• Welcome to the forums of Green & Gold Rugby.
    We have recently made some changes to the amount of discussions boards on the forum.
    Over the coming months we will continue to make more changes to make the forum more user friendly for all to use.
    Thanks, Admin.

Six Nations 2014

Status
Not open for further replies.
USARugger

USARugger

John Thornett (49)
JSRF10 said:
We've barely used it since Schmidt and Plumtree took over, the pack seem more inclined to chop the big runners down and look for a pilfer. It still has its place but I think the more selective use of it is a better tactic, gone are the Gert Smal/Kidney days were all we'd look to do on D was choke tackle and in attack we'd either kick terribly or pass to SOB.
Click to expand...


Oh god please don't bring back those memories.

If there was ever an appropriate time to start choke tackling again it would probably be Billy, he skips out of low tackles pretty easily and is 1000x more dangerous if he gets his arms free. England getting 1-2 meters over the gain line doesn't, and won't really scare me until they can produce some actual strike runners running off 9/10.
 
KevinO

KevinO

Geoff Shaw (53)
If Murray gets dropped I will be pissed off, he has played well in every competition this year and has earned his place in the green jersey. Reddan on the other hand has never been a international starter, always good for 10 minutes but that's about it.
 
Bardon

Bardon

Peter Fenwicke (45)
I would definitely prefer to see Murray starting. He's in excellent form and seems to have rediscovered himself at test level. He really burst onto the scene, but then he had a couple of seasons of believing that he was the next Mike Phillips and his game suffered. Now thankfully he's realised there are better things to be than MP (Moana Pasifika) and he's gone back to his own game and is improving the areas he's weak in.

Reddan is a great option to have on the bench when you want to lift the tempo and exploit gaps in the last 15-20 minutes.
 
Bardon

Bardon

Peter Fenwicke (45)
I'm already starting to get nervous about the weekends game. There's something about we Irish that makes it hard to have confidence. The nerves come from the fact that I expect Ireland to perform and that performance to be good enough for a victory.

It's something different to hoping the team performs but expecting a slow start that ultimately results in a soul crushing defeat. Then there would be the obligatory reaction performance against Italy where we'd destroy them.

I'm hoping to get used to the Schmidt era optimism coupled with consistently high level performance. It won't be easy!
 
Bardon

Bardon

Peter Fenwicke (45)
Gatland has dropped Philips for the French game. He's on the bench though.

Wales (v France): Leigh Halfpenny (Cardiff Blues); Alex Cuthbert (Cardiff Blues), George North (Northampton Saints), Jamie Roberts (Racing Metro), Liam Williams (Scarlets), Rhys Priestland (Scarlets), Rhys Webb (Ospreys); Gethin Jenkins (Cardiff Blues), Richard Hibbard (Ospreys), Adam Jones (Ospreys), Luke Charteris (Perpignan), Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys), Dan Lydiate (Racin Metro), Sam Warburton (Capt, Cardiff Blues), Taulupe Faletau (Newport Gwent Dragons).

Replacements: Ken Owens (Scarlets); Paul James (Bath), Rhodri Jones (Scarlets), Jake Ball (Scarlets), Justin Tipuric (Ospreys), Mike Phillips (Racing Metro), Dan Biggar (Ospreys), James Hook (Perpignan).

North moves to the centres and Liam Williams comes in on the wing. It's interesting that Gatland has been talking about the midfield partnership as being important in stopping Bastareaud. I would consider Fofana a bigger threat as Bastareaud is just a big lump that needs to be cut don't early. While Fofana has such magic feet.
 
the plastic paddy

the plastic paddy

John Solomon (38)
Astonished by the selection of the bandy legged assassin on the wing. He was Shite against Ireland, surely there must be someone in Wales better than that dirty cheap shot merchant. I think Phillips deserved to be dropped for his complete loss of the head in Dublin. Elsewhere I am not surprised Fatland has given the team that got stuffed in Ireland a chance to redeem themselves. Wales will find they have a lot of support on Friday night, even I will be cheering for them!?!?:)
 
Bairdy

Bairdy

Peter Fenwicke (45)
Surprised that Gatland didn't opt to shift Halfpenny to a wing, and bring Hook in at 15. Crazy that injury toll inflicted on the Welsh centres; just read that Jonathan Davies, Scott Williams, Ashley Beck, Owen Williams, and Cory Allen could not be considered due to injury!

