morepork wrote:I'm a fan, but when was the last time Halfpenny scored a try?
Stick him on the wing, it might happen.
But then, we used to have Mark Jones in the wing. Fantastic player but he couldn't score tries either. Still played an important part in Grand Slam 2008.
Scored a hatfull of spectacular trys just usually the ref had the whistle blown long before he dotted down
Or he tripped over.
Technically a good winger who got through a lot of work but never the supreme finisher.
Numbers wrote:My team for England pending fitnbess would be this:
Wyn Jones
Ken Owens
Tomas Francis
Adam Beard
AWJ
Josh Navidi
Justin Tipuric
Taulupe Faletau
Tomos Williams
Callum Sheedy
George North
Johnny Williams
John Davies
LRZ
Halfpenny
Rhodri Jones
Elliott Dee
Leon Brown
Will Rowlands
James Botham
Gareth Davies
Dan Biggar
Willis Halaholo
I could be persuaded to play Liam Williams instead of Halfpenny but only one of them gets into the squad, don't forget we also lose the long range kicking option without Halfpenny but tbh I can't remember the last time he went for anything beyond halfway.
I’m not that keen for JD2 to start. Before his injury he was hardly pulling up trees and whilst England will be a big test, the Irish centres are very good and North coped well against them.
I’d start with Jonny Williams and North in the centre with Halaholo on early ish in the second half. Adams and LRZ on the wings.
Numbers wrote:My team for England pending fitnbess would be this:
Wyn Jones
Ken Owens
Tomas Francis
Adam Beard
AWJ
Josh Navidi
Justin Tipuric
Taulupe Faletau
Tomos Williams
Callum Sheedy
George North
Johnny Williams
John Davies
LRZ
Halfpenny
Rhodri Jones
Elliott Dee
Leon Brown
Will Rowlands
James Botham
Gareth Davies
Dan Biggar
Willis Halaholo
I could be persuaded to play Liam Williams instead of Halfpenny but only one of them gets into the squad, don't forget we also lose the long range kicking option without Halfpenny but tbh I can't remember the last time he went for anything beyond halfway.
I’m not that keen for JD2 to start. Before his injury he was hardly pulling up trees and whilst England will be a big test, the Irish centres are very good and North coped well against them.
I’d start with Jonny Williams and North in the centre with Halaholo on early ish in the second half. Adams and LRZ on the wings.
I agree with leaving JD2 out of the squad. He has class but really needs some hard game time to see if he’s back to his best form.
I don’t think halfpenny will make the squad either. Williams, North and then Halaholo coming off the bench makes for a very tasty combination to give the England midfield some big concerns. With Watkin also in the selection mix we now seem to have some strength in depth.
It was interesting to read that in the first two games Wales only spent 2.43 minutes in their opponents’ 22 but have scored six tries - some strike rate and perhaps this is where Pivac has been trying to get his tactics right and the team to follow them.
Sandydragon wrote:That is an incredible stat, and for how long did we moan about Wales wasting chances? Our strike rate is very impressive.
If we could ally that to better ball retention so we could capitalise on this and create more chances I’d be very happy.
We’re still work in progress on ball retention but I’m certain the coaches are working on this to get a better return.
Momentum is with Wales and confidence flows from that. With two weeks before the next game I’m hopeful there will be another step up in performance.
Melon seems to have made a marked improvement in defence; Jenkins needs to hone the kicking skills and Humphrey’s getting the scrum and line out sorted.
Sandydragon wrote:That is an incredible stat, and for how long did we moan about Wales wasting chances? Our strike rate is very impressive.
If we could ally that to better ball retention so we could capitalise on this and create more chances I’d be very happy.
We’re still work in progress on ball retention but I’m certain the coaches are working on this to get a better return.
Momentum is with Wales and confidence flows from that. With two weeks before the next game I’m hopeful there will be another step up in performance.
Melon seems to have made a marked improvement in defence; Jenkins needs to hone the kicking skills and Humphrey’s getting the scrum and line out sorted.
All told some small gain in optimism
Very happy with 2 from 2, but more happy that the defence and set piece are coming together. Quite a few likely starters for the England game will be playing for their clubs this week. Fingers crossed they all come back in one piece. I remember a couple of years ago when Finn Russell played for Racing the week before Scotland v France and got injured...
Sandydragon wrote:That is an incredible stat, and for how long did we moan about Wales wasting chances? Our strike rate is very impressive.
If we could ally that to better ball retention so we could capitalise on this and create more chances I’d be very happy.
We’re still work in progress on ball retention but I’m certain the coaches are working on this to get a better return.
