Let's be honest some of you are still afraid of change. We are probably the most stagnant rugby nation in this tournament, Italy have more creativity in attack than us , be are predictable and boring , the only reason we compete to a degree is because we have a well drilled defense and some moments of individual brilliance most matches. There is no cohesiveness in attack and our game plan is to kick the ball route one but keep it in play whenever possible then let the opposition run at us in hope of our defence creating a turnover , seriously look at most our games we rarely run from our own 22 , we are still playing warrenball even though the management says different it's a dressed up warrenball and the longer we are under the that management then that's all we will ever been, It's time to grow some balls Welsh fans how much worse can we be by giving the opportunity to our younger lads . Seriously Moriarty needs to start he is the exact type of dynamic player we arw needing in this team alongside some creative talents like Sam Davies, Scott Williams, Ashley's beck , Giles, webb , tipuric etc etc and if that means benching falatau then so be it, he is not on form at the minute anyway , I've not been impressed with his performance s from the bench so far.
Agree with 90% of that. It's nothing to do with being afraid though, and no-one is arguing against change, however some of us realize that making mass changes in one go is a recipe for disaster, and one which may/will knock the confidence of some of the rookies brought in. The fact of the matter is that many of these players haven't yet been exposed to international rugby (either through injury or Howley/Gatland's lack of vision), but throwing them all in together against (on their day) the most intense team in the world (that test v NZ in Chicago was as intense as I've seen recently), would more than likely do more harm than good and prevent us from learning anything.
Re Moriarty & Faletau (can't believe I'm having to defend Faletau), Faletau was always up against it after such an injury ravaged season. He'll have had another 2 weeks of training and another game for Bath by the time the Ireland game rolls around, so depending on how he goes for Bath, I'd very much have him in the mix to start.
Faletau maybe isn't an ideal bench player either. His strengths are his work rate to the full 80, his all round game and his consistency. Maybe difficult for him to stamp his mark on a game in 10 mins off the bench (did against SA in the AI's though I suppose). Moriarty maybe offers more of a threat off the bench with his explosiveness.
I'd also bring back Hibbard he is in a rich vein of form and is the best hook by some margin , baldwin has gone backwards and Owens whilst been decent cannot match an inform Hibbard
How is bringing a 33y/o player back a step forwards? Yes he's been in good form for Gloucester, and yes he was one of the better Welsh hookers in recent years, but he's also just as inconsistent as the likes of Owens (who was magnificent v England btw), and also struggles in the lineout. Parry, Dacey, and Elias are the future, not Hibbard.
Which rookies should they have been picking last 6N? I know Ashley Beck isn't one of them as he was injured and I'm guessing Rory Thornton wasn't ready due to age. Parry and Davies?
That's a good question Peat. The likes of Giles & Steff Evans weren't around back then, whilst Sam Davies and Thornton hadn't had enough regional rugby to be considered more than good prospects. However Tipuric and Liam Williams weren't regular starters when everyone was fit, with Lydiate and the usual back 3 players preferred. Similarly Scott Williams was ignored in favor of Roberts who hadn't shown much in a long time v quality opposition.
So whilst we weren't calling for the same players, there's been a consistent delay in making changes. They end up being made, but usually a good year to late. I bet Lydiate would still be getting picked if he weren't injured and he hasn't been at the top of his game since 2012!
