Wales under Pivac

[bushytop]

Yes but didn't Adams have to move to Cardiff because of the law?
Which again I don't quite get given his worcester form earnt him a spot for Wales and not like Worcester have regressed.

Yeah as he didn't have contract extensions written in a la Francis. Don't get me wrong Tigs the rule is gash but there are ways around it. Also I have feeling the rule will be altered/done away with within the next couple of years.

 

[MikeTheNative]

In all honesty Wales are going to be hamstrung for as long as they have Gatlands law in place IMO.
Look at Moriarty and tell me would he have developed much differently if he was at Gloucester? Now what could Dragons have done differently with that free money?

You got people like Simon Thomas who think that Wales club rugby will magically get better with it's Wales players coming back from other countries.
But in reality how many players have made the switch from say the Premiership to the pro 14 and worked out?

The key to when a region has done well in Europe or the league has mainly come from the coaching.

If Wales are not careful they will miss out on the likes of Randall, Lloyd, Reffell, Sheedy, Carre and Costelow from playing many or even any games for them because of it.
Because especially the Bristol players I do not see them moving lightly, with Pat Lam doing a very good job for them and Bris not being light on money.

Gatland's law is in review and expected to be lowered. It was interesting to see Gatland's comment's on it and he wanted a lower limit but it was the WRU who wanted 60 caps. It's a difficult balance and I'm not sure what the answer is to be honest, a free for all would not be good for Welsh regions with a lot of the top players going. 60 is definitely too much, maybe 30 would be a better compromise.

 

[bushytop]

Blues transfer strategy has been a bit odd.


Gatland's law is in review and expected to be lowered. It was interesting to see Gatland's comment's on it and he wanted a lower limit but it was the WRU who wanted 60 caps. It's a difficult balance and I'm not sure what the answer is to be honest, a free for all would not be good for Welsh regions with a lot of the top players going. 60 is definitely too much, maybe 30 would be a better compromise.

30 sounds 'about' right.

 

[MikeTheNative]

In regards to the young Welsh players that go to England to develop at 18-20, I don't think there is much Wales can do in regards with that either. There is only 4 pro teams so a limited amount of space for younger players to be given exposure, you can't throw a team of youngsters in at pro level. Also these English colleges/Schools give the players a very good opportunity that many schools in Wales can't offer. Even with how poor they are at the moment, I don't want there to be less than 4 teams. You can see how much Scotland struggle with bringing enough quality players through with only 2 teams.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

30 sounds more logical.

I guess the thing I question most is players who are capped from other competitions so like the Premiership.
I'm a bit biased because we got Reffell and Costelow and both are not keen on leaving currently.

I hypocritical cause of England having there law, although Englands biggest problem is too many club rather than not.

I guess I get a bit annoyed of the press angling like the reasons the 4 regions are doing poorly is because of poaching when actually you look at the Scarlets squad after the 2017/18 Semi final and finalist season they only lost Bernie and Barclay because of they went back to their home nations the rest retired or move to another welsh club.

Similar story to Cardiff from what I can remember they lost Nicky Robinson and replace him with Sam Norton knight...


Any interesting squad for this game I assume they are all free to play this weekend?

 

[MikeTheNative]

Players meet Monday so I think they are all available this week. The biggest reason the Wales regions are doing so poorly is they don't have enough money to pay for your decent journeymen 27-33 YO players who aren't going to be called up to the national team. Overall the squads just aren't good enough outside of the Wales internationals. The press uses poached as it's an emotive sounding word designed to grab the attention of readers. I agree it sounds stupid and I think getting out of Wales probably does help some of these young players. Josh Adams was released by the Scarlets then playing for Wales 3 years.

 

[dullonien]

Personally think the 60 cap rule is about right. Could be lowered a touch, but 30 seems a little low. Maybe 50?

Agree Tigs that simply luring these players back to the regions isn't a magic fix, but it would certainly help in some cases. The squad depths especially are way too shallow to compete. However a lot needs to be done on the coaching front as well.

On the squad, very happy on the whole. We couldn't overlook the likes of McNichol and Halaholo, and at 29 they have a WC in them which is key. Some exciting youngsters as well.

 

[MikeTheNative]

It will be interesting to see who the captain is. Out of the squad the names that jump out at Ken Owens and Tipruic but I would rest both of them to be honest.

 

[oj121]

Looking at the squad thats been selected....am I the only one that thinks Aled Summerhill must be wondering what he needs to do?