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[Six Nations 2018] Round 3: Ireland vs Wales (24/02/2018)

Ability in the air would probably be bottom of importance when it comes to the no.10 position. An added bonus only, yet It's probably Biggar's biggest selling point, especially because Halfpenny will be the kicker.

Yes we were exposed in the air v England, and Patchell did lose out to Watson for the first try, but I'd argue he was only in that position because he was deemed better aerially than the back 3. Now that they've brought Halfpenny and Liam into the back 3, Patchell wouldn't need to perform the same role and thus wouldn't be exposed as badly.
 
dullonien said:
Ability in the air would probably be bottom of importance when it comes to the no.10 position. An added bonus only, yet It's probably Biggar's biggest selling point, especially because Halfpenny will be the kicker.

Yes we were exposed in the air v England, and Patchell did lose out to Watson for the first try, but I'd argue he was only in that position because he was deemed better aerially than the back 3. Now that they've brought Halfpenny and Liam into the back 3, Patchell wouldn't need to perform the same role and thus wouldn't be exposed as badly.
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Like I said, I'm not particularly a Biggar fan but when all things are considered I can see the coaches willingness to bring him straight back in. Sometimes it is easy to overcompensate a recently flawed area and this could well turn out that way.

I believe Patchell probably has a brighter future than Biggar in the 10 shirt but after a tough afternoon against England, sticking him right back in at the Aviva against a halfback pairing of the caliber of the Irish may have been a bit too much to ask. Slightly surprised to see him out of the match day squad altogether though.
 
bushytop said:
I along with every other Welshman would love to have a consistently high performing expansive fly half but we have struggled to nurture one out since jiff. As disappointed as I am for Patch, he along with Anscombe (who went on to have a decent all around game) failed positionally against England... and Ireland will focus on a kicking game much more than England did. Biggar and Halfpenney does blunt our attack some but they are the better option in the circumstances.

If Patch (or Priestland) had had ownership of the shirt for a longer period it may have been different.

Biggar is a senior player, so is in direct contact with the management around fixes etc. and was also on the Lions tour with Sexton and Murray, so has observed the way they operate closely and in pressure situations. I'm not his biggest fan but as long as he's fit, I can see the upside.
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Your reasoning is fine, the flaw is that I'm fairly sure Gatland would select Biggar even if this was a different game against different opposition.
 
Mrs. Peter Quinn said:
Your reasoning is fine, the flaw is that I'm fairly sure Gatland would select Biggar even if this was a different game against different opposition.
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You may well be right on that and the sad thing is that if we win against Ireland and Biggar remains fit, the 10 jersey won't even be in question... for a while at least. I would love to see Patchell given another start against France or Italy, the latter being most likely. Not only does he deserve more game time at this level but Wales need another 10 exposed to as much test match rugby as possible.
 
Groundhog said:
Porter being out is bad news, we'll lose a lot in the scrum regardless of who replaces him.
Team will probably be
1. Healy
2. Best
3. Porter
4. Ryan
5. Toner
6. POM
7. Leavy
8. Stander
9. Murray
10. Sexton
11. Stockdale
12. Aki
13. Farrell
14. Earls
15. Kearney

16. Cronin
17. McGrath
18. Ryan
19. Dillane/ Roux
20. Conan
21. Marmion
22. Carbery
23. McFadden

Think there will be a good deal of fighting fire with fire in the selections. Wouldn't call either of our centres great distributors, both offloading threats, but that's not something we do a lot of.
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Kinsella says Roux for 19. We're now down our best front row, second row, backrow and centre pairing. I still expect to win but it'll be very tight, hopefully Hendy and Furlong get back fit for the remainder of the tournament.
 
The Alpha Bro said:
I think Ireland would beat England more often than not but England are a better team overall. I don't think England have a breakdown good enough to beat us in the style Wales and Scotland did last year.
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Yeh I think this is fair . Would likely be a battle of the defences and who can get the better at the tactical kicking battle
 
Biggest worry is Ireland need 1-15 on field for 80mins.

Cronin will do job off bench.
McGrath is ok coming on but like for like not impact.
Ryan is not impact and well in my opinion you'd be better served using Ryan starting and Porter off bench.
Rouxis no impact.
Conan will hopefully be usefulwhen it opens.
Marmion is off form and well with those 2 centres his game isn't suited.
Carbery is still extremely rusty and wouldn't have confidence in him at moment due to lack of game time and iffy performances. Again not saying he is replaced as there not an alternative that would do any different.
McFadden won't be impact. He's steady and in good form but not an impact.

