[November Tests 2016 EOYT] Wales vs. Argentina (12/11/2016)

[FNS]

I dont understand why if they double mark us all game. If they force rucks and scrums we dont play wider. We try to power though. We cant adapt to game play in the same match we have to wait for a week jeez

 

[Bluemoon]

Good scrum, good lineout (only one missed?), better defence. Still shocking in attack. Need to improve the attack before South Africa, that's for sure.

 

[martinspoonboy1]

Poor quality match. Improvements for Wales in defence, and some signs in attack. Wales vs SA will be a close one! Considering the roof was clsed it was scrappy AF!

 

[The Jones Boy]

Good result for Wales
They deserved the victory and gosh they make hard work of a win don't they?
The Pumas were starved of possession all game long yet on the rare occasion when they got it there were several instances where Wales just 'switched off' completely for a few seconds and sure enough the Pumas are rolling them backwards at a rate of knots toward their try line and threatening the scoreboard.
Overall Wales can be very happy, it's a win and there were several positives out there, not least their defence this week. AWJ and Liam Williams are class players and their impact was momentous. Still missing Faletau but Moriarty was showing some spark again. Halfpenny is improving, certainly over last week.

 

[TommiG88]

Wales will beat SA I think. When are the World Cup groups drawn?

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

Thank goodness last week was just an abberation for Wales. Liam Williams must be first name on the team sheet now. Outstanding. Have to give Howley some credit too; Argentina are a handy side. Good to see another NH side claim a SH scalp.

 

[Rich Taff]

Thought Sanjay was excellent as usual (although he could have passed the ball for a walk in instead of 500 video replays), 1/2p much better (and thankfully appears to be getting his kicking boots back).
Warburton put in a hell of a shift. Far more visible in tackles etc, and the AWJ/Inspector Gadget second row was immense in the mauls.
Moriarty was as 'dedicated' as ever, but really is a gulf between him and Faletau.
Tipuric was better when he didn't have to do the dirty work a 7 is supposed to do.
Very impressed by the front row, and scrum in general. Wasn't expecting it to be so strong vs an Argentine team that prides itself on at least holding it's own at that.

 

[marianodan]

I have a question for anyone who knows how the rankings work: if Argentina beats Scotland next week (let's say by a narrow score), can Scotland still catch Argentina the following week (ENG v ARG, SCO v GEO)?

 

[Rich Taff]

I have a question for anyone who knows how the rankings work: if Argentina beats Scotland next week (let's say by a narrow score), can Scotland still catch Argentina the following week (ENG v ARG, SCO v GEO)?

http://www.worldrugby.org/rankings/explanation?lang=en

I'll let you try to figure it out

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

I have a question for anyone who knows how the rankings work: if Argentina beats Scotland next week (let's say by a narrow score), can Scotland still catch Argentina the following week (ENG v ARG, SCO v GEO)?

No. But if Argentina lose to Scotland they can still hypothetically overtake them again the next week.

Basically the higher the ranking of a side you beat the more points you get. And you get more away from home. So there are not many points available for Scotland if they beat Georgia. But if they lost to Georgia they would lose loads.

 

[Reiser99]

I may upset people here, but I don't see how Welsh fans can think this is good enough. Since 2011 Wales have been stagnant. Yes people may accuse England of being arrogant, but their target is to be No.1. They aren't saying they are, but they are letting people know that is their goal and they won't accept less. Where is this from the Welsh team? They have a similar team and style for years and while they have been a great side, they haven't gone forwards either, except possibly for a the New Zealand tour.

Maybe I'm wrong Welsh fans, but I'd be angry with comments that the win was the important thing.

 

[TheOvalBall]

Argentina are so disappointing sometimes. Just when you think they will claim another big scalp, they fold like a house of cards.

 

[Lucas R]

As always

 

[Cruz_del_Sur]

I feel ripped off. What a bore-fest.

 

[The Jones Boy]

You have to give credit to Wales, they successfully starved the Pumas of any possession and kept them out of the game. Having said that, it was apparent that regardless of their lions share of possession they couldn't turn it into points readily and so on the infrequent occasions that the Pumas did get the ball, they caught Wales sleeping and kept the scoreboard tight.
LIam Williams was massive and AWJ played a critical part in motivating his pack.
I didn't agree with Jonathan Davies giving AWJ the man of the match, yes he played a strong game but Liam Williams was a cut above everyone in that game. Such a handful for a bow legged schoolboy. Warburton showed some real fire and desire. Moriarty had some good runs and touches too but they are really missing Faletau. He's a massive player for Wales.

