Team for Scotland

[Wallpaperman]

We desperately need to get over the gain line and generate momentum. I agree Rowlands gave us some go forward and should continue next week. I think I’d prefer Ball on the bench who also generates momentum.

We could do with Moriarty and Navidi back, although I think we have unearthed another good blindside today (one of the few positives).

In the back line it all looks so pedestrian. We have some moves off first phase but look confused after that. I don’t mind players making mistakes if they are trying to do something positive but I’m struggling to see much positivity at the moment. We certainly aren’t challenging defences (last weeks try aside) and Scotland looked comfortable today.

I can live with this being a dire Autumn if our game plan evolves and we look like we are building for the future. At the moment I can’t honestly say that I’m seeing much evidence of a game plan.

It’s been first phase ball, too, during the last 2 games. I’d be inclined to swap Wyn Jones and Parry for Carre and Elias, but that would be a lot of change again. I think that Navidi is missed more than anyone, but I was pleased to see Lewis-Hughes go pretty well today. James Davies was a bit unlucky at the breakdown once or twice today but he gets cleared out too easily.

Agreed re gameplan, in the last 2 games the scrum half has taken an age to get the ball out of the rucks. We are giving ourselves no chance at all.

[Buggaluggs]

Well, if our lad wasn't smoking it would help

[MrK]

I know its sacrilege, but if leadership is what AWJ brings, where has that got us the last 5 games and what else is he delivering?

Id pair Ball and Rowlands in the second row.

Id swap out Elias with Parry, he offers more

Id keep SLH and swap out the rest of the back row, no idea whats up with TF but hes been anonymous. Looking at the squad I guess that means Tips and hope that one of Moriaty or Navidi is fit.

LLoyd Willamas is actyually the form 9 so should start.

10 is a bit meh, Id be tempted to give Patchell a start to see where hes at

Centres, again JD2 needs gametime to work back into things but Id swap his inside partner again to Jonny Williams

The Back 3 can stay and hope we have better conditions

My team:
Halfpenny, Williasm, Davies, Williams, Adams, Patchell, L WIlliams, Jones, Parry, Francis, Ball, Rowlands, SLH, Tipuric , MOriaty/Navidi
B: Dee, Carre, Brown (Im assuming Lewis back has gone), Hill, Wainwright I guess, Davies, Sheedy, Holmes

[Sandydragon]

We absolutely need some grunt in the forwards so for me Rowlands starts with Ball on the bench.

We need Moriarty back at 8. Faletau isn’t the player he was and needs to rediscover some form. Cubby is not an international open side. Tipuric when fit. If he isn’t fit for Ireland I’d rather Wainwright. Hopefully Navdi is back soon. I think our debutant did alright yesterday and unless the likes of Moriarty and or Navidi are fit again then I’d keep him there.

Party at hooker until Owens returns is a good call and I’d start with Wyn Jones and Francis.

I am tempted to drop AWJ but he was one of our better players. But I’m not sure he is the right lock to play 80 minutes anymore.

Scrum half is a mess. On his day I prefer Webb.

Patchell at fly half. We know what Biggar can do so with Anscombe injured for a while it’s time for another fly half to have a run at starting.

Watkin should keep his shirt. He was one of our better players and needs a run of game I feel to bring him on. Not sure about JD2 at all. Defensively good for the lost part, but in attack he looked pedestrian. I might keep him for Ireland but long term that needs a rethink.

Back three is alright although Halfpenny doesn’t offer as much in attack at full back as Liam. I’d like to see Zammit with some game time but probably not the Irish game.Insusoect for Ireland the best option is yesterday’s selection.

[Sandydragon]

Because I’m a glutton for punishment, I’ve watched a bit of the game again. Ignoring the lineout which was a mess for both sides the things that stand out are:

Our penalty count. Too many scrum penalties and lots from the breakdown. Why couldn’t we adapt to how the red was playing the game?

Mistakes. Too many individual mistakes which didn’t help

Set piece. Scrum was wobbly and the lineout also had issues later in the game.

