EOYT: Wales vs New Zealand, 24/11/2012

[TRF_Olyy]

....Priestland?

 

[wlshby09]

Priestland...

 

[dullonien]

How can Priestland still be there? He's done absolutely nothing right for god knows how long. He has lost all confidence and can no longer play with his head up. He kicks when he should run, and runs when he should kick.

It still comes down to the forwards though. Ryan Jones had better have a better game than last week. He gave away a stupid amount of penalties last week. Ken Owens unlucky not to start this game after being one of the only players to stand up to be counted last week. Maybe his lineout throwing wasn't up to scratch? Scott Andrews on the bench yet again..........

 

[Draggs]

I'm feeling pretty stabby right now.
Keep me away from sharp things.

 

[Ozzay]

Lol Phillips and Priestland..

This is going to be comical... Anyone wanna buy my ticket?

 

[Thingimubob]

So I give up. I really cant be bothered to complain about Priestland anymore... someone in the coaching set up must be in love with him and refuses to see him dropped...

If you want to find me on Saturday, I'll be the one crying in the corner with the biggest beer I can find...

 

[TRF_Cymro]

Not to disappointed with the side.

Personally I would have started with Gethin and bring James on.

I can see what Gatland is thinking in terms of the side. It's not to everyone's cup of tea but there must be a reason in training that Gatland see's and feel's that Preistland gets that nod over Hook. It's a familiar backline and I can see why Gatland has put it in place, personally disappointed that Knoyle is the man on the bench as I feel that if they want to change the pace / tempo then Lloyd is the man.

 

[Big Ewis]

can't WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIT !!!!!!
These past weeks have been the SLOW-FKN-EST ever !

It's like Sunday to Saturday afternoon are in monster slowmo, and then the entire Saturday afternoon night is a fugitive breeze.
Repeat. Repeat...

 

[SpanishBob]

Wales needs Morgan to grow up quickly. Until then they just don't have a top quality fly half. Not in Priestland, not in Hook, good center but poor 10, and not in Biggar. So it doesn't really matter if they go for Priestland or Hook or Biggar next week. The most talented one is probably Priestland, but apparently he can't handle pressure.

 

[Ozzay]

Morgan will probably tour in the summer

 

[Dizzy]

I'm predicting we will see the following AB's lineup (as we are going to pick our top lineup this week):

1. Woodcock
2. Hore
3. O Franks
4. Romano (I would prefer Retallick, though it is almost 50:50 for me)
5. Whitelock
6. Messam
7. McCaw
8. Read
9. A Smith (if fit, otherwise Weepu)
10. Carter
11. Savea
12. Nonu
13. C Smith
14. Jane
15. Dagg

16. Coles (as Mealamu looks like he will miss the test with a calf injury)
17. Crockett
18. Faumuina
19. Retallick
20. Vito
21. Weepu
22. Cruden
23. B Smith (if fit, otherwise Gear I suppose).

I don't think there are too many areas of debate. Mealamu would be a shot at starting at hooker but it sounds like he will miss the test through injury, while locks are 50:50 are I've already mentioned. There is a possibility that Vito may get a shot at 6 after his strong match versus Scotland, but Messam's consistent form during the season should see him maintain that jersey. There is a few rumours that Aaron Smith could lose his starting spot after a couple of poor matches - this would be ridiculous if this was to happen in my opinion as they would be replacing him with someone who has had an entire poor season! The rest of the backline more or less picks itself - Savea's superb performance against Italy should see him have the number 11 jersey sewn up for the rest of the tour at the very least.

Again, I don't see where people get this idea from.
Weepu just turned up fat and had an average season. Weepu didn't single handedly have a poor season, the Blues were below par as a whole. And by the end of the Super Rugby competition he was finding his form.

So no, Weepu didn't have an entire poor season. I still don't know why people have so much negativity towards Piri for turning up fat.

 

[FlukeArtist]

Again, I don't see where people get this idea from.
Weepu just turned up fat and had an average season. Weepu didn't single handedly have a poor season, the Blues were below par as a whole. And by the end of the Super Rugby competition he was finding his form.

So no, Weepu didn't have an entire poor season. I still don't know why people have so much negativity towards Piri for turning up fat.

I'll tell you why; it is because he a professional sportsman that is paid a LOT of money to perform.
He is not some guy who turns up for to play footy after a hard day working on the farm, or building, or the office.
He has ONE job- playing rugby. And that is a job a great deal of people would swap places with him for in a millisecond.

