It's damage limitation now. We have made some silly errors both in handling and giving them some soft penalties coupled with some generous calls for the AB from the ref
The ABs - as always - were deserved winners. That said - as always - the officials allowed them to get away with and do things that Wales aren’t allowed. If Anscombe had done what Barrett did - yellow all day long. If Francis or Wyn Jones had done what Nepo Laulala did, red card. On 50.31 Wales were a few yards out after multiple phases and Elias is pinged for not staying on his feet On 70.31 NZ were attacking 3 players were off their feet and in at the side, play on. Brown scored. Another Referee in awe of the ABs?
I'm not one to criticise refs but that performance needs looking at by the governing body. Shocking. Saying that, the better side still one easily. A lot of "ifs" (as usual!) but with a full strength squad I don't think we would have gifted them two intercept tries and would have had less mistakes. It would have been a lot closer. The glaring difference though, is that the ABs are looking to play the ball and we're just happy to kick away possession. It's something intrinsic to their rugby development from an early age and now comes naturally. We need to do the basics better.
Kicking away scarce possession to the ABs of all people - what was Pivac thinking of by asking the players to employ those tactics? Which other Top 10 Rugby Nation would have Pivac as Head Coach? He got extremely lucky in last year’s 6 Nations - red cards, quickly taken penalty ….
All Blacks well deserved winners and as always are ruthless in the last quarter. Our lineout play on those occasions when were by the AB line was shockingly bad. I completely agree re the comments about the ref. Blackadder in particular was off his feet at a number of breakdowns with no penalty.
Wales team to play South Africa: Johnny McNicholl; Louis Rees-Zammit, Jonathan Davies (capt), Nick Tompkins, Josh Adams; Dan Biggar, Tomos Williams; Rhys Carre, Ryan Elias, Tomas Francis, Will Rowlands, Adam Beard, Ellis Jenkins, Taine Basham, Aaron Wainwright. Replacements: Bradley Roberts, Wyn Jones, WillGriff John, Ben Carter, Seb Davies, Gareth Davies, Gareth Anscombe, Liam Williams.
Well it was closer than I thought it would be and not at one point did I think we were going to win. It was inevitable SA would go ahead at the end. What's worrying is the inept game management. Wales should have won that game. Also, where the hell is a try going to come from? Clueless in attack. Kudos to the defensive display though (apart from the scrum )
Unfortunately we don’t have great strength in depth. That said - we need a solid platform - we need a scrum coach who can actually improve the existing players or we need to search high and low for a front 5 that it is not only solid but can be a potent attacking threat. We need to find a three-quarter line that can not only defend but can be both creative and incisive.
Only he really knows - even giving him the benefit of the doubt, fingers near the eye are ‘verboten’.
Former Welsh Rugby Union chief executive Martyn Phillips has been appointed chair of Premiership Rugby in England. Phillips spent five years at the helm of the WRU from 2015 to 2020 and was installed as interim managing director of the British & Irish Lions ahead of this summer’s tour of South Africa. The former B&Q chief executive takes over as chairman of Premiership Rugby from Andy Higginson, who had been at the helm for two years. It is the organisation which manages the Gallagher Premiership, the top-flight of English rugby. Phillips said: “There is a significant opportunity for Premiership Rugby to continue to develop the tournament and its commercial rights to their full potential. “I am very excited about this new role and look forward to working together with Simon Massie-Taylor (chief executive) and his team, the clubs, owners and investors over the years ahead.”
Wales team to play Fiji on Sunday: L Williams; Cuthbert, Adams, J Williams, Rees-Zammit; Biggar, Hardy; Carre, Elias, Francis, Rowlands, Beard, Jenkins (capt), Young, Basham. Replacements: Roberts, Thomas, John, Tshiunza, Davies, T Williams, Sheedy, Tompkins.
A much needed morale boost on the cards? Josh Adams at centre might be a good move against the Fiji defence. He'll have a field day with any gaps. FIngers crossed! Enjoyed reading that, thanks