 

[welshglory]

Remember how good Halfpenny was when he first burst into the scene?
Its criminal how he's had every bit of attacking flair coached out of him to just be a boot

IMO he's a much better winger. Fullback has never really been a natural position for him at the elite club or international level.

On another note i would keep an eye out for Jonathan Humphreys who's working for Scotland at the moment, as a candidate for a coaching position in the Welsh set up in the future. He seems to be doing a reasonable job for them and was good for the O's, and let's be honest Mcbryde hasn't really enhanced his reputation.

 

[MikeTheNative]

I may upset people here, but I don't see how Welsh fans can think this is good enough. Since 2011 Wales have been stagnant. Yes people may accuse England of being arrogant, but their target is to be No.1. They aren't saying they are, but they are letting people know that is their goal and they won't accept less. Where is this from the Welsh team? They have a similar team and style for years and while they have been a great side, they haven't gone forwards either, except possibly for a the New Zealand tour.

Maybe I'm wrong Welsh fans, but I'd be angry with comments that the win was the important thing.

I do agree with you that the Welsh team hasn't really 'kicked on' from the 2011 world cup. They seriously in the need of new ideas, there was a hint of that in the New Zealand tour but it's all seemingly gone now and it's back to one dimensional hit the big guys up the middle. However I do think that the win was the most important thing, after losing 5 in a row that just had to get a win on the board. I've liked Biggar and defended him in the past but I think it is time to look to another to give our back line a bit of spark.

 

[valley commando]

No team bickers to the ref like Walesz

Shut up

- - - Updated - - -

I may upset people here, but I don't see how Welsh fans can think this is good enough. Since 2011 Wales have been stagnant. Yes people may accuse England of being arrogant, but their target is to be No.1. They aren't saying they are, but they are letting people know that is their goal and they won't accept less. Where is this from the Welsh team? They have a similar team and style for years and while they have been a great side, they haven't gone forwards either, except possibly for a the New Zealand tour.

Maybe I'm wrong Welsh fans, but I'd be angry with comments that the win was the important thing.

You are right on several points, we have been stagnant for much of the last 5 years, England fans are arrogant and we do need to change our style.
The natural successor when Gats leaves the Wales job is Dai Young as head coach, Jonathen Humphries as forwards coach, Jinksy remaining as kicking/skills coach and a major search for an attack coach maybe someone recently retired from playing or someone from rugby league where the offload is such a big part of the game.

 

[MojoPin]

Shut up

Well, he does have a point to a degree. Dan Biggar is embarrassing in how often he tries to bend the ear of the ref. You can understand it sometimes but lately he has been stepping out of line a lot and even made a fool of himself arguing with a line judge in a recent Ospreys match, which was later proved with the TMO, much to his embarrassment. Stuff like this will give a team a reputation, much like how Mike Brown has had a bit of stick for it in the past with England. Its up to our team to put down such talk - just saying 'shut up' hardly helps our case, does it?

It's one of the reasons why I've always maintained that Warburton is a good choice of captain, as opposed to Alun Wyn Jones (who the fans are always saying should be permanent captain) - you never, ever see him being told off by the ref but when he needs to get his point across, he's listened to. AWJ is amazing for his passion and strong personality, which is great for 'mobilizing the troops', but there have been times where the ref has shut him down in order to calm things down a bit.

 

[valley commando]

Well, he does have a point to a degree. Dan Biggar is embarrassing in how often he tries to bend the ear of the ref. You can understand it sometimes but lately he has been stepping out of line a lot and even made a fool of himself arguing with a line judge in a recent Ospreys match, which was later proved with the TMO, much to his embarrassment. Stuff like this will give a team a reputation, much like how Mike Brown has had a bit of stick for it in the past with England. Its up to our team to put down such talk - just saying 'shut up' hardly helps our case, does it?

It's one of the reasons why I've always maintained that Warburton is a good choice of captain, as opposed to Alun Wyn Jones (who the fans are always saying should be permanent captain) - you never, ever see him being told off by the ref but when he needs to get his point across, he's listened to. AWJ is amazing for his passion and strong personality, which is great for 'mobilizing the troops', but there have been times where the ref has shut him down in order to calm things down a bit.

So you never see Warbs spoken to by the ref, have you forgotten WC semi V France. Warbs is injured a lot more often than AWJ, AWJ would make an excellent captain and I am hopeful he will be the Lions captain.