Ponderous attack. A forward takes the ball up with support attached. Ball sits there for too long rinse and repeat until dropped. Or we spin it wide and our wingers run out of space. We don’t really penetrate the Scottish defence or cause them tag many problems.

The WOL has been going on about power and the lack of it, but I feel that our organisation was a bit a problem. That issue under Garland where players spend a few minutes realigning for the next attack has returned. We occasionally chipped the defence which was moderately effective but where were the dummy runners or the good running lines? We were very predictable.

Some commentators are wondering if the players are confused, with muscle memory favouring the Gatland tactics that they have grown up with. There may be a point there. But with so many individual mistakes and the general confusion, I get the feeling that the issue is a structural and confidence one rather than a personality one. I’m not sure that changing players is necessarily going to solve all of our issues.

[Scrumhead]

I know its sacrilege, but if leadership is what AWJ brings, where has that got us the last 5 games and what else is he delivering?

Id pair Ball and Rowlands in the second row.

Id swap out Elias with Parry, he offers more

Id keep SLH and swap out the rest of the back row, no idea whats up with TF but hes been anonymous. Looking at the squad I guess that means Tips and hope that one of Moriaty or Navidi is fit.

LLoyd Willamas is actyually the form 9 so should start.

10 is a bit meh, Id be tempted to give Patchell a start to see where hes at

Centres, again JD2 needs gametime to work back into things but Id swap his inside partner again to Jonny Williams

The Back 3 can stay and hope we have better conditions

My team:
Halfpenny, Williasm, Davies, Williams, Adams, Patchell, L WIlliams, Jones, Parry, Francis, Ball, Rowlands, SLH, Tipuric , MOriaty/Navidi
B: Dee, Carre, Brown (Im assuming Lewis back has gone), Hill, Wainwright I guess, Davies, Sheedy, Holmes

I posted this on another forum but it ties in pretty well with this:

“Pivac is in a tricky spot. Gatland was a master at getting the squad to perform at a level that was more than the sun of it’s parts. Understandably, Pivac’s not quite there yet and given the age profile of the squad he inherited and some injuries to key players, he’s had little choice but to mix it up.

For starters, key players have been poor or absent.

AWJ might be Wales’ talisman, but he’s becoming a bit of a liability on the field. I seem to remember him being personally responsible for a number of dumb penalties. These days he’s pretty much there to lead by example, but the example he’s setting is poor and the team seem to be folllowing suit. Wales’ lock options behind him aren’t stellar, but I really do wonder if they wouldn’t be better playing a few games without him? Particularly given they’ll need a successor for the 2023 RWC.

Similarly, Owens is a big loss right now, but he’s 34 in January and is another who’s unlikely to make 2023. This should have been an ideal opportunity for Elias to really lay down a marker to be his heir, but he hasn’t done that. Parry has been included on form. Why not give him a start to see if he can offer more than Elias has?

It’s not just those two either. North has been at best average for quite a long time now and his place is rightly being questioned. Jonathan Davies is not long back from injury, but since returning has been pretty much anonymous. Hopefully he gets back to his best, but at 32, I think there’s a question mark over that too.

I’m not sure Pivac has any choice but to look at alternatives, even if results do suffer in the short term.”

Realistically, who should Pivac pick who he hasn’t? I can’t think of any glaring omissions.

Also, what’s the story with Ellis Jenkins? I thought he was due back but his return seems to have been delayed again? If he’s able to recapture fitness and form, he will surely add to the back row mix.

[Sandydragon]

So arguably, we could go with the following for Ireland:

Wyn Jones
Parry
Francis
AWJ - probably Beard long term
Rowlands
Navidi of fit
Tipuric
Moriarty if fit
Lloyd Williams (if Webb unfit)
Patchell
Liam Williams
Owen Watkin
JD2
Adams
Halfpenny

I’m not convinced that Dublin is the right place for huge experimentation. Longer term then there are a few positions there where we need some younger blood.

