Wales tour of SA

First topic message reminder :

Halfpenny is out and recent news (unknown to me) is stating that Warburton will now also miss out due to a dislocated shoulder. It doesn't look good for us going to SA without these two and with our recent away form being so bad. Personally I think it would be a good idea if we had a midweek game before the first test against a SA Provincial team, using the majority of our first team.

Who would you like to see on the plane?

Seagultaf wrote:
This season has shown Wales are really short of centres, if Scot Williams is not fit then Allen and Beck could go but one hasn't played and the other is just not good enough.

Wales really need an up and coming 10, Biggar proved what we already know on Saturday, he looks good against poor opposition but so does Priestand. Patchell's development seemed to have stalled before he got injured, Owen Williams is kicking on at Leicester, Tovey looks a good player again at the Dragons, but if he couldn't get a game at the Blues so is he test class? Morgan is not rated by the Ospreys but Davies Jr looks a good prospect but 2 to 3 seasons away from challenging for Wales.

I think it's just shown our centre injury crisis, don't you? First it was Roberts then JD2 to get cropped, followed by Allen, Beck, O. Williams, then followed by S. Williams. Luckily we had Roberts back for this tournament, with JD2 coming in later on.

I'd probably leave RP out of the international arena for a while, and give Tovey the chance. Him and Patchell would be my back-ups to Biggar. Davies Jr? What are you smoking... If you want to see an example of a silver spoon being placed up someone backside then there it is, as his rugby career has been handed to him on a plate and he's still not good enough to be a professional player.

I actually think our depth at in the centres isn't that bad at all.

Roberts
JD2
S.Williams
Allen
O.Williams
Hook (12/13)

Biggar should have been the starting 10 from the start of the 6N. For me, he has the temprement required at the highest level as he proved in 2012, so god knows how Preistland got the nod this ear yet again!

For the SA tour, it should be a mixture of new faces but crucially, experience. I'd bring Byrne on the tour with Liam Williams and him fighting it out for the 15 jersey.

Seagultaf wrote:Wales really need an up and coming 10, Biggar proved what we already know on Saturday, he looks good against poor opposition but so does Priestand. Patchell's development seemed to have stalled before he got injured, Owen Williams is kicking on at Leicester, Tovey looks a good player again at the Dragons, but if he couldn't get a game at the Blues so is he test class? Morgan is not rated by the Ospreys but Davies Jr looks a good prospect but 2 to 3 seasons away from challenging for Wales.

Please not Davies Jr...

The Saint wrote:

Seagultaf wrote:
This season has shown Wales are really short of centres, if Scot Williams is not fit then Allen and Beck could go but one hasn't played and the other is just not good enough.

Wales really need an up and coming 10, Biggar proved what we already know on Saturday, he looks good against poor opposition but so does Priestand. Patchell's development seemed to have stalled before he got injured, Owen Williams is kicking on at Leicester, Tovey looks a good player again at the Dragons, but if he couldn't get a game at the Blues so is he test class? Morgan is not rated by the Ospreys but Davies Jr looks a good prospect but 2 to 3 seasons away from challenging for Wales.

I think it's just shown our centre injury crisis, don't you? First it was Roberts then JD2 to get cropped, followed by Allen, Beck, O. Williams, then followed by S. Williams. Luckily we had Roberts back for this tournament, with JD2 coming in later on.

I'd probably leave RP out of the international arena for a while, and give Tovey the chance. Him and Patchell would be my back-ups to Biggar. Davies Jr? What are you smoking... If you want to see an example of a silver spoon being placed up someone backside then there it is, as his rugby career has been handed to him on a plate and he's still not good enough to be a professional player.

I disagree Saint, IMO the only international standard centres Wales have are Roberts, JD2 and Scott Williams. Allen has only played a handful of games for the Blues and Beck does not look like making the grade. Hook is at best an occasional bench cover utility back. Wales needs Allen, Owen Williams, Jack Dixon or some other up and coming centre to start making an impact in the Rabo and then for Wales.

