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[i] Italy being very static and running out of ideas. [/i]
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[i] Scotland ..... actually looked half decent. [/i]
Were the two linked? (I must watch the game... 🙂 )
Looked like a bit of both from the highlights. Italy didn't look too hot and most things went Scotland's way (besides a softish early try). Scotland did seem to play well though and deserved the score line (again as far as I can tell from the highlights)
Two Hookers!!! LOL
Wales' Rugby World Cup squad
Forwards: Tomas Francis (Exeter Chiefs), Paul James (Ospreys), Aaron Jarvis (Ospreys), Gethin Jenkins (Cardiff Blues), Samson Lee (Scarlets), Scott Baldwin (Ospreys), Ken Owens (Scarlets), Jake Ball (Scarlets), Luke Charteris (Racing Metro), Bradley Davies (Wasps), Dominic Day (Bath), Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys), Taulupe Faletau (Newport Gwent Dragons), James King (Ospreys), Dan Lydiate (Ospreys), Justin Tipuric (Ospreys), Sam Warburton (Cardiff Blues).
Backs: Gareth Davies (Scarlets), Rhys Webb (Ospreys), Lloyd Williams (Ospreys), Gareth Anscombe (Cardiff Blues), Dan Biggar (Ospreys), Rhys Priestland (Scarlets), Cory Allen (Cardiff Blues), Jamie Roberts (Harlequins), Scott Williams (Scarlets Hallam Amos (Newport Gwent Dragons), Alex Cuthbert (Cardiff Blues), Leigh Halfpenny (Toulon), Matthew Morgan (Bristol), George North (Northampton Saints), Liam Williams (Scarlets).
Intended to take 3 but AWJ knee has meant Day goes! A lot of injured players in that squad. But thats Gatland, he's always bold! Cant see the point in Morgan. I suppose he will be played v uraguay in an effort to rack up tries.
There's a good XV in that squad. Just the depth isn't strong. Francis could do with being a bit fitter but he seemed to go OK against Ireland.
You've got to play both your 7s against England - surely?
Now Wales are ranked above England too - so you're favourites.
You've got to play both your 7s against England - surely?
Why?
Its like raiiaaaan on you wedding day
but they were clinging quite deep and not letting go of players and the referee wasn’t really on top of that,” said Murphy.“That’s the way he refereed it and we’ve got to adapt to it quicker.
😆 That's very funny. Do rugby players do irony?
That squad is two extremes. Half have all the experience you could wish for and the other half have virtually no experience. Unlike England though the talent isn't there to compensate for the inexperience beyond the choice 15.
Anscombe isn't in a_a, the squad is:
Props: Tomas Francis (Exeter Chiefs), Paul James (Ospreys), Aaron Jarvis (Ospreys), Gethin Jenkins (Cardiff Blues), Samson Lee (Scarlets).
Hookers: Scott Baldwin (Ospreys), Ken Owens (Scarlets).
Locks: Jake Ball (Scarlets), Luke Charteris (Racing 92), Dominic Day (Bath), Bradley Davies (Wasps), Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys).
Back-rows: Taulupe Faletau (Newport Gwent Dragons), James King (Ospreys), Dan Lydiate (Ospreys), Justin Tipuric (Ospreys), Sam Warburton (Cardiff Blues, capt).
Scrum-halves: Gareth Davies (Scarlets), Rhys Webb (Ospreys), Lloyd Williams (Cardiff Blues).
Fly-halves: Dan Biggar (Ospreys), Matthew Morgan (Bristol), Rhys Priestland (Bath).
Centres: Cory Allen (Cardiff Blues), Jamie Roberts (Harlequins), Scott Williams (Scarlets).
Wings: Hallam Amos (Newport Gwent Dragons), Alex Cuthbert (Cardiff Blues), George North (Northampton Saints).
Full-backs: Leigh Halfpenny (Toulon), Liam Williams (Scarlets).
Morgan as 3rd choice outside half is scary. The bloke whose club dumped him for Robinson when the knock out games came along
How does Rhys Preistland keep getting into the squad?
Because the only other options are Hook and Morgan or Anscombe who is injured and Patchel who Gatland doesntcseem to like.
Welsh teams have lots of previous form in putting the worst choice player on the pitch. Politics normally but I'm not sure why in the case of Priestland.
(Going back years Aled Williams, Swansea no 10, was extremely talented but never picked by Wales in position - he was played on the wing in one game iirc. The rumour was that he'd shagged Bob Norster's sister, wife, dog, whatever. It was such a widespread rumour that he was even asked about it on TV after he'd retired, to much amusement because he was aware if it. He denied it. 😆 )
anagallis_arvensis - MemberYou've got to play both your 7s against England - surely?
Why?
To win.
