in that North and Cuthbert are so devestating when attacking the line at angles?

I personally think Halfpenny should be invited to attack in the backline more often since he offers something differant from the rapid powerhouses on the Welsh wings.

Discuss...

The problem is not Halfpenny but the quality of the "ball players" in midfield. Byrne was effective in 2008 because he had Henson and Shanks a balanced and creative midfield pairing. The current side could not use Byrne effectively even if he was being picked, as they have neither the skill or vision to pick his fantastic running angles.

Halfpenny is a very good attacking option but we don't have the players to bring him into the game, so, probably on instruction from our genius backs coach, sorry coach, he does not enter the line it is high risk for no gain. You could quite safely put your house on either Roberts or JD butchering the pass. They struggle with the simple stuff, so asking them to weight and time a flat pass to someone travelling at full speed and cutting an angle, well you get my point. With better players eg BOD Halfpenny may well become a threat. Hell he made Roberts look good which takes some doing.

At the risk of winding up the I hate Henson party, God we miss his quality

We do miss a creative centre which Henson certainly was. He was also a very good defender.

Hook CAN be creative but is probably still a defensive liability and would get smashed by Manu and Barritt

munkian wrote:We do miss a creative centre which Henson certainly was. He was also a very good defender.

Hook CAN be creative but is probably still a defensive liability and would get smashed by Manu and Barritt

Manu and Barritt were very quiet last weekend. The Italians played a good defence against them.

They did, but I'm saying its a pitty we don't have Henson as he could tackle well AND be creative, the two don't have to be exclusive of each other.

And just because they were quiet last week...

1/2p has lost some of his pace since bulking up and he isn't as sharp as Harry Robinson

munkian wrote:They did, but I'm saying its a pitty we don't have Henson as he could tackle well AND be creative, the two don't have to be exclusive of each other.

And just because they were quiet last week...

I think we all know that. It will be interesting to see who could fill that void for the future. Stephen Shingler looks promising as a twelve, good hands, tackling and a good kick, could make the grade if he gets enough chances.

Other than him i don't see any players coming through with that skill set Henson has.

Maybe, considering how much time out Henson has had, his career can go on a little longer than most players and he may well get a look in.

RubyGuby wrote:1/2p has lost some of his pace since bulking up and he isn't as sharp as Harry Robinson

neither have Eli Walkers running skill either.

maestegmafia wrote:

RubyGuby wrote:1/2p has lost some of his pace since bulking up and he isn't as sharp as Harry Robinson

neither have Eli Walkers running skill either.

1/2p isn't invited into the line to attack as much for one reason and one reason only, risk management!!

I'm bored of using the phrase, but the more your FB commits to attack, the riskier the chance of a counter attack is. Look at Hoggs tries, they generally come from deep in broken play.

Roberts, Cuthbert, JD2, North, Phillips all have what in common? theyre all big, theyre all strong and they generally don't lose posession easily, they look for contact, they fall in a safe manner and they recycle ball. As stated a thousand times posession of the pill going nowhere is a better defencive effort than having to make tackles. Ball security = posession, posession = solid defence, attack safely = less chance of conceding ground on a counter, attack safely = more posession... get it!

1//2p doesn't get a platform to show his attacking game because Wales gameplan isn't based around 1/2p getting a platform. It's based around error minimilising and risk management.

Because 1/2p is playing to a rigid gameplan I don't see why his attacking games lost anything, or he as lost an attribute (I can tell you that he has lost no pace over 10m at all, and hasn't 'bulked up' at any real rate either.

Hogg is an agile and evasive runner, love broken play, and is a weapon Scotland try to use, 1/2p is a different type of weapon Wales use differently, thats all.

I can't recall Halfpenny when in a try scoring situation not producing 5 points, the guy is phenomenal. It's quite apparent that he always had the ability to evolve and learn, and more importantly listen to the coaches gameplan.

Taking that into account its clear what Wales considered was the weak link (since Byrnes demise and Hooks pretty dire positional and defensive performances in the 15 shirt) that was a good defensive fullback. Add to the fact that if 1/2p attacks then you have Cuthbert to cover the defensive void and that ain't a good idea.

Personally I feel if 1/2p was allowed to let rip you would see an attacking force that is equal to our Hogg.

Personally I would play both in the Lions test side

15 Hogg
14 Halfpenny
11 North

Cannot see any weakness in his game to be honest.he is a dedicated pro who does his best every time.

thebluesmancometh wrote:

maestegmafia wrote:

RubyGuby wrote:1/2p has lost some of his pace since bulking up and he isn't as sharp as Harry Robinson

neither have Eli Walkers running skill either.

1/2p isn't invited into the line to attack as much for one reason and one reason only, risk management!!

I'm bored of using the phrase, but the more your FB commits to attack, the riskier the chance of a counter attack is. Look at Hoggs tries, they generally come from deep in broken play.

Roberts, Cuthbert, JD2, North, Phillips all have what in common? theyre all big, theyre all strong and they generally don't lose posession easily, they look for contact, they fall in a safe manner and they recycle ball. As stated a thousand times posession of the pill going nowhere is a better defencive effort than having to make tackles. Ball security = posession, posession = solid defence, attack safely = less chance of conceding ground on a counter, attack safely = more posession... get it!

1//2p doesn't get a platform to show his attacking game because Wales gameplan isn't based around 1/2p getting a platform. It's based around error minimilising and risk management.

Because 1/2p is playing to a rigid gameplan I don't see why his attacking games lost anything, or he as lost an attribute (I can tell you that he has lost no pace over 10m at all, and hasn't 'bulked up' at any real rate either.

Hogg is an agile and evasive runner, love broken play, and is a weapon Scotland try to use, 1/2p is a different type of weapon Wales use differently, thats all.

Agree with that Bluesman. We are lucky we dont have 'gameplans' that stop people doing things theyre good at. Halfpenny seems exactly the type that would complement a set of larger backs by providing the space, drawing defenders in and offloading to the big guys who usually need less space to work with. Dagg does that all the time and Nonus try in the Wcup semi was exactly that.

I do think Halfpenny is underused and agree with the OP. He seems to have become a more defensive player. I wonder if that's partly a result of being told to work on those aspects of his game? I think Wales are wasting him a bit, he's got all the tools to be a great running fullback as well.

There are two weaknesses in Halfpenny's game.

1) He isn't a kiwi.
2) He is mortal.

He's bulked up too much, used to be a seriously dangerous runner. Still a quality 15 though.