Team for Italy

[Sandydragon]

So few days to go here is the fails input for the starting 15
Rob Howley’s possible Wales team: Halfpenny; North, J Davies, S Williams, L Williams; Biggar, Webb; Evans, Owens, Lee, Charteris, AW Jones (capt), Warburton, Moriarty, Tipuric.
This assumes Falateu is not playing..and honestly I would start this way if he is not over 80%

My bench
Balwdin, Smith, Francis, Ball,Young, Davies, Davies, Evans
Warburton to cover at 8 if required but if Falateu is fit to be on to be bench then Young drops out

Faletau is such a class player that I would play him if fit but lacking game time. But if he isn't fit then Id rather he wasn't involved in this game with England the week afterwards, even from the bench.

I think we mostly agree..Falateu will not be fully match fit..or injury free... so do they risk him ..?

With Moriarty proven himself in the back row, and in particular at No8, I personally wouldn't. Id look for a new blindside instead, and not necessarily Warburton.

[Sandydragon]

Apparently both Faletau and Charteris have failed late fitness tests. I'd suggest the following is what we will see:

Locks - AWJ and Ball. Cory Hill on the bench (based on AI performance).
Back row. Tipuric, Warburton and Moriarty. The bench is a bit harder to call as Cracknell, Young and King could all feature.

[MrK]

Apparently both Faletau and Charteris have failed late fitness tests. I'd suggest the following is what we will see:

Locks - AWJ and Ball. Cory Hill on the bench (based on AI performance).
Back row. Tipuric, Warburton and Moriarty. The bench is a bit harder to call as Cracknell, Young and King could all feature.

Could we even see a ...

Locks - AWJ and Ball - King on the Bench covering Lock and 8 ?
Bck Row. Warburton, Tipuric, Moraity - Young on the bench ?

[Sandydragon]

Apparently both Faletau and Charteris have failed late fitness tests. I'd suggest the following is what we will see:

Locks - AWJ and Ball. Cory Hill on the bench (based on AI performance).
Back row. Tipuric, Warburton and Moriarty. The bench is a bit harder to call as Cracknell, Young and King could all feature.

Could we even see a ...

Locks - AWJ and Ball - King on the Bench covering Lock and 8 ?
Bck Row. Warburton, Tipuric, Moraity - Young on the bench ?

Now that is a possibility if we wanted to play with some pace. We will miss Charteris' counter maul ability but Ball will hopefully give us plenty of go forward ball. King would be a mobile reserve. Cory Hill is a decent enough player but I don't think he make a huge impact from the bench, more of a steady pair of hands.

[ALunpg]

Damn losing one or the other from the prospective pack is managable losing both for me is a concern .Since we have seen we can cope without Falateu..although we are strides better with him in the team , now losing Charteris worries me...our line out often suffers and disturbing the oppos lineout is not as effective. Neither Ball or Hill has hit it as far as lineouts compared with Charteris. .

Ball is the more agressive in the loose... but.. does get on the wrong side of the ref occasionally. So I would say Hill with Ball to come on later. King is an option but I worry about his grunt in the scrum as a second row replacement.

[kk67]

Apparently both Faletau and Charteris have failed late fitness tests. I'd suggest the following is what we will see:

Locks - AWJ and Ball. Cory Hill on the bench (based on AI performance).
Back row. Tipuric, Warburton and Moriarty. The bench is a bit harder to call as Cracknell, Young and King could all feature.

Could we even see a ...

Locks - AWJ and Ball - King on the Bench covering Lock and 8 ?
Bck Row. Warburton, Tipuric, Moraity - Young on the bench ?

Gutted to lose both of them,...but Ball and Moriarty have looked to be bang in form.

[MrK]

Wales: Leigh Halfpenny; George North, Jonathan Davies, Scott Williams, Liam Williams; Dan Biggar, Rhys Webb; Nicky Smith, Ken Owens, Samson Lee; Jake Ball, Alun Wyn Jones; Sam Warburton, Justin Tipuric, Ross Moriarty.

Subs: Scott Baldwin, Rob Evans, Tomas Francis, Cory Hill, James King, Gareth Davies, Sam Davies, Jamie Roberts.

No surprises then.

[ALunpg]

Yep.... King gets the nod in the in the back row as he can cover 8 and 6 and at worst 4 or 5. Otherwise we would have been left with Sam covering 8 ....

Feel a bit for Cracknell or Young but not sure either are yet ready for a replacememt No8 birth yet.

Ball gets the shout at 2nd row ... understandable for his aggresive work...

