R
RugbyChump
Guest
Yet again Wales has gone into a world cup blindfolded, gagged and barely hopping on one leg. Our head coach has failed to develop a strike team that can truly cause problems for the opposition, we're playing a 'gameplan' which doesn't have a sense of itself from top to bottom, and one which we're ill-equipped to carry out. Fast rewind back to 2005, that moment of magic, the time when we had finally lifted ourselves up from the precipice and breathed fire for the first time in a longwhile. Our forwards whilst not the biggest worked effectively as a unit, they would make the hard yards and break over the gain line. Giving us more territory and offering a stable platform in which our backs could score from. It was like a renaissance, a gathering of the best crasftsman in the land to paint the canvas with their own colour and style. We would commit much fewer players to the breakdown, usually about 2 - 3, aggressively rucking, retaining and sometimes stealing quick ball and feeding it out to the hungry backs. Even the forwards would indulge in this beautiful art, their skills were magnificent and Michael Owen, Ryan Jones and Martyn Williams were the perfect link. Now we've stumbled backwards, into the old precipice that's dogged us since the 80's. Whilst our forwards aren't small they're still not big enough to bruise even the lightest of the southern hemisphere. There's certainly no power in them to make that many hard yards. They often get knocked backwards and we're found wanting as we scramble for the ball or dive into the ruck with far too many players. Exposing ourselves even more, just like a nudist beight caught out at peak time on a public beach.
However as it's been ever apparent, this is a common occurence amongst all the northern hemisphere nations. There must be several factor at work here. Too much emphasis on size; whilst saying Wales weren't big enough they can't be carrying that much muscle. Skill levels are atrocious, look at how the SH teams offload, it's a integral part of their game. Look how they handle a high ball and most importantly how they react. Often thumping it down the field a la Latham. Also kicking away possession needlessly is another old hang over for Wales. We get the ball and instead of running it we kick it aimlessly to the likes of Latham who will punish you mercilessly.
The blame for this firstly is lack of professionalism. Hearing stories about players going out on the ****, having witness this myself on numerous occasions. Autumn internationals 2005 at 'Jumping Jacks' a club in Cardiff. Seeing Gethin Jenkins carrying several bottles of VK Blue in his arms. A nice little huddle of players whilst they were adulated by women, pathetic. Now we hear that the coaching staff themselves do the same! Secondly the inept coaching staff. They've had what 18 games to shape us up, a tour to Argentina and Australia, several autumn/summer stand alone games. Yet we haven't progressed, in fact we've regressed to the good old days. When Ruddock took over he had the sense and aptitude to keep the then current coaches, Andrew Hore (NZ) fitness coach, Scott Johnson skills coach and Clive Griffiths (defence coach & former league player). No we have Robin McBryde as forwards coach, an ex-player who has no coaching experience whatsoever. Neil Jenkins the kicking coach also an ex-player who has no great experience with coaching. Nigel Davies the skills/attack coach who hasn't got a great track record with Llanelli. There's also Rowland Phillips the defence coach whose only experience as far as I know was with Neath, yet that's hardly international standard. I feel if Gareth Jenkins had surrounded himself with the very best specialists then things might've turned out a lot different. Instead he picked a pack of jokers that have made Wales a strong and proud rugby nation to be the laughing stock of the world and "village idiots".
Some may have detected some venom in my other posts. That's not because I despise Australia or anyone else. I thought they deserved the win they grafted out for themselves. I didn't like how people were writing off the Welsh players because they are utter class, they suffer heavily from a neanderthal coaching staff and their own hubris.
Let's not get into the rugby system of Wales. We have numbers upon numbers upon numbers of committee men that form the WRU. Any new changes or measures that are to be brought in has to be passed by these old farts in blazers who live in the amateur era. They only care about themselves and their own petty interests. Not about the greater good of the game in Wales. Of course only with foreign input; Graham Henry, Steve Hansen, Scott Johnson, Andrew Hore, David Moffet has there been any wholesale changes made to the game. The introduction of regions being one. With those regions the academies.
However it all seems it's gone to waste because we have utter donkeys in charge :wall:
However as it's been ever apparent, this is a common occurence amongst all the northern hemisphere nations. There must be several factor at work here. Too much emphasis on size; whilst saying Wales weren't big enough they can't be carrying that much muscle. Skill levels are atrocious, look at how the SH teams offload, it's a integral part of their game. Look how they handle a high ball and most importantly how they react. Often thumping it down the field a la Latham. Also kicking away possession needlessly is another old hang over for Wales. We get the ball and instead of running it we kick it aimlessly to the likes of Latham who will punish you mercilessly.
The blame for this firstly is lack of professionalism. Hearing stories about players going out on the ****, having witness this myself on numerous occasions. Autumn internationals 2005 at 'Jumping Jacks' a club in Cardiff. Seeing Gethin Jenkins carrying several bottles of VK Blue in his arms. A nice little huddle of players whilst they were adulated by women, pathetic. Now we hear that the coaching staff themselves do the same! Secondly the inept coaching staff. They've had what 18 games to shape us up, a tour to Argentina and Australia, several autumn/summer stand alone games. Yet we haven't progressed, in fact we've regressed to the good old days. When Ruddock took over he had the sense and aptitude to keep the then current coaches, Andrew Hore (NZ) fitness coach, Scott Johnson skills coach and Clive Griffiths (defence coach & former league player). No we have Robin McBryde as forwards coach, an ex-player who has no coaching experience whatsoever. Neil Jenkins the kicking coach also an ex-player who has no great experience with coaching. Nigel Davies the skills/attack coach who hasn't got a great track record with Llanelli. There's also Rowland Phillips the defence coach whose only experience as far as I know was with Neath, yet that's hardly international standard. I feel if Gareth Jenkins had surrounded himself with the very best specialists then things might've turned out a lot different. Instead he picked a pack of jokers that have made Wales a strong and proud rugby nation to be the laughing stock of the world and "village idiots".
Some may have detected some venom in my other posts. That's not because I despise Australia or anyone else. I thought they deserved the win they grafted out for themselves. I didn't like how people were writing off the Welsh players because they are utter class, they suffer heavily from a neanderthal coaching staff and their own hubris.
Let's not get into the rugby system of Wales. We have numbers upon numbers upon numbers of committee men that form the WRU. Any new changes or measures that are to be brought in has to be passed by these old farts in blazers who live in the amateur era. They only care about themselves and their own petty interests. Not about the greater good of the game in Wales. Of course only with foreign input; Graham Henry, Steve Hansen, Scott Johnson, Andrew Hore, David Moffet has there been any wholesale changes made to the game. The introduction of regions being one. With those regions the academies.
However it all seems it's gone to waste because we have utter donkeys in charge :wall:
