Wales' starting XV for the 6 Nations.

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

What does Gatlands law mean?

 

[Tony Manx]

What does Gatlands law mean?

He gets first choice of the sheep......

 

[MojoPin]

He gets first choice of the sheep......

Must be frustrating for you then, eh? ;-)

But yeah, it's vague and confusing to say the least. A few surprises in there for sure, personally thought Priestland may have been left out with Anscombe or Sam Davies providing backup and Dan Evans slotting in as a fullback option.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Preistland must have been fortunate about Owen Williams injury.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Preistland must have been fortunate about Owen Williams injury.

Owen Williams won't get picked while in England.
No idea what the rules for Gatlands Law are but Williams turned down a move back to Wales which Gatland didn't like, and he's a stubborn one.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Owen Williams won't get picked while in England.
No idea what the rules for Gatlands Law are but Williams turned down a move back to Wales which Gatland didn't like, and he's a stubborn one.

Williams wasn't offered a WRFU contract though. Just Scarlets offering him one was wasn't a snub to WRFU.

And he signed his new deal before "Gatlands law" was in place.

 

[dullonien]

Here we go...

Forwards:
Rob Evans, Paul James, Gethin Jenkins, Tomas Francis, Aaron Jarvis, Samson Lee, Scott Baldwin, Kristian Dacey, Ken Owens, Jake Ball, Luke Charteris, Bradley Davies, Dominic Day, Alun Wyn Jones, Josh Turnbull, Taulupe Faletau, James King, Dan Lydiate, Ross Moriarty, Justin Tipuric, Sam Warburton (C)

Backs:
Aled Davies, Gareth Davies, Lloyd Williams, Dan Biggar, Rhys Priestland, Cory Allen, Jonathan Davies, Tyler Morgan, Jamie Roberts, Hallam Amos, Alex Cuthbert, Tom James, George North, Gareth Anscombe, Matthew Morgan, Liam Williams

A little surprised, and a little miffed by some of the selections here tbh. Gats has included a few unfit/barely fit players (highlighted red), which I don't understand. I thought Ball was going to miss the whole 6 nations? He's also missed an opportunity to drop a could of English based players to send a bit of a message. What did Dom Day add to the WC squad? He's not good enough tbf, and he's not exactly young! Why not included Ashley or Thornton?

Alex Cuthbert ffs!

Lastly I've highlighted a few more players, namely Jarvis, Dacey & Turnbull. Personally I think we can do better than all three. It's always difficult to find tightheads, but maybe it could have been worth re-looking at Rhodri Jones in camp? Dacey has had a lot of press, but I personally think he's a bit of a one trick pony (scoring tries), whereas the likes of Dee looks like a much better all round prospect. Turnbull has put in some good shifts for Wales, but I think he's been outshone at the Blues by Ellis Jenkins & Navidi, who both also have higher ceilings internationally. These three are minor gripes though...

I thought Gats would have been a bit more ambitious with his selections this season, given that it's the beginning of a four year cycle. No Nicky Smith, Eliot Dee, Lloyd Ashley/Thornton, Patchell/Sam Davies, Eli Walker/Hanno Dirksen is a bit short sighted imo.

 

[MojoPin]

A little surprised, and a little miffed by some of the selections here tbh. Gats has included a few unfit/barely fit players (highlighted red), which I don't understand. I thought Ball was going to miss the whole 6 nations? He's also missed an opportunity to drop a could of English based players to send a bit of a message. What did Dom Day add to the WC squad? He's not good enough tbf, and he's not exactly young! Why not included Ashley or Thornton?

Alex Cuthbert ffs!

Lastly I've highlighted a few more players, namely Jarvis, Dacey & Turnbull. Personally I think we can do better than all three. It's always difficult to find tightheads, but maybe it could have been worth re-looking at Rhodri Jones in camp? Dacey has had a lot of press, but I personally think he's a bit of a one trick pony (scoring tries), whereas the likes of Dee looks like a much better all round prospect. Turnbull has put in some good shifts for Wales, but I think he's been outshone at the Blues by Ellis Jenkins & Navidi, who both also have higher ceilings internationally. These three are minor gripes though...

I thought Gats would have been a bit more ambitious with his selections this season, given that it's the beginning of a four year cycle. No Nicky Smith, Eliot Dee, Lloyd Ashley/Thornton, Patchell/Sam Davies, Eli Walker/Hanno Dirksen is a bit short sighted imo.

