Wales vs England - Build Up/Match Thread - 27-2-21

[TightHEAD]

Wales v England

27th Feb

KO 16:46

England:

Daly;
Watson,
Slade,
Farrell,
May;
Ford,
Youngs;
M Vunipola,
George,
Sinckler,
Itoje,
Hill,
Wilson,
Curry,
B Vunipola.

Replacements: Cowan-Dickie, Genge, Stuart, Ewels, Martin, Earl, Robson, Malins.

WALES

1. Wyn Jones (32 Caps)
2. Ken Owens (79 Caps)
3. Tomas Francis (54 Caps)
4. Adam Beard (23 Caps)
5. Alun Wyn Jones (CAPT) (145 Caps)
6. Josh Navidi (25 Caps)
7. Justin Tipuric (82 Caps)
8. Taulupe Faletau (83 Caps)
9. Kieran Hardy (3 Caps)
10. Dan Biggar (89 Caps)
11. Josh Adams (29 Caps)
12. Jonathan Davies (85 Caps)
13. George North (99 Caps)
14. Louis Rees-Zammit (6 Caps)
15. Liam Williams (68 Caps)

Replacements:

16. Elliot Dee (34 Caps)
17. Rhodri Jones (19 Caps)
18. Leon Brown (14 Caps)
19. Cory Hill (29 Caps)
20. James Botham (4 Caps)
21. Gareth Davies (59 Caps)
22. Callum Sheedy (6 Caps)
23. Uilisi Halaholo (1 Cap)

[TightHEAD]

Never too early to talk about this match up.

I do think there being no crowd will help England.

[mikey_dragon]

Couldn’t wait for this one eh?

[doctor_grey]

Couldn’t wait for this one eh?

I was going to ask the same thing. It's almost like the corpse isn't cold yet and moving on to the next one.

[majesticimperialman]

This will be intersting. Wales 2 from 2 Englag 1 from 2. Wales should be pretty confident playing at home.

Are each team on the up, or just treading water.

[TightHEAD]

We will see if France are the real deal today. If they dispatch Ireland with ease then this is a game to see who finishies runner up.

[Luckless Pedestrian]

I'd still make England favourites for this. There's no home crowd, and Ireland looked quite comfortable even with 14 men for most of the game. We're two wins from two, and you have to be happy with that, but it's hard to assess where we are when we've had the advantage of an extra man both times. It's a match between two misfiring sides, but the danger for me is that we know how England can play when they click, whereas we haven't seen Pivac's Wales really click yet, against 15 men at least. What's our ceiling?

[Duty281]

If England can put it all together they should beat Wales quite comfortably. If they continue to play in the same sluggish, out-of-form way that they have been doing since the autumn, it'll be an almighty struggle with Wales probably the narrow favourites.

Not sure home advantage will be worth a penny this time. And I'm not expecting a great deal of quality from either side.

[Geordie]

Eddie to play the same team...

Farrell to get sent off for a petulant cheap shot after Biggar has worked his mouth over something...

Wales win by 5.

[whatahitson]

England have only lost twice to Wales since 2015 and one was a warm up game. That's 7 wins to 2 defeats. Eddie Jones had a good record against Gatland I can't see Pivac doing any better but you never know Wales are winning ugly as they say and England are not firing.

[Geordie]

They hadnt lost at Twickenham v Scotland for 38 years...

[BamBam]

One thing that might benefit us is the number of Welsh players who are returning to their GP clubs this week for games. Our squad remains in tact and training together, while in this crazy time the Welsh players are at risk of more than just wear and tear from games

[No9]

Lets just hope the officials don't bottle it this time, and disallow any try and penalise May for his jumping at the try line. The game doesnt need this sort of cheating...

[lostinwales]

Lets just hope the officials don't bottle it this time, and disallow any try and penalise May for his jumping at the try line. The game doesnt need this sort of cheating...

[No9]

Lets just hope the officials don't bottle it this time, and disallow any try and penalise May for his jumping at the try line. The game doesnt need this sort of cheating...

Red card maybe a little too harsh.. yellow is probably fair

[majesticimperialman]

At the moment Wales should feel pretty confident going in to this game winning2 from 2 although against 14 men for most of the game's.

