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<blockquote data-quote="dullonien" data-source="post: 876792" data-attributes="member: 13739"><p>Aye, agree with most of what you've said there.</p><p></p><p>Dropping Scott Williams is an odd one, but hopefully it'll have the required affect. He hasn't been great this season, and is struggling in general with consistency in his game. He's capable of being the creative, distributing inside centre we need, and has shown a lovely balance of power, pace, agility and distribution in the past. His distribution under pressure sometimes really lets him down, as does his decision making. Bus is Parkes a better player? He's certainly more consistent, but at their best, I'd argue Scott Williams is the better player, with more strings to his bow. I have serious reservations about Parkes' ability to step-up to the pace of international rugby; I'm just not sure he'll be able to be a running threat.</p><p></p><p>I have similar reservations over Navidi Bluemoon. He's a great regional player, one of the Blues' most important players, but does he posses the x-factor players now need at international level. There's less and less space for players who are simply consistent, especially when up against the very best. Lydiate too suffers from this. Just making tackles isn't enough, because you have players in NZ, England and even Wales who are almost as good on the tackling front, but offer far more on top. </p><p></p><p>Maybe Gatland has seen just that in Sam Cross, a player who's athletic enough to compete with you Itoje's etc. Imo the likes of Young and Boyde can as well, and are far more deserving, but I don't mind Gatland taking a gamble. What I really don't like is the constant selections of Lydiate and Cuthbert, despite showing next to nothing nor a number of years now. Keelan Giles is left out in the cold despite doing nothing wrong other than being unfortunate enough to be playing for a badly malfunctioning Ospreys side, whereas Cuthbert is once again just handed a spot. Giles' potential is huge, and whilst he probably doesn't deserve to start v Aus, he should have been retained in the squad and nurtured. Similarly Sam Davies should still be there for the same reason.</p><p></p><p>From the squad selected, hopefully we can see a 23 resembling the following:</p><p></p><p>Rob Evans, Ken Owens, Samson Lee</p><p>Jake Ball, Alun-Wyn Jones</p><p>Shingler, Faletau, Tipuric</p><p></p><p>Webb, Priestland/Patchell</p><p>Steff Evans, Owen Watkin, Jon Davies, Leigh Halfpenny</p><p>Liam Williams</p><p></p><p>Elliot Dee</p><p>Nicky Smith/Wyn Jones</p><p>Leon Brown</p><p>Seb Davies</p><p>Navidi</p><p></p><p>Gareth Davies</p><p>Patchell/Priestland/Biggar</p><p>Amos</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="dullonien, post: 876792, member: 13739"] Aye, agree with most of what you've said there. Dropping Scott Williams is an odd one, but hopefully it'll have the required affect. He hasn't been great this season, and is struggling in general with consistency in his game. He's capable of being the creative, distributing inside centre we need, and has shown a lovely balance of power, pace, agility and distribution in the past. His distribution under pressure sometimes really lets him down, as does his decision making. Bus is Parkes a better player? He's certainly more consistent, but at their best, I'd argue Scott Williams is the better player, with more strings to his bow. I have serious reservations about Parkes' ability to step-up to the pace of international rugby; I'm just not sure he'll be able to be a running threat. I have similar reservations over Navidi Bluemoon. He's a great regional player, one of the Blues' most important players, but does he posses the x-factor players now need at international level. There's less and less space for players who are simply consistent, especially when up against the very best. Lydiate too suffers from this. Just making tackles isn't enough, because you have players in NZ, England and even Wales who are almost as good on the tackling front, but offer far more on top. Maybe Gatland has seen just that in Sam Cross, a player who's athletic enough to compete with you Itoje's etc. Imo the likes of Young and Boyde can as well, and are far more deserving, but I don't mind Gatland taking a gamble. What I really don't like is the constant selections of Lydiate and Cuthbert, despite showing next to nothing nor a number of years now. Keelan Giles is left out in the cold despite doing nothing wrong other than being unfortunate enough to be playing for a badly malfunctioning Ospreys side, whereas Cuthbert is once again just handed a spot. Giles' potential is huge, and whilst he probably doesn't deserve to start v Aus, he should have been retained in the squad and nurtured. Similarly Sam Davies should still be there for the same reason. From the squad selected, hopefully we can see a 23 resembling the following: Rob Evans, Ken Owens, Samson Lee Jake Ball, Alun-Wyn Jones Shingler, Faletau, Tipuric Webb, Priestland/Patchell Steff Evans, Owen Watkin, Jon Davies, Leigh Halfpenny Liam Williams Elliot Dee Nicky Smith/Wyn Jones Leon Brown Seb Davies Navidi Gareth Davies Patchell/Priestland/Biggar Amos [/QUOTE]
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