Wales v England - 10 days.

[bushytop]

Can he manager the likes to Tulangi running at him? Owen Watkins is still only 22 and he is the future at 12, not sure if he will be ready to be starting 12 before the World Cup though.

Miscommunication, I don't mean for this game as 1) it's a huge game & 2) don't think he's ever played a pro game at 12 as of yet... but moving forwards he could be a viable option.

 

[Mike Rolls]

Mako Vunipola out for the rest of the 6N - not good news
Mike

 

[bushytop]

Mako Vunipola out for the rest of the 6N - not good news
Mike

Oh boy!

 

[Pieter Steph du Teague]

Would much rather play against Halfpenny than Williams

Interesting, other way around for me.

 

[bushytop]

Interesting, other way around for me.

I think it depends on the game... and when considering England's tactics of late, it would have to be 1/2p for yous guys.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Interesting, other way around for me.

Halfpenny is slow and can't attack to save his life. He's better in defence and kicking but kicking is all he does. Would rather our back 3 getting plenty of ball than having Liam Williams running at them

 

[Pieter Steph du Teague]

Halfpenny is slow and can't attack to save his life. He's better in defence and kicking but kicking is all he does. Would rather our back 3 getting plenty of ball than having Liam Williams running at them

1/2p's undoubtedly the inferior player ball in hand but he's far better at covering the backfield. England won't get as much change out of 1/2p as they would out of Williams with their kicking game. Williams hasn't exactly been setting the world alight with ball in hand recently anyway, so I wouldn't worry too much about having to defend against him.

 

[Mr Ruggleby]

Mako out for 6N

We should be ok with Genge and Moon but it's still ****

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

Mako Vunipola out for the rest of the 6N - not good news
Mike

No, but it means we'll bring in our best scrummaging LH in Moon and some out and out raw aggression in Genge; I think it will be the kind of atmosphere he'll lap up.

Mako's been going very well, but in what's likely to be a tighter game I don't think it weakens us massively.

 

[oj121]

Yeah if everyone was fit I'd go Patchell, though I do like the idea of Patchell playing 12 too (think it was oj or Toot who suggested it the other day).

Was me buddy. Thanks for the memory

 

[oj121]

Can he manager the likes to Tulangi running at him? Owen Watkins is still only 22 and he is the future at 12, not sure if he will be ready to be starting 12 before the World Cup though.

Playing at 15 a lot and with his size I am confident he could handle that mate. Patch is a huge 10 and built far more like a 12/13. Watkin is the best 12 we currently have but clearly the management see something as they refuse to play him over a disfunctional and off form Parkes.

 

[martinspoonboy1]

As an English fan, I would much prefer to have Liam pushed to the wing with a rusty HP at fullback. Having LW at fullback with his pace as well as North and Adams with theirs seems much more dangerous as the space against us is seemingly out wide

 

[Pieter Steph du Teague]

As an English fan, I would much prefer to have Liam pushed to the wing with a rusty HP at fullback. Having LW at fullback with his pace as well as North and Adams with theirs seems much more dangerous as the space against us is seemingly out wide

Does Williams have that much more out and out pace than 1/2p? Better footwork and just a much more dangerous runner in general, yes, but I'm not sure that in a straight line he's much faster, if at all. I really don't think he's as fast as some people seem to think; I've always thought of him as one of the slower international wings.

 

[martinspoonboy1]

Does Williams have that much more out and out pace than 1/2p? Better footwork and just a much more dangerous runner in general, yes, but I'm not sure that in a straight line he's much faster, if at all. I really don't think he's as fast as some people seem to think; I've always thought of him as one of the slower international wings.

I don't know empirically but I would think that Williams is a fair bit faster than HP. Interested to see what others think though.

 

[oj121]

Does Williams have that much more out and out pace than 1/2p? Better footwork and just a much more dangerous runner in general, yes, but I'm not sure that in a straight line he's much faster, if at all. I really don't think he's as fast as some people seem to think; I've always thought of him as one of the slower international wings.

What do you class as quick though? Plus Williams isnt a winger, just a 15 used out wide.

How slow is halfpenny? Not overly. Quicker than the likes of brown and kearney for instance. He is slower than he used to be but a lot of his 'lack of pace' is down to him not really attacking anymore. When he came on the scene he was rapid. Anyone remember the Blues try in the Anglo Welsh from his 22?

If you just go back to the lions tour and watch Williams you will see he has a really good turn of pace. He burnt Dagg who isnt considered slow. Williams just has an odd gait which makes him look like he isnt moving until you look at those around him. His bandy legs really make him look laboured but look at the people he leaves standing and you realise a lot of it is running style.

Id fancy him against the likes of Nowell and Ashton in a 1 on 1. Id fancy may against any of the British sprint team atm so he is an exception.

As wingers go Williams is midway internationally for out and out, as a 15 he is in the top 25% realistically.

Theres a lot more to wingplay than out and out pace though. I do think Adams needs to play vs May as I think North will get left for dead.

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

Id fancy may against any of the British sprint team atm so he is an exception

Fair point, although Dina Asher-Smith would only be a metre or so behind.

May's lightning. For a rugby player. But top GB sprinters like Zarnel Hughes or Reece Prescod would make him look silly over 100m.

The best time I can see for May is 10.71, which would have ranked him 70th In Britain last year. Even if he could do 10.4 now (unlikely), that would only have been good enough for 25th, maybe just about good enough for the first round of the national champs. If he concentrated on sprinting he'd obvs get quicker, but still unlikely to get close to real international standard. The men's sprint team are all sub 10.1, a couple sub 10. Asher-Smith's GB women's record is 10.85 and I'd definitely back her to beat Nowell.

One well known sprint coach reckoned Watson might have been able to get into the low 10 seconds if he'd concentrated on athletics.

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

Nigel Walker who was an Olympian in the sprint hurdles before getting capped for Wales on the wing had a legal best of 10.47 (10.35 wind assisted). That's going back a few years now, but I still reckon he's the fastest I've seen on a rugby pitch. Didn't make him a great player though.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Halfpenny not gonna be available for England apparently,

Ashton is definitely faster than him, as well. Not sure where this idea that Ash is slow has come from.

 

[Which Tyler]

Halfpenny not gonna be available for England apparently,

Ashton is definitely faster than him, as well. Not sure where this idea that Ash is slow has come from.

It's always existed (I simply don't believe that he's faster than Denny); was never his strongest suit, and he's slowed a little further with age.
He's also been skinned by the likes of George Ford a few times - and others who've no right to be getting back at a winger.

 

[Dai Yorkshire]

Halfpenny has an unnatural sense of positioning someone kicks the ball down field 1/2P is there waiting for it, the same if someone breaks the defensive line they have to get through 1/2P Williams is the more attacking threat for sure. but I've seen 1/2P skin the best, one of the examples is against Samoa when he took the ball on the wing went under the arm of a somoan wing fixed his head gear and run about 60 yards and scored a try so to think that 1/2P is slow or cant attack would be a mistake.