Davies Jr is clearly rated by the Ospreys as they have chosen him over Matthew Morgan. As "International Young Player of the Year" he must have more going for him than a silver spoon!

Biggar is now the man in posession and played well on Saturday, but all he has done is looked good having an armchair ride against absolutely rubbish opposition (apart from that cuddle by Mr Hogg)! Priestand by contrast has struggled but behind a soundly beaten pack and against the two best sides in the Championship. Even so he looked pretty sharp putting Tipuric through a gap on Saturday.

Patchell is certainly one for the future but he (and Biggar) was very poor in Japan last summer and was not playing that well for the Blues before being injured. I am not convinced by Tovey, last season he was behind Patchell and Sweeny at the Blues, now people are saying he should play for Wales, I just dont buy it.

hes in form thought this season and probably wouldnt do any harm to look at him

I actually thought we looked worse on Saturday when Priestland came on, he got smashed a couple of times killing momentum, James Hook looked more creative playing at Fullback

Seagultaf wrote:

The Saint wrote:

Seagultaf wrote:
This season has shown Wales are really short of centres, if Scot Williams is not fit then Allen and Beck could go but one hasn't played and the other is just not good enough.

Wales really need an up and coming 10, Biggar proved what we already know on Saturday, he looks good against poor opposition but so does Priestand. Patchell's development seemed to have stalled before he got injured, Owen Williams is kicking on at Leicester, Tovey looks a good player again at the Dragons, but if he couldn't get a game at the Blues so is he test class? Morgan is not rated by the Ospreys but Davies Jr looks a good prospect but 2 to 3 seasons away from challenging for Wales.

I think it's just shown our centre injury crisis, don't you? First it was Roberts then JD2 to get cropped, followed by Allen, Beck, O. Williams, then followed by S. Williams. Luckily we had Roberts back for this tournament, with JD2 coming in later on.

I'd probably leave RP out of the international arena for a while, and give Tovey the chance. Him and Patchell would be my back-ups to Biggar. Davies Jr? What are you smoking... If you want to see an example of a silver spoon being placed up someone backside then there it is, as his rugby career has been handed to him on a plate and he's still not good enough to be a professional player.

I disagree Saint, IMO the only international standard centres Wales have are Roberts, JD2 and Scott Williams. Allen has only played a handful of games for the Blues and Beck does not look like making the grade. Hook is at best an occasional bench cover utility back. Wales needs Allen, Owen Williams, Jack Dixon or some other up and coming centre to start making an impact in the Rabo and then for Wales.

Davies Jr is clearly rated by the Ospreys as they have chosen him over Matthew Morgan. As "International Young Player of the Year" he must have more going for him than a silver spoon!

Biggar is now the man in posession and played well on Saturday, but all he has done is looked good having an armchair ride against absolutely rubbish opposition (apart from that cuddle by Mr Hogg)! Priestand by contrast has struggled but behind a soundly beaten pack and against the two best sides in the Championship. Even so he looked pretty sharp putting Tipuric through a gap on Saturday.

Patchell is certainly one for the future but he  (and Biggar) was very poor in Japan last summer and was not playing that well for the Blues before being injured. I am not convinced by Tovey, last season he was behind Patchell and Sweeny at the Blues, now people are saying he should play for Wales, I just dont buy it.

I beg to differ, he was the stand out player for the Blues against Glasgow in the Heinken Cup in both games. He is suffering from inconsistency though, as he has spent most the season injured I wouldn't take him to SA, I'd let him have an off season to recover properly.

Patchell played out of position in Japan, didn't he?

I just don't see what Gats and Howley see in Priestland. Poor kicker out of hand and off the tee. Mentally very very weak. I can't see anything he does that Biggar doesn't do 10 times better.

I would much rather see Hook as the back up 10 on the bench rather than Priestland. Then have say Byrne or another back 3 player on the bench as well.

