[2015 RWC] Warm Up Match: Wales vs Italy (05/09/15)

[ratsapprentice]

Oh dear.... Halfpenny.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Not good for Wales at all, that.

England/Australia will be licking their lips at the prospect of either Morgan at 15 or Cuthbert on the wing.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Well that's Wales chances dented big time.

 

[tompaton7]

Falling like flies. If that's an ACL his world cup is done.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Falling like flies. If that's an ACL his world cup is done.

Definite ACL. Reminded me of Michael Owen in the 2006 WC when his knee just buckled underneath him with no one near him.

 

[Tony Manx]

Well that's Wales chances dented big time.

The group from hell just got a whole lot easier for England and Australia. Shame for the two guys and Wales for whom they were probably the two most influential players.

 

[NickBD]

With question marks over AWJ, Samson Lee, Liam Williams and North too. No Davies, Webb and maybe Halfpenny is disastrous.

 

[Rich Taff]

Well, that couldn't have got much worse. Especially with Liam Williams injured as well.

 

[chippieolamus]

Gutted for Wales. I guess its good news for England, but no one really wants to see players injured for the world cup. If we do beat Wales it'll feel a little hollow.

 

[wayevs]

Gutted for Wales. I guess its good news for England, but no one really wants to see players injured for the world cup. If we do beat Wales it'll feel a little hollow.[/QUOTE
Wales will still give England and Australia a tough match even without the star players .. To be realistic they don't qualify from the group now , but they just play like a team with nothing to lose.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

The group from hell just got a whole lot easier for England and Australia. Shame for the two guys and Wales for whom they were probably the two most influential players.

Which is a shame really, I was really looking forward to real contests between England, Australia and Wales, with all the best players playing. Not saying Wales can't now qualify now, but you can't underestimate how much of an effect injuries to key players will have on the rest of the Wales squad and conversely a boost to England and Australia. Wales can still put out a decent side, but i thought Francis struggled at tight head on his second outing for Wales, so they will be looking to start Lee against England and Australia, with no game time for 6 months. I think we'll see the following Welsh team face England and Australia,

1. Jenkins
2. Owens
3. Lee
4. Charteris
5. AWJ (assuming fit, but even if not, so important to Wales's engine room)
6. Lydiate
7. Warburton
8. Faletau

9. Davies
10. Biggar
11. North
12. Roberts
13. Scott Williams
14. Cuthbert
15. Liam Williams

16. Baldwin
17. James
18. Francis
19. Ball
20. Tipuric
21. Lloyd Williams
22. Priestland
23. Morgan/Amos

 

[wayevs]

Which is a shame really, I was really looking forward to real contests between England, Australia and Wales, with all the best players playing. Not saying Wales can't now qualify now, but you can't underestimate how much of an effect injuries to key players will have on the rest of the Wales squad and conversely a boost to England and Australia. Wales can still put out a decent side, but i thought Francis struggled at tight head on his second outing for Wales, so they will be looking to start Lee against England and Australia, with no game time for 6 months. I think we'll see the following Welsh team face England and Australia,

1. Jenkins
2. Owens
3. Lee
4. Charteris
5. AWJ (assuming fit, but even if not, so important to Wales's engine room)
6. Lydiate
7. Warburton
8. Faletau

9. Davies
10. Biggar
11. North
12. Roberts
13. Scott Williams
14. Cuthbert
15. Liam Williams

16. Baldwin
17. James
18. Francis
19. Ball
20. Tipuric
21. Lloyd Williams
22. Priestland
23. Morgan/Amos

Tipuric has to be in the starting 15

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Tipuric has to be in the starting 15

But i think Gatland would loathe leaving out Lydiate and he's never going to drop Sam, imo.

 

[wayevs]

I agree but now you have to factor in losing Webb and halfpenny so its back to the drawing board and with tipuric in great form having a better all round game than lydiate I think the decision to go with Warburton and tipuric would the choice imo

 

[TobesHodges]

It's great to see teams like Italy and Scotland raising their games for WC year, could make for a more interesting group stage..

 

[AzaMatt]

awful situation we are in now, webb i feel we will miss most. halfpenny although amazing going for goal isnt as great an all round full back as williams (apparently hes already in full contact training so should be fit). Biggar is pretty accurate with the boot but doesnt have the range of halfpenny, dont think ive seen biggar kick from over 45-50m out. If we earn penalties out of his range though biggar is excellent at kicking to touch, so could put us within 5-10 metres instead. we just have to make sure we get points out of it.

 

[Ospreylian]

awful situation we are in now, webb i feel we will miss most. halfpenny although amazing going for goal isnt as great an all round full back as williams (apparently hes already in full contact training so should be fit). Biggar is pretty accurate with the boot but doesnt have the range of halfpenny, dont think ive seen biggar kick from over 45-50m out. If we earn penalties out of his range though biggar is excellent at kicking to touch, so could put us within 5-10 metres instead. we just have to make sure we get points out of it.

