[2015 RWC] Warm Up Match: Wales vs Ireland (08/08/2015)

[TRF_Olyy]

hook deserves another proper shot at 10

Does he, though? He's been given about 30,000,000 chances as it is.
You know he can fill in if there's injury to your other 10s, there's no point wasting starts on a guy not good enough to be a starting international 10.

 

[valley commando]

Worst Welsh side seen since the Japan tour. If Ireland put out a full team they could put 50 points on that.

Ha ha, Gats and Schmidt had a conversation last week reported on Radio Wales today re the roof and the basic make up of their sides for this weekend.

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Does he, though? He's been given about 30,000,000 chances as it is.
You know he can fill in if there's injury to your other 10s, there's no point wasting starts on a guy not good enough to be a starting international 10.

It was 2011 since Hook last played 10 for Wales, I think he's twice the player Anscombe is so agree with AzzaMatt 100%

 

[ncurd]

Re: The Roof is there any evidence it makes a blind bit of difference?

Personally I prefer it off except in extreme conditions as that's how Rugby is supposed to be played however I'm just wondering if Wales' win ratio increases with it on, margin of victory and difficulty of opposition are also things. However we've had it what 16 years now there must be some evidence to it's effect even if it isn't conclusive.

 

[RedruthRFC]

Re: The Roof is there any evidence it makes a blind bit of difference?

Personally I prefer it off except in extreme conditions as that's how Rugby is supposed to be played however I'm just wondering if Wales' win ratio increases with it on, margin of victory and difficulty of opposition are also things. However we've had it what 16 years now there must be some evidence to it's effect even if it isn't conclusive.

Interesting question. Any measure is going to be heavily influenced by variance and there are so many factors to consider that I would be surprised if anyone has come up with a reliable measure. Just to add to the complexity, it could be an advantage to Wales against certain opponents in certain conditions (e.g. vs Scotland in the rain), but a disadvantage in other conditions (e.g. vs Australia in the rain).

 

[psychic duck]

Does he, though? He's been given about 30,000,000 chances as it is.
You know he can fill in if there's injury to your other 10s, there's no point wasting starts on a guy not good enough to be a starting international 10.

This. Complete waste of a start. If they were going to play a 3rd string side, would have been better served playing Patchell (Anscombe apparently only fit enough to play as a replacement).

 

[valley commando]

Interesting question. Any measure is going to be heavily influenced by variance and there are so many factors to consider that I would be surprised if anyone has come up with a reliable measure. Just to add to the complexity, it could be an advantage to Wales against certain opponents in certain conditions (e.g. vs Scotland in the rain), but a disadvantage in other conditions (e.g. vs Australia in the rain).

Not so sure about that I would think we'd have an advantage V Scotland with the roof closed and against Oz in the wind and rain, in other words if a team is worse than you you'll have an advantage in windless dry conditions, but if a team is deemed better (and I'm not saying Oz are) then wet and windy weather is always a great leveller, remember. Scotlands win against England in 2006 for example.

 

[Jerry Blue]

A lot of young talent in that squad but I think for many of them this is their only chance to shine as some will be cut and some not playing will go. Going to be an interesting match. Wish Wales had an A team and then some of those players would be more proven at international level. Guess we'll find out Saturday!

 

[psychic duck]

A lot of young talent in that squad but I think for many of them this is their only chance to shine as some will be cut and some not playing will go. Going to be an interesting match. Wish Wales had an A team and then some of those players would be more proven at international level. Guess we'll find out Saturday!

Cobbled together A teams often aren't always the standard of Pro12, especially would be the case with Wales where there is no depth.

 

[Jerry Blue]

I think Gatland is starting Hook at 10 so when he drops for the world cup he can say he gave him a chance and it didn't work. Gatland doesn't like Hook as a 10. If Hook was a certainty for the world cup squad then he would be on the bench and not Anscombe.

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Wales have the strength in depth for an A team that can tour tier 2 nations in June and play tier 2 nations in November as the main Welsh sides seem to have no intention of playing them with the exception of the Pacific Island teams.

