[November Tests 2016 EOYT] Wales vs. Australia (05/11/2016)

[AzaMatt]

He started captain in the 2016 6 nations game against Italy. I think it's going to go to Jenkins.

i remember him being captain but couldnt see him listed on the WRU website as starting captain. must have overlooked him! my bad

 

[dullonien]

webb would be a good choice IMO if we are selecting a new captain, has done it for the ospreys numerous times in the absence of AWJ.

Webb would be my choice as well. Definite starter, nice and close to the ref at all times, and he's performed well for the Ospreys when he's been captain. Tipuric could be another option, another who's captained Ospreys on numerous occasions.

 

[spartan32]

Can't see Wales winning this I'm afraid. Some big injury loses in Falateu and Warburton and I just don't think they've got enough about them to outwit the Aussies. We may have white washed them, but they ran us pretty close each time and we were on a run of top form, the same cannot be said for Wales, and with Gatland distracted by the glory of the lions I would suggest the omens don't look good.

 

[AzaMatt]

Webb would be my choice as well. Definite starter, nice and close to the ref at all times, and he's performed well for the Ospreys when he's been captain. Tipuric could be another option, another who's captained Ospreys on numerous occasions.

i doubt they'll give it to tips, he has a hard enough job to get selected to start, yet alone be captain haha

 

[Thingimubob]

Not overly positive about this one tbf. Did think we might have had a chance with a full squad but even then would've expected the standard one score loss that we always have against the Aussies Losing 3 key leaders in the pack is probably going to be massive, especially considering the sheer amount of grunt work the three get through...

The positive is we'll get to see a bit of a different Wales side, so will be interesting to see how it will play as there's a number of talented young guys to step in. Hoping to see Lydiate, Tips and Moriarty in the back row, as it could be a very attack minded link between the forwards and backs with a strong running threat.

Back 3 will be interesting depending on if Liam Williams is fit with it looking likely for Halfpenny to moved back out on the wing. If Williams is ruled out then I wouldn't be shocked to see Howley revert to type and chuck Cuthbert on the wing I'll hold out hope for North, Amos and Halfpenny if its bad news for Liam!

On a side note, really excited at the prospect of Sam Davies making his debut! On form I'd have him ahead of Anscombe in the squad so would love to see what he could do coming off the bench for the last 20 - 30 mins.

 

[valley commando]

i dont think lydiate has started a match as captain, might have been passed to him mid game though. according to the WRU website the last captain apart from warbs and AWJ was bradley davies. so its possible he will get it as jenkins might be a little occupied with the scrum. i wouldnt mind either of them to be honest. would be nice to see a new captain though. webb would be a good choice IMO if we are selecting a new captain, has done it for the ospreys numerous times in the absence of AWJ.

Webbs a good shout that's who I'd go for as well mind you I can't see us winning now AJW is out, (RIP Tim) even with him it would have been tough. With Howler at the helm and particularly with him as 'attack coach' we have become far to predictable from set play when in attack, every team we play against knows what to expect, if however he had the balls to play Giles and Sam Davies (which he hasn'nt and won't) we wouldn't be quite so predictable and may have had a sniff.

 

[dullonien]

Webbs a good shout that's who I'd go for as well mind you I can't see us winning now AJW is out, (RIP Tim) even with him it would have been tough. With Howler at the helm and particularly with him as 'attack coach' we have become far to predictable from set play when in attack, every team we play against knows what to expect, if however he had the balls to play Giles and Sam Davies (which he hasn'nt and won't) we wouldn't be quite so predictable and may have had a sniff.

If it genuinely is Howley at fault for our lackluster attack, then it can only benefit us that Howley is no longer acting attack coach, with Matt Sherrat now taking on that role.

To be fair to Howley, the most complete performance I can remember, the 30-3 victory over England, came with him at the helm. Granted injuries forced his hand when it came to selecting Tipuric & Warburton in the same starting lineup, and England weren't at their best; but it may point towards him being a better head coach than attack coach.

Anyway, I agree that it doesn't look likely that he'll select Sam Davies to start, but there seems to be whispers that he'll make the bench. I think you might be in the minority when it comes to Giles, with the majority of people I've discussed it with of the opinion that rushing him straight in against Australia would have been too big a gamble, and one which could have backfired in worst case.

Losing AWJ is a huge loss, but we have got some decent back-up in Charteris and Bradley Davies. I don't consider Warburton a massive loss personally, Tipuric should be starting regardless and Warbs can't stay fit for long enough. Faletau is obviously a massive loss too, but I really think Moriarty will soften the blow. Different type of player, but he'll compliment Tipuric really well. The balance with Lydiate alongside those two is actually very good, with the 3's strengths and weaknesses complimenting each other very well.

So, still feeling confident I think.

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

If it genuinely is Howley at fault for our lackluster attack, then it can only benefit us that Howley is no longer acting attack coach, with Matt Sherrat now taking on that role.

