Wales RWC 2019 Thread

[Guest]

First topic message reminder :

WALES’ 2019 RWC SQUAD:

Forwards: Jake Ball, Adam Beard, Rhys Carre, James Davies, Elliot Dee, Ryan Elias, Tomas Francis, Cory Hill, Alun Wyn Jones, Wyn Jones, Dillon Lewis, Ross Moriarty, Josh Navidi, Ken Owens, Aaron Shingler, Nicky Smith, Justin Tipuric, Aaron Wainwright.

Backs: Josh Adams, Hallam Amos, Dan Biggar, Aled Davies, Gareth Davies, Jonathan Davies, Leigh Halfpenny, George North, Hadleigh Parkes, Rhys Patchell, Owen Watkin, Liam Williams, Tomos Williams.

[BamBam]

The betting company that the bets went through contacted the WRU directly to inform them of the irregularities.

Must have been a substantial bet for it to have been flagged by the betting company. Probably the only reason they've looked into it

[Collapse2005]

6k on England to win.

[chris_501]

I think having Biggar in the squad is a huge plus, much like Farrell and Sexton, he is as close to a backs coach within a player as you are likely to get.

I think this could be a real plus, Wellies is my all time favourite Welsh player, and by all accounts he has always brought a load of energy as a player or coach. We know a lot of our back's time in training is dedicated to defence, so if he can come in and project a bit of positivity with the odd tip, then I think we stand to do well.

In all honesty, if the players don't know what they are doing by now, there is no coach in the world who will be able to help them!

[LordDowlais]

Just a friendly reminder to everyone that we have to consider any claims that could be perceived liable. Please just consider what you type else Mods will have to delete posts.

Unfortunately there is little other press on anything but Howley and that leaves us with little else to discuss on this thread. But until facts are all out it is hard to make any judgement on what has happened.  

There is plenty of info on the following links if people are genuinely interested, a lot of news has broke over night, I know you all mock me for  using Wales online, but there is plenty of info on there regarding Rob Howley:-

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/rules-betting-rugby-explained-amid-16934233

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/full-wru-statement-rob-howley-16934529

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/world-rugby-issue-statement-rob-16936200

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-world-cup-wales-howley-16936208

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/rob-howley-betting-wales-rugby-16936217


I am not a fan of his coaching career, but I was a massive fan of his playing career, this whole event saddens me. It's a shame. People who are celebrating this should be ashamed of themselves. He was not a good coach, but lets not gloat.

[Collapse2005]

Its pretty sad alright

[RiscaGame]

I think having Biggar in the squad is a huge plus, much like Farrell and Sexton, he is as close to a backs coach within a player as you are likely to get.

I think this could be a real plus, Wellies is my all time favourite Welsh player, and by all accounts he has always brought a load of energy as a player or coach. We know a lot of our back's time in training is dedicated to defence, so if he can come in and project a bit of positivity with the odd tip, then I think we stand to do well.

In all honesty, if the players don't know what they are doing by now, there is no coach in the world who will be able to help them!

I read that Biggar is working the game plan with Neil Jenkins this Monday, albeit nothing will change for this game. That probably suggests Biggar is starting too.

[BamBam]

Without looking, I bet all 5 of those Wales Online "articles" could have been condensed into one. But then they wouldn't get the clicks would they

[LordDowlais]

You do not have to read them, but instead of speculating on the subject, you could get yourself some facts, even if it is from WOL.

[BamBam]

I've read the facts on a non comic book website instead

[maestegmafia]

LD

There is a piece on WOL with the press conference with Dan Biggar and JD2 talking about the impact of Howley’s departure on the squad. All in all everything sounds very positive with them looking forward to Wellies arriving.

As Biggar says having Wellies and the ginger monster as coaches to seek advice from as a flyhalf in particular is a massive bonus.

[Rugby Fan]

Is it worth moving Howley discussion to a separate thead, to keep this one focused on other tournament matters for Wales?

I get the impression that Howley is known to like a bet. That doesn't make him someone with a gambling addiction problem, so we should be skeptical of any claim like that, without more formal confirmation. I don't gamble (aside from my unhealthy lifestyle) but it is common in sport. In a recent podcast, retired commentator Ian Robertson went on at length about his best betting coups on rugby and court. There's no suggestion he did anything wrong, but it's a reminder that it's common currency in that world

However, if Howley was known to bet, then it raises questions about who knew, and what he was told about limits to his hobby.

Perhaps he frequently, and openly placed bets, ignorant of the prohibition by World Rugby on his doing so. His colleagues may have known he placed bets but either assumed he wasn't doing so on rugby, or else didn't know about the ban either. Terrible governance, but I'd feel some sympathy.

Or, maybe Howley openly placed bets, knowing of the World Rugby ban, but, as a former scrum half, saw it in the same light as the law against feeding the scrum. His colleagues knew he did so but also saw it as an infringement not worth bothering about. Terrible governance, not as bad as bloodgate, but worth making an example "pour encourager les autres".

Alternatively, Howley covertly placed bets. Whether he knew about a ban or not, he knew something was out of bounds about doing so. It would be well worth investigating whether anyone in authority knew about it but turned a blind eye. That sounds unprofessional, and unforgivable. Credit to the WRU for removing him from the tournament but it may turn out that the problem was not simply Howley.

[LordDowlais]

LD

There is a piece on WOL with the press conference with Dan Biggar and JD2 talking about the impact of Howley’s departure on the squad. All in all everything sounds very positive with them looking forward to Wellies arriving.

As Biggar says having Wellies and the ginger monster as coaches to seek advice from as a flyhalf in particular is a massive bonus.

Yes, I am very excited to see what Stephen Jones can bring to this Welsh side, if Scarlets are anything to go by, then we are in for a treat. I am disappointed in Rob Howley though, he was the first player in Wales to truly embrace professionalism, it's a shame he did not do this in his coaching. Why did he need to do what he did ? That's the question we should be discussing.

[maestegmafia]

Is it worth moving Howley discussion to a separate thead, to keep this one focused on other tournament matters for Wales?

Not a bad idea mate... this thread is up to its limit on posts now so I was about to start another and close this one..

I’ll open a second discussing betting in sport etc to cover the Howley headlines.

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