Biggar should be starting; he's more composed than Priestland, and IMO a better overall flyhalf.

What a weekend of sport! Six nations tests, Super Rugby formally begins, and the second cricket test in SA! Goodbye sleep
 
Bardon

Bardon

Peter Fenwicke (45)
I saw Williams playing full back for Wales in Tokyo last year and wasn't very impressed. But then again none of the Welsh impressed that day.
 
L

Llew

Bob McCowan (2)
I have a bad feeling about Friday Night.
Not a fan of Friday night 6 Nations games and Wales' record in them against France is poor. I have doubts about George north's defensive abilities in the centre, especially against Fofana and Liam Williams is not yet at international level. 1/2p on the wing and hook at 15 would have been my choice as Bairdy said above. At least the games is in Cardiff!
 
JSRF10

JSRF10

Dick Tooth (41)
Reddan, McCarthy and MadDog start for Leinster, you'd have to assume that Ryan, Boss and Jackson are on the bench for Ireland

Phillips should have been dropped a long time ago, how that man has 6 Lions test caps I'll never know! Seems like there is a bit of panic going on in Gatlands head, he is as conservative a selector as there is in rugby, once he drops St Sam as well Wales will be in a better space to actually play rugby
 
JSRF10

JSRF10

Dick Tooth (41)
boyo said:
Would he allowed to now that Sam has a central contract?
Click to expand...

Probably not, Gatland is a huge Warburton fan anyway and I'd be shocked if he ever dropped him. Personally I don't see it, he loves to talk the talk but he has failed to walk the walk at international level since the World Cup and his "performances" for Cardiff have been nothing short of disgraceful in that time too. Also said the media fawning over him probably doesn't help.
 
Wales Fan

Wales Fan

Alfred Walker (16)
Personally I think Sam is a very good 7 (even though I prefer Tipuric), his main problem since the world cup is gametime. I can't recall him stringing together a significant run of matches without injury. He's just one of these players who's blighted by injury. I very much doubt that he buys into all the media bollocks that surrounds him either.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk
 
JSRF10

JSRF10

Dick Tooth (41)
In 2012 he told us Wales expected win all 4 of their November tests, that they were going to Australia to win the series. Same in 2013, he told us he was getting sick of losing to Southern Hemisphere teams because he expects Wales to beat them. No one forcing him to come out with these kind of statements.
Yes he has had injury issues but he hasn't helped himself with his pedestrian performances for Cardiff, I've seem him throughly outclassed by academy players and journeyman in that time when he meanders around like he has something better to do. If he bothered his ass trying for more games than against England he might forge a decent career. He seems like a bloke who would be better off getting dropped to bring him back to the reality that he isn't anywhere near a world class 7, despite the potential he had.
 
the plastic paddy

the plastic paddy

John Solomon (38)
JSRF10 said:
In 2012 he told us Wales expected win all 4 of their November tests, that they were going to Australia to win the series. Same in 2013, he told us he was getting sick of losing to Southern Hemisphere teams because he expects Wales to beat them. No one forcing him to come out with these kind of statements.
Yes he has had injury issues but he hasn't helped himself with his pedestrian performances for Cardiff, I've seem him throughly outclassed by academy players and journeyman in that time when he meanders around like he has something better to do. If he bothered his ass trying for more games than against England he might forge a decent career. He seems like a bloke who would be better off getting dropped to bring him back to the reality that he isn't anywhere near a world class 7, despite the potential he had.
Click to expand...
And he is far from alone in that Welsh side. Maybe that goes someway to explaining the lack of support for the regions. Why would you turn up to watch a Cardiff team containing nearly 2/3 internationals, many of them Lions, have 59 points stuck
on them.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top