Match thread: Wales vs France

[Sandydragon]

Whilst I don't think England are that great at the moment, they are hardly going to be worried about our visit.

I think - after what we did the last time we were there - they will rightly be worried. But I see them as marginal favourites. Bit of a throw of the dice the England match - if we keep it together defensively for 80 minutes, we'll win. If we have a few lapses, we'll have no idea how to score the tries we need to win the game.

This is my concern. We aren't fashioning tries at the moment and unless we can keep ourselves infant by kicking 3 points or taking advantage of a mistake, then I worry that we could be in trouble if we fall behind and need to catch up.

[hawkaye]

We will not make the same mistake as Ireland of not taking penalty points. Keep the score board moving. Kick into space behind the defensive line to create uncertainly - draw FB forward and make English backrow run hard and backwards; start to offload later.

[Son of Mathonwy]

We will not make the same mistake as Ireland of not taking penalty points. Keep the score board moving. Kick into space behind the defensive line to create uncertainly - draw FB forward and make English backrow run hard and backwards; start to offload later.

What is this? Wasn't it made illegal* a few years back?



* Gatlawed

[Flying Scarlet]

From looking at both matches from the weekend, it is crucial that our wingers don't get sucked in too much when defending in our 22. Irelands defenders were sucked in towards the middle of the defensive line too many time, leaving possible free run ins for the wingers...

[Billyfish]

Do we know who the ref is yet?

[Flying Scarlet]

Do we know who the ref is yet?

Craig Joubert (SARU)
AR1 Jérôme Garcès (FFR)
AR2 Mathieu Raynal (FFR)
TMO Ben Skeen (NZR)

[Numbers]

From looking at both matches from the weekend, it is crucial that our wingers don't get sucked in too much when defending in our 22. Irelands defenders were sucked in towards the middle of the defensive line too many time, leaving possible free run ins for the wingers...

That's the whole reason teams pick and drive in the middle of the park, to draw in multiple defenders and create gaps, if the wingers stayed out wide the opposition would score closer to the posts.

[Billyfish]

Do we know who the ref is yet?

Craig Joubert (SARU)
AR1 Jérôme Garcès (FFR)
AR2 Mathieu Raynal (FFR)
TMO Ben Skeen (NZR)

Christ hasn't he been arrested yet.

Or at the very least banned from coming within a 2000 mile radius of Scotland.

[Billyfish]

I can't remember what he is like at scrums. We may have an advantage there (though looking at the stats we didn't do as well against the scratch French side as I thought). Marler is improving for Ingerland but still don't think he's any great shakes, Mako hasn't come on much either from what I've seen.

[Renniks]

I can't remember what he is like at scrums. We may have an advantage there (though looking at the stats we didn't do as well against the scratch French side as I thought). Marler is improving for Ingerland but still don't think he's any great shakes, Mako hasn't come on much either from what I've seen.

Marler seems to have regressed slightly from a year after the new scrums came in to play
Mako seems to be improving, but is mainly great around the park rather than in the scrum…

I think it'll be a bit of a coin flip, either team could take the scrum, and whoever does will get a bit of ascendancy in the other areas

[kk67]

I think it'll be a bit of a coin flip, either team could take the scrum, and whoever does will get a bit of ascendancy in the other areas

I've been totally unsurprised/surprised by England. Wales should Boss them off the park.....but Jones has started sprinkling his fairy dust and now I'm worried.

Nah,....Wales will control it.

[Renniks]

I think it'll be a bit of a coin flip, either team could take the scrum, and whoever does will get a bit of ascendancy in the other areas

I've been totally unsurprised/surprised by England. Wales should Boss them off the park.....but Jones has started sprinkling his fairy dust and now I'm worried.

Nah,....Wales will control it.

I think England will really struggle to score tries against that Welsh defence…

Equally, I think Wales will really struggle to score with that Welsh attack.

[kk67]

I think it'll be a bit of a coin flip, either team could take the scrum, and whoever does will get a bit of ascendancy in the other areas

I've been totally unsurprised/surprised by England. Wales should Boss them off the park.....but Jones has started sprinkling his fairy dust and now I'm worried.

Nah,....Wales will control it.

I think England will really struggle to score tries against that Welsh defence…

Equally, I think Wales will really struggle to score with that Welsh attack.

If Tuilagi comes back in......their attack looks better.
Welsh d is blydi good.

[bruce]

I can't remember what he is like at scrums. We may have an advantage there (though looking at the stats we didn't do as well against the scratch French side as I thought). Marler is improving for Ingerland but still don't think he's any great shakes, Mako hasn't come on much either from what I've seen.

