[2021 Six Nations] Wales Squad

[TRF_Olyy]

WALES 2021 GUINNESS SIX NATIONS SQUAD

Forwards:
Rhys Carre (Cardiff Bues) (12 Caps)
Wyn Jones (Scarlets) (30 Caps)
Rhodri Jones (Ospreys) (17 Caps)
Elliot Dee (Dragons) (33 Caps)
Ryan Elias (Scarlets) (17 Caps)
Ken Owens (Scarlets) (77 Caps)
Leon Brown (Dragons) (12 Caps)
Tomas Francis (Exeter Chiefs) (52 Caps)
Dillon Lewis (Cardiff Blues) (28 Caps)
Jake Ball (Scarlets) (49 Caps)
Adam Beard (Ospreys) (21 Caps)
Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys) (143 Caps)
Will Rowlands (Wasps) (5 Caps)
Cory Hill (Cardiff Blues) (29 Caps)
Dan Lydiate (Ospreys) (62 Caps)
Josh Navidi (Cardiff Blues) (24 Caps)
Aaron Wainwright (Dragons) (27 Caps)
Taulupe Faletau (Bath) (81 Caps)
Josh MacLeod (Scarlets) (*Uncapped)
Justin Tipuric (Ospreys) (80 Caps)

Backs:
Gareth Davies (Scarlets) (57 Caps)
Tomos Williams (Cardiff Blues) (20 Caps)
Kieran Hardy (Scarlets) (2 Caps)
Dan Biggar (Northampton Saints) (87 Caps)
Callum Sheedy (Bristol Bears) (4 Caps)
Jarrod Evans (Cardiff Blues) (6 Caps)
Johnny Williams (Scarlets) (2 Caps)
Jonathan Davies (Scarlets) (85 Caps)
Nick Tompkins (Dragons) (8 Caps)
Owen Watkin (Ospreys) (25 Caps)
George North (Ospreys) (98 Caps)
Josh Adams (Cardiff Blues) (29 Caps)
Hallam Amos (Cardiff Blues) (22 Caps)
Louis Rees-Zammit (Gloucester) (4 Caps)
Leigh Halfpenny (Scarlets) (93 Caps)
Liam Williams (Scarlets) (67 Caps)

Players unavailable for selection due to injury:

Rob Evans, Nicky Smith, Samson Lee, Ross Moriarty, James Davies, Ellis Jenkins, Gareth Anscombe, Rhys Patchell, Scott Williams, Jonah Holmes

 

[Jashay]

Blimey, when was Lydiate last picked? Feels like years ago...

Question for those more in the know; what's the Welsh lock situation look like once Ball goes at the end of the season and AWJ finally retires? Not really sure who the next cabs off the rank are after Beard

 

[Reiser99]

Think Pivac is going for results. Be interesting to see if Wales's tactics change.

 

[GJ6]

Thought I read somewhere Jamie Roberts was being recalled?

 

[Welsh Exile]

Blimey, when was Lydiate last picked? Feels like years ago...

Question for those more in the know; what's the Welsh lock situation look like once Ball goes at the end of the season and AWJ finally retires? Not really sure who the next cabs off the rank are after Beard

Our 2nd row situation isn't that great even with Jake Ball, Imo.

Assuming AWJ retires in the next year or 2 it's not looking great. I do like Cory Hill but he's had bad luck with injuries recently (ever since that great performance against England in 2019) and he's not really rediscovered that form but hopefully he can. Rowlands looks ok but need to see more.

There's a very young lock at the dragons called Carter who looks very impressive, though. He's only 19/20 years old but definitely looks like a player. Rhys Davies at Ospreys is putting it about and Screech at Dragons is doing well too.

We have always lacked in the 2nd row in my opinion, well, recently the front 5 in general is a problem area for us.

 

[Not Eddie Jones]

We have always lacked in the 2nd row in my opinion, well, recently the front 5 in general is a problem area for us.

The front 5 really does look quite weak, but overall the team just strikes me as really old. That's not necessarily a bad thing, older players can still play well, but pretty much all those Welsh veterans look well past their prime. And god knows what this means for Wales at the 2023 world cup. I think Pivac made a big mistake by not moving on wholesale from the older players when he first arrived and drafting in younger guys that could play the way he wanted to play. It would have brought him some time and good will around results. Instead he's now scrambling around trying to find a way to save his job with a few wins, and as a result there's no real sense of where Wales are going long-term. They look pretty rudderless.

 

[Mikey12]

It's not an old team by any stretch there's only 8 players in the squad over 60 caps, and a lot that got first chances in the autumn. We are a weakened side in the front row, and our regional rugby is struggling although Ospreys look like they might have turned a corner. On paper based on regional success Ireland should hammer us I'm not sure it will be quite so clear cut though.
Pivac likes his teams to pressurise without the ball but, sides who retain possession like Ireland tend to do better at international. I just hope we play better than in the Autumn or it might be 5th place.

 

[Not Eddie Jones]

Ken Owens, AWJ, Lydiate, Navidi, Tipuric, Faletau, Gareth Davies, Biggar, Jonathan Davies and Halfpenny are all 30+. That's not many of the squad overall, but every one of those players is a likely starter if fit. That's 10 of the starting 15. I think that's a very worrying sign for Wales for the future, especially as most of those players have their best form behind them.

I think if Wales can get an early lead and build on it as they did against Ireland back in 2019, they should be able to go on and win it as their defence is still okay. If the game stays close and Wales need a score to win, I think they're in trouble. The one thing Pivac was supposed to bring was attack, and, er... well, he hasn't.