At first I was absolutely devastated. Now I've had a couple of days to calm down a little bit, I don't think the situation is quite as bad as I initially thought. I agree that Webb could turn out to be the bigger loss, although if Gareth Davies can return to the form he was showing before he got injured I would have little to no worry at all. People seem to be forgetting what an amazing 2013/14 season he had (he was also top try scorer in the league that season, much like Webb last season), he was guaranteed Wales' first choice before he got injured. The only downside is that he doesn't have that familiarity with Biggar, but his style of play is very similar to Webb so the injury hopefully shouldn't cause a huge amount of disruption.

With Halfpenny, I actually think I would have liked to have seen Williams at fullback and Halfpenny on the wing anyway before this injury. I know HP is incredibly reliable in a defensive situation, but I think Williams is now up to speed on that side of things too and he has the skills to compete with the other great counter-attacking fullbacks in the World Cup. Basically, I would love to see Wales have the bravery to counter attack more, something we hardly ever seem to see from them anymore. The biggest problem Leigh's injury presents is obviously who slots into the wing? Why Cuthbert kept his place in that squad over Walker I'll never understand, but it's too late to worry now. Amos should be given the jersey. I would love to see Morgan play there (he could flourish into Shane 2.0) but he hasn't played on the wing for a long time (correct me if I'm wrong, I don't tend to watch much Championship rugby!)

 

[AzaMatt]

At first I was absolutely devastated. Now I've had a couple of days to calm down a little bit, I don't think the situation is quite as bad as I initially thought. I agree that Webb could turn out to be the bigger loss, although if Gareth Davies can return to the form he was showing before he got injured I would have little to no worry at all. People seem to be forgetting what an amazing 2013/14 season he had (he was also top try scorer in the league that season, much like Webb last season), he was guaranteed Wales' first choice before he got injured. The only downside is that he doesn't have that familiarity with Biggar, but his style of play is very similar to Webb so the injury hopefully shouldn't cause a huge amount of disruption.

With Halfpenny, I actually think I would have liked to have seen Williams at fullback and Halfpenny on the wing anyway before this injury. I know HP is incredibly reliable in a defensive situation, but I think Williams is now up to speed on that side of things too and he has the skills to compete with the other great counter-attacking fullbacks in the World Cup. Basically, I would love to see Wales have the bravery to counter attack more, something we hardly ever seem to see from them anymore. The biggest problem Leigh's injury presents is obviously who slots into the wing? Why Cuthbert kept his place in that squad over Walker I'll never understand, but it's too late to worry now. Amos should be given the jersey. I would love to see Morgan play there (he could flourish into Shane 2.0) but he hasn't played on the wing for a long time (correct me if I'm wrong, I don't tend to watch much Championship rugby!)

i agree about davies, he looked epic before his injury, i was hoping him and webb would get a shot. They are very similar in style but davies definitly needs to get back to his best. i have a feeling Lloyd williams is ahead of him at the moment though.

Morgan is a great attacking threat but his defence seems suspect, he didnt go for any kind of tackle to save 1 of italy's trys, just got easily fended. Williams or halfpenny would of thrown themselves at the player (hopefully williams would have legally lol). he would be much better suited playing wing for wales, could quickly run back to the space behind him, much quicker than cuthbert is on the turn.

i have no idea why cuthbert is still there, he is nowhere near the threat he once was, now i find myself worried everytime he is the player to make a tackle. got a feeling Eli walker will get a call up for more wing cover whilst williams slots in at full back

 

[MojoPin]

Such awful, awful luck for Webb and Halfpenny. Made for difficult viewing - never like to see players injured like that, reminded me of the horrific injury Jean De Villiers got a while back. Although not quite that bad thankfully! The reaction of the Welsh supporters is ridiculous as always, though.

But anyway, as good as Webb and Halfpenny are I think people might be surprised at how good their replacements are - if they get up to speed. Liam Williams will be back and is just getting better all the time, and if things had worked out slightly different for him Gareth Davies could have been our first choice scrum half by now anyway so he's got bags of potential. You never know what'll happen but I still think we have reason to be optimistic.

 

[ZeroTwo]

Such awful, awful luck for Webb and Halfpenny. Made for difficult viewing - never like to see players injured like that, reminded me of the horrific injury Jean De Villiers got a while back. Although not quite that bad thankfully! The reaction of the Welsh supporters is ridiculous as always, though.

But anyway, as good as Webb and Halfpenny are I think people might be surprised at how good their replacements are - if they get up to speed. Liam Williams will be back and is just getting better all the time, and if things had worked out slightly different for him Gareth Davies could have been our first choice scrum half by now anyway so he's got bags of potential. You never know what'll happen but I still think we have reason to be optimistic.

This. If anything Wales will now be playing a MORE attacking game. Some of the potential line ups are deadly. Especially with Liam Williams or Matthew Morgan in. This won't write off Wales' chances. Who will be their main goal kicker now and what are their percentages like?