[2014 EOYT] Wales vs South Africa

[Jbobo]

@Big Ewis

Banta!

But I forget, what does it feel like to win one of these?

 

[Big Ewis]

Oh right, like Wales could afford to lose George North, right right, yes mm hmm...
Play another huge one like Test 2, Wales !...










*EXCEPT FOR THE ENDING ç!!!!!!...except for the ending !...

 

[Bluemoon]

my dear Welsh friends (for I do appreciate Wales...) I'm sorry, but this so had to be done:

View attachment 3515/QUOTE]

Hmmm. Not the funniest meme in the world. More like the front of a card from the "Humour" section at ASDA.

 

[Big Ewis]

Hmmm. Not the funniest meme in the world. More like the front of a card from the "Humour" section at ASDA.

:lol: whaaa you don't find it funny ?? hmmmm...gee, I wonder sometimes, you know. About. Things.

 

[NamWarrior]

I think the Ireland test was a setback in terms of giving more fringe players a chance on this tour. So far we have a 2-1 ratio, and if we lose this game it will be 2-2, which is not IMHO a successful tour.

I like the team though, and that bench could make some serious impact when they come one.

my thoughts exactly about the fringe players, did we really need JdV to play every game? could say the same for Matfield and Vermeulen

 

[ENZED-88]

South Africa by 16 points and Jamie Roberts to get Man of the match again.

Sounds bout right

 

[BakkiesBokke]

Wales to play well and be in the lead by about 3 points after 70 minutes. SA to finish strongly though and win by 10! Basically like most Wales vs SA matches in the NH in recent years.

 

[TRF_heineken]

Welsh team has been announced:

15. Leigh Halfpenny; 14. Alex Cuthbert, 13. Jonathan Davies, 12. Jamie Roberts, 11. Liam Williams; 10. Dan Biggar, 09. Rhys Webb; 08. Taulupe Faletau, 07. Sam Warburton (capt), 06. Dan Lydiate; 05. Alun Wyn Jones, 04. Jake Ball; 03. Samson Lee, 02. Scott Baldwin, 01. Gethin Jenkins

Replacements: 16. Emyr Phillips, 17. Aaron Jarvis, 18. Rhodri Jones, 19. Luke Charteris, 20. James King, 21. Mike Phillips, 22. Rhys Priestland, 23. Scott Williams.

 

[SelimNiai]

Thats the strongest team avaliable to us. I do have confidence in the team especially given the first hour of the NZ game. If we bring that again, extend it for another 15-20 and we can win. You know, simples...

 

[MojoPin]

Feeling a bit more optimistic about this game...probably our best shot at a big victory this year and a good test of SA's strength in depth. Usually a good show anyways so looking forward to it!

 

[TRF_heineken]

How's the weather? Is the roof going to be open or closed?

 

[BakkiesBokke]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2653822

Looks sunny but cold (12 degrees)

 

[Ospreylian]

I'm a little bemused as to why Tipuric is not involved at all...
I really don't know what Gatland has against the poor guy, is he injured or something? I can't find any explanation at this stage. Personally I would much rather exclude Charteris and have King as back row and lock cover, with tipuric.

 

[Bluemoon]

I'm a little bemused as to why Tipuric is not involved at all...
I really don't know what Gatland has against the poor guy, is he injured or something? I can't find any explanation at this stage. Personally I would much rather exclude Charteris and have King as back row and lock cover, with tipuric.

The difficulty is that Sam is the choice openside and he is playing well for 80 mins. I think Gats really doesn't want two opensides playing in an international at any one time as it doesn't fit his physical game plan. Sure Tips is a better option for Char man for man, but not in the big picture. I see him changing both lock and 6 throughout the game to try and counteract this weird fatigue. It's partly why Ball came off last week I think. Where this won't work is if Sam picks up a knock.

 

[Ospreylian]

The difficulty is that Sam is the choice openside and he is playing well for 80 mins. I think Gats really doesn't want two opensides playing in an international at any one time as it doesn't fit his physical game plan. Sure Tips is a better option for Char man for man, but not in the big picture. I see him changing both lock and 6 throughout the game to try and counteract this weird fatigue. It's partly why Ball came off last week I think. Where this won't work is if Sam picks up a knock.

I am more than happy with the back row of lydiate, Faletau and Warbs, they are all playing out of their skin at the moment. I just think Tips is such a class player to have on the bench, he has the skills to turn games around as he plays what is in front of him and has a brilliant mind for the game. The game against England in 2013 proved that Warbs and Tips can be a highly effective flank pairing.

The "weird fatigue" you talk about is worrying. It does seem like players are slipping in terms of physicality in the last 10 minutes or so, and look very tired towards the end of games. You hear the Welsh management describing the kind of highly intensive training sessions the squad goes through in between games (before the NZ game they said it was possibly the most tiring training session they had ever had)and it does make me question the value in these coaching methods. We all know this squad is fit and capable of handling 80 minutes, do they really need to be having these intense training sessions as often anymore? Surely the managements focus now needs to shift to areas like improving attacking skills, offloading, set piece etc.. I very rarely hear the Welsh management boasting that they have been practicing ball handling skills all week.

 

[welshglory]

Seems to be the way Gats has always managed his sides.

Probably why he'll never get the AB's job.

Not enough innovation, just focusing on intensity, fitness and structure.

 

[ntanga]

Not a bad SA B team, I just wish Mohoje was a complete open-side flanker so we can effectively challenge the Breakdown battle. This might be another one of those tight matches till the end, go Bokke

 

[The Jones Boy]

@Ospreylian; yeah i don't know what the deal is with Tipuric, the only thing i can come up with is that Lydia can be a tackling machine and Wales will need that against the Boks.
The other key element is that the Boks do tire after 70 minutes, unlike the All Blacks. ;-)

 

[Draggs]

Pretty much as expected. XV is decent, but that bench is simply awful. King over Tipuric?? Apart from being bigger, what does King offer? Shame about Nicky Smith, looking at four months out right now. At least Jenkins is back, and by the looks of it, Gatland would rather make Jarvis play loosehead than Jones.

Wasn't Gatland's big thing a few years back getting us fitter than everybody else? We didn't have better skills, but were supposed to be a fitter side, yet now we are talking second half fatigue. Hope they can last 80, as that bench is frightening. Baldwin starting v SA? Wouldn't have even crossed my mind a few years back. Our lineout is still a huge target, with neither AWJ nor Ball really established lineout forwards.

 

[Jbobo]

@Ospreylian; yeah i don't know what the deal is with Tipuric, the only thing i can come up with is that Lydia can be a tackling machine and Wales will need that against the Boks.
The other key element is that the Boks do tire after 70 minutes, unlike the All Blacks. ;-)

Well in the last game, we took them on and showed that we don't have to just play defensive. However, i didn't get the impression they were tired after 70 minutes either as they dragged themselves over the line to break our hearts again.

- - - Updated - - -

Not a bad SA B team

Well, it isn't. It's a good team, but not a good 'B' team. Under strength though, just as our is.