To be fair to Howley, the most complete performance I can remember, the 30-3 victory over England, came with him at the helm. Granted injuries forced his hand when it came to selecting Tipuric & Warburton in the same starting lineup, and England weren't at their best; but it may point towards him being a better head coach than attack coach.

Forgot to mention one of the most 1 sided refereeing performances in international rugby

 

[Duck a l'Orange]

Forgot to mention one of the most 1 sided refereeing performances in international rugby

I'm always surprised there were no poisoning claims after that England performance as well to be fair.

It was absolutely dire- not to take anything from the Wales side which took full advantage.

 

[InsaneAsylum]

I like Folau at 13 but Kepu's been one of your best players, so I don't want to see him dropped. Unless he's injured that is, in which case Folau to 13 is a great idea.

Do you mean Samu Kerevi? If so, he was unfortunately injured against NZ and had surgery, so he's out for the whole tour.

13 will be a forced change. Cheika will either play it safe and reinstate Tevita Kuridrani, or shift Folau to 13.

 

[Pieter Steph du Teague]

Do you mean Samu Kerevi? If so, he was unfortunately injured against NZ and had surgery, so he's out for the whole tour.

13 will be a forced change. Cheika will either play it safe and reinstate Tevita Kuridrani, or shift Folau to 13.

Yes I did mean Kerevi, my bad. I'm hoping that Kuridrani being dropped entirely vs NZ means that Cheika will be more hesitant to reinstate him to the 13 shirt, and we'll finally see Folau there, but it may be wishful thinking.

 

[AzaMatt]

Webbs a good shout that's who I'd go for as well mind you I can't see us winning now AJW is out, (RIP Tim) even with him it would have been tough. With Howler at the helm and particularly with him as 'attack coach' we have become far to predictable from set play when in attack, every team we play against knows what to expect, if however he had the balls to play Giles and Sam Davies (which he hasn'nt and won't) we wouldn't be quite so predictable and may have had a sniff.

i rewatched the highlights of the summer tour of NZ yesterday and to be fair we were alot better in attack (for 2 tests at least) than we have been in recent games. forwards handling the ball really well. so seems to be developing, hopefully in these next few games we'll develop even more, new attack coach should make us even better

 

[JJFlash]

C'mon Wales!! I'll be supporting them down here. I believe they've a good chance to win!

 

[MojoPin]

Wales matchday squad:

15. Leigh Halfpenny (Toulon) (62 Caps), 14. Alex Cuthbert (Cardiff Blues) (42 Caps), 13. Jonathan Davies (Scarlets) (56 Caps), 12. Jamie Roberts (Harlequins) (83 Caps), 11. George North (Northampton Saints) (62 Caps), 10. Dan Biggar (Ospreys) (48 Caps), 9. Rhys Webb (Ospreys) (22 Caps), 1. Gethin Jenkins (Cardiff Blues) (126 Caps) (CAPTAIN), 2. Ken Owens (Scarlets) (42 Caps), 3. Samson Lee (Scarlets) (26 Caps), 4. Bradley Davies (Ospreys) (56 Caps), 5. Luke Charteris (Bath Rugby) (68 Caps), 6. Dan Lydiate (Ospreys) (57 Caps), 7. Justin Tipuric (Ospreys) (43 Caps), 8. Ross Moriarty (Gloucester) (9 Caps)

Great to see Sam Davies on the bench, but Cuthbert - really? Scores one try for the Blues and he's back in the squad. Good grief. I'm not a huge fan of Amos but really struggle to see how Cuthbert can be rated ahead of him.

 

[AzaMatt]

Wales matchday squad:

15. Leigh Halfpenny (Toulon) (62 Caps), 14. Alex Cuthbert (Cardiff Blues) (42 Caps), 13. Jonathan Davies (Scarlets) (56 Caps), 12. Jamie Roberts (Harlequins) (83 Caps), 11. George North (Northampton Saints) (62 Caps), 10. Dan Biggar (Ospreys) (48 Caps), 9. Rhys Webb (Ospreys) (22 Caps), 1. Gethin Jenkins (Cardiff Blues) (126 Caps) (CAPTAIN), 2. Ken Owens (Scarlets) (42 Caps), 3. Samson Lee (Scarlets) (26 Caps), 4. Bradley Davies (Ospreys) (56 Caps), 5. Luke Charteris (Bath Rugby) (68 Caps), 6. Dan Lydiate (Ospreys) (57 Caps), 7. Justin Tipuric (Ospreys) (43 Caps), 8. Ross Moriarty (Gloucester) (9 Caps)

Great to see Sam Davies on the bench, but Cuthbert - really? Scores one try for the Blues and he's back in the squad. Good grief. I'm not a huge fan of Amos but really struggle to see how Cuthbert can be rated ahead of him.

you beat me to it! strong side however i agree with the cuthbert comment. very harsh on Amos. hopefully Cuthbert will come out all guns blazing (although we've been hoping for this for years). the last decent performance he had for wales was the tour of SA 2 years ago, was completely shown up in the RWC. needs to come looking for work (ala young keelan Giles performances for ospreys). if cuthbert can pop up anywhere he will trouble most defences

 

[Hendo74]

I'm happy with that. Guess it's a solid, if unspectacular, selection, but that's hardly a surprise given the injuries. Rankings are the chief concern so results, rather than innovation, are what matters most in these AIs. Great to see the new caps on the bench but wouldn't have been fair to chuck them in against an Aussie side desperate to turn a corner after recent issues.