Brian Moore tells it like it is:
It must rankle with Cipriani and others, whatever they say in public, that the selection parameters of experience, promise, performance in training, opportunity to state a case, loyalty and so on are highlighted or downplayed according to each player.
Nowhere is this more apparent than in the case of recent union convert, Sam Burgess. His experience and achievements in League are outstanding and are evidence of character and talent. They have limited relevance to union until they are backed by solid performances at all levels in his new code.
Burgess’s case remains one of hope and promise on the field; none of it is public.
To those who say he brings something different or special, you have to ask what is it and when will we see it? Presently there is not one game to which you can refer that supports any of the claims made. There is no Burgess performance which strongly hints, let alone proves, that he is egregiously better than many other players available.Perhaps the most contentious of all the claims made for Burgess is his presence and its effect on the squad. If you have not played at Test level and, more importantly, not had tournament experience, you cannot appreciate how much difference one player can make, positively or negatively.
Even if you have, you cannot definitively know what Burgess brings to this squad because you haven’t seen and experienced it. If it is as important as made out then it might justify selection but if he is not a starting Test player then the case for his direct affect on the team is weakened.
What nobody should pretend is that his selection is not a gamble, the extent and wisdom of which can only be decided later.
This leads to the legitimate question of why the gamble had to be made now, without waiting for Burgess to furnish proof of his union credentials?
anagallis_arvensis - Member
You've got to play both your 7s against England - surely?Why?
To win.
How would that help?
How would that help?
Well it helped when you thrashed us 30-3 at the Millenium.
No you got thrashed then because the front 5 mangled yours. The question is I suppose is what you lose by having Warburton at 6 made up for by the "extra" Tips does or by Warburton at 6 being better than lydiate. Gatlands game plan is built around physicality so Warburton is better than Tips at 7 and Lydiate had a good game v ireland. Tips extra wide linking is not that much of a help in Gatland ball with our Big straight running backs. If we.had a backline like Aus it might work but we dont. Tips is a damn good back up and if Lydiate or Warburton (or Not Toby for that matter) got broke he would come in and do a job or he is a very good impact sub of the bench.
Yeah all good points but Tips seems too good to be on the bench and England seem better equipped to deal with Lydiate/Warburton than they would be to deal with Tipuric/Warburton.
You might be right but Gatlandball is built on massive defence and massive defencex10 will be needed at Twickenham. Tips can come on later if we need to chase.
England seem better equipped to deal with Lydiate/Warburton than they would be to deal with Tipuric/Warburton
I think that is one of those cases where what looks easy to deal with on TV is far from easy if you are in the thick of the action. It's a bit like saying Roberts doesn't do alot, just runs in to contact and is easy to tackle. I sure as heck wouldn't want to have to deal with him and you can guarantee the fatigue of tackling him and the other big runners non-stop and the subsequent gaps that might appear in the next phases is worth something more than first meets the eye.
I think Roberts is one of the reasons Burgess is included. Strong defence and a good organiser.
I think Roberts is one of the reasons Burgess is included. Strong defence and a good organiser.
Who Burgess? Is he? He puts the odd big hit in yeah, but you expect that of a bloke that is bigger than almost everyone else. Good organiser though......he really isn't.....he's out of position frequently in the centres in defence for starters.
Good organiser though......he really isn't.....he's out of position frequently in the centres in defence for starters.
^^This^^
Which means that even if he does manage to stop Doctor Desperate Dan*, the good doctor can just offload to someone running at the gap where Burgess [i]should[/i] have been.
*Admit it, you've never seen them in the same room. 🙂
I think Roberts is one of the reasons Burgess is included. Strong defence and a good organiser.
Is Lancasters theory perhaps, not yet realised.
As a bit of light relief, I see that England have a new star in the making for this game;
[img] 
[/img]
🙂
Given that Dion Dublin managed to break his neck running into someones chest in a footy match, I'm not overly hopeful of his surviving a rugby match!
Loving that Martin Offiah is included as a celeb too 😆
Loving that Martin Offiah is included as a celeb too
Well, the rest of the ex-pros were rugby players, you see.
😉
Louie Spence? My wife wants to get BT Sport now.
Possible Ireland World Cup squad:Props: Cian Healy, Jack McGrath, Mike Ross, Nathan White, Tadhg Furlong
Hookers: Rory Best, Sean Cronin, Richardt Strauss
Locks: Paul O’Connell, Devin Toner, Iain Henderson, Donnacha Ryan
Back rows: Jamie Heaslip, Sean O’Brien, Peter O’Mahony, Chris Henry, Jordi Murphy
Halfbacks: Conor Murray, Eoin Reddan, Johnny Sexton, Ian Madigan, Paddy Jackson
Centres: Robbie Henshaw, Darren Cave, Jared Payne.