Yeah I agree with quite a few points there. According to his comments in the press conference some of the selections are based on good faith and keeping people in the camp, especially if they were involved with the world cup. Having said that, I agree that Dom Day is a strange selection with Thornton and Ashley looking good for the Ospreys at the moment, and I too would have opted for Ellis Jenkins over Josh Turnbull, but apparently they see him as cover at 4/5 as well.

Cuthbert is a tricky one - I'm not a fan but you could argue he has a better strike rate than North so far this season. He's been gradually getting better but I would have much rather seen Eli Walker or even Ashton Hewitt involved. Though I have a feeling Tom James is going to start ahead of him anyway...we'll see I guess. Gutted for Sam Davies too, he's been playing very well lately.

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

What does Gatlands law mean?

 

[AzaMatt]

Yeah I agree with quite a few points there. According to his comments in the press conference some of the selections are based on good faith and keeping people in the camp, especially if they were involved with the world cup. Having said that, I agree that Dom Day is a strange selection with Thornton and Ashley looking good for the Ospreys at the moment, and I too would have opted for Ellis Jenkins over Josh Turnbull, but apparently they see him as cover at 4/5 as well.

Cuthbert is a tricky one - I'm not a fan but you could argue he has a better strike rate than North so far this season. He's been gradually getting better but I would have much rather seen Eli Walker or even Ashton Hewitt involved. Though I have a feeling Tom James is going to start ahead of him anyway...we'll see I guess. Gutted for Sam Davies too, he's been playing very well lately.

i dont understand the dom day selection either. as for turnbull, yes he can maybe cover the backrow and locks however so can james king, so why not pick lloyd ashley as a specialist lock as youve already got a player who can cover lock and 6,7 or 8. moriaty can also play 6 and 8 so covers there, we all now we've got 7 covered with tips and warburton so i have no idea why ashley was overlooked. i agree with you that jenkins has played better than turnbull, he isnt a bad player but maybe not the best option. be interesting to see if lydiate is fit in time for ireland, straight shootout between king and moriaty then for 6

 

[Maverick1987]

And you think all the Welsh post under this one username? Don't take it personally fella, there's people like this supporting every country.

Anywho, back on topic...there's plenty of exciting young players I'd like to see involved with the Wales squad so hoping for a few surprises this year, though it may be too soon for many I guess. Been impressed with Sam Davies, Ashton Hewitt and Lloyd Ashley in particular. If Dan Lydiate or Warburton is still a doubt then I'd also wonder if Ellis Jenkins could be worth a shout - been playing pretty well for the Blues recently.

Back three is our combined 'problem position' this year it seems but there's quite a few contenders. Dan Evans, Anscombe, Amos and Liam Williams are all solid choices for sure at FB. Tom James is almost a certainty too but I wonder who's place he would take - North or Cuthbert's?

Yep I apologise, that wasn't meant to be so general . Anyway looks a strong squad complete opposite to England's "in with the new" squad . Really happy for the young Scarlets scrum half though . Living in Wales and being mates with loads of Scarlets fans I've seen a bit of him this year and he's been top notch in Davies' absence . Still confused about the picking of Cuthbert and Priestland .... Both need time at their clubs to get some confidence back

 

[Tony Manx]

Must be frustrating for you then, eh? ;-).

Nah they have them tied to posts in a village in the centre of the Island....we call it a holiday camp

 

[MojoPin]

Yep I apologise, that wasn't meant to be so general . Anyway looks a strong squad complete opposite to England's "in with the new" squad . Really happy for the young Scarlets scrum half though . Living in Wales and being mates with loads of Scarlets fans I've seen a bit of him this year and he's been top notch in Davies' absence . Still confused about the picking of Cuthbert and Priestland .... Both need time at their clubs to get some confidence back

Oh no worries at all, no offense taken whatsoever. England's a tough one to predict as always. It's nice to have a solid squad but us Welsh fans always seem to want fresh, exciting players that play attacking rugby and see them break into the squad. So I think a fair few of us are quite envious looking over at England's 'let's start over' approach. Time will tell how it plays out. Bit nervous of our back and front three at the moment.

Nah they have them tied to posts in a village in the centre of the Island....we call it a holiday camp

Ha!