We were well beaten. France won easily although they really didn't really play as a team (they didn't need to) but had about 10 really good individuals. Wales made some basic errors which cost them and on another day would have got a try. So maybe it was a 30-7 game. On to next week and our must win match
In many respects, Wales played better than I expected. We defended better and the set piece was better than I expected but crucially we didn’t look like scoring which is a huge issue. France were much stronger than us - also as I expected. The ref did not referee impartially….. in fact his performance was embarrassing at times.
Yes our set piece looked quite good against a strong French pack but we were really toothless in attack. If that's the best Rob Howley can offer then we are in for long tournament. The less said about the ref the better!
Huge loss as expected, unfortunately. What was really disappointing for me was the zero on the scoreboard. Totally toothless in attack, apart from one nice break with some offloading. And yes, definite forward pass for that try. Even if we tighten up the defence and cut out the stupid errors, we will still really struggle to create any worthwhile attack, so another wooden spoon is looking odds on at the moment.
You reap what you sow…. In my opinion, the true ‘cost’ of the Roger Lewis/Steve Phillips era is now visible to all … The lack of investment into the game: into creating World Class Development Pathways, the failure to engage in a meaningful ‘collective’ with the Regions, Clubs and Schools. It could take 15-20 years to resolve these issues
If you think of it, the Alun Wyns, Biggars, Tipurics, Warburtons etc all benefited from the structures that were in place pre-Regional rugby. The current crop were all ‘nurtured’ via the Regional systems
Arguably, a fully fit Dewi Lake is quite a unit and could conceivably make the Test squad. The best bets, however, would appear to be Tomos at scrum half and Jac.
I was talking about the Test Squad not the Touring Squad as a whole: but I wouldn’t be surprised if there were between 1 & 3 Taffs in total
England blew that second half with all the penalties. This might rile some of you but I dislike Irish rugby more than English
My personal view on the second half is that O’Keefe and the other Match Officials must have been ‘reminded’ at half-time of the protocols and requirements for reffing Irish teams in Ireland ….. hence some of the ‘calls’ that went the way of the green team in the second half ….. Only joking of course
Couple of interesting snippets today: Lancaster has left Racing whilst Cheika will be leaving Leicester at the end of the season. Would Lancaster potentially be a good candidate for the WRU Performance Director role? Developing structures, pathways etc I'd offer Cheika a contract until the next World Cup to replace Gatland. He did a decent job with the Argies (& the Aussies).
Wouldn't argue with either of those Taff... but can we expect any real change from the WRU? They certainly have no imagination. I thought Gatland was an ok call initially but just as an interim. I bet he regrets coming back now.