[Wallpaperman]

So arguably, we could go with the following for Ireland:

Wyn Jones
Parry
Francis
AWJ - probably Beard long term
Rowlands
Navidi of fit
Tipuric
Moriarty if fit
Lloyd Williams (if Webb unfit)
Patchell
Liam Williams
Owen Watkin
JD2
Adams
Halfpenny

I’m not convinced that Dublin is the right place for huge experimentation. Longer term then there are a few positions there where we need some younger blood.

Looks about right Sandy. I expect he will start Biggar though. If the back row options aren’t fit, I think he’ll stick with Lewis-Hughes, and we are looking at Faletau or Wainwright at 8.

Do you think Leon Brown can do the job at tight head from the bench ?

[Sandydragon]

So arguably, we could go with the following for Ireland:

Wyn Jones
Parry
Francis
AWJ - probably Beard long term
Rowlands
Navidi of fit
Tipuric
Moriarty if fit
Lloyd Williams (if Webb unfit)
Patchell
Liam Williams
Owen Watkin
JD2
Adams
Halfpenny

I’m not convinced that Dublin is the right place for huge experimentation. Longer term then there are a few positions there where we need some younger blood.

Looks about right Sandy. I expect he will start Biggar though. If the back row options aren’t fit, I think he’ll stick with Lewis-Hughes, and we are looking at Faletau or Wainwright at 8.

Do you think Leon Brown can do the job at tight head from the bench ?

Brown is a tidy player with ball in hand, but his scrummaging needs work.

[Spiffy]

So arguably, we could go with the following for Ireland:

Wyn Jones
Parry
Francis
AWJ - probably Beard long term
Rowlands
Navidi of fit
Tipuric
Moriarty if fit
Lloyd Williams (if Webb unfit)
Patchell
Liam Williams
Owen Watkin
JD2
Adams
Halfpenny

I’m not convinced that Dublin is the right place for huge experimentation. Longer term then there are a few positions there where we need some younger blood.

Looks about right Sandy. I expect he will start Biggar though. If the back row options aren’t fit, I think he’ll stick with Lewis-Hughes, and we are looking at Faletau or Wainwright at 8.

Do you think Leon Brown can do the job at tight head from the bench ?

One back rower who seems to have faded from the scene is open side Thomas Young of Wasps. He is consistently one of the best 7s playing in the English PL, has a great engine, is fast, tough and rugby smart. I think he picked up a few Wales caps about three seasons ago but has been out of contention ever since. Worth a second look?

[Son of Mathonwy]

So arguably, we could go with the following for Ireland:

Wyn Jones
Parry
Francis
AWJ - probably Beard long term
Rowlands
Navidi of fit
Tipuric
Moriarty if fit
Lloyd Williams (if Webb unfit)
Patchell
Liam Williams
Owen Watkin
JD2
Adams
Halfpenny

I’m not convinced that Dublin is the right place for huge experimentation. Longer term then there are a few positions there where we need some younger blood.

Looks about right Sandy. I expect he will start Biggar though. If the back row options aren’t fit, I think he’ll stick with Lewis-Hughes, and we are looking at Faletau or Wainwright at 8.

Do you think Leon Brown can do the job at tight head from the bench ?

One back rower who seems to have faded from the scene is open side Thomas Young of Wasps. He is consistently one of the best 7s playing in the English PL, has a great engine, is fast, tough and rugby smart. I think he picked up a few Wales caps about three seasons ago but has been out of contention ever since. Worth a second look?

Wales ought to be looking at Ollie Griffiths, he had a great game this weekend.

[Sandydragon]

Ollie Griffiths is superb and should have had a bagful of caps by now if not for injury. If he can keep fit over the next few months then he must be looked at in the six nations.

I like Thomas Young but he seems to have fallen into a selection non-availability black hole.

[Numbers]

[/quote]One back rower who seems to have faded from the scene is open side Thomas Young of Wasps. He is consistently one of the best 7s playing in the English PL, has a great engine, is fast, tough and rugby smart. I think he picked up a few Wales caps about three seasons ago but has been out of contention ever since. Worth a second look?[/quote]

I think Thomas Young of all the 7s should suit Pivac's style, he plays like James Davies but in a much more physical way.