Priestland just makes way to many mistakes to be real international quality for my liking.

I would take Tovey as 3rd choice 10. Haven't seen enough from Patchell to be convinced that he is anything other than a regional player at this point.

Guys Scott Williams has been ruled out for the rest of the season, that's why i left him out.

Our depth is going to tell, we can rest some and we can give some a chance. I would like a team looking like this.

1. Paul James (rest Gethin)
2. Ken Owens
3. Samson Lee (rest Adam)
4. Luke Charteris
5. Jake Ball (rest Alyn Wyn)
6. Dan Lydiate
7. Justin Tipuric
8. Talaupe Falateu
9. Rhys Webb

10. Dan Biggar
11. Alex Cuthbert
12. Scott Williams (if fit but it said he was out for a while, anyway rest Roberts)
13. John Davies
14. George North
15. Liam Williams

16. Richard Hibbard, 17. Gethin Jenkins, 18. Adam Jones, 19. Ian Evans, 20. Ryan Jones. 21. Gareth Davies, 22. Rhys Priestland, 23. James Hook

Jhamer25 wrote:Guys Scott Williams has been ruled out for the rest of the season, that's why i left him out.

Our depth is going to tell, we can rest some and we can give some a chance. I would like a team looking like this.

1. Paul James (rest Gethin)
2. Ken Owens
3. Samson Lee (rest Adam)
4. Luke Charteris
5. Jake Ball (rest Alyn Wyn)
6. Dan Lydiate
7. Justin Tipuric
8. Talaupe Falateu
9. Rhys Webb

10. Dan Biggar
11. Alex Cuthbert
12. Scott Williams (if fit but it said he was out for a while, anyway rest Roberts)
13. John Davies
14. George North
15. Liam Williams

16. Richard Hibbard, 17. Gethin Jenkins, 18. Adam Jones, 19. Ian Evans, 20. Ryan Jones. 21. Gareth Davies, 22. Rhys Priestland, 23. James Hook

Some very good calls there and I like the front 5. A good scrummaging unit but with 2 big lumps in the second row who also do a lot of carrying and tackling. These were our second rows against France and I thought they were very good then.

I think Dr Roberts will have to start as Scott will not be travelling. My only other change is Lee Byrne instead of Priestland on the bench. Hook To cover 10, 12 , 13 and Byrne the back 3

Jhamer25 wrote:Guys Scott Williams has been ruled out for the rest of the season, that's why i left him out.

Our depth is going to tell, we can rest some and we can give some a chance. I would like a team looking like this.

1. Paul James (rest Gethin)
2. Ken Owens
3. Samson Lee (rest Adam)
4. Luke Charteris
5. Jake Ball (rest Alyn Wyn)
6. Dan Lydiate
7. Justin Tipuric
8. Talaupe Falateu
9. Rhys Webb

10. Dan Biggar
11. Alex Cuthbert
12. Scott Williams (if fit but it said he was out for a while, anyway rest Roberts)
13. John Davies
14. George North
15. Liam Williams

16. Richard Hibbard, 17. Gethin Jenkins, 18. Adam Jones, 19. Ian Evans, 20. Ryan Jones. 21. Gareth Davies, 22. Rhys Priestland, 23. James Hook

Jh,

I think that's something along the lines I would go for with for em a few tweaks


1. Paul James (rest Gethin)
2. Ken Owens
3. Samson Lee (rest Adam)
4. Luke Charteris
5. Jake Ball (rest Alyn Wyn)
6. Lewis Evans (Need an alternative to Dan)
7. Justin Tipuric
8. Ryan Jones (Rest Taulupe then give someone like Baker, Morgan Allen or Ieuan Jones time off bench)

9. Rhys Webb
10. Dan Biggar

11. Alex Cuthbert
12. Cory Allen/Scott Williams (Whichever is fit)
13. John Davies
14. George North
15. Liam Williams

16. Richard Hibbard, 17. Rhys Gill, 18. Adam Jones, 19. Ian Evans, 20. Allen/Baker or Jones. 21. Gareth Davies, 22. J Tovey 23. James Hook

I also hope that they take the likes of Walker, Amos and Dirksen (when does he qualify) and give them a game against the mid-week side thats rumoured to be added to the tour.