 

[Welsh Exile]

Ken Owens, AWJ, Lydiate, Navidi, Tipuric, Faletau, Gareth Davies, Biggar, Jonathan Davies and Halfpenny are all 30+. That's not many of the squad overall, but every one of those players is a likely starter if fit. That's 10 of the starting 15. I think that's a very worrying sign for Wales for the future, especially as most of those players have their best form behind them.

I think if Wales can get an early lead and build on it as they did against Ireland back in 2019, they should be able to go on and win it as their defence is still okay. If the game stays close and Wales need a score to win, I think they're in trouble. The one thing Pivac was supposed to bring was attack, and, er... well, he hasn't.

Tomos Williams will be the guy moving forward and rightly so, so Gareth Davies isn't a fair inclusion in your list. Lydiate has been playing well for the Ospreys so it's not like his inclusion in the squad is unwarranted but he's been brought in for his defence and his experience as Pivac need wins over performances to keep his job and Lydiate knows the score.

Navidi, while 30, still has a good few years in him (injuries permitting) and he's only had 20 odd international caps so his body isn't as smashed as it might well otherwise have been.

We never really have to worry at 9 or the back row, though, as we always produce good players in that area. I could reel off at least 5 young back rows who'll likely be good solid international players with 1 or 2 world class. As I say, it's the front 5 I worry about.

 

[Not Eddie Jones]

Tomos Williams will be the guy moving forward and rightly so, so Gareth Davies isn't a fair inclusion in your list. Lydiate has been playing well for the Ospreys so it's not like his inclusion in the squad is unwarranted but he's been brought in for his defence and his experience as Pivac need wins over performances to keep his job and Lydiate knows the score.

That's the real problem, Pivac has to win to keep his job, but that means new caps and developing players goes out the window in favour of proven veterans. That creates a big problem down the road. Lydiate is unlikely to be around for the next WC, he'll be 35, Jake Ball is off to Oz at the end of the season and won't be eligible for selection anymore, AWJ will be 38 when the next WC rolls around, Owens 36, Jonathan Davies 35, Tipuric, Biggar and Halfpenny 34. All these problems are piling up and nothing's being done to resolve them.

 

[Welsh Exile]

That's the real problem, Pivac has to win to keep his job, but that means new caps and developing players goes out the window in favour of proven veterans. That creates a big problem down the road. Lydiate is unlikely to be around for the next WC, he'll be 35, Jake Ball is off to Oz at the end of the season and won't be eligible for selection anymore, AWJ will be 38 when the next WC rolls around, Owens 36, Jonathan Davies 35, Tipuric, Biggar and Halfpenny 34. All these problems are piling up and nothing's being done to resolve them.

This is the position he finds himself off the back of a very poor autumn though isn't it.

Most squads have quite a few senior players, England have their fair share.

Not really worried about the backs (especially back 3) as we've got plenty of young talent coming through. As I keep saying, the front 5 granted but outside of that I think you're overstating the problem.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Thought I read somewhere Jamie Roberts was being recalled?

And Sam Warburton, JPR, Sir Gareth Edwards....

 

[GJ6]

He nearly got there! Really looking forward to watching the Wales v Eng game with my best (Welsh) neighbour here in The Netherlands

 

[Mikey12]

So glad to see Ellis Jenkins back playing after 830 odd days out and 3 surgeries to repair his knee following a final minute autumn test match against South Africa. Wales has a lot of heavily injured players and personally I think it's something the game has to look at.
Any team today would wipe the floor with a pre professional side, they are so much bigger in physique and the collisions so much more ferocious that we need to consider how many games they play a year. Their bodies cannot take the attrition as bone density and additional ligaments haven't grown along with mass.

I think Graham Henry might be right when he calls tor an Under 85 kg side, I think to have a long career in rugby these guys need to consider size as a negative.

A back in my day was 12-13 st, I remember Scott Gibbs coming back from league a 14 st of muscle and people referring to how he could get over the gain line due to his size. Halaholo is 16 st, Jamie Roberts 17.4 these are big boys in the centre. Jonah Lomu was 18.8 and a freak of nature at 6'5" for a wing who could run 100m in 10.8 sec, he was the catalyst he created the change as teams realised they needed to get bigger to compete.
We are at a crossroads and need to consider what is good for the players the game and the spectators, the defences today are not penetrable so the ball is kicked long to try and cause an error. Rugby has become formula 1, stalemate is this what we want?

 

[Rinkadink]

He nearly got there! Really looking forward to watching the Wales v Eng game with my best (Welsh) neighbour here in The Netherlands

Hott fer doma... rugby in de Nederlands? Carnaval is begonnen!

Who does everyone think the starting half back pairing should be vs England?

 

[bushytop]

Hott fer doma... rugby in de Nederlands? Carnaval is begonnen!

Who does everyone think the starting half back pairing should be vs England?

Personally I'd probably go Gareth Davies (I know he wasn't great yesterday though) and Sheedy. I like Biggar coming off the bench having studied the game for 55/60 minutes.

 

[Welsh Exile]

I'd love to see Jarrod Evans get a chance but he won't.

 

[bushytop]

I'd love to see Jarrod Evans get a chance but he won't.

Yeah, he's great but not sure he's 'ready for dis jelly'... just yet.

 

[Welsh Exile]

Yeah, he's great but not sure he's 'ready for dis jelly'... just yet.

Mate, sometimes you've just gotta get your face right up in that jelly to see how good it is. It's the only way.

I reckon Pivac caught him boning his Mrs, to be honest.

 

[MikeTheNative]

Evans is 24/25. If he's not ready now I don't think he will ever be.