But playing at home with out a home crow may turn it in England's favour.

It will be interesting to see what team's are put out by either side. do you play you tried and trusted players or do you bring in some young guns( with not much experience-) for this game.

[TightHEAD]

Lets just hope the officials don't bottle it this time, and disallow any try and penalise May for his jumping at the try line. The game doesnt need this sort of cheating...

No mention of what counts as a dive in 'World Rugby's' Law book.

Good work May.

[TightHEAD]

I hope England use this week to learn to play against 16 players and a TMO!

Does anyone know why the Kiwi player wasn't penalised for his high tackle vs Scotland? Clearly above the shoulder line, might even have made contact with the head.

All we want as fans is consistency, especially from the TMO!

[TightHEAD]

If Eddies is going to persist in playing a tubby BillyV lets hope they stick him on a diet and get him in the gym on a treadmill before the Welsh game.

[No9]

Before we get the WRU has no agreement with Premiership Rugby...

... in light of player welfare, does anyone see the unfairness with Welsh players Rees-Zammit and Faletaeu having to play for their clubs this week...

I just hope they get through the games unscathed.

I think its been initiated by Uncle Eddie as he is sh!t scared of Zammo and is hoping that a Bath player can make him "un-selectable" to Pivac before the Triple Crown game.  

Dirty dirty tricks.. its the modern day equivalent to getting Paul Ringer sent off.

[No 7&1/2]

Might be something to do with the clubs paying their wages

[Luckless Pedestrian]

Rees-Zammit and Faletau are playing for their clubs this weekend because the clubs employ them, and they're available for selection. That's all there is to it.

[No9]

Of course... well play Jonny May as well then.. after all, Glou pays his salary as well...

[No 7&1/2]

Of course... well play Jonny May as well then.. after all, Glou pays his salary as well...

The rfu pay Gloucester for him during this period.

[BamBam]

Is it really only Faletau and LRZ lining up? What about Biggar, Rowlands etc - can't the Prem clubs select them all? I think we should write that into the next RFU / Prem Rugby agreement - select all possible international opponents during 6N fallow weeks

[mikey_dragon]

It's why coaches highlight the importance of not having current internationals play for English clubs, and I agree. Still get the casual fan that says it's okay though. LRZ is with Glaws for long-term, not exactly sure how long as that wasn't disclosed, but they made a good choice.

[RiscaGame]

Of course... well play Jonny May as well then.. after all, Glou pays his salary as well...

The rfu pay Gloucester for him during this period.

Exactly. WRU aren't even paying for Welsh based players' release.

[No 7&1/2]

Of course... well play Jonny May as well then.. after all, Glou pays his salary as well...

The rfu pay Gloucester for him during this period.

Exactly. WRU aren't even paying for Welsh based players' release.

Really. Bit tight.

[RiscaGame]

The money they normally pay for release, is now the loan they've saddled the Pro Teams with.

Willing to be corrected on that.

[Luckless Pedestrian]

Is it really only Faletau and LRZ lining up? What about Biggar, Rowlands etc - can't the Prem clubs select them all? I think we should write that into the next RFU / Prem Rugby agreement - select all possible international opponents during 6N fallow weeks

Very good!

[RiscaGame]

At least both Faletau and LRZ got through it. I would probably rather a game than doing watt bike work or broncos and all that rubbish

[doctor_grey]

At least both Faletau and LRZ got through it. I would probably rather a game than doing watt bike work or broncos and all that rubbish

I think they were the two best players on the pitch in that game. It was bad weather and a soggy pitch, but they both really stood out.  If they stayed back in Wales and trained (not risking injury - and who could blame them?) the game had the potential to have gone down as the worst of the season. 

Chris Harris, was also quite good, and once again, wonder how he is improving his game in Gloucester. He would look particularly good playing for Saints....

[No 7&1/2]

Just watched that game. Just made me wish more people including jones valued Mercer more.

[doctor_grey]

Just watched that game. Just made me wish more people including jones valued Mercer more.

Yeah, forgot about him.  Looks like he is quite successfully making a point about not being considered.  But a kid with just a handful of games under his belt gets called up instead. Weird.