It's unfair to really judge Tovey on his time at the Blouse, as he was never given a fair crack there thanks to the incompetent Davies. Patchell is a bit of a golden boy, though he does blow a little hot and cold for me. Tovey played better than him in the one real game they faced off this season (as I won't count the one where Patchell went off early on NYD). I think Patchell's first instinct is to kick and I don't really think he should be rushed in out there. Trouble is, I am not sure Tovey would step up either. Wouldn't hurt one or both to get the experience of training with the squad though.

This is a crucial tour for Wales, aren't they all? 11 games out we must be focussed on the RWC.

But our performances in the 6 Nations need to be taken in context.

Firstly after providing the Lions team it is clear that the hangover was ours alone and even though we beat france, because the Lions were effectively Wales the other home nations did not suffer as they usually do post tour.

Secondly we need to play heads up rugby, whatever that means…..a return to offload and high tempo, a 9 who attacks the breakdown, less route 1. A competent kicking game. A tight set piece game.
What it doesn't mean is playing a brand of direct rugby without tight 5 domination. We need to base this around a nippy nine like Danny Care - he is the one English player i would like to see in red. Now, Gtalandball is a compliment in my book, he has perfected it and unlike his peers he has got results doing it.

We also need to retire Priestland and bring on a youngster behind Biggar. Who?

Talking of retirement, i expect Jones and Gethin to take 2nd fiddle from now on and IMO they should be benched at most from now on. James and Lee for me with Hibbard and owens fighting it out.

We are blessed with locks. Ball is the future but with who?

Back row…..they are great but who is coming on? yes lets rest Faletau, but for who? Ryan….how does that help us move forward? Lydiate seems to have reached his ceiling and i want more from my 6….and i have no doubt Sam is out for the summer so resting AWJ seems unlikely.

Philips, like Jones and Geth now needs to warm the bench. We need one of these youngsters to take a grip. For me it is Williams not Webb.

Biggar has made 10 his, now we have 11 games to bed him in. Tovey or Patchell? Hook in a push.

Centres: Roberts/JDS/Williams with Hook and north as options.

Wings: Walker? PLus George, Half, Williams, Cuthbert.

FB: Honestly it has to be Williams if Half is on wing if not half for his boot but Williams was dangerous at 15. Hook is back up and is there no chance of seeing byrne come back?

Who are the bolters we can expect to come into the equation?

Lastly there is anded to shake up the management team, i think we need a replacement for either Howley or NcBryde. Cannot see how we can beat SH sides doing what we have been doing. it si more than just 'execution' it is coaching and approach.

People saying Byrne has no chance but if both him and the Dragons have a good season next year would it be really that much of a shock if he was included?

bedfordwelsh wrote:People saying Byrne has no chance but if both him and the Dragons have a good season next year would it be really that much of a shock if he was included?

I agree.If he keeps performing for us Gats would be daft to ignore him.Focus MUST be on the RWC.The future can wait.

I think Williams revealed just how much danger we can do with Gatlandball and an attacking 15….love Half and we need him for his boot and defensive commitment, but maybe wing is best for him as he doesn't have the real pace to attack the fringes.

I think Williams revealed just how much danger we can do with Gatlandball and an attacking 15….love Half and we need him for his boot and defensive commitment, he is an awesome receiver, but maybe wing is an option for him as he doesn't have the real pace to attack the fringes on the counter.

Roberts announced today that he thinks the strongest possible squad should go.

Personally I think if the senior players are guaranteed not to play until 2 matches before autumn internationals then take them to SA. But some look in need if a good rest. The problem I have is the token regional games at the end of this season that no one is interested in but will undoutably lead to injuries.