 

[valley commando]

This. Complete waste of a start. If they were going to play a 3rd string side, would have been better served playing Patchell (Anscombe apparently only fit enough to play as a replacement).

The point in his selection is, with a training squad of around 46 players and a world cup squad of I think 31 they have to be whittled down that's the main purpose of this 1st game with I think the 1st 10 players dropped following this game and next weeks North Wales camp.
Gats will probably be sure of about 21 of his WC squad already so it's probably down to something like picking 10 out of 26.
Of Saturdays 23, Scott Williams, Tips, Toby, Spike, Hibbo and Jake Ball are all safe bets re the 21, of the others I reckon another 5 could help their cause with good displays, my picks to join them in the squad would be Tyler Morgan, Hallam Amos and Eli Walker from the backs, Dan Baker is a possible forward, but lets wait and see may be one or two surprises in store.

 

[j'nuh]

Does he, though? He's been given about 30,000,000 chances as it is.
You know he can fill in if there's injury to your other 10s, there's no point wasting starts on a guy not good enough to be a starting international 10.

If you go back to the start of last season, there were threads/polls on ShedWeb questioning Hook as a 10, most people wanting him to move to fullback. But over the season, he has won over the Glos fans (including myself) at 10. I think his versatility stunted his growth at 10, because he's a much better 10 after a year of starts there.

I still think of Hook as a natural centre (although he may be rusty there now), but he's a really good 10 and 15 as well. He's a flairy alternative to Biggar, and covers 4 positions in the backline. It's everything you want in a 22.

 

[valley commando]

If you go back to the start of last season, there were threads/polls on ShedWeb questioning Hook as a 10, most people wanting him to move to fullback. But over the season, he has won over the Glos fans (including myself) at 10. I think his versatility stunted his growth at 10, because he's a much better 10 after a year of starts there.

I still think of Hook as a natural centre (although he may be rusty there now), but he's a really good 10 and 15 as well. He's a flairy alternative to Biggar, and covers 4 positions in the backline. It's everything you want in a 22.

I wish hook had remained a 10 from the start,your right his versatility has been his problem, his vision and distribution is exceptional, I hope he makes the final squad he deserves it more than most, and has reinvented himself again as a 10 with Glocester after playing mostly at 15 for Perpignan.

 

[AzaMatt]

the way im looking at it is, hook has been given chances before, but he also wouldnt of been given this much time training with the camp before. im willing to bet gats and howly have told him not to run so latterally and not go his own so much, as that seems to be his downfall with wales. he always seems to want to run it himself. thats what i feel the issue is. we'll see how anscombe goes when he comes on, im expecting the bench to be unloaded for the start of the second half

 

[Maverick1987]

When are Ireland naming their team ?

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Tomorrow I think

 

[AzaMatt]

When are Ireland naming their team ?

tomorrow around 1pm i think

 

[valley commando]

This on BBC sport website -:

Wales v Ireland: Warren Gatland and Joe Schmidt discuss teams

Rugby World Cup warm-up: Wales v Ireland
Venue: Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Kick-off: 14:30 BST, 8 August
Coverage: Live on BBC One Wales, iPlayer, the BBC Sport website, Radio Wales and Radio Cymru
Wales coach Warren Gatland has revealed he and Ireland counterpart Joe Schmidt discussed team selection before naming their sides for Saturday's World Cup warm-up match in Cardiff.
Gatland has handed debuts to four players in an experimental Welsh side.
Wales host Ireland on Saturday, before playing them in Dublin on 29 August and hosting Italy on 5 September.
"Joe rang me last week to talk about what we were looking at in the squad," Gatland said.
"I said we were going to have a mixed squad with an opportunity for some younger players.
"He sort of indicated that they were probably going to do the same thing.
Wales head coach Warren Gatland says the World Cup warm-up match against Ireland is a chance for fringe players to shine.
"I think they will experiment with the squad too."
Ireland lock Iain Henderson says head coach Schmidt has given his players no indication of who is likely to face Wales.
New Zealander Schmidt will name his side on Thursday to play at the Millennium Stadium and is then expected to cut three or four players from his provisional World Cup training group of 45 players.
Wales will cut their World Cup training squad from 47 players to between 36 and 38 after Saturday's game against Ireland.
Uncapped Ross Moriarty, Tyler Morgan, Eli Walker and Dominic Day will make their Wales debuts on Saturday.

