[2014 EOYT] Wales

[Draggs]

Yeah I think that would be the best move, although we are doing OK at backrow (Evans is a good lad at blindside, and Cudd is one of our best signings!). Lydiate and Charteris would provide a huge boost in the pack, our second rows are weak/small/old (none of Gough, Hill, Screech, Coombs has worked, and I'll give Landmann a shot). Joe Davies was decent for U20, so maybe in a year or two we could see him step up.

Onto Wales, we are thin out wide at the moment. Cuthbert is awful for Blues, and neither him nor North looked very good for Wales recently (Cuthbert went well 2nd test v SA TBH). Prydie is mystifying, Gatland rates him highly, but even at NGD he is nothing more than a body on the field (and a leg during his first season). Anybody calling for Walker hasn't seen his season so far; very patchy, as he has been overall since his most recent injury (same with Dirksen). I'd go on record and say the best wing playing in Wales is Jeff Hassler! Amos is my boy now, really turning into a nice player that can back himself.

Yep, George slipped the mind. Also Charteris does a job for Wales and SRs are badly needed in the clubs. Bring back Bradley too (send him to Cardiff).
Gill isn't worth chasing on a DC, we have Nicky Smith and Rob Evans ATM. Owen Williams is already a more reliable player than Priestland/Shingler, he'd walk into the Scarlets at 10 or 12. Halfpenny returning to Cardiff would make sense, Ospreys could also be an option, but Daniel Evans is better than any of the Blues FBs right now.

 

[psychic duck]

I'd add North to your list and whichever of Jonathan Davies/Bradley Davies that you missed, and take away Charteris and Owen Williams

Charteris is 31, won't be out of contract for a while, isn't a star and probably won't make 2019. Owen Williams is still only potential. I'd wait for him to prove himself a bit more before getting a dual.

As an outside bet, given that Wales are going to have to replace Jenkins and James after the WC, could Gill come back on a dual contract?

Nope. Evans and Smith have that covered, it's #3 that there's a problem.

 

[Draggs]

Nope. Evans and Smith have that covered, it's #3 that there's a problem.

Craig Mitchell -> Newport. Cardiff can have jolly japes with Adam and Bubba. Nicky Thomas at Os, Samson Lee at Turks. Rhodri at Roger RFC (not anymore!)

 

[ratsapprentice]

The Dragons or Newport RFC?

 

[TRF_Cymro]

Craig Mitchell -> Newport. Cardiff can have jolly japes with Adam and Bubba. Nicky Thomas at Os, Samson Lee at Turks. Rhodri at Roger RFC (not anymore!)

How about he stays fit first ...

 

[Big Ewis]

I understand this is hardly the place for this, but I found this just now




I didn't know Adam Jones was a Wales international when he was a toddler.

 

[Mikel92]

Not sure how Welsh posters feel about this one, but Former Ireland and British & Irish Lions hooker Shane Byrnes has had some comments on Gatland...

""Warren Gatland will always go down as one of the greatest coaches and, particularly for Wales," Byrne told the BBC in an interview that was repeated widely throughout Britain and Ireland's rugby media.

"He's done fantastic things but sometimes that's still not enough. Sometimes it needs change, freshening up, new ideas, a new way of approaching things and a new spirit in the squad.

"Warren used to demand the players work constantly off the ball. The one thing you always had was the wings coming in off the flanks, but now it seems you have them waiting out there for the ball to get to them."

Byrne paralleled Wales' situation to Ireland's big call to remove Eddie O'Sullivan. Now Schmidt had given the men in green a new lease of life.

"Rugby unfortunately, whether right or wrong, does need change and Eddie O'Sullivan is a great example of that over here [Ireland]," Byrne said.

"He probably started this golden era of Irish rugby and got things going, but unfortunately his time ran out.

"It didn't make him a bad coach, but his time ran out."

Link: http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/...atlands-wales-coaching-future-questioned.html
Interesting article. Also talks about frustration from the Welsh Rugby Union, writing complaint letters to the BBC about interviews conducted before and after the test against the All Blacks. Trying to get the coaches to make a headline-comment about the haka.

 

[j'nuh]

That comes across as the politest way of saying Gatland's ****.

