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Needs to check the roof before he makes a decision.
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Wales v Fiji
- Thread starter Welsh Exile
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See Gatland has thrown Costelow under the bus saying he shouldn't have gone when Grady got injured and doesn't know why he did, they wanted to send on the Bevan instead
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Not a good look on him at all this whole debacle. I'm not sure he's thrown him under the bus in that he has stuck up for him but I can see what you're saying. It's just a sorry old mess is what it is. We're like old yellow, we need to be taken out back and put out of our misery.
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The comment I saw said he didn't know why Costelow went on and that he must have assumed he was going on so just did - which would be weird considering he didn't train there, and looked visibly annoyed/confused
He was clearly told to go on, didn't just make the decision himself
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Congrats to Fiji for the win, fully deserved by the end.
I always find it difficult to fully take in a game from the stands, so I might have to force myself to rewatch to see where the issues trully lay with Wales, but after a very good start it's alarming that they lost all control of the match and let Fiji work their way back into the game.
The Reffell card and disallowed try was a blow, as we were very much on top up until that stage, and were looking dangerous every time they had the ball.
Next we have the whole debarcle regarding Grady's inuury and Costellow coming on as a replacement. There's so many issues with this beyond the calamity of the wrong replacement entering the field. To begin with, why was a 6-2 bench split chosen, no one outside Gats and his coaching team saw good reason for it; then to make matters worse his 2 replacement backs just weren't the right choice. Said it before the game, but Eddia James or an outside back would have made far more sense than Costellow given that Ben Thomas can cover 10! Farcical!
Discipline was an issue, as well as system errors in defense which allowed Muntz to just watz through for a try.
I think it's obvious to see that this losing run is really affecting the group, as soon as the preassure came on they seemed to crumble. Gonna be tough to overcome, especially after Aus' win over England. They looked far too good for us tbh, and SA could be a blood bath.
I always find it difficult to fully take in a game from the stands, so I might have to force myself to rewatch to see where the issues trully lay with Wales, but after a very good start it's alarming that they lost all control of the match and let Fiji work their way back into the game.
The Reffell card and disallowed try was a blow, as we were very much on top up until that stage, and were looking dangerous every time they had the ball.
Next we have the whole debarcle regarding Grady's inuury and Costellow coming on as a replacement. There's so many issues with this beyond the calamity of the wrong replacement entering the field. To begin with, why was a 6-2 bench split chosen, no one outside Gats and his coaching team saw good reason for it; then to make matters worse his 2 replacement backs just weren't the right choice. Said it before the game, but Eddia James or an outside back would have made far more sense than Costellow given that Ben Thomas can cover 10! Farcical!
Discipline was an issue, as well as system errors in defense which allowed Muntz to just watz through for a try.
I think it's obvious to see that this losing run is really affecting the group, as soon as the preassure came on they seemed to crumble. Gonna be tough to overcome, especially after Aus' win over England. They looked far too good for us tbh, and SA could be a blood bath.
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Squidge analysis on this game was interesting, really pointed out what a catastrophe Costellow coming onto the wing was in both attack and defense. I've not been Costellow's biggest fan recently, he's really struggled for form and confidence playing in his natural fly half position, let alone on the wing where he doesn't have the attributes to play. This is on Gats though for putting him and us in that position with his selection decisions.
I also want to mention the other recurring issue with Wales, our ball carrying options in the pack. We rely almost solely on Lake (who Gat's innexplicably replaced after 45min.) for the bulk of our tight carrying game. It didn't help that Rowlands and Plumtree massively underperformed in that department, as that's what they've been selected for. However, we still need more carrying options up front imo, and for me we're carrying too many forwards who offer very little in that regard, namely Gareth Thomas, Beard and Reffell.
Starting with Thomas, if he was a beast of a scrummager then I'd accept his lack of carrying, but honestly all he really offers is some chop tackles, which are always on the edge of being penalised for not wrapping. Loosehead is a great position to offer impact, and historically we've had that from the likes of Gethin Jenkins. Gareth Thomas seemed to come from nowhere to replace Wyn Jones in the side, and I still can't figure out how or why he's still first choice!
Beard had a better game than his usual passive rubbish self. Great, but he still doesn't offer enough for me sorry. I've said enough over the years about him, so I'll just leave it there. And I know I should be more ****** with Rowlands, but I know Rowlands can raise his game, that was probably Beard at his best, and it was still a bit meh!
I know I've gone on about Reffell a lot recently, but I'm still at a loss as to what he really offers given the current interpretations of the laws at the breakdown. He's just not very effective at international level anymore! I'll ignore his yellow card for now, as I'm sure he won't repeat that, but for me Jac Morgan offers far more of an all court game, as does Jim Botham maybe. Then there's a host of players not in the squad like Basham or Deaves who offer huge impact with and without the ball as well aa genuine game changing moments. Jac Morgan comes in for the Aus game, and then I just don't see a spot for Reffell on the bench, when others also offer more versatility.
I also want to mention the other recurring issue with Wales, our ball carrying options in the pack. We rely almost solely on Lake (who Gat's innexplicably replaced after 45min.) for the bulk of our tight carrying game. It didn't help that Rowlands and Plumtree massively underperformed in that department, as that's what they've been selected for. However, we still need more carrying options up front imo, and for me we're carrying too many forwards who offer very little in that regard, namely Gareth Thomas, Beard and Reffell.
Starting with Thomas, if he was a beast of a scrummager then I'd accept his lack of carrying, but honestly all he really offers is some chop tackles, which are always on the edge of being penalised for not wrapping. Loosehead is a great position to offer impact, and historically we've had that from the likes of Gethin Jenkins. Gareth Thomas seemed to come from nowhere to replace Wyn Jones in the side, and I still can't figure out how or why he's still first choice!
Beard had a better game than his usual passive rubbish self. Great, but he still doesn't offer enough for me sorry. I've said enough over the years about him, so I'll just leave it there. And I know I should be more ****** with Rowlands, but I know Rowlands can raise his game, that was probably Beard at his best, and it was still a bit meh!
I know I've gone on about Reffell a lot recently, but I'm still at a loss as to what he really offers given the current interpretations of the laws at the breakdown. He's just not very effective at international level anymore! I'll ignore his yellow card for now, as I'm sure he won't repeat that, but for me Jac Morgan offers far more of an all court game, as does Jim Botham maybe. Then there's a host of players not in the squad like Basham or Deaves who offer huge impact with and without the ball as well aa genuine game changing moments. Jac Morgan comes in for the Aus game, and then I just don't see a spot for Reffell on the bench, when others also offer more versatility.
