The Welsh Flyhalf debate

SecretFly wrote:If Anscombe doesn't want an International career, he'd probably go with a Bath offer.  But I'd assume that should be the condition.  If players want the serious money...go for it.  But their place should then be taken by a player helping to sustain professional rugby in Wales itself.

mikey_dragon wrote:500k for someone who should be third choice (a good one at that) is a bit ridiculous. I don’t feel Blues would be that badly effected with Evans coming through at 10, but I worry that Priestland will come back and clog up a place with more mediocrity.

Eejit wrote:I’ve always liked Rhys Patchell and still get a bit nervous when he’s on the Scarlets teamsheet vs Glasgow. He seems capable of anything and I really hope he gets a good run in a Wales jersey at some stage.

That said, having Biggar coming off the bench and pinging balls behind tired defences looks to be working.

Andy Bull for The Guardian wrote:In the run-up to the 2011 World Cup, the All Blacks held a series of “What if?” meetings. “We talked about worst-case scenarios,” Jerome Kaino remembered, “and Kieran Read said: ‘The worst would be if Dan Carter and Richie McCaw get injured.’” The head coach, Graham Henry, didn’t really think that would happen – “surely not possible” he told himself – but he wanted to plan for it anyway. After New Zealand were knocked out by France in 2007, Henry had spent a lot of time thinking about what went wrong. He decided his team had been caught short when everything took a turn for the worse. So he became a doomsday prepper.

In their 2007 quarter-final in Cardiff, the All Blacks were thrown by the referee, yes, who hardly gave a decision their way, but by some critical injuries, too. Carter went off after 56 minutes, his replacement, Nick Evans, after 71. Henry felt that, without either of their two first‑choice fly-halves, his team had become like “a possum in the headlights”. So for 2011, Henry’s philosophy was to expect the unexpected. He wanted his coaches and players to feel ready for anything. “Say McCaw breaks his leg in the first minute of the final, what happens then?” Henry said. “How do you handle that?”



In the end, McCaw didn’t break his leg but his foot, and he played on anyway. Carter, who tore a tendon in his thigh while he was practising his kicking, wasn’t so lucky. When he dropped out of the tournament, Henry moved Carter’s understudy Colin Slade into the first team and brought his first reserve Aaron Cruden into the squad. Then, when Slade tore a muscle in his groin playing against Argentina, Henry promoted Cruden into the first team and called up Stephen Donald. And when Cruden twisted his knee half an hour into the final, Donald came on and eventually won the game, 8-7 against France.



Henry doesn’t claim he had all this exactly mapped out but all that contingency planning meant they were in the best position to cope with this Job’s lot of bad luck. Henry was criticised for the way he had rotated his squad in 2009 and 2010 but the policy meant that by the end of 2011 he had four fly-halves who all had experience playing Test rugby. Donald already had 23 caps. “If he hadn’t had that All Black experience, he wouldn’t have been able to do what he did,” Henry said later. “It didn’t make it easy but thank God we had a strategy for it.”

maestegmafia wrote:

SecretFly wrote:If Anscombe doesn't want an International career, he'd probably go with a Bath offer.  But I'd assume that should be the condition.  If players want the serious money...go for it.  But their place should then be taken by a player helping to sustain professional rugby in Wales itself.

That’s the rule so far as I can understand it. Going abroad after 60 caps is ok but not before

Gooseberry wrote:Anyone's thoughts changed on this?

It seems to me that Anscombe has really proved a point including his goal kicking.

The Oracle wrote:

Gooseberry wrote:Anyone's thoughts changed on this?

It seems to me that Anscombe has really proved a point including his goal kicking.

Has he proved a point at 10 though?  I'd say there's still question marks about him at 10 at this level.  And his best performance, and man of the match, was against Ireland where he played nearly the whole game at fullback.  

SecretFly wrote:It's interesting what Edward's said in relation to his future plans.  He said he'd go where he gets a contract but the only place he's ruling out is Wales (i.e. Staying).  Now that's all understandable, he's done his time and is looking for new horizons... but he related that comment to Pivac.  He said Pivac wants to take Wales in a different direction now.

And I wondered...... is this REALLY the time to completely rebuild or refocus the Welsh blueprint?  Breaking something that is running smoothly?  Reminds me of McIlroy who when in the youthful form of his life goes and changes his golf club maker, and pretty much has been slow walking back to the pinnacle since.  Pivac should be careful

SecretFly wrote:I'm sure that's it Oracle.  But if I were the WRU I remind him his worth went up playing with Wales International not with his region.

SecretFly wrote:I see too that Anscombe is threatening that he might go to play rugby in England?  Is he saying: "and if I do, you better keep picking me and other players who might leave for Wales duty or you'll probably regret it"...... or is he saying:  " if I go, thanks for the exposure Wales International that upped my personal asking price.  Cheers" ?
I wonder which he's hinting at.