Anscombe out

[Epaminondas Pules]

BREAKING NEWS - done his ACL. Poor bugger.

[PoolerSaint]

Sad news, I know yesterday was a test match but these warm up games are a pain in the arse.
It'd happily have taken 4 defeats if it meant no injuries.

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[Renniks]

Sad news, I know yesterday was a test match but these warm up games are a pain in the arse.
It'd happily have taken 4 defeats if it meant no injuries.

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You might get 4 defeats still!

(But hopefully, no more injuries, that would be shite)

[Spiffy]

Cruel luck for Anscombe, who has grown into the role pretty well. Who's next up for the No.10 shirt in the squad?

[PoolerSaint]

Sad news, I know yesterday was a test match but these warm up games are a pain in the arse.
It'd happily have taken 4 defeats if it meant no injuries.

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You might get 4 defeats still!

(But hopefully, no more injuries, that would be shite)

The games are meaningless as standalone test matches to be honest.
Given where all the sides are in varying stages of their respective training camps.
Some are further ahead than others which is understandable given the differences in philosophies/coaching etc.
No coaches will want to lose these games but a successful RWC is really the only thing that matters at all to them.

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[Touch line]

Four big banana skins for the Welsh players. A player would be better off sitting on the bench and coming on for the last ten mins. England and Ireland must be loving the chance to beat us and boost their confidence. Before a big tournament you play warm up matches to fine tune the team levels. Whoever organised these four games is probably looking for a place to hide. Or could it be another opportunity to generate money at the players expense. The statement "The players well being comes first" has already fallen flat.

[PoolerSaint]

These games were only played to gain additional revenue due to the lack of the autumn campaign this year because of RWC.
As it stands the WRU will be looking at a significant loss for this year because of this.


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[Sourdust]

Surprise, surprise.

Three more left to get us to the customary "anyone fancy a game?" stage before the proper games actually start.

It's not like there isn't a fuckton of I-told-you-so washing around right now. Losing Anscombe completely changes the way we have to play. With one month to go. Marvellous...

Well here's a straw to clutch at - though probably one you'd expect from a long-term Biggar apologist: We played 30 minutes at Twickenham with Anscombe and scored one-try-to-two, with ours an individual score. We played 50 with Biggar and scored two-tries-to-one, with theirs scored by us for them.

Well, Biggar's deficiencies in attack have always been exagerrated. But he's no Anscombe, I'lll admit. And Anscombe is what we need now.

[Renniks]

Don't get me wrong - 4 games is excessive - and, playing England twice and Ireland twice probably makes that even more heightened - but there is a need for warm ups (especially as Wales start slow enough as it is), so an injury in the first game is hardly an “I-told-you-so” moment

[Lizard]

Ironically, with Sopoaga overseas, McKenzie injured and Barrett now suddenly a fullback, Anscombe could have been in the frame for an All Blacks call-up.

[Puja]

Ironically, with Sopoaga overseas, McKenzie injured and Barrett now suddenly a fullback, Anscombe could have been in the frame for an All Blacks call-up.

Would Shields have been in the conversation for the ABs squad, given your issues with 6 (and the fact that he was apparently a good player when he was in NZ)?

Puja

[Lizard]

Ironically, with Sopoaga overseas, McKenzie injured and Barrett now suddenly a fullback, Anscombe could have been in the frame for an All Blacks call-up.

Would Shields have been in the conversation for the ABs squad, given your issues with 6 (and the fact that he was apparently a good player when he was in NZ)?

Puja

Good question. I'm sure he would have been in the conversation in that he had his fans who always thought he should be in the mix. He probably wouldn't have been in the actual selectors conversation unless he had suddenly got better. They seemed to have decided that he wasn't All Black material and would rather try a younger bloke than cap someone who was never going to be a long term prospect.

I'm sure others will disagree.

[Sourdust]

Don't get me wrong - 4 games is excessive - and, playing England twice and Ireland twice probably makes that even more heightened - but there is a need for warm ups (especially as Wales start slow enough as it is), so an injury in the first game is hardly an “I-told-you-so” moment

Oh I agree.

You "warm-up" against Romania, then maybe France, at home. With squad rotation.

[Digby]

Don't get me wrong - 4 games is excessive - and, playing England twice and Ireland twice probably makes that even more heightened - but there is a need for warm ups (especially as Wales start slow enough as it is), so an injury in the first game is hardly an “I-told-you-so” moment

Oh I agree.

You "warm-up" against Romania, then maybe France, at home. With squad rotation.

And then you get slated for not playing strong enough games. I think you could reasonably say 3 games would be enough with the 1st XV so locked down, but the money isn't unimportant

[Lizard]

It depends a bit on how your pool games line up.

Wales have got Georgia, Aussie, Fiji, Uruguay. Not much scope for easing into it.

England have Tonga, USA, Arg, France; which is probably doable without any full on warm up matches.

NZ are straight up against the Springboks, before Canada, Namibia and Italy. Scary start to the tournament and not much build up to the playoffs.

[Sandydragon]

Exactly. 4 full on games might be a bit excessive (I think there might be a deal done with Ireland) but we have to hit the ground running with our first team and reserves. Georgia and Fiji are real banana skins and if we get to the stage where we have beaten them and can afford a reserve team against Uruguay then that’s the ideal scenario. But we need to put Georgia away first.