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<blockquote data-quote="Cymro" data-source="post: 176056">Rhys Thomas is a poor man&#039;s tighthead!&nbsp; He only thing this man can do is play in the loose!&nbsp; His scrummaging has been poor for the last two seasons, his last game in a Wels shirt was embarassing as CJ Van der Linder sorted him out!Dont think we will see Tom now!&nbsp; Tom is not the finished article but has speed to burn and I felt only Shane Williams has the pace currently on the wing, Roberts is nippy mind you!&nbsp; Mark Jones will be under pressure to deliver and it may bring the best out of him.&nbsp; But you never know!I reckon this game will go either of 3 ways!&nbsp; 1.&nbsp; Wales batter Italy2.&nbsp; Italy outplay us3.&nbsp; Tight game where we just nip it!By no means is this game an easy win, far from it, with Bortalami back the pack will be strong!&nbsp; Wales will need to target the Italian half back pairing me thinks!&nbsp; From waht Ive seen of Italies no 9 he aint Troncon and he looks defensively week, hopefully the lads can take advantage of this.Good to see that Gatlan has started Geth Jenks as he is our best prop, but going back to Rhys Thomas decision, id rather see Yapp and 1 and Jenks at 3.&nbsp; But that&#039;s just me.&nbsp; To be fair I am impressed with Adam Jones, his work rate is phenominal!&nbsp; He might look overwight but this bloke is a fit fat bloke and hats off to him for getting fit, I expect him to be as slim as Shanklin by next season <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big Grin&nbsp; &nbsp; :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" /> .&nbsp; I feel Rees is probably the best hooker for this game as he adds more around the park than Bennett but Rees lineout throwing is poor and any mistakes that he makes will lead to an Italian counter which could prove costly!For anyone who wants to know why Hook was dropped is the fact that Gatlan likes playing halfbacks from the same club!&nbsp; He did this at Ireland!&nbsp; I think Peel and Jones are a good steady combo for Wales where as Phillips and Hook can come on at the end of a game and spark things and turn things around!&nbsp; To me Gatlan has got this spot on!My prediction is of a closely fought battle with Wales just nipping it because they are home.&nbsp; However and I must stress this underestimate the Italian&#039;s at your peril!</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Cymro, post: 176056"] Rhys Thomas is a poor man's tighthead! He only thing this man can do is play in the loose! His scrummaging has been poor for the last two seasons, his last game in a Wels shirt was embarassing as CJ Van der Linder sorted him out! Dont think we will see Tom now! Tom is not the finished article but has speed to burn and I felt only Shane Williams has the pace currently on the wing, Roberts is nippy mind you! Mark Jones will be under pressure to deliver and it may bring the best out of him. But you never know! I reckon this game will go either of 3 ways! 1. Wales batter Italy 2. Italy outplay us 3. Tight game where we just nip it! By no means is this game an easy win, far from it, with Bortalami back the pack will be strong! Wales will need to target the Italian half back pairing me thinks! From waht Ive seen of Italies no 9 he aint Troncon and he looks defensively week, hopefully the lads can take advantage of this. Good to see that Gatlan has started Geth Jenks as he is our best prop, but going back to Rhys Thomas decision, id rather see Yapp and 1 and Jenks at 3. But that's just me. To be fair I am impressed with Adam Jones, his work rate is phenominal! He might look overwight but this bloke is a fit fat bloke and hats off to him for getting fit, I expect him to be as slim as Shanklin by next season :D . I feel Rees is probably the best hooker for this game as he adds more around the park than Bennett but Rees lineout throwing is poor and any mistakes that he makes will lead to an Italian counter which could prove costly! For anyone who wants to know why Hook was dropped is the fact that Gatlan likes playing halfbacks from the same club! He did this at Ireland! I think Peel and Jones are a good steady combo for Wales where as Phillips and Hook can come on at the end of a game and spark things and turn things around! To me Gatlan has got this spot on! My prediction is of a closely fought battle with Wales just nipping it because they are home. However and I must stress this underestimate the Italian's at your peril! [/QUOTE]

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