[2018 November Tests] Wales vs Australia (10/11/18)

[ncurd]

snip

Just to say I'm not ignoring you but the thread is about Wales V Aus not the Lions tour so don't want to derail it any more it stemmed naturally but we are way off topic now.

 

[Umaga's Witness]

Just to say I'm not ignoring you but the thread is about Wales V Aus not the Lions tour so don't want to derail it any more it stemmed naturally but we are way off topic now.

Fair.

 

[Umaga's Witness]

I am looking forward to Beale being back at 12 and hope he gets his mojo back. Kerevi is a beast but has some serious flaws ( might have ironed some out to some extent and I'm happy to be proven wrong). The makeup of the team is perfect for kerevi though with playmakers at 10 and 12, as well as a smart playmaker and support runner in Haylett petty at fullback, a lack of ball runners in the forwards makes kerevis role simple and well suited to him - run hard! It will be interesting to see Davies, a smart defender not having to be too smart , just having to tackle a beast

 

[MikeTheNative]

Davies is a very good defender at 13 but it also helps that he is a big lump himself. Wikipedia (not the most accurate) has them at the same height and only a kilo difference in weight. However with the awful tackling of Parkes in the Scotland game I imagine they will target 12 and 10 as Ansocmbe isn't renowned for his defence either.

 

[MikeTheNative]

Wales need to be a lot more than just comfortable in defence which is the best way to describe the Scotland game (and that wasn't that comfortable at times). Give Aus too much ball and they will score tries eventually, Wales need to put pressure on them with the ball in hand and get through multiple phases where they offer a threat with the ball in hand.

 

[bushytop]

Hopefully Parkes will return to his normal operating procedure tomorrow, though his missed tackle(s) could well have stemmed from him sticking closer to Anscombe to cover him due to a perceived weakness in his defence and he is obviously outside the NZer once more. Still the more time you play with someone the greater your understanding so last Saturday should help.

It should be a great contest as both sides should be massively motivated. Oz will feel that Wales are the perfect opponents for them to get back moving in the right direction and Wales have done all that could have been expected of them over the last 6 matches but this should be the test to either validate or refute their current ranking. High pressure on both teams also but you would have to assume that out of both teams the mood in the Welsh camp would be the more positive.

 

[Derpus]

We had a chance because
a) SBW was a total dolt and got red carded 65mins with a 1 man advantage should yield a larger than 3 point victory no matter the opposition. If Barrett was a decent kicker the Lions would of lost that match.

b) By all accounts Sexton and Farrell 'took over' the entire attacking regime of the team.

Then there's what SOB had to say
https://www.independent.co.uk/sport...b-howley-new-zealand-all-blacks-a7958811.html

Look a combined team of Ireland, England & Wales should be able to compete with the AB's regardless of coaching. There's too much talent in those respective pools to not to. A better question is why was the lineout & scrum creaking when it really shouldn't? Why was the attacking coach overruled by players? Why did the best fly-half in the world (currently playing) not play in the first test?


I'm not pretending the coaching team had it easy Clive Woodward showed how badly you can screw it up. Still I personally saw an ABs team who could be beaten on that tour (other losses in this RWC cycle have shown they are not the team they were in the last and this was not a flash in the pan) and the Lions won't get that chance for another 12 years.

The sad reality is this; the sum total of all the talent in Great Britan & Ireland is still lesser than what's available in New Zealand. That is why international rugby is struggling at the moment. Because the next World Cup is almost certainly going back to NZ. Any other sport with a genuine international game doesn't have this problem (e.g. Cricket, Football, etc.)

 

[Derpus]

With Wales holding a decent position in the world rankings; it should be just a formality beating Australia, Fiji and South Africa on our home turf !! Anything falling short of this will rule us out of contention in the World Cup.

England are going through a bad patch at the moment, nevertheless, I expect them to run New Zealand very close today.

What a load of ********. Any match involving two teams from the top 10 is never a formality.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

The sad reality is this; the sum total of all the talent in Great Britan & Ireland is still lesser than what's available in New Zealand. That is why international rugby is struggling at the moment. Because the next World Cup is almost certainly going back to NZ. Any other sport with a genuine international game doesn't have this problem (e.g. Cricket, Football, etc.)

I disagree, Ireland, England and Wales have a 23 between them better than NZ. Nothing to brag about but those three countries have better front rows, back rows and centres between them and are even enough in the back three and half backs. Second row is where NZ is better than the rest of the world nut even then Ireland and England on their own have pairings that aren't too far behind. That Lions tour was essentially the 2nd, 3rd and 4th best teams in the world (current rankings) against the best, it should have been won.

 

[ncurd]

What a load of ********. Any match involving two teams from the top 10 is never a formality.

Top 9 really....verging on top 8 with recent Argentina form. I can't remember a time the 10th ranked team was a real threat to the top 4-7.

 

[Derpus]

I disagree, Ireland, England and Wales have a 23 between them better than NZ. Nothing to brag about but those three countries have better front rows, back rows and centres between them and are even enough in the back three and half backs. Second row is where NZ is better than the rest of the world nut even then Ireland and England on their own have pairings that aren't too far behind. That Lions tour was essentially the 2nd, 3rd and 4th best teams in the world (current rankings) against the best, it should have been won.

And yet it took a SBW league throwback for them to win even one game, by 3 points.

Sorry, just don't buy it.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

And yet it took a SBW league throwback for them to win even one game, by 3 points.

Sorry, just don't buy it.

This started with a discussion about Gatland ******* the tour up... Just take a look at the players.

 

[Derpus]

Top 9 really....verging on top 8 with recent Argentina form. I can't remember a time the 10th ranked team was a real threat to the top 4-7.

Perhaps, his comment was still ridiculous.

 

[Derpus]

This started with a discussion about Gatland ******* the tour up... Just take a look at the players.

Getting a bit off topic anyways.

 

[Umaga's Witness]

Davies is a very good defender at 13 but it also helps that he is a big lump himself. Wikipedia (not the most accurate) has them at the same height and only a kilo difference in weight. However with the awful tackling of Parkes in the Scotland game I imagine they will target 12 and 10 as Ansocmbe isn't renowned for his defence either.

I see, so while nullifying kerevi will be important to wales Davies may not have too much say in that anyhow. I'll be watching the wales forwards with interest to see how they support the 10 12 axis on defence.

Hmmm so Davies may not get the chance to tackle kerevi but I'd be interested to see how he went if he does , not because I think he can't handle a big man, just because I think he's a great defender so want to see how great by seeing how good he is at tackling and stopping the progress of one of the best go forward midfielders in the world.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

As alluded to above, Kerevi seemed to have effectively been previously dropped for appalling defensive play for Australia, but he can be little short of amazing going forward. He is definitely the player to focus on in this match.

 

[Derpus]

Hes been thrown under the bus by our terrible defensive system more than once.

 

[Bean]

I won't be up when this game is played, so I'll do this now.

Congrats Wales. Well played.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Congrats Wales. Well played.

Sarcasm is the highest form wit

 

[bushytop]

Sarcasm is the highest form wit

The quote actually goes that 'Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit... but the highest form of intelligence.' but I'd imagine that Bean's comment was more a jab at Aussies, what with him being a Kiwi.