Roberts on the bench is not a suprise... just a dissapointment.. sorry he is a great servant but he aint at the races...happy to be proven wrong with that ...but I doubt it.

[Sandydragon]

Oh well, so Howley had a chance to step out from Gatlands shadow and bottled it.

The pack is mostly as I would expect given availability. Smith over Evans is a close call I think. Warburton is fortunate to be in the side on current form. Otherwise, I don't think any of us would have picked much different.

Biggar at ten isn't a shock, in fact the starting back line is as expected although I think north has to be given a kick in the rear at some point. The bench is where I am more disappointed. Roberts has been a fantastic servant but what is the point of him on the bench when there are players in better form? I can only hope the thinking is that the big man will work well off Sam davies in the second half when defenders are tired.

Very predictable team and how demoralising for the wider squad members who must be wondering what needs to happy to get into the match 22.

[Son of Mathonwy]

Oh well, so Howley had a chance to step out from Gatlands shadow and bottled it.

The pack is mostly as I would expect given availability. Smith over Evans is a close call I think. Warburton is fortunate to be in the side on current form. Otherwise, I don't think any of us would have picked much different.

Biggar at ten isn't a shock, in fact the starting back line is as expected although I think north has to be given a kick in the rear at some point. The bench is where I am more disappointed. Roberts has been a fantastic servant but what is the point of him on the bench when there are players in better form? I can only hope the thinking is that the big man will work well off Sam davies in the second half when defenders are tired.

Very predictable team and how demoralising for the wider squad members who must be wondering what needs to happy to get into the match 22.

I dunno - I think he's treading his own path .... Gatland would still have Robert at 12. And Warbs would still be captain.

But yes, there are no surprises really. I hope Sam Davies gets a good amount of game time, but I'm not particularly expecting it. Maybe once (if) we get the bonus try Howley will take the huge risk of allowing Wales's form fly half onto the pitch.

[ALunpg]

We will see if the style change is achieved on the field. In fairness the coaches have always remained faithful...if sometimes overly reluctant to change.
This fixture is critical to how we go on this 6N ...Howley has not grasped this opportunity to blood players...but they will argue...do you wish to take the chance.
But lets look positive Tipuric is starting at 7 ..Roberts is not starting..Liam Williams is in there is no Alex Cuthbert
and we have 6 front rowers that are solid .

[Sandydragon]

Oh well, so Howley had a chance to step out from Gatlands shadow and bottled it.

The pack is mostly as I would expect given availability. Smith over Evans is a close call I think. Warburton is fortunate to be in the side on current form. Otherwise, I don't think any of us would have picked much different.

Biggar at ten isn't a shock, in fact the starting back line is as expected although I think north has to be given a kick in the rear at some point. The bench is where I am more disappointed. Roberts has been a fantastic servant but what is the point of him on the bench when there are players in better form? I can only hope the thinking is that the big man will work well off Sam davies in the second half when defenders are tired.

Very predictable team and how demoralising for the wider squad members who must be wondering what needs to happy to get into the match 22.

I dunno - I think he's treading his own path .... Gatland would still have Robert at 12. And Warbs would still be captain.

But yes, there are no surprises really. I hope Sam Davies gets a good amount of game time, but I'm not particularly expecting it. Maybe once (if) we get the bonus try Howley will take the huge risk of allowing Wales's form fly half onto the pitch.

When sam gets game time will be key. If Howley brings him on at full back (with Liam and Halfpenny on the pitch it shouldn't happen but you never know) then he needs his head read. But if he has any sense he will look to use Biggar to control the game for the first 50, get our noses in front and then bring on Sam. If Sam gets 5 minutes ta the end then I think Howley needs some serious questions asked of him.

[Eugene Wrayburn]

You really shouldn't be looking to just get your noses in front by 50 minutes against Italy .

[Sandydragon]

You really shouldn't be looking to just get your noses in front by 50 minutes against Italy .

Optimism is low. We start slowly most years and frankly we are a long way off form. Id love us to be well clear by the 50 minute mark but I think it will be a score difference.

[webbyinjapan]

Obviously, I see very little of the game at home. However, reading about players like Cracknell, the leicester 10/12 Williams? Young et al, surely it would be better to have looked at some of these players, with a view to the RWC in what is only 2 years away? I don't know. Should we not be planning longer term? Why not start Davies at 10 for this? Should it matter? I am at a loss,,,as I have no real idea of what is going on there.

