Meltdown in 3, 2 ,1

[Numbers]

I make that 3 NZers in the touring squad? Shame Hartley didn't make it.

Payne and Te'o, who's the other.

[OptimisticJock]

Joke

[Lizard]

I make that 3 NZers in the touring squad? Shame Hartley didn't make it.

Payne and Te'o, who's the other.

Mako. Born in Wellington.

[Hooky]

The constestables IMO Still a very good squad even if as a Scot, I'm not too pleased.

AWJ contestable? Are you mental?

Halfpenny must be counting himself lucky though?

Halfpenny, Moriaty, Davies contestable. Not AWJ.

[Stom]

Hmm. Sort of losing interest already.

There's not much to get excited about, is there...Launch missing out. Nowell making it. Moriarty making it. Anything else?

It's a pretty...sensible squad, tbh.

[Hooky]

AWJ had a decent 6N. When he only scores a 7/10 people claim he's in poor form. He rarely drops his levels and plays well even when Wales are poor.

The battle for the starting lock partnership is going to be a treat.

[Lizard]

How many of these guys will still be standing after facing the Provincial Cannonfodder-With-Nothing-to-Lose XV, Blues, Crusaders, Highlanders, Maori and the Chiefs? At least the Blues and the Cru will have their All Blacks available, too.

[Mikey Brown]

AWJ had a decent 6N. When he only scores a 7/10 people claim he's in poor form. He rarely drops his levels and plays well even when Wales are poor.

The battle for the starting lock partnership is going to be a treat.

Interesting. Appears to me to get raved about regardless of whether he actually does anything useful. Funny how perceptions differ like that.

[Stom]

AWJ had a decent 6N. When he only scores a 7/10 people claim he's in poor form. He rarely drops his levels and plays well even when Wales are poor.

The battle for the starting lock partnership is going to be a treat.

Interesting. Appears to me to get raved about regardless of whether he actually does anything useful. Funny how perceptions differ like that.

And I fall somewhere between the two

I think he does some defensive stuff really well, plus his set piece is still good. But he's lost some of that intensity of old. The thing that made him truly world class was his endless intensity. He just kept going, raising his level every minute and thus raising his team around him. Now he does not have the stamina of old and does not seem to have that pure controlled aggression POC had at the end of his career.

In other words: when comparing him to the heights he hit himself, he suffers badly. But that does not make him a bad player. He's still excellent, if no longer in that world class bracket he used to be in.

[Len]

I make that 3 NZers in the touring squad? Shame Hartley didn't make it.

Payne and Te'o, who's the other.

Mako. Born in Wellington.

Fuck it mun. Gatland is a kiwi too, makes 4.

[hellovating]

launchbury not getting selected is an obvious howler. he was the best second row in the 6N and I'd have him starting in the test team.

[bruce]

I think his lack of shoulders did it for him

[Mikey Brown]

AWJ had a decent 6N. When he only scores a 7/10 people claim he's in poor form. He rarely drops his levels and plays well even when Wales are poor.

The battle for the starting lock partnership is going to be a treat.

Interesting. Appears to me to get raved about regardless of whether he actually does anything useful. Funny how perceptions differ like that.

And I fall somewhere between the two

I think he does some defensive stuff really well, plus his set piece is still good. But he's lost some of that intensity of old. The thing that made him truly world class was his endless intensity. He just kept going, raising his level every minute and thus raising his team around him. Now he does not have the stamina of old and does not seem to have that pure controlled aggression POC had at the end of his career.

In other words: when comparing him to the heights he hit himself, he suffers badly. But that does not make him a bad player. He's still excellent, if no longer in that world class bracket he used to be in.

Don't read that as me saying he never does anything useful, it's just that he only has to walk out on the pitch for the superlatives to start flowing about all the coal-face, nitty-gritty nonsense.

[kk67]

The constestables IMO Still a very good squad even if as a Scot, I'm not too pleased.

Agreed. We knew 2nd row was going to be a close call but that has floored me.

[Stom]

Interesting. Appears to me to get raved about regardless of whether he actually does anything useful. Funny how perceptions differ like that.

And I fall somewhere between the two

I think he does some defensive stuff really well, plus his set piece is still good. But he's lost some of that intensity of old. The thing that made him truly world class was his endless intensity. He just kept going, raising his level every minute and thus raising his team around him. Now he does not have the stamina of old and does not seem to have that pure controlled aggression POC had at the end of his career.

In other words: when comparing him to the heights he hit himself, he suffers badly. But that does not make him a bad player. He's still excellent, if no longer in that world class bracket he used to be in.

Don't read that as me saying he never does anything useful, it's just that he only has to walk out on the pitch for the superlatives to start flowing about all the coal-face, nitty-gritty nonsense.

Was the same with POC. But for me, he was far more effective late career, so perhaps deserved it.

[Sandydragon]

launchbury not getting selected is an obvious howler. he was the best second row in the 6N and I'd have him starting in the test team.

I think that is the oddest selection.

[Numbers]

launchbury not getting selected is an obvious howler. he was the best second row in the 6N and I'd have him starting in the test team.

I think that is the oddest selection.

Whereas Launchbury was certainly the best second row in the loose I don't recall him being brilliant in the lineout, Gatland will be looking for a very strong set piece so I can see why he may have preferred Kruis.

I think the oddest selection is Biggar, I would pick Russell, Jackson and Ford before him.

[Sandydragon]

launchbury not getting selected is an obvious howler. he was the best second row in the 6N and I'd have him starting in the test team.

I think that is the oddest selection.

Whereas Launchbury was certainly the best second row in the loose I don't recall him being brilliant in the lineout, Gatland will be looking for a very strong set piece so I can see why he may have preferred Kruis.

I think the oddest selection is Biggar, I would pick Russell, Jackson and Ford before him.

Of all the Scots who missed out, Russel is probably the most hard done by as Biggar's selection at first glance seems odd. But, if Gatland wants a combative weekday team then he is probably viewing Bigger as the fly half for that team. I can't see Biggar getting into the test team, barring a raft of injuries, but with Gatlands philosophy of minimising risk, Bigger makes more sense than Russell. And Ford for that matter.

Probably not the selection I would have made, but under the prism of Gatlandball it makes more sense.

Regarding Launchbury, perhaps Gatland is looking for a workhorse lock to complement Itoje in the boiler room? I would have picked Launchbury over AWJ who hasn't hit the heights he is capable of, unless AWJ is being considered for midweek captaincy?