The back row looks great to me, very attack-minded. Really hope it comes good for Cuthbert after all this time - they need to give him the ball instead of making him defend (not something he excels at....). Finally, how good is it to see 1/2p back?!!!

 

[MojoPin]

you beat me to it! strong side however i agree with the cuthbert comment. very harsh on Amos. hopefully Cuthbert will come out all guns blazing (although we've been hoping for this for years). the last decent performance he had for wales was the tour of SA 2 years ago, was completely shown up in the RWC. needs to come looking for work (ala young keelan Giles performances for ospreys). if cuthbert can pop up anywhere he will trouble most defences

Cuthbert at his best was arguably ahead of North, and he was brilliant in South Africa, but completely agree he got shown up more than ever in the RWC. But to be fair to him, our gameplan for that tournament was very different to how it was in NZ, so we'll see. Get the feeling Amos might have to consider a positional change at some point to break into the starting XV, fullback or centre probably.

Aside from that, good to see Halfpenny back and really curious to see how Sam Davies will get on - hope he manages to get at least 20 mins under his belt.

 

[Thingimubob]

Cuthbert at his best was arguably ahead of North, and he was brilliant in South Africa, but completely agree he got shown up more than ever in the RWC. But to be fair to him, our gameplan for that tournament was very different to how it was in NZ, so we'll see. Get the feeling Amos might have to consider a positional change at some point to break into the starting XV, fullback or centre probably.

Aside from that, good to see Halfpenny back and really curious to see how Sam Davies will get on - hope he manages to get at least 20 mins under his belt.

Sorry can't help but add a correction here... He was brilliant in the 2nd test in South Africa, atrocious in the 1st. Remember him being directly at fault defensively for a couple of their tries.

I'm baffled by how he's made it in the squad ahead of Tom James, let alone the starting XV! Cuthbert has spent most of this season either injured or not really doing much bar two decent winger's finishes vs Glasgow and Bristol.

Tom James however has had a few very influential displays (inluding at least one MotM) with 6 tries to boot.

That said, I hope the guy proves me wrong and has a stormer. Still can't escape the feeling I've said all this before without him bringing the goods...

 

[MojoPin]

Sorry can't help but add a correction here... He was brilliant in the 2nd test in South Africa, atrocious in the 1st. Remember him being directly at fault defensively for a couple of their tries.

I'm baffled by how he's made it in the squad ahead of Tom James, let alone the starting XV! Cuthbert has spent most of this season either injured or not really doing much bar two decent winger's finishes vs Glasgow and Bristol.

Tom James however has had a few very influential displays (inluding at least one MotM) with 6 tries to boot.

That said, I hope the guy proves me wrong and has a stormer. Still can't escape the feeling I've said all this before without him bringing the goods...

To be honest I don't remember much from that first test so I'm sure you're right. And I would have had Tom James ahead of him in a heartbeat, too. Plays so well for the Blues, creating something out of nothing and causing endless headaches for the opposition defense, while Cuthbert just manages to finish one or two generic opportunities. There's no competition between the two for the Blues yet for Wales it's a different story. Baffling. I feel bad for saying it, but I just hope he doesn't make any big mistakes. I'd be very happy to be proved wrong!

 

[Hendo74]

To be honest I don't remember much from that first test so I'm sure you're right. And I would have had Tom James ahead of him in a heartbeat, too. Plays so well for the Blues, creating something out of nothing and causing endless headaches for the opposition defense, while Cuthbert just manages to finish one or two generic opportunities. There's no competition between the two for the Blues yet for Wales it's a different story. Baffling. I feel bad for saying it, but I just hope he doesn't make any big mistakes. I'd be very happy to be proved wrong!

I thought Tom James was treated harshly in the 6N, especially after his brilliant try-saving tackle against Ireland. Yes, he didn't quite make that length-of-field chance against the Scots, but not many would over that distance. Continuity can be as important as bringing in new faces sometimes - I remember Biggar doing well in 6N 2013 but (if I remember rightly) they then wanted Priestland back at 10 for the AIs that year, it didn't go well and arguably stunted the development of a) Biggar and b) a solid 9-10 partnership.

That being said, I still have a soft spot for Cuthbert after his exploits in 2012 & 2013 and hope he can rediscover that form.