Outside backs: Rob Kearney, Tommy Bowe, Simon Zebo, Keith Earls, Luke Fitzgerald, Dave Kearney.
Happy with that. 
Feel a bit for Marty Moore and Andrew Trimble, their injuries look to have held them back. 🙁
Tadhg Furlong must be buzzing. Good young prop who's not let Leinster down when needed.
And Darren Cave covering centres looks a stronger group than most predictions.
[i][s]possible[/s] confirmed squad[/i]
Is Chris Henry back playing now? I think Ireland really need someone like him or SOB to be in form. Likewise if Sexton can get some form and the props find a brain cell to share between them then the squad looks pretty strong
As another light distraction, [url= http://www.rugbydump.com/2015/08/4530/friday-funnies-bollywoods-violently-dramatic-take-on-rugby ]this funny rugby film clip[/url] popped up on Rugbydump 😆
That's the film that [i]Invictus[/i] should have been!
Since he seems to divide opinion here, you may enjoy the analysis on Tipuric v Ireland on [url= http://www.rugbyworld.com/countries/wales-countries/analysis-justin-tipuric-confounds-breakdown-doubters-47797 ]Rugby World[/url]
Tadhg Furlong must be buzzing
AWJ's knee still is following his late tackle.
Indeed, that wasn't great. Very late
Vern Cotter can suck my boabie.
What does Barclay have to do, apart from find a few kiwi grandparents?
England: Mike Brown (Harlequins); Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby), Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby), Brad Barritt (Saracens), Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby); George Ford (Bath Rugby), Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers); Joe Marler (Harlequins), Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers), Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers), Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints), Geoff Parling, Tom Wood (Northampton Saints), Chris Robshaw (capt, Harlequins), Ben Morgan (Gloucester Rugby).Replacements: Jamie George (Saracens), Mako Vunipola (Saracens), Kieran Brookes (Northampton Saints), Joe Launchbury (Wasps), Billy Vunipola (Saracens), Richard Wigglesworth (Saracens), Owen Farrell (Saracens), Sam Burgess (Bath Rugby).
So is that the first choice selection apart from Launchbury for Parling and B Vunipola for Morgan?
Going to need a big ****ing reinforced bench for that lot!
Yup. Expect Billy V on for impact and - if we are winning - Burgess later with f'real to kick. Really good to see Barrit play in his club position with JJ outside and neither positioned stupidly. The Welsh shoved the Irish around a fair bit last week and it looks as though well do the same.
Let's pray we win is and can make a positive statement....
So is that the first choice selection apart from Launchbury for Parling and B Vunipola for Morgan?
... and of course Burgess starting too in the first choice 15 😉
Controversial Scottish squad selection. Barclay and Harley very unlucky to miss out imo.
Forwards (17):Hookers: Fraser Brown (Glasgow Warriors), Ross Ford (Edinburgh Rugby), Stuart McInally (Edinburgh Rugby). Props: Alasdair Dickinson (Edinburgh Rugby), Ryan Grant (Glasgow Warriors), Gordon Reid (Glasgow Warriors), Willem Nel (Edinburgh Rugby), Jon Welsh (Newcastle Falcons). Locks: Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh Rugby), Jonny Gray (Glasgow Warriors), Richie Gray (Castres), Tim Swinson (Glasgow Warriors). Back-rowers: David Denton (Edinburgh Rugby), John Hardie (Unattached), Josh Strauss (Glasgow Warriors), Alasdair Strokosch (Perpignan), Ryan Wilson (Glasgow Warriors).
Backs (14):
Back three: Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors), Sean Lamont (Glasgow Warriors), Sean Maitland (London Irish), Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors), Tim Visser (Harlequins). Centres: Mark Bennett (Glasgow Warriors), Peter Horne (Glasgow Warriors), Matt Scott (Edinburgh Rugby), Richie Vernon (Glasgow Warriors). Fly-halves: Finn Russell (Glasgow Warriors), Duncan Weir (Glasgow Warriors). Scrum-halves: Sam Hidalgo-Clyne (Edinburgh Rugby), Greig Laidlaw (Gloucester), Henry Pyrgos (Glasgow Warriors).
And Cowan! Strokosch is past it,Strauss has never played and can't yet and Swinson has been broken. Add in Hardie,who will be a find...But unlike Barclay is unproven. What is the point of being a young player here?
Cotter must really rate Hardie. Very surprised both Barclay and Cowan missed out. Still, they have one more genuine openside than England do.
I'd have had Big Jim Hamilton in for Swinson - for the comedy value he provides if nothing else..... 😉
I think it is that comedy value that has cost him...Swinson plays the same role,but is a bit delicate. Not as if taller Gray is a wee shrinking violet these days either.
I am going to type something I never thought I would...
[b]Scotland have a really good set of backs there[/b]