Team for Canada

[Graigwen]

Wales: Leigh Halfpenny (Scarlets); Jonah Holmes (Dragons), Willis Halaholo (Cardiff Rugby), Jonathan Davies (Scarlets), Tom Rogers (Scarlets); Callum Sheedy (Bristol Bears), Tomos Williams (Cardiff Rugby); Nicky Smith (Ospreys), Elliot Dee (Dragons), Dillon Lewis (Cardiff Rugby), Ben Carter (Dragons), Will Rowlands (Dragons), Ross Moriarty (Dragons), James Botham (Cardiff Rugby), Aaron Wainwright (Dragons).

Replacements: Ryan Elias (Scarlets), Gareth Thomas (Ospreys), Leon Brown (Dragons), Josh Turnbull (Cardiff Rugby), Taine Basham (Dragons), Kieran Hardy (Scarlets), Ben Thomas (Cardiff Rugby), Nick Tompkins (Saracens).

[Puja]

Feels like a bit of a cruel team to play against Canada. Could be a cricket score, even with your Lions gone.

Puja

[Graigwen]

It is a game we need, with just about the right team. Canada will not be a pushover. We need to blood some new players and develop strength in depth. We can't start all the new players at once. I would guess some interesting decisions will have to be made for the following two matches, it is not just about winning. There are still a fair few potential Wales players outside the squad, it will be difficult to fit in all of them. (How many back rowers?).

As an ex-tight head I am looking forward to the next episode of the Dillon Lewis:Leon Brown contest. (My money is on Brown.)

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[Son of Mathonwy]

Given that this is the warm up for the Argentina matches, we can't throw every up and coming player into a barbarians-style match. It would be a little different if this was a tour of North America.

I'm wondering what Tom Rogers and Ben Thomas have done to put them this far up the queue, but hopefully we'll see.

Looking forward to it. I'll take a cricket score, please.

[Puja]

It is a game we need, with just about the right team. Canada will not be a pushover.

Canada will absolutely be a pushover. They're not a good side right now.

Fair points on it being the warmup for the next matches though - hadn't thought about it in that context.

Puja

[Graigwen]

I'm wondering what Tom Rogers and Ben Thomas have done to put them this far up the queue, but hopefully we'll see.

Looking forward to it. I'll take a cricket score, please.

I think Ben Thomas has real potential. He plays attractively and I am happy he has been thrown in. Of course the phrase "playmaking 12" has been used about him, which I find worrying!

It is very soon for Tom Rogers I agree. Selection seems to be based on just a couple of games watched by the right people. We will know a bit more after this game; at the moment I don't have an opinion.

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[Son of Mathonwy]

Is this going to be live on BBC1 Wales? I'm getting conflicting info on the internet....

[Graigwen]

Is this going to be live on BBC1 Wales? I'm getting conflicting info on the internet....

BBC2 Wales I have seen, but I would not stake my life on it. (I'll be watching online.)

[Sandydragon]

Bit of a training run to be fair. Wales 19-5 up and chucking the ball about like the barbarians at times.

[Buggaluggs]

And Halfpenny off with what seems like an ACL injury. He's had some bad luck over the past couple years. Not sure how many more years he has left.

[Sandydragon]

And Halfpenny off with what seems like an ACL injury. He's had some bad luck over the past couple years. Not sure how many more years he has left.

Turned on too late to see what happened, but yes, it’s not great for him.

As for the game it’s almost totally one way traffic. The only thing stopping Wales getting to 80 points is if they switch off.

[Graigwen]

It is a game we need, with just about the right team. Canada will not be a pushover.

Canada will absolutely be a pushover. They're not a good side right now.



Puja

40-5 at half time. maybe you were right!

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[Spiffy]

Canada has not played a game for two years. This not even their first XV. They will run out of puff and be humped off the park. They will make some fairly average Welsh players look very good.

[Buggaluggs]

I suppose they bring in a little money, but pretty pointless game. Neither Canada nor Wales will really learn anything from this and if Halfpenny is out for a year - then that's probably his career.

[Sandydragon]

Well we won comfortably but it feels like we lost concentration in the second half. That should have been 100 points, Canada were that poor. We had a lot of players missing but so too did the Canucks.

Pretty much every Welsh player looked good but they should have looked good against that opposition. It was like a training ground run out. Of the new starters, Ben Carter looked good and deserves an opportunity against better opposition. Tom Rogers had some lovely touches but made a few mistakes. Those introduced in the second half are a bit hard to rate as Canada were blowing, although they came back into the game in the last quarter which was a bit concerning.

Next weeks game will be interesting and at least we have a warm up for that.

And if that is Halfpennys last game it will be a sad way to go out.

[Graigwen]

Elliot Dee looked a lot better at throwing in than Ryan Elias.

Ben Carter was good, but also Will Rowland was a bit more incisive than usual.

Janes Botham looked very useful, as did Ben Thomas when he came on. I am still not sure about Tom Rogers.

We needed a fairly easy game, but perhaps this was too easy.

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[Sourdust]

...although they came back into the game in the last quarter which was a bit concerning.

I'm not too worried about that. It must be hard for players convice themselves to give it all in the final quarter, when they're already 50 points up; especially considering what they'd seen happen to ½p.

Canada were shocking, and it's hard to evalute Welsh performances, but it needs to be done so with caveats attached: I thought the new guys all justified their places, particularly Carter, Rogers and Basham. Thomas didn't get to do much but he did nothing wrong. He might prove an option at 10, but he's looked SO promising int the "2nd 5" role at Cardiff that I hope Wales at least try that out.

A lot of that was a showcase for the pretty stuff that you never get to use at proper test level. But you still need to have those skills, even if they're simply informing the graft you need to put in against the big boys. So I can't really complain at Wales chucking it about when the situation pretty much demanded it. Even I could do without Tomos trying the same out-the-back trick twice in the same move, however...

[Zhivago]

Well we won comfortably but it feels like we lost concentration in the second half. That should have been 100 points, Canada were that poor. We had a lot of players missing but so too did the Canucks.

Agreed. Need to be more ruthless and unrelenting.

[Numbers]

Given that this is the warm up for the Argentina matches, we can't throw every up and coming player into a barbarians-style match. It would be a little different if this was a tour of North America.

I'm wondering what Tom Rogers and Ben Thomas have done to put them this far up the queue, but hopefully we'll see.

Looking forward to it. I'll take a cricket score, please.

If you've seen any of his performances this season that should have shown you enough, he is a class act. Rogers hasn't featured for the Scarlets much at all so I agree regarding that.

[Numbers]

...although they came back into the game in the last quarter which was a bit concerning.

I'm not too worried about that. It must be hard for players convice themselves to give it all in the final quarter, when they're already 50 points up; especially considering what they'd seen happen to ½p.

Canada were shocking, and it's hard to evalute Welsh performances, but it needs to be done so with caveats attached: I thought the new guys all justified their places, particularly Carter, Rogers and Basham. Thomas didn't get to do much but he did nothing wrong. He might prove an option at 10, but he's looked SO promising int the "2nd 5" role at Cardiff that I hope Wales at least try that out.

A lot of that was a showcase for the pretty stuff that you never get to use at proper test level. But you still need to have those skills, even if they're simply informing the graft you need to put in against the big boys. So I can't really complain at Wales chucking it about when the situation pretty much demanded it. Even I could do without Tomos trying the same out-the-back trick twice in the same move, however...

Agreed, lateral 7's type nonsense.