I love reading on 606 about gethin being past it. He's on my team sheet everytime. 105 caps and Motm. That'll do me.

AWJ and Adam jones are in need of a good break. AJ seems to be trying too hard.

Question is then, when do we experiment or bring players through?

Really the chance was in Japan and against Tonga, but the way Gatland does it is silly. He should just add a couple of players at a time, not make wholesale changes (as he tends to do). It really doesn't help as we don't get any rhythm then either. With games v the big 3 in the autumn again, we need to blood a few v Fiji, but not make silly wholesale changes.

bedfordwelsh wrote:Question is then, when do we experiment or bring players through?

We have to cement a tight 5 for RWC.

For me that is not Gethin now and possibly not AJ.

I think Owens and hibbard are perfectly placed to contend hooker.

I think James and Lee are the short term future for us so they must get the starts in SA with AJ and Geth as awesome subs.

I think Ball is also potentially superb. He has a long way to go but if i am honest i am less worried about lock

There is a natural hierarchy of AWJ/CHarters/Davies/Evans and Ball. I am sure AWJ just needs rest.

Back row cadre needs strengthening, Shingler, Evans, R Jones?

The biggest question is over 9 as i now strongly believe Philipps is done as a starter, and we need a zippy 9 with Philipps to back up.

Biggar/Roberts/JD2/North/S Williams/Cuthbert/Half/L Williams/Hook represent a good solid talented back division but who is the replacement 10…..not Priestland. Is Byrne worth a look again?

Scratch you said Lydiate has reached his ceiling Who was Wales top tackler in this 6 nations yES Lydiate 66tackles which was equal to Robshaw as the tournaments top tackler and never missed a one and by the way Lydiate was subbed in all the games so played 55 minutes less than the rest not a bad ceiling

Ive just seen on BBC that Lydiate and Robshaw where equal second top tacklers so i stand corrected it was the Western Mail that said Robshaw was top tackler but as i said Lyds played 55 minutes less than the rest which is a fact

irnbrew wrote:Scratch you said Lydiate has reached his ceiling Who was Wales top tackler in this 6 nations yES Lydiate 66tackles which was equal to Robshaw as the tournaments top tackler and never missed a one and by the way Lydiate was subbed in all the games so played 55 minutes less than the rest  not a bad ceiling

great, what else does he do? everyone tackles, he makes the most and i applaud him

i want more from my 6.

Lydiate carried a lot more this season for him so its something they are bringing him more into, also sometimes you want certain positions just to do what their main job is i.e. proprs scrum anything else is an advantage.

Lydiates role within the Welsh squad is as a destructive tackler which he does this then allows Faletau and Warburton to do their job more effieciently.

When Ryan Jones was our first choice at No8 he got a lot of slating for poor performances, at the time a lot of that was down to the fact he was doing the No6s job as well.

I agree we need to look at options/cover for Lydiate and for me one of those options would be Lewis Evans, cover we have in the form of Warburton and possibly Ryan Jones but is he going to be around for the WC?

Seagultaf wrote:

The Saint wrote:

Seagultaf wrote:
This season has shown Wales are really short of centres, if Scot Williams is not fit then Allen and Beck could go but one hasn't played and the other is just not good enough.

Wales really need an up and coming 10, Biggar proved what we already know on Saturday, he looks good against poor opposition but so does Priestand. Patchell's development seemed to have stalled before he got injured, Owen Williams is kicking on at Leicester, Tovey looks a good player again at the Dragons, but if he couldn't get a game at the Blues so is he test class? Morgan is not rated by the Ospreys but Davies Jr looks a good prospect but 2 to 3 seasons away from challenging for Wales.

I think it's just shown our centre injury crisis, don't you? First it was Roberts then JD2 to get cropped, followed by Allen, Beck, O. Williams, then followed by S. Williams. Luckily we had Roberts back for this tournament, with JD2 coming in later on.

