[2014 EOYT] Wales vs South Africa

[Bada-Bing!]

Well a win is a win. Credit to Wales. At least Gatland and the rest of you Boyos can sleep tonight.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Cpngrats to Wales!
Vital result in the run up to the RWC. Doesn't sound like a classic, mind.


Give Gatland an extra 3years on top of his 20yr extension?

 

[Bluemoon]

I am under no illusions, the Springboks were poor today in attack. But I still felt their defence was very good and they were not easy to get through at all. Willie Le Roux made so many errors for him today and Lambie didn't provide the Boks with their typical territorial platform.

In saying that, that is the exact sort of position that Wales have failed to win from in the past. Today Wales played at the right times and from the right areas of the pitch, rather than trying to keep the high intensity attacking up all game. I thought they looked tired, but not out in the last 10 this week. It's a big win for Wales not only for the record books but also for a little bit of self-belief that they are learning to close out a game against the big teams.

Sam Warburton was very good on the floor today, as was Gethin Jenkins. Need a beer now to have a calm down! :bonne-de:

 

[Thingimubob]

FINALLY

Its been far far too long so I'm glad we finally got that win we've been craving.

Still don't think we're anywhere near the finished article. Really butchered a few chances to properly put the game to bed with a try.
Felt like we conspired against ourselves to give SA the chance to snatch it at the death (as per usual) .

I thought Lacey was awful, really poor Reffing all around. Couple of howlers going against both sides!

 

[SomeOke]

Sjoe bokke have some work to do! Well played Wales. Error prone and ****

 

[Ospreylian]

Sooo relieved right now. Really thought things were going to go against us yet again in the last 5, but I think this team is gradually learning to pull through.

Positives: Biggar was phenomenal. Probably his best game for Wales, definitely in defense. He is fast becoming one of the best fly-halves in the NH. Warburton yet again had a storming game, he just kept popping up all over the field. The kicking game in general was intelligent and well-balanced, mainly orchestrated by Biggar. It put us in some great attacking positions BUT...

Negatives: ...these attacking opportunities were squandered by either not retaining ball or the line-out failing. The line-out has been an area of growing concern for a long time now, it's really something the squad should be focusing on in the run up to the first 6N match against England (who according to the BBC have the best line-out stats in the world right now). Wasn't too impressed with Davies, I think he needs more time at club level to get back to where he was potentially. He didn't look at all threatening in attack today and held on to the ball perhaps at times when he should have passed out wide. I think this could be a bigger issue with the squad as a whole though, as I still think these players should be being more creative ball in hand. Wales should really have won by a bigger margin but looked clueless in attack sometimes, which is a concerning problem that hasn't changed for a while now.

But in general I'm happy to get the win. I think the criticism of this squad and the Gatland in particular has been massively overstated, though they do have their issues. I think people forget that it's not just a one man show, and Wales' problems could be being caused by any number of other coaches. Should Howley's career be brought into question due to Wales' lack of attacking creativity?

 

[Rugga-lad]

The Bokke are tired is such an old excuse. There's plenty of players to freshen up the squad. I wonder what Ricardo Laubscher did to earn backline coach credentials.

 

[BakkiesBokke]

Well done Wales.

This defeat might be good for the Boks from a learning experience point of view. We have been error prone on this tour and complacent following our victory a few weeks ago over the All Blacks.

 

[ratsapprentice]

****ing hell that knee injury for JDV... as bad as it gets barring a hyperextension.

 

[Ospreylian]

****ing hell that knee injury for JDV... as bad as it gets barring a hyperextension.

Yeah, I struggled to watch the replay. Legs should not bend in that way. All the best to the guy and I hope he makes a speedy recovery.

 

[ratsapprentice]

I don't want to be unnecessarily negative, but that's potentially career ending.
Absolute horror-show.

 

[BakkiesBokke]

I don't want to be unnecessarily negative, but that's potentially career ending.
Absolute horror-show.

I fear you might be right there.

 

[Bluemoon]

Should Howley's career be brought into question due to Wales' lack of attacking creativity?

Funny you should mention this as I've had a long debate about this with friends recently. Howley actually likes to play an open game and attack from deep. Have a look at what he did with Cardiff Blues when he was there.

We came to the conclusion that it's difficult to see how Howley can put his stamp on the attack when Gats and Edwards play an organised pattern attack (and defence). I am sure they are a coaching team, but it's difficult to say Howley isn't being creative enough when they are playing in a rigid system. For example, for years they have been playing the 10 to JR switch in the middle and the miss pass 12 to JD on the arching run between the 13-14 channel. They do it because its hard to stop, but its very noticeable.

The times we have had chance to string some creative moves together we have looked very good. The first try against Fiji was a fantastic move for example. I'm cautious about putting blame with Howley at this stage, but feel its more of a systemic issue.

 

[goodNumber10]

I don't want to be unnecessarily negative, but that's potentially career ending.
Absolute horror-show.

That would be a real shame.

 

[Jbobo]

First of all - All the best to JDV, really hope it is not too serious and mends real soon.

Secondly - FINALLY. Not a great match, but a lot of intensity from both defenses. Unhappy with the amount of missed opportunities, but just glad to come through the end. Genuinely thought we'd lost it when S Williams (i think?) needlessly tried to keep the ball in play from the ambitious SA penalty kick.

We need to improve our ability going wide, as that is where we look most dangerous but also make the most mistakes. I thought Biggar and Warburton were fantastic, can't think of many in their positions on better form. Faletau, Halfpenny, Jenkins and L Williams performed strongly too.

Hard luck today Boks, look forward to seeing you back at your best after a rest and some rejuvenation.

WOOP!

 

[dullonien]

At last. Didn't play all that well imo, organised, but not much to get excited about in attack, but it was all about the win today. Hopefully the squad can now move forwards with this monkey off their backs. Could be a cracking 6 nations coming up with Ireland looking particularly strong, England as well, Scotland making huge strides, and hopefully France turn up.

One final thing, all the best to JdV, that looked horrible.

 

[Ospreylian]

Funny you should mention this as I've had a long debate about this with friends recently. Howley actually likes to play an open game and attack from deep. Have a look at what he did with Cardiff Blues when he was there.

But I think this is the problem, it seems that when Wales go on the attack these days their backs seem to stand too deep and get caught out by the blitz defense (which has become a far more prevalent method of defense in recent years) or end up not gaining much ground unless Roberts takes it up the middle. I just wish they would add a bit more variety sometimes, it seems like you can predict which way they are going to attack on every phase of play. They need to take the ball up to the opposing defenders more often too to draw them in, in order to create space for their team mates. More delayed passes would be nice, and making sure they don't squander huge overlaps by passing down the line too quickly to the last man. Also, it was nice to see Biggar try a couple of little chips over the top today, that's the sort of play I would love to see Wales try more. That and cross-field kicks, because SH teams do it far more often and it quite often works out for them.

 

[Amobokoboko]

Really enjoyed the game today at the Sa embassy. Wales was the better team while SA had their moments but didn't manage to finish them.

 

[The Jones Boy]

Wonderful result for the Dragons, they really needed this and long overdue

 

[ntanga]

Congrats to Wales, they were the better team today. But boy, the Boks made things harder for themselves out there. HM needs to put his thinking hat back on again, cause that was a pathetic performance today. Once again, the Boks did not utilize their backs effectively, breakdown and our scrum was found wanting. Games like that would have required specialist ground-hog like Brussouw.

I'm frustrated to say the least

Credit to Wales though for making it count