 

[Draggs]

The Welsh Rugby Union have made a complaint against the BBC after a reporter questioned Warren Gatland over his results v SANZAR nations.
Gatland is one win in 27 for Wales, and 0 out of 8 for Ireland.

Telegraph

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

The Welsh Rugby Union have made a complaint against the BBC after a reporter questioned Warren Gatland over his results v SANZAR nations.
Gatland is one win in 27 for Wales, and 0 out of 8 for Ireland.

Telegraph

Whilst it's a bit ridiculous to lodge a complaint, I can understand the Welsh set-up getting brassed off at being asked the same question after every match Surely there's a more proactive way around this.

 

[Draggs]

Whilst it's a bit ridiculous to lodge a complaint, I can understand the Welsh set-up getting brassed off at being asked the same question after every match Surely there's a more proactive way around this.

But not normally from the BBC. The BBC, specifically BBC Wales, has certainly gone easy on the WRU especially during the so called civil war.
We usually get the "take the positives, making progress, building for the future" lines and that's it.

 

[The Jones Boy]

Gatland has to go, he has taken Wales as far as he can take them.
He's a good coach but the player base needs a shake up

 

[MojoPin]

Whilst it's a bit ridiculous to lodge a complaint, I can understand the Welsh set-up getting brassed off at being asked the same question after every match Surely there's a more proactive way around this.

Interestingly, Gatland has come out today categorically stating that no complaint was made to the BBC, so seems this story was unfounded.

Either way, I still think the biggest problem with Welsh rugby lies with the regions than with Gatland's coaching. The four regional teams are just operating at such a low level these days, with the possible exception of the Ospreys. Gatland to his credit has done a lot of work to improve the regional game by becoming involved in the disgraceful argument between the WRU and Regional Rugby Wales (or whatever they're now called...). hopefully with the new contract wrapped up we'll start to see improvements to the regional game in 2015, hopefully culminating in a stronger performance in the Six Nations.

 

[DuncTheDoodle]

I wish we could fire Gatland and bring in Gatland as the new coach. We need a new voice in charge to get over the players stagnating (Our best periods in recent history have been 2008, immediatly after he took over and 2011/12 after a huge influx of new faces into the team), but losing Gatland is not the answer.

 

[welshglory]

Change up in the backroom staff would probably help.

I struggle to see what Howley actually brings to the team.
McBryde, Edwards and Jenkins should be reviewed as well.

 

[Jbobo]

Change up in the backroom staff would probably help.

I struggle to see what Howley actually brings to the team.
McBryde, Edwards and Jenkins should be reviewed as well.

I agree. I made this point in the NZ thread, do you not think we need to bring in someone new to concentrate and improve our attack?

I fail to understand what a 'skills' coach is. Another name for attacking coach? I don't see that much skill on show except for a select few.

 

[welshglory]

I feel they should have gotten rid of Howley back in 2010

 

[Tony Manx]

I fail to understand what a 'skills' coach is. Another name for attacking coach? I don't see that much skill on show except for a select few.

I was rounded on in an another thread for calling Catt the England's backs coach and told unceremoniously that he was the Skills Coach........whatever that is!!!

 

[goodNumber10]

I was rounded on in an another thread for calling Catt the England's backs coach and told unceremoniously that he was the Skills Coach........whatever that is!!!

Attack Coach - someone who coaches and delivers the overall team attack structure/ethos/pattern of play.

Attack Skills Coach - he focuses on the micro skills needed to deliver that attack structure: so if decision making is poor he will work on decision making under pressure, attack minded kicking, close quarter passing skills and offloads, counter attack formations/set plays etc...

It's all a bit of a blurred line now, but in the context of Wales, as i understand it, Howley is responsible for delivering their Touch To Touch attack pattern, and for coaching the backs.

 

[welshglory]

It seems that pretty much no team these days have a specialised attack coach. They just call them attack skills coach or even just skills coach.
I really don't think theres too much of a difference.

- - - Updated - - -

Who else would be shaping the attack with the Wales team?

Gatland? nope he's always used other coaches to take care of that like McGeechan with Wasps etc...

To be honest its just a name, and some people really get to technical with them. A lot of the coaching team will overlap.
At the international level as well they won't really do a lot of coaching, just going through patterns, pressure etc...

So yeah Howley is in charge of attack basically.