I'd probably leave RP out of the international arena for a while, and give Tovey the chance. Him and Patchell would be my back-ups to Biggar. Davies Jr? What are you smoking... If you want to see an example of a silver spoon being placed up someone backside then there it is, as his rugby career has been handed to him on a plate and he's still not good enough to be a professional player.

I disagree Saint, IMO the only international standard centres Wales have are Roberts, JD2 and Scott Williams. Allen has only played a handful of games for the Blues and Beck does not look like making the grade. Hook is at best an occasional bench cover utility back. Wales needs Allen, Owen Williams, Jack Dixon or some other up and coming centre to start making an impact in the Rabo and then for Wales.

Davies Jr is clearly rated by the Ospreys as they have chosen him over Matthew Morgan. As "International Young Player of the Year" he must have more going for him than a silver spoon!

Biggar is now the man in posession and played well on Saturday, but all he has done is looked good having an armchair ride against absolutely rubbish opposition (apart from that cuddle by Mr Hogg)! Priestand by contrast has struggled but behind a soundly beaten pack and against the two best sides in the Championship. Even so he looked pretty sharp putting Tipuric through a gap on Saturday.

Patchell is certainly one for the future but he  (and Biggar) was very poor in Japan last summer and was not playing that well for the Blues before being injured. I am not convinced by Tovey, last season he was behind Patchell and Sweeny at the Blues, now people are saying he should play for Wales, I just dont buy it.

I agree with you on the centres. I thought you were alluding to something else when you first brought it up. I think everyone bar NZ/SA would struggle without their first two centres, followed by having three of their back-up centres get cropped. Allen is a very promising player but he does seem a bit injury prone. I think Dixon is quite a while off full Wales honours. He's big and strong, but looked a little bit slow and off the pace for the U20s. I think he's bulking up too much.

Evidently you've not watched Sam Davies play... I've barely seen a 10 as weak as that at amateur level. I wouldn't look too much into his novelty award if I were you. It was widely agreed that there were better Wales players in the team who were more deserving, Rhodri Williams was one example. It was also agreed that Jack Clifford should have received it.

Most players do struggle on the back foot, though I've not seen it happen to Biggar often. RP always folds under pressure and I think now is finally the time to move on. Tovey has been pushing for years, if he'd played for another region he'd have 20+ caps by now. Also, he spent most of his short Blues career injured so not entirely sure how you can see he was inferior to Sweeney .

Scratch tbh Lydiate only played poorly against Ireland (like the rest of the team). After he had a kick up the backside he played well in every game.

Interesting to know what people's views are on Webb at No.9?

Form at the Ospreys started well, he then went into a slump and was nothing short of awful. He then missed a season (or near enough) through injury, came back and after a while put together a few good performances. He was selected for Wales on merit, came off the bench against Italy and did not make an impact. Had his first start against France and played very well. Rewarded with the jersey against England and had a shocker.

I think he could be more erratic than RP... Phillips showed against England that he can be a good impact player. The 3 I would take to SA are Mike Phillips, Rhodri Williams and Gareth Davies. Rees is also playing consistently well but probably won't get a chance.

I do wish Rees would get another chance but doubt it, Gareth Davies needs a look at for me

Lydiate has had an up and down championship and stood out in more than others. He was very good against France and Scotland and was on of out better players vs Italy. I have heaps of praise for him and anybody to say he just tackles, so what and every one tackles has got to be joking. If people have actually played  the game then they would understand how much tackling takes it out of you. To get around the pitch and make an average of about 14 a game is amazing, especially at such an intense level.
He has offered himself more for ball carrying and is still a developing player. He is still only 26 as well, he is still developing his all round game.

Why not take Bearman to ease Toby's burden?Has played well for the Dragons and Ospreys over the years and is worth a go I reckon.Could do a lot worse.

and further devalue a Welsh cap

Taffineastbourne wrote:Why not take Bearman to ease Toby's burden?Has played well for the Dragons and Ospreys over the years and is worth a go I reckon.Could do a lot worse.