If he picks up on Marler continuously boring in, he'd be the only ref so far would have done. I can't believe he gets away with it as much as he does, it's so feckin obvious.

[Lord Llandaff]

I can't remember what he is like at scrums. We may have an advantage there (though looking at the stats we didn't do as well against the scratch French side as I thought). Marler is improving for Ingerland but still don't think he's any great shakes, Mako hasn't come on much either from what I've seen.

If he picks up on Marler continuously boring in, he'd be the only ref so far would have done. I can't believe he gets away with it as much as he does, it's so feckin obvious.

I hazard a guess, after Marler's boring performance in the World Cup game, that Messers Gatland & McBride will be having a word with Mr Joubert pre match, or at least threaten to throw a water bottle at him.

[Lord Llandaff]

Gatland is the New Labour of Welsh rugby: He convinced us of the need for pragmatism to establish a platform for progress, but when that was achieved, it turned out that pragmatism was all he was capable of, and all he'd ever wanted.

I'd be waving placards if I thought there was a decent alternative. But I still don't see one.

This is the best analogy of Gatland's tenure I have come across...

[Billyfish]

I've been totally unsurprised/surprised by England. Wales should Boss them off the park.....but Jones has started sprinkling his fairy dust and now I'm worried.

Nah,....Wales will control it.

I think England will really struggle to score tries against that Welsh defence…

Equally, I think Wales will really struggle to score with that Welsh attack.

If Tuilagi comes back in......their attack looks better.
Welsh d is blydi good.

Has Tuilagi ever troubled us? Always thought of him as fat and manageable, much like Bastereauxed (I may spelled that incorrectly).

[Billyfish]

I can't remember what he is like at scrums. We may have an advantage there (though looking at the stats we didn't do as well against the scratch French side as I thought). Marler is improving for Ingerland but still don't think he's any great shakes, Mako hasn't come on much either from what I've seen.

If he picks up on Marler continuously boring in, he'd be the only ref so far would have done. I can't believe he gets away with it as much as he does, it's so feckin obvious.

I hazard a guess, after Marler's boring performance in the World Cup game, that Messers Gatland & McBride will be having a word with Mr Joubert pre match, or at least threaten to throw a water bottle at him.

That would be nice. I think we'll prosper if we get a level playing field and we presumably will not have Gethin on as a distraction initially.

Mako, from what I remember, may as well start scrums with his face in the mud.

[alx]

If he picks up on Marler continuously boring in, he'd be the only ref so far would have done. I can't believe he gets away with it as much as he does, it's so feckin obvious.

I hazard a guess, after Marler's boring performance in the World Cup game, that Messers Gatland & McBride will be having a word with Mr Joubert pre match, or at least threaten to throw a water bottle at him.

That would be nice. I think we'll prosper if we get a level playing field and we presumably will not have Gethin on as a distraction initially.

Mako, from what I remember, may as well start scrums with his face in the mud.

Mako's scrummaging has improved significantly - he's not overly destructive but he's much more solid than he used to be and has been in good form for Saracens.

Regarding Manu, his debut try was against Wales :p. He's also not fat like Bastareaud, just very muscular which is what makes him any good. It's the rest of his game that needs work.

[kk67]

I think England will really struggle to score tries against that Welsh defence…

Equally, I think Wales will really struggle to score with that Welsh attack.

If Tuilagi comes back in......their attack looks better.
Welsh d is blydi good.

Has Tuilagi ever troubled us? Always thought of him as fat and manageable, much like Bastereauxed (I may spelled that incorrectly).

....'fraid not, Fella. Him and Billy are proper trouble. We're gonna have to work for this.

[Sandydragon]

If Tuilagi comes back in......their attack looks better.
Welsh d is blydi good.

Has Tuilagi ever troubled us? Always thought of him as fat and manageable, much like Bastereauxed (I may spelled that incorrectly).

....'fraid not, Fella. Him and Billy are proper trouble. We're gonna have to work for this.

He will certainly make it harder for Roberts to get over the gain line.

[cashead]

Tuilagi and Billy V are really good at being human battering rams, and Vunipola has actually been much better from what I've seen him than before. Mind you, most of it was through a filter of utter indifference and ridicule at the poor standard of play.

[tigran]

France played like a bunch of schoolboys, all following the ball. They were awful really, surprised Noves hasn't been able to at least get some structure.

Maybe he doesn't understand "structure" as you do

so you think he had a plan, and they knew what they were doing? They looked pretty clueless with the ball, at least until Trinh-Duc came on.

in three weeks they have solved the defense and the desire, everybody knows that attaking is the longest scheme to establish...Especially in the Novès system where the structure is less monolithic and as such more complex than others