Momentum is with Wales and confidence flows from that. With two weeks before the next game I’m hopeful there will be another step up in performance.
Melon seems to have made a marked improvement in defence; Jenkins needs to hone the kicking skills and Humphrey’s getting the scrum and line out sorted.
All told some small gain in optimism
Very happy with 2 from 2, but more happy that the defence and set piece are coming together. Quite a few likely starters for the England game will be playing for their clubs this week. Fingers crossed they all come back in one piece. I remember a couple of years ago when Finn Russell played for Racing the week before Scotland v France and got injured...
Yeah, and fingers crossed for 'not carrying Covid' too.
Taking players out of international bubbles in a pandemic does seem idiotic. I understand the clubs positions entirely but from a pandemic management perspective it’s not a great idea.
Fingers crossed that we get our players back intact and uninfected.
Sandydragon wrote:Taking players out of international bubbles in a pandemic does seem idiotic. I understand the clubs positions entirely but from a pandemic management perspective it’s not a great idea.
Fingers crossed that we get our players back intact and uninfected.
Surely Drakeford could have issued a public health notice banning people from leaving the bubble and that would have kept the squad intact.
Sandydragon wrote:Taking players out of international bubbles in a pandemic does seem idiotic. I understand the clubs positions entirely but from a pandemic management perspective it’s not a great idea.
Fingers crossed that we get our players back intact and uninfected.
Surely Drakeford could have issued a public health notice banning people from leaving the bubble and that would have kept the squad intact.
Who knows. Don’t think that applies for elite sport so we just have to hope and wait, noting that France have had a covid case confirmed (their coach as it happens) so the protection procedures aren’t infallible.
Wyn Jones
Ken Owens
Tomas Francis
Adam Beard
Alun Wyn Jones
Josh Navidi
Justin Tipuric
Taulupe Faletau
Tomos Williams
Callum Sheedy
Leigh Halfpenny
Willis Halaholo
George North
Louis Rees-Zammit
Liam Williams
Rhodri Jones
Elliott Dee
Leon Brown
Will Rowlands
James Botham
Kieran Hardy
Dan Biggar
Johnny Williams
At the moment I'm not sure a fully fit JD2 gets back the 13 shirt, let alone one just coming back from injury.
Re the scrum halves, I'm not too worried which we play, and Webb is certainly welcome to return!
Halaholo grasped his chance better than Johnny Williams has (thus far), so he gets to start for me.
And we need a good kicker on the field, hence Halfpenny (and hence - I can't believe I'm saying it - no Adams).
Numbers wrote:My team for England pending fitnbess would be this:
Wyn Jones
Ken Owens
Tomas Francis
Adam Beard
AWJ
Josh Navidi
Justin Tipuric
Taulupe Faletau
Tomos Williams
Callum Sheedy
George North
Johnny Williams
John Davies
LRZ
Halfpenny
Rhodri Jones
Elliott Dee
Leon Brown
Will Rowlands
James Botham
Gareth Davies
Dan Biggar
Willis Halaholo
I could be persuaded to play Liam Williams instead of Halfpenny but only one of them gets into the squad, don't forget we also lose the long range kicking option without Halfpenny but tbh I can't remember the last time he went for anything beyond halfway.
I’m not that keen for JD2 to start. Before his injury he was hardly pulling up trees and whilst England will be a big test, the Irish centres are very good and North coped well against them.
I’d start with Jonny Williams and North in the centre with Halaholo on early ish in the second half. Adams and LRZ on the wings.
Henshaw had a field day in the match I was watching.
Numbers wrote:My team for England pending fitnbess would be this:
Wyn Jones
Ken Owens
Tomas Francis
Adam Beard
AWJ
Josh Navidi
Justin Tipuric
Taulupe Faletau
Tomos Williams
Callum Sheedy
George North
Johnny Williams
John Davies
LRZ
Halfpenny
Rhodri Jones
Elliott Dee
Leon Brown
Will Rowlands
James Botham
Gareth Davies
Dan Biggar
Willis Halaholo
I could be persuaded to play Liam Williams instead of Halfpenny but only one of them gets into the squad, don't forget we also lose the long range kicking option without Halfpenny but tbh I can't remember the last time he went for anything beyond halfway.
I’m not that keen for JD2 to start. Before his injury he was hardly pulling up trees and whilst England will be a big test, the Irish centres are very good and North coped well against them.
I’d start with Jonny Williams and North in the centre with Halaholo on early ish in the second half. Adams and LRZ on the wings.
Henshaw had a field day in the match I was watching.
He had a good game against France as well, Henshaw is a good player.
If JD2 were fit and at his best then it wouldn’t be a debate, but he isn’t.