[Sandydragon]

Obviously, I see very little of the game at home. However, reading about players like Cracknell, the leicester 10/12 Williams? Young et al, surely it would be better to have looked at some of these players, with a view to the RWC in what is only 2 years away? I don't know. Should we not be planning longer term? Why not start Davies at 10 for this? Should it matter? I am at a loss,,,as I have no real idea of what is going on there.

Thisis a perfect opportunity to look at younger players, who happen to be in form, in preparation for the next RWC. Roberts and Warburton are fortunate to be in the squad on current form. Foxy is also lucky that none of the other 13s in Wales have been in form or fully fit enough to be in the squad.

[Son of Mathonwy]

You really shouldn't be looking to just get your noses in front by 50 minutes against Italy .

I totally agree. We should be aiming to have the bonus point by half time. Lest we forget our last two 6N scorelines against them:

Wales 67-14 Italy
Italy 20-61 Wales

And we managed that with Biggar. So even though he is not my first choice... this is only Italy.

[Son of Mathonwy]

Obviously, I see very little of the game at home. However, reading about players like Cracknell, the leicester 10/12 Williams? Young et al, surely it would be better to have looked at some of these players, with a view to the RWC in what is only 2 years away? I don't know. Should we not be planning longer term? Why not start Davies at 10 for this? Should it matter? I am at a loss,,,as I have no real idea of what is going on there.

Thisis a perfect opportunity to look at younger players, who happen to be in form, in preparation for the next RWC. Roberts and Warburton are fortunate to be in the squad on current form. Foxy is also lucky that none of the other 13s in Wales have been in form or fully fit enough to be in the squad.

I really don't think this is the case though. Beck has played more than enough rugby, and clearly better rugby than JD this season. So has Ben John for that matter. JD is there on past glories, nothing else.
Roberts on the bench.... Owen Williams would be better, but I guess the Doc makes Howley feel more comfortable.
We have an excellent XV of Welsh players available, but too many of them are invisible to the selector.

[Sourdust]

"None of the uncapped players in the extended squad have made the match day 23, with interim coach Rob Howley saying it was important to start the tournament with a win."

Sure; after which I don't doubt he'll give full consideration to throwing them in untested against England.

[Sandydragon]

"None of the uncapped players in the extended squad have made the match day 23, with interim coach Rob Howley saying it was important to start the tournament with a win."

Sure; after which I don't doubt he'll give full consideration to throwing them in untested against England.

They won't get a look in, barring injuries. The only feasible scenario that I could see is if we lose to England and Ireland and with nothing to lose we make a few changes for France. I think the fringe squad players have a better chance on the summer tour, but with Gatland and Howley otherwise engaged, that means very little and it will be business as usual next season with the excuse that the RWC is too close to make major changes.

Unless this new attack coach can pull a major rabbit out of the hat, Im not expecting much until we get in an entire new management. Gatland seems to value experience over form.

[ALunpg]

Yes we should have more ambition than to be only just ahead at 50 minutes.Sadly we also know how bad we can be at the start of a tournament...we should not be that bad ...but we ofyen are.
So caution is the name of the game from Howley and Gatland has nowt to do with it except they think the same way.
My major thing...will they kick on from the AI..that will be my measure of where we need to go.

[Son of Mathonwy]

"None of the uncapped players in the extended squad have made the match day 23, with interim coach Rob Howley saying it was important to start the tournament with a win."

Sure; after which I don't doubt he'll give full consideration to throwing them in untested against England.

They won't get a look in, barring injuries. The only feasible scenario that I could see is if we lose to England and Ireland and with nothing to lose we make a few changes for France. I think the fringe squad players have a better chance on the summer tour, but with Gatland and Howley otherwise engaged, that means very little and it will be business as usual next season with the excuse that the RWC is too close to make major changes.

Unless this new attack coach can pull a major rabbit out of the hat, Im not expecting much until we get in an entire new management. Gatland seems to value experience over form.

I think there might be bench space for an uncapped player for the Scotland match. Otherwise they're for injury cover only, I agree. I wonder if Owen Williams will set foot on the pitch in the whole championship?

[Sandydragon]

Yes we should have more ambition than to be only just ahead at 50 minutes.Sadly we also know how bad we can be at the start of a tournament...we should not be that bad ...but we ofyen are.
So caution is the name of the game from Howley and Gatland has nowt to do with it except they think the same way.
My major thing...will they kick on from the AI..that will be my measure of where we need to go.

If we look like we are playing with some structure and can actually pose a threat in attack then it will be a huge improvement.

[Ross. S]

Fucking hell!

[wayneha50]

I have very low expectations whilst we persist with our coaching team & that was jst more of the same.