Will be huge test 9f our fitness and defence in this game and dare O say if any of 9-15 go down even including RK I would worry.

Rory Best darts will be severely tested too
 
munstermuffin said:
Biggest worry is Ireland need 1-15 on field for 80mins.

Cronin will do job off bench.
McGrath is ok coming on but like for like not impact.
Ryan is not impact and well in my opinion you'd be better served using Ryan starting and Porter off bench.
Rouxis no impact.
Conan will hopefully be usefulwhen it opens.
Marmion is off form and well with those 2 centres his game isn't suited.
Carbery is still extremely rusty and wouldn't have confidence in him at moment due to lack of game time and iffy performances. Again not saying he is replaced as there not an alternative that would do any different.
McFadden won't be impact. He's steady and in good form but not an impact.

Will be huge test 9f our fitness and defence in this game and dare O say if any of 9-15 go down even including RK I would worry.

Rory Best darts will be severely tested too
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That's an exaggeration. Keep 9-10 and the midfield on the pitch for 70-80 minutes and we're fine, everyone else is replaceable. It shows that a centre who could play wing could be very useful for the bench though, we might see Ringrose in that role in the future as I'd rather see a backline with him on the wing than Earls in the centre.
Cronin is a great sub at 60mins.
McGrath is one of the world's best looseheads.
Ryan is fine but right now Porter seems to be more highly rated so having better players on the pitch is preferable.
Roux is a lump, he will negatively effect the side coming in for one of the other two but its not as if Wales have great rows either after AWJ.
I wouldn't agree that Marmion doesn't suit the centres either, he plays with one in Connacht and the other is being brought in to do his best Henshaw impression, it's very similar to what Connacht won a Pro 12 with, but he is a huge drop off from Murray, McGrath was an unfortunate loss for country and province.
Carbery is an unknown quantity to a degree, we know he can be a great 10, he needs to deliver, as you say there isn't a better alternative in the squad.
McFadden was a great impact v France, had some key contributions in the 40 phase drive and was name checked by Schmidt and Kinsella to name but two.
 
The Alpha Bro said:
That's an exaggeration. Keep 9-10 and the midfield on the pitch for 70-80 minutes and we're fine, everyone else is replaceable. It shows that a centre who could play wing could be very useful for the bench though, we might see Ringrose in that role in the future as I'd rather see a backline with him on the wing than Earls in the centre.
Cronin is a great sub at 60mins.
McGrath is one of the world's best looseheads.
Ryan is fine but right now Porter seems to be more highly rated so having better players on the pitch is preferable.
Roux is a lump, he will negatively effect the side coming in for one of the other two but its not as if Wales have great rows either after AWJ.
I wouldn't agree that Marmion doesn't suit the centres either, he plays with one in Connacht and the other is being brought in to do his best Henshaw impression, it's very similar to what Connacht won a Pro 12 with, but he is a huge drop off from Murray, McGrath was an unfortunate loss for country and province.
Carbery is an unknown quantity to a degree, we know he can be a great 10, he needs to deliver, as you say there isn't a better alternative in the squad.
McFadden was a great impact v France, had some key contributions in the 40 phase drive and was name checked by Schmidt and Kinsella to name but two.
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But on those and this isn't negative in a way.
McGrath hasn't been on top top form but will hold his own but will be like for like. Ryan also will do ok but basically be a like for like.
Roux is not international level. Nowhere near it.
Conan and Cronin will be ok. Marmion has been awful alot of this year. Yes he plays with 1 but look at Ireland's style he doesn't suit. Yes he's good in a Connacht style but Aki and Farrell are being programmes to go through guys not around them.
Carbery is an unknown but has been under microscope due to average at best performances. He has no gametime really and again if Sexton had to go early I'd be worried.
McFadden on form I admit and did well vs France but he's a nuts and bolts player. Like he's not a guy to change things up
 
bushytop said:
You may well be right on that and the sad thing is that if we win against Ireland and Biggar remains fit, the 10 jersey won't even be in question... for a while at least. I would love to see Patchell given another start against France or Italy, the latter being most likely. Not only does he deserve more game time at this level but Wales need another 10 exposed to as much test match rugby as possible.
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Yeah at the end of the day Gatland selected Biggar over Ford and Russell for the lions - that's how much he rates him I guess, and when you think about it it's totally silly to expect him not to select Biggar.
 
Just to help out some irish posters feeling lonely and nervous tonight about the up coming game.

DWlNDgtXUAEaCrK.jpg:large
 
The Dan Biggar one really looks like it should either be a) an 80's pop star or b) an extra from Orange is the New Black
 

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