They are also exposing them to a far higher standard of competition than the diddy league up here. Crack on the Premiership!
Doesn't appear to hold back Leinster and Munster etc. I also don't see masses of Welsh players improving after time away in England.
Talking of which its rumoured Falatau is going to Cardiff at end of season, wonder if he'll play before then?
Hasn't even trained with Bath yet this season because of injury. Clever, clever player; I hope he gets back.
Teej; notice you are staying quiet about your wee pals performance at 15 on Sat 😃
Decent going forward - in fact more than decent. Got bumped off a few tackles
Doesn’t appear to hold back Leinster and Munster etc.
The level of set up those teams have is way beyond anything Glasgow or Edinburgh or the Welsh teams have. Connacht is a better comparison; certainly to our teams. They are both able to limit the games marquee players have to play while still able to afford All Blacks. For example, according to wiki POC played 178 times for Munster between 2001-15. Al Kellock played 214 games in a year less.
South Africa: Damian Willemse; Jesse Kriel, Lukhanyo Am, Damian de Allende, Makazole Mapimpi; Handre Pollard, Herschel Jantjies; Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi, Trevor Nyakane, Eben Etzebeth, Lood De Jager, Siya Kolisi (capt), Kwagga Smith, Duane Vermeulen.
Replacements: Malcolm Marx, Steven Kitshoff, Vincent Koch, Franco Mostert, Jasper Wiese, Cobus Reinach, Elton Jantjies, Frans Steyn
The Welsh pack are likely to be breaking landspeed records in reverse this weekend!
The level of set up those teams have is way beyond anything Glasgow or Edinburgh or the Welsh teams have. Connacht is a better comparison; certainly to our teams.
I agree, but the point stands you shouldn't need to send players away to improve them.
I think the biggest strength the Irish have is the quality of coaching though,at all levels. Although this does undermine my point!!
Got bumped off a few tackles
😆😆😆😆😆😆😁😁😁😆😆
My nan would have looked good going forward v that lot!
Teej cough..high balls..cough.
Seen Maitland play this season Teej? Add in DvDM and both wings from Sat and Darcey will be sitting in the West Stand with Gav Henson discussing restraining orders on overly "keen" fans.
AWJ out for the season and England have rather carelessly broken their first choice scrum half in their training camp. Paddleboarding not judo this time, so that's fine.
Broken Smith at 10 possibly. That'll let Jones play Farrell.
And we've got a broken Suzz.
Wales (probable):
J McNicholl (Scarlets); L Rees-Zammit (Gloucester), N Tompkins (Saracens), J Davies (Scarlets), J Adams (Cardiff); D Biggar (Northampton), T Williams (Cardiff); R Carre (Cardiff), R Elias (Scarlets), T Francis (Ospreys); A Beard (Ospreys)/S Davies (Cardiff)/ B Carter (Dragons), W Rowlands (Dragons); E Jenkins (Cardiff), T Basham (Dragons), A Wainwright (Dragons).
I think even with 4 locks our pack will struggle!
NIce interview with the Welsh pretty boy 🙂
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/nov/03/louis-rees-zammit-british-and-irish-lions-wales
I kind of agree with him, but then I always want to see more Rugby. I was disspointed in Gats as he made Wales sing at times (the steam, metaphorically, not the choir actually, although that was a side effect). For me the three tests looked a lot like England, which was not anywhere near as much fun.. England lost to SA the year before by playing them at their own game, surely we can all see it is not a good idea.
Wales: Johnny McNicholl; Louis Rees-Zammit, Jonathan Davies (capt), Nick Tompkins, Josh Adams; Dan Biggar, Tomos Williams; Rhys Carre, Ryan Elias, Tomas Francis, Will Rowlands, Adam Beard, Ellis Jenkins, Taine Basham, Aaron Wainwright.
Replacements: Bradley Roberts, Wyn Jones, WillGriff John, Ben Carter, Seb Davies, Gareth Davies, Gareth Anscombe, Liam Williams
****ing Elias!!
Tompkins isn't up to it physically, Carre is shit. Griff John has been shit for Scarlets and Seb ****ing Davies as backrow cover again, **** me how stupid.
And who the **** is Bradley Roberts, that's a rhetorical question, I don't actually care.
More interesting than you might imagine, given how the game went:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wB5v97CFhpQ
Scotland Aus the game of the weekend for the neutrals?
two sides that like to play tempo and attack. Scotland have won recently but are underdogs with a chance
Aus 35 scotland 28 with the lead and momentum ebbing and flowing
Laugh at my prediction on Monday - I'll be behind the sofa
Oz are a weird one just now, there was no middle ground with them in the Summer; they were either amazing or terrible. Based on the improvements we made last year I assume normal service will be resumed so am not confident, even though three of them refused to travel. Going with eldest and his mates so will be unlikely to care much by KO.
Scotland Aus the game of the weekend for the neutrals?
Yep, should be a good game.
Ah lads have you not learned the lessons of the past. We will take the big teams to the wire in the autumn tests by playing rugged then expansive rugby. Our hearts will sing and we will look forward to glorious matches where Scotland compete in all aspects of the game then sublime play will see tries scored from everywhere on the pitch.
Then come the six Nations we'll get pumped by Italy and every one else.
What I said above. Winning in the Orc pen and Paris, loads of lions = humiliation from Italy.
I hadn’t realised the Ireland v Japan game was live now on channel 4. Just turned on for the second half. This has got to be an easier watch as an Ireland fan, than Wales fans will experience later!
Ooh, try for Japan as I’m typing - a long way to come back though 😀
I don’t understand how Jonny May can jump 10m into a Samoan player and it be deemed that the Samoan player took him out in the air. He didn’t jump straight up and the Samoan run in and take him out after he was up. J May leapt at the Samoan.
Oh, my. That was so close to being a beautiful, individual, intercepted try.
That's a bullshit yellow card
Some nonsense about no able to compete. But he would have collected it if May hadn't been there. The tonga 14 is a big load can't see him springing into the air.
Tonga not being given any chances by anybody on the pitch.
For example 57 mins in curry wins penalty refs says he was first man in. But after Lawes and not back foot.
It's not that the score isn't representative of play but as with ABs doubt never goes with the small team.
Some nonsense about no able to compete. But he would have collected it if May hadn’t been there.
That was how I saw it too.
It’s difficult to assess England from this. Some good individual play, but not overly coherent- no doubt as they’ve not played much together before. It feels like the 6 Nations is going to be great next year.
Red is bollocks too.
Does the roof not work anymore?
Covid requirements
Right, square heads down for the big bokke gang bang
I missed the game last week as I was ill, I can’t see this being an enjoyable watch. Just a matter of waiting to see which of the Wales players get stretchered off : (
Need to remember to breathe.
SA are unfeasibly cynical.
Meh; saffers are the eq of watching a long ball football team. And that's coming from somebody who would have 13 man scrums.
Well it's certainly more exciting than last weekend's match.
Wales much more competitive than I’d feared.
Biggar remains godlike 😀
Tompkins having his best game for Wales since his debut. Playing for Saracens must be good for him.
Arse, good effort though.
Well played South Africa. Well worth their win in the second half.
I enjoyed that, proper competitive
I enjoyed that
Me too.
Ellis Jenkins is proper quality, I really hope he gets a good run of games.
That France kit. 😘
💙🤍❤️
Scotland v Australia at 14:15 today (on Amazon). #7 in World rankings, at home v #3
This could be a really good game and could go either way I’d have thought. If Scotland can win this, then…
Anyone have a strong feeling of who will win?
Aus will win. They are on a good run of wins and have had a good season down south IIRC
Less than a score in a high scoring game tho