Hardly one for the future when we have the likes of Dan Baker, Ieuan Jones and Morgan Allen

Bearman should have been picked 4 years ago, but back then he was 'too old' so right now... I'd probably bring Ryan Jones back in. As others have alluded to Baker, Jones and Allen are Premiership regulars right now whilst getting the odd regional start. Jones was a bit of a regular for us, but this season he's slipped down the pecking order. Baker should never have went to Japan, it was daft selections like that which cost us.

I would take Ryan Jones to SA (was surprised he wasn't called back into Welsh squad). With Ieuan Jones going to the Blues for next season he should get a fair bit of game time.

Lewis Evans and Coombes can provide back-row cover, the former having played 8. Evans chance is long over-due as he has been in great form. I just can't guess which one of Pretorious, McCusker or Turnbull gets picked instead...

bedfordwelsh wrote:

Taffineastbourne wrote:Why not take Bearman to ease Toby's burden?Has played well for the Dragons and Ospreys over the years and is worth a go I reckon.Could do a lot worse.

Hardly one for the future when we have the likes of Dan Baker, Ieuan Jones and Morgan Allen

The immediate future is the RWC.Will the youngsters be ready in time?

I'd imagine there will be minimal changes next season (because we've introduced enough recently), if needs be there will be more introduced for the RWC warm-ups. That's how it went in 2011.

Allty wrote:and further devalue a Welsh cap

What does that mean?

bedfordwelsh wrote:I would take Ryan Jones to SA (was surprised he wasn't called back into Welsh squad).  With Ieuan Jones going to the Blues for next season he should get a fair bit of game time.  

Ryan looks totally shot to me.A spent force.  

gatland mentioned there be a probables vs possibles Welsh test . i would really like to see that

The Saint wrote:Lewis Evans and Coombes can provide back-row cover, the former having played 8. Evans chance is long over-due as he has been in great form. I just can't guess which one of Pretorious, McCusker or Turnbull gets picked instead...

As a Dragons fan I am aware of Evans and Coombs.I can honestly say that I prefer Bearman at 8.Evans is cover for 6/7.Coombs is cover for 5/6.Bearman is cover for 8/6.

Clearly Lewis Evans isn't even being thought of

Gatland wrote:We will see what happens but there’s Josh Navidi, Ellis Jenkins or James King. Somebody suggested in another letter playing Bradley Davies in the back row to counter the size of Willem Alberts, which has given us something to think about.

Bradley as a six   James King as a backrower wouldn't work either (in my opinion). Obviously if writing letters to the idiots works, then I'm just writing one to them showing them directions east of Cardiff.

That's ludicrous, as Davies is a penalty machine. My solution on here a while back was to put AWJ at 6 with Evans and Charteris at 2nd row. You can take out Evans and put in the awesome Jake Ball. Not sure King is international material, but Jenkins and Navidi have potential at open-side.

Ryan Jones still has a lot to offer, but like Byrne at the last RWC, probably won't make the final 23.

You don't put a lock at 6, AWJ played 6 against England years ago and it was proven to be a silly move.

It's necessary to counter the SA driving maul though. With the current conditioning programmes and coaches I think we'd do better than 2007.......

The irish wouldn't stick POC on the flank to counteract a driving maul.

AWJ is our best lock, let him influence the game from there and not shunted to the side. It's not about conditioning, it's about tactical awareness, positioning, spreading wider infield away from rucks. AWJ does not use this as his game.

AWJ & Ball with either Lydiate or Combes at 6. You have to go with someone who has played there before, not once many moons ago. It will disjoint the pack.

If Wales want to stop a driving maul then their training should reflect that with everyone in their correct positions.

jimmyinthewell68 wrote:gatland mentioned there be a probables vs possibles Welsh test . i would really like to see that

If Gatland said it it must be true!   

You can read up on it here Scrumpy

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/warren-gatland-reveals-plan-wales-6852064