Will the roof be closed?

Gatland said Schmidt have also asked if the Millennium Stadium roof would be shut for Saturday's game.
The Millennium Stadium will host Wales' Pool A matches against Uruguay on 20 September and Fiji on 1 October as well as Ireland 's Pool D matches against Canada and France.
"He [Schmidt] proceeded to ask what was happening with the roof," Gatland added.
"I said: 'Well, it's a bit ironic that you wanted it open during the Six Nations and now you want it closed'.
"He was hoping during the Six Nations that it was pouring down with rain, so we had a bit of a chat about that.
"I think he wants it closed because it's closed during the World Cup. It makes sense to close the roof if it will be closed for the World Cup.
"There was a cynical side of me that did feel like saying we were going to leave it open''

 

[Canuck]

Teams

Wales: 15 Hallam Amos, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Tyler Morgan, 12 Scott Williams (captain), 11 Eli Walker, 10 James Hook, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Dan Baker, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Ross Moriarty, 5 Dominic Day, 4 Jake Ball, 3 Aaron Jarvis, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Nicky Smith

Substitutes: 16 Rob Evans, 17 Kristian Dacey, 18 Scott Andrews, 19 James King, 20 Taulupe Faletau, 21 Lloyd Williams, 22 Gareth Anscombe, 23 Matthew Morgan

Pleased to see Amos, Tyler Morgan, Walker and Moriarty given chances, also good to see Hooky at 10 and Dacey and Mathew Morgan on the bench..
This 1st match is about performance rather than result lets see how many of these take their chance

hmm, Wales seems to be going with their second best XV here (with the exception of Williams and maybe Hibbard but Baldwin may be the front runner for the #2 shirt). It certainly gives players a chance to make an impact and show what they can do before the group of death matchups where Gatland won't have the luxury of toying with his lineups much.

 

[AzaMatt]

hmm, Wales seems to be going with their second best XV here (with the exception of Williams and maybe Hibbard but Baldwin may be the front runner for the #2 shirt). It certainly gives players a chance to make an impact and show what they can do before the group of death matchups where Gatland won't have the luxury of toying with his lineups much.

i would say baldwin is ahead of hibbard, as much as i think hibbard is great player he hasnt been as good as baldwin within the past year. might have a cracking game on saturday though

 

[dullonien]

hmm, Wales seems to be going with their second best XV here (with the exception of Williams and maybe Hibbard but Baldwin may be the front runner for the #2 shirt). It certainly gives players a chance to make an impact and show what they can do before the group of death matchups where Gatland won't have the luxury of toying with his lineups much.

A distinctly 2nd/3rd 15 Imo. Only player likely to start in the big games come WC is Scott Williams, possibly Cuthbert as well if he can rediscover some form and if Liam hasn't recovered in time.

Ken Owens is our likely starting hooker, with one of Baldwin or Hibbard on the bench (I'd go for Hibbs on the bench for the impact he brings).

From this squad I'd expect Ball, Tipuric and Phillips to make the bench for big games. Nicky Smith could force his way ahead of Paul James if he can prove himself. Hibbard is in a battle with Baldwin. Jarvis could be on the bench if Lee isn't fit, or if Francis doesn't step-up. Hook makes a good bench option given his versatility, but he's got to play himself onto the bench, as Gats has no problem shifting North into centre, and having a player like Amos on the bench who can cover wing/fullback.

So still plenty to play for for a lot of this match day squad. Hopefully it can lift them to produce a better performance than we're used to seeing from our second/third stringers.

I like the pack, although Jarvis is a bit of a meh player. I think they have the potential to go very well. Backline too has a lot of creative ability, always tough for a scratch backline to gel quickly though. Overall it does feel like a little glimpse into the future, which I find exciting!