I am sure Mercer will do quite well in France.  I had thought he would be a perfect candidate to go play in Aus or NZ for a season to round out his game and really stake his place.  The problem, as we all know, is the back row in England is pretty well stocked.

[TightHEAD]

Faletaeu was in very good form tonight playing 6. Does the hard work with flashes of greatness, wish the players around him would to.

As much as I like him I hope he has a stinker next week.

[BigTrevsbigmac]

I’m sure Monye was getting ready to name Lewis Ludlow mom prior to Priestland’s last minute winning kick & switched to give it to Faletau because he was on the winning side.
Ludlow for me edged it.

[lostinwales]

That is a good point. Ludlow. Given he seems to be in form you would have thought he might be in for a recall too.

[Mr Bounce]

Wales haven't impressed me this season - they looked there for the taking against Ireland and with 15 I feel Ireland would have beaten them handily. The Scottish game was also a lucky one - again, they were lucky - one tap tackle away from being beaten by a 14-man Scotland. Still, well played for getting the job done - a win is a win.

If England play like they did against Scotland, they will lose. If they play like they did against Italy, it will be a far better game and they *should* win. However, it is Wales, at home (I know there's no fans, but it must be some sort of lift for the boys in red). Wales ALWAYS raise their game against the English, so I expect it to be close.

So I am going with Eddie being conservative in his selection and I reckon a 4-5 point win for England. But if there's any hint of a card, it could all go pear shaped for either team.

[mikey_dragon]

Should be 60 nil to Wales then seeing as we ALWAYS raise our game?

[doctor_grey]

Should be 60 nil to Wales then seeing as we ALWAYS raise our game?

I expect I will yell at the tv at least 60 times as Wales against England always makes me raise my game....

[Mr Bounce]

Should be 60 nil to Wales then seeing as we ALWAYS raise our game?

That might be a REALLY good thing for the English game as a close win will do NOTHING for Eddie's selection policies. Will Daly tackle? Will Billy Cheesburger run out of puff? Will Farrell get angry? Doesn't matter if we keep winning apparently

All I hope for is a good game with a win if possible.

[lostinwales]

I am of course looking forward to it but I also remember how dull and boring the last outing between these two teams was.

[WELL-PAST-IT]

Should be 60 nil to Wales then seeing as we ALWAYS raise our game?

I expect I will yell at the tv at least 60 times as Wales against England always makes me raise my game....

I don't have a game any more to be capable of being raised, but expect it will raise my BP, just like some of the posters on here.

[mikey_dragon]

Should be 60 nil to Wales then seeing as we ALWAYS raise our game?

I expect I will yell at the tv at least 60 times as Wales against England always makes me raise my game....

I don't have a game any more to be capable of being raised, but expect it will raise my BP, just like some of the posters on here.

You’d hope it’s England day on the 27th Feb for the sake of your blood pressure, because we all know that on their day England can beat anyone.

[doctor_grey]

Should be 60 nil to Wales then seeing as we ALWAYS raise our game?

I expect I will yell at the tv at least 60 times as Wales against England always makes me raise my game....

I don't have a game any more to be capable of being raised, but expect it will raise my BP, just like some of the posters on here.

They are post-apocalypse zombies.  You know all zombies want the same things, take over the world, eat human flesh, support Leicester....

[RiscaGame]

Tidied up the thread slightly. Let’s not go for petty swipes and hinting at posters returning please.

[majesticimperialman]

[quHote="Hmikey_dragon"]Should be 60 nil to Wales then seeing as we ALWAYS raise our game?[/quote]

Have Wales ever RAISED their game enough to win 60 nil against England?

I do not remember them ever doing it before.

[TJ]

Daring to dip my toe into this thread and as both england and wales fans think I hate their team............

Unless Jones finds his cojones and fires Farrell and refreshes the rest of the team I have Wales as slight favourites

[doctor_grey]

Daring to dip my toe into this thread and as both england and wales fans think I hate their team............

Unless Jones finds his cojones and fires Farrell and refreshes the rest of the team I have Wales as slight favourites

That's just daring to dip a toe in the water?  Firing Farrell is like putting your whole leg in the amazon!  But have at it!!!!!!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-UW-boaWAE

[TJ]

Farrell was completely useless against Scotland and many rugby folk think the same

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/56048366 for example

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