Not only that, but the Blues took him on after the 'Canes debacle of '11. And Piri turning up fat and un-prepared was the way he repaid them.
A LOT of Blues fans were ****** off we had wasted the money on the guy, and ****** off with his defensive attitude towards the criticism of his lack of professionalism,
And at the end of the day, that is what it was; a lack of professionalism. Plain and simple.

 

[dullonien]

Not to disappointed with the side.

Personally I would have started with Gethin and bring James on.

I can see what Gatland is thinking in terms of the side. It's not to everyone's cup of tea but there must be a reason in training that Gatland see's and feel's that Preistland gets that nod over Hook. It's a familiar backline and I can see why Gatland has put it in place, personally disappointed that Knoyle is the man on the bench as I feel that if they want to change the pace / tempo then Lloyd is the man.

I agree regarding Gethin and Lloyd.

My problem with Priestland is that his decision making is shot due to a complete lack of confidence. It's obvious from his posture and just how quiet he seems to be on the pitch. In training the pressure is off, so I'm sure he's doing everything well. When a player has been in a slump for as long as Priestland has been, where he's struggling not just for country, but for region as well, the last thing he needs is to be starting against the best team in the world and arguably one of the best teams in history. This is not the place for a player to regain confidence in his game! There's a remote possibility that he'll begin the game well and the confidence will come flooding back, but the likelyhood is that he'll make a few errors early on and continue in the same manner. He doesn't even have the kicking duties which can sometimes raise a players confidence after banging a few over (or kill it by missing a few).

I feel a little sorry for him, I'm sure he knows what the fans think at the moment. The best thing for him would be to work on regaining form at the Scarlets, but he would of course never turn down a chance to play for Wales. It is a poor selection that will benefit neither Wales or the player imo.

 

[Larksea]

I don't think either of them is the future 6, I think that's between Brad Shields and Steve Luatua. In the short term, I think Messam is the better option.

I agree, though I still don't think Messam is showing his full potential. May never really know what it is, I think it may be a couple of things.

1, he doesn't play his natural game for the All Blacks. For the chiefs he has a role which is almost like a playmaker and his focus changes week to week depending on the opposition but it always plays to his strengths, he's created a huge amount of tries for the chiefs by coming in and playing halfback and throwing passes that surprise the opposition or pick n go but as it's not in the game plan for the AB's it's an aspect of his game we just don't see. For the All Blacks his game is much more regimented and set, much less natural and of course he's not calling the shots, that is for Carter, McCaw, Read and A & C Smith. Watching him on the park he clearly looks like he's always where he needs to be according to the gameplan which is good for the team but doesn't allow him to show his stuff as often as he could.

2, I think he gets overworked in super rugby. He never gets injured or he just plays through injury and hardly ever gets rested. Often see his form dip a bit end of season for the chiefs and I think by the time test rugby arrives he's past his peak for the year. Sometimes an injury can be a blessing for a player, they get a few weeks off playing and other ****les heal, they often can still work on cardio and refresh mentally. I see it all the time players come back from an injury break with improved form that carries for a long time.

Same could be said for Vito but I can't comment on him as much or what his issues may be. But he's in a similar boat to Messam. Brilliant is super rugby but hasn't translated that for the AB's, and between the two Messam has done a better job of converting his chances this year off the back of being a bit more agile around the field and a bit more physical in defense and at the rucks.

I personally still see Vito much more suited to 8 than 6 and I think that is going to be the case going forward for the All Blacks too. Hansen hinted it recently.

I'd like to see Messam keep improving, it would be good if he could be given more chances to be creative on attack. If not it seems only a matter of time till Luatua gets a chance, that will be interesting. just on his current form he's tracking for sure to future All Black selection but he will surely improve.

 

[TRF_Cymro]

I agree regarding Gethin and Lloyd.

My problem with Priestland is that his decision making is shot due to a complete lack of confidence. It's obvious from his posture and just how quiet he seems to be on the pitch. In training the pressure is off, so I'm sure he's doing everything well. When a player has been in a slump for as long as Priestland has been, where he's struggling not just for country, but for region as well, the last thing he needs is to be starting against the best team in the world and arguably one of the best teams in history. This is not the place for a player to regain confidence in his game! There's a remote possibility that he'll begin the game well and the confidence will come flooding back, but the likelyhood is that he'll make a few errors early on and continue in the same manner. He doesn't even have the kicking duties which can sometimes raise a players confidence after banging a few over (or kill it by missing a few).

I feel a little sorry for him, I'm sure he knows what the fans think at the moment. The best thing for him would be to work on regaining form at the Scarlets, but he would of course never turn down a chance to play for Wales. It is a poor selection that will benefit neither Wales or the player imo.