Looks like Johnny Williams , Jonathan Davies and Josh Navidi will be fit for the England game. Tomos Williams is out and they are being a bit cagey about George North. Providing that North is fit, I would like to see the following team, which is pretty similar to some of the others already suggested
Wyn Jones
Owens
Francis
Beard
AWJ
Navidi
Tipuric
Faletau
Hardy
Sheedy (please work on his place kicking)
Adams
Johnny Williams
North
Rest-Zammit
Liam Williams
Bench:
Rhodri Jones
Dee (would rather Sam Parry or Ifan Phillips but they aren’t in the squad)
Brown
Rowlands (tempted to give Ball a last charge but Rowlands has done well when he has come on)
Botham
Davies (tough call v Lloyd Williams)
Evans
Halaholo
I’ve gone for pace in the replacement half backs in case Wales are chasing the game. Gareth Davies might get a match winning interception ! Would love to see Evans get a run out if the forwards can get some good ball. Halaholo was class at the weekend, and could easily push for the starting slot at 12.
Wallpaperman wrote:Looks like Johnny Williams , Jonathan Davies and Josh Navidi will be fit for the England game. Tomos Williams is out and they are being a bit cagey about George North. Providing that North is fit, I would like to see the following team, which is pretty similar to some of the others already suggested
Wyn Jones
Owens
Francis
Beard
AWJ
Navidi
Tipuric
Faletau
Hardy
Sheedy (please work on his place kicking)
Adams
Johnny Williams
North
Rest-Zammit
Liam Williams
Bench:
Rhodri Jones
Dee (would rather Sam Parry or Ifan Phillips but they aren’t in the squad)
Brown
Rowlands (tempted to give Ball a last charge but Rowlands has done well when he has come on)
Botham
Davies (tough call v Lloyd Williams)
Evans
Halaholo
I’ve gone for pace in the replacement half backs in case Wales are chasing the game. Gareth Davies might get a match winning interception ! Would love to see Evans get a run out if the forwards can get some good ball. Halaholo was class at the weekend, and could easily push for the starting slot at 12.
I have a feeling Pivac will stick with Owen Watkin purely on his showing at Murrayfield. Otherwise there’s not a lot to disagree with on the starting XV.
Wallpaperman wrote:Looks like Johnny Williams , Jonathan Davies and Josh Navidi will be fit for the England game. Tomos Williams is out and they are being a bit cagey about George North. Providing that North is fit, I would like to see the following team, which is pretty similar to some of the others already suggested
Wyn Jones
Owens
Francis
Beard
AWJ
Navidi
Tipuric
Faletau
Hardy
Sheedy (please work on his place kicking)
Adams
Johnny Williams
North
Rest-Zammit
Liam Williams
Bench:
Rhodri Jones
Dee (would rather Sam Parry or Ifan Phillips but they aren’t in the squad)
Brown
Rowlands (tempted to give Ball a last charge but Rowlands has done well when he has come on)
Botham
Davies (tough call v Lloyd Williams)
Evans
Halaholo
I’ve gone for pace in the replacement half backs in case Wales are chasing the game. Gareth Davies might get a match winning interception ! Would love to see Evans get a run out if the forwards can get some good ball. Halaholo was class at the weekend, and could easily push for the starting slot at 12.
I have a feeling Pivac will stick with Owen Watkin purely on his showing at Murrayfield. Otherwise there’s not a lot to disagree with on the starting XV.
I still think Watkin will turn out be a top class centre. He might get the nod if North isn’t fit
Longer term I think Watkin will be very good for us. At the moment I prefer Jonny Williams and definitely North and with Halaholo performing so well against Scotland, I’m not seeing him in the match day squad unless there is an injury.
Nice to have some strength in depth though as Watkin is still a tidy player.
Sandydragon wrote:Longer term I think Watkin will be very good for us. At the moment I prefer Jonny Williams and definitely North and with Halaholo performing so well against Scotland, I’m not seeing him in the match day squad unless there is an injury.
Nice to have some strength in depth though as Watkin is still a tidy player.
Watkin had a pretty good game against Scotland and his tap tackle at the death ensured victory.
His confidence will be sky high and I believe this will tip selection in his favour.
Isn’t it great we have, at last, some strength in depth in the midfield.
Sandydragon wrote:Longer term I think Watkin will be very good for us. At the moment I prefer Jonny Williams and definitely North and with Halaholo performing so well against Scotland, I’m not seeing him in the match day squad unless there is an injury.
Nice to have some strength in depth though as Watkin is still a tidy player.
Watkin had a pretty good game against Scotland and his tap tackle at the death ensured victory.
