Time for Wales to change tactics ?

Australia beat Wales having worked out a game plan to beat them. All kudos to Ewan Mckenzie and coaching team for doing so. ( they had plenty of video footage to analyse mind ! )

1 ) They competed at the breakdown - pour bodies in to slow it down / pull numbers in
2 ) They attacked the outside centre / wing channel very successfully to get outside wales' usually successful blitz defence
3 ) They regularly stole lineout ball - have they cracked Wales' lineout plays ?

With wales approaching the 6 Nations as arguably the team to beat as reigning champions and dominating the Lions team, I suspect the other European coaches will have spotted Australia's success and will look to emulate it.

Time for Wales to change their style of play as they have been worked out ?

Wales have been playing in what feels like the same way for 5 years. Every year oppositions (and Wales) fans have been saying they're one trick ponies and have no plan B, etc.. But they keep wining (against most sides).

Sides should always be evolving their play otherwise they get left behind.

It's HEC time folks. Let's give team Wales a rest for a bit.

I saw Leinster play today. Suggest the HEC is over.

Gatlandball will win usually against NH sides. It won't against SH sides. Do wales want to challenge in the WC? then they need a more flexible, faster, more variable style of play with a Scrum half.

The only way you beat opposition defences these days is to vary your point of attack and you need to do it with quick ball.

You can only do that if you win the breakdown.

Creating space, overlaps, angles or anything else all depends on quick ball.

I would start at the breakdown.

Maybe because how system has been successful more than not, there is a reluctance to change it and to a degree can understand that but that system relies heavily on Roberts and JD or at least one of them.

When both are out we haven't got players of that calibre in the wings who are able to play same style so yes we do need a plan B as such, thats not to say if all available plan A wont work still.

As for our lineout well thats never been the most successful area of our game so no surprises there.

Cardiff Dave wrote:It's HEC time folks. Let's give team Wales a rest for a bit.

This is the International section. You'll find the HEC threads in the club section.

Mind, not much for us Blues fans to talk about in Europe ? Another departure at the groups stage awaits.

You're second in the pool so far

Blitz gives the SH too much room to work in (and they don't need much at all). They constantly recycle the ball well and the carriers are constantly running hard and fast at angles. Trying to crash through around the breakdown (like Wales did) they just lap up all day, they even play at a slower pace than that in the S15. More importantly, if you can't compete that well at the breakdown then don't run it from your own 22. We needed Warbs and Tips to start, I think that combo would have competed better and perhaps slowed down their recycling a bit (warbs was rubbish in this game IMO).

From what I've seen I don't think our 6N opponents will trouble our defence much. We'll wait and see I guess.

Biltong wrote:The only way you beat opposition defences these days is to vary your point of attack and you need to do it with quick ball.

You can only do that if you win the breakdown.

Creating space, overlaps, angles or anything else all depends on quick ball.

I would start at the breakdown.

Just read this. It's what I was trying to say basically!

I'm going to be honest: I don't enjoy watching Wales play half the time. It's such predictable rugby. Even when we win, it's frustrating because it's such a limited gameplan. Even though the sole objective is to skin the cat, I just think there are better (more beautifully cruel?) ways of doing it.

It would be nice to evolve the tactics as Gatlandball only works when i. at least 13 out of 15 first-choicers start and ii. the opposition get drawn into/cannot escape our preferred kind of game.

But Gatland is not for turning.

And there is no Plan B.

Thus, if the vast majority of our firsts stay healthy, we could have a pleasant 6N. If not, and/or Ireland (like last season), France and England get stuck into us, it could be a dismal tournament.

Business as usual.   

Luckless Pedestrian wrote:I'm going to be honest: I don't enjoy watching Wales play half the time. It's such predictable rugby. Even when we win, it's frustrating because it's such a limited gameplan. Even though the sole objective is to skin the cat, I just think there are better (more beautifully cruel?) ways of doing it.

I'm going to be keeping an eye on you   

  

HammerofThunor wrote:You're second in the pool so far

SO FAR ! plenty of time to implode.

I know things are pretty dark on the regional side at the moment but it's a shame that a team that's 2nd in the pool isn't promoting positivity and aspiration.

GloriousEmpire wrote:I saw Leinster play today. Suggest the HEC is over.

Toulon and Clermont stand in their way. Both top teams. All Leinster need to get knocked out is an away quarter or semi final to either of those and it will be very tough. Leinster have not been tested at all yet in the group they have which is indeed strange as it contains the top French, Welsh and English teams.

Wales' gameplan really relies on specific players being picked, if Phillips and Roberts are out, then the gameplan is shot because their replacements are not truly like-for-like. So there definitely needs to be a plan B or even C depending on who's available. There's little point picking a player like Hook or Priestland who's strengths are in their running game and having them try and play a kicking game.

Time for Wales to change tactics ? Ask Japan!  

I think most of Wales realises that we have a game plan that only suits NH rugby. For some reason Gatland doesn't want to change it when meeting teams that can deal with this easily. I don't understand him TBH, he was a pundit at the Northampton and Leinster game and applauded the speed of ruck ball and how the player drove past the ruck area to allow clean ball presentation. Yet when Wales play the speed of ball is always slow with phillips digging it out of the feet and legs.

It was interesting to have him in the studio for that game.