Its a pure gamble by Gatland. It will either come off or it won't. Gatland is giving a bit of confidence to the lad in selecting him if it goes wrong it goes wrong, can always sub him off.

 

[donmcdazzle]

Again, I don't see where people get this idea from.
Weepu just turned up fat and had an average season. Weepu didn't single handedly have a poor season, the Blues were below par as a whole. And by the end of the Super Rugby competition he was finding his form.

So no, Weepu didn't have an entire poor season. I still don't know why people have so much negativity towards Piri for turning up fat.

Is this a sarcastic message? Weepu most definitely had a poor season, he didn't have one good game for the Blues. Sure the Blues as a whole were lacklustre, which is in no small part due to one of their marquee signings turning up fat and out of shape. Massive slap in the face for the whole Blues franchise, Pat Lam should have made him run laps at training until he had lost about 15kg. I wouldn't have started him until he had if I was the coach.

The fact you can't see why people think he is a muppet for turning up fat is pretty hard case. All he has to do for his job in the offseason is to stay relatively fit and not eat terrible food. Seems like he can't even be bothered to mind what he is eating or go for the odd gym session in the offseason. What does that tell you about the guys attitude?

 

[Draggs]

Its a pure gamble by Gatland. It will either come off or it won't. Gatland is giving a bit of confidence to the lad in selecting him if it goes wrong it goes wrong, can always sub him off.

Funny thing is, Priestland can play as **** as he wants, but Hook will come off the bench and take most of the flack if he has a poor match.
I am gutted for Biggar. When I first joined TRF I was a staunch Toveyist, and to be fair, that boy looked like he could go far. I poked fun of Biggar losing his temperament at Rodney. Two years later, Biggar has made me eat some humble pie. He is no longer the lippy stand off that many loved. He does his talking on the pitch and looked a more mature player by miles. Tovey, for comparison, has had an unfortunate series of injuries and really looks out of it. Of course, I hope that he will make the grade soon. Daniel Evans was decent at outside half for us last weekend, I hope he gets a bit more of a run there while Steff and Lewis develop. Anybody see Robling as an inside centre?

 

[Larksea]

weepu was bloody horrible for the blues this year and him turning up fat was a slap in the face for the squad and coach, but at the same time Lam should have known that weepu was a "special" case - if you have him in your squad you basically have to baby sit him, keep hims mind and body in the game and not down at the tuck shop.

 

[dullonien]

Its a pure gamble by Gatland. It will either come off or it won't. Gatland is giving a bit of confidence to the lad in selecting him if it goes wrong it goes wrong, can always sub him off.

I hope the gamble comes off. Priestland is exactly the kind of player that suits Wales' gameplan when playing well. He's more direct than Hook, but has a little more flair and pace than Biggar (although Biggar has improved of late in this regard). He's a nice balance that bring those around him into the game, but that the opposition cannot forget about. I've been hoping every game for a year now though, and it hasn't happened yet, and I'd be surprised if it were to suddenly happen this weekend. Still crossing my fingers though.

 

[TrueSlawter]

I agree regarding Gethin and Lloyd.

My problem with Priestland is that his decision making is shot due to a complete lack of confidence. It's obvious from his posture and just how quiet he seems to be on the pitch. In training the pressure is off, so I'm sure he's doing everything well. When a player has been in a slump for as long as Priestland has been, where he's struggling not just for country, but for region as well, the last thing he needs is to be starting against the best team in the world and arguably one of the best teams in history. This is not the place for a player to regain confidence in his game! There's a remote possibility that he'll begin the game well and the confidence will come flooding back, but the likelyhood is that he'll make a few errors early on and continue in the same manner. He doesn't even have the kicking duties which can sometimes raise a players confidence after banging a few over (or kill it by missing a few).

I feel a little sorry for him, I'm sure he knows what the fans think at the moment. The best thing for him would be to work on regaining form at the Scarlets, but he would of course never turn down a chance to play for Wales. It is a poor selection that will benefit neither Wales or the player imo.

It's a fair point to be fair, he needs his form back, before the WC he was playing pretty well and had been for a bit tbh (even from 15 when Jones was playing at 10).

He needs to step back do what Biggar did, for a while he looked really promising with his attacking then he stagnated a bit now seems to have found it again. That is in regards to start looking up, letting instinct take over on what to do rather than over think things and make the wrong choice, or misread whats going on and kicking it dead (like against Samoa)

The last point is also a very good point who in their right mind would turn down the chance to play for their country more so against the #1 team in the world.