His confidence will be sky high and I believe this will tip selection in his favour.
Isn’t it great we have, at last, some strength in depth in the midfield.
You have to give Wayne Pivac the credit for casting the net for some Welsh qualified players. Wales looked in trouble not so long ago with Hadleigh Parkes leaving for Japan, and Scott Williams and Jonathan Davies injured more often than not. Having moved North to 13, and capped J Williams, Tompkins and Halaholo, there is now genuine strength in depth. Watkin is much improved this season, which must at least be in part due to the improved environment at the Ospreys, and it can’t be too long before Kieran Williams is capped, either.
There’s a few pretty decent prospects further down the line, too, eg Ben Thomas, Aneurin Owen and Mason Grady.
normanski wrote:Dillon Lewis is out of the squad because of injury and Will Griff John has been called up in his place by Pivac. More strength in depth.
Am pleased for Willgriff, but he will be third choice I think. At least it shows that he is still in Pivac’s thoughts, and he must be really looking forward to going to Llanelli next season, and working with Ben Franks. Francis played very well against Ireland, and also had a good game against Scotland, especially after the short turnaround. Leon Brown has looked very good as a substitute, shoring up the scrum without too much difficulty and he is an excellent ball carrying option, especially when the game breaks up a bit.
Faletau got man of the match last night, and just as importantly it sounds as though both he and LRZ came through the game unscathed. Fingers crossed for the rest of the lads today.
normanski wrote:Dillon Lewis is out of the squad because of injury and Will Griff John has been called up in his place by Pivac. More strength in depth.
Am pleased for Willgriff, but he will be third choice I think. At least it shows that he is still in Pivac’s thoughts, and he must be really looking forward to going to Llanelli next season, and working with Ben Franks. Francis played very well against Ireland, and also had a good game against Scotland, especially after the short turnaround. Leon Brown has looked very good as a substitute, shoring up the scrum without too much difficulty and he is an excellent ball carrying option, especially when the game breaks up a bit.
Faletau got man of the match last night, and just as importantly it sounds as though both he and LRZ came through the game unscathed. Fingers crossed for the rest of the lads today.
This must be one of the first 6N for a while that we haven’t been racked by serious injury problems by the third round and even when people do go down their replacements are more than adequate to step up to the plate. JD2/North for instance.
It’s interesting that this morning’s WoL are saying Nigel Owens has been working with the team to help them better understand the breakdown rules and improve discipline before the championship began.
He believes Wales will beat England and I hope he’s right! He says the team are really sharp and disciplined in training.
Provided we build on the momentum of our first games then there no reason that we can’t beat England and probably comfortably like we did two years ago. The first half will be a slug fest but I think some of the England pack look overweight and that will work in our favour later in the match.
My forecast 27 - 18 to Wales. I’ve been pretty close on my forecasts for the Ireland and Scotland games and I don’t think I’m sticking my neck out with this forecast.
normanski wrote:Dillon Lewis is out of the squad because of injury and Will Griff John has been called up in his place by Pivac. More strength in depth.
Am pleased for Willgriff, but he will be third choice I think. At least it shows that he is still in Pivac’s thoughts, and he must be really looking forward to going to Llanelli next season, and working with Ben Franks. Francis played very well against Ireland, and also had a good game against Scotland, especially after the short turnaround. Leon Brown has looked very good as a substitute, shoring up the scrum without too much difficulty and he is an excellent ball carrying option, especially when the game breaks up a bit.
Faletau got man of the match last night, and just as importantly it sounds as though both he and LRZ came through the game unscathed. Fingers crossed for the rest of the lads today.
This must be one of the first 6N for a while that we haven’t been racked by serious injury problems by the third round and even when people do go down their replacements are more than adequate to step up to the plate. JD2/North for instance.
It’s interesting that this morning’s WoL are saying Nigel Owens has been working with the team to help them better understand the breakdown rules and improve discipline before the championship began.
He believes Wales will beat England and I hope he’s right! He says the team are really sharp and disciplined in training.
Provided we build on the momentum of our first games then there no reason that we can’t beat England and probably comfortably like we did two years ago. The first half will be a slug fest but I think some of the England pack look overweight and that will work in our favour later in the match.
My forecast 27 - 18 to Wales. I’ve been pretty close on my forecasts for the Ireland and Scotland games and I don’t think I’m sticking my neck out with this forecast.
Good man ! I’ll be watching with my lucky heather. I always fancy Wales to win, even when it is entirely unrealistic
Form says that Wales have a better chance than they have for a while. England have some formidable players though, and Eddie Jones has had his fair share of wins v Wales
