Team for Fiji

[Sandydragon]

This is quickly going to rat shit. Total loss of all composure and we seem to be trying to double down on Fijian structureless game

[Sandydragon]

Try Fiji. Ben Thomas couldn’t stop the Fijian 12 from 5 m out.

Oh dear. We’re 7 points down now, missed conversion, and you sense that Fiji have properly got their tails up

[pompey-zebra]

Jesus christ! This is going downhill rapidly.

[Sandydragon]

Some cracking handling as we score our third try which Costelow can’t convert

[pompey-zebra]

And now Wales mess up the restart and we're defending our line. Knock on thank God

[Sandydragon]

We need something special now but we just don’t deserve to win this. Total loss of composure

[Sandydragon]

Fiji frustrating everything we do now. Total harum scarum

[Sandydragon]

Last chance. Need a converted try

[Banquo]

wtf were fiji doing at the end.

[pompey-zebra]

Last chance. Need a converted try

Fat frigging chance. Shocking performance.

[Sandydragon]

We knock the ball on. Fiji deservedly won.

[Sandydragon]

Last chance. Need a converted try

Fat frigging chance. Shocking performance.

It’s like we got an early lead and had a player advantage and totally decided that was enough and we could just piss about.

[Sandydragon]

wtf were fiji doing at the end.

They will just run anything. Fair play.

[Sandydragon]

Australia next and on today’s performance we need a huge improvement. We demonstrated some good skills and created some good try’s. But our composure lost that.

I sense Gatland may be about to get his P45

[normanski]

Too many errors and we didn’t quite get the rub of the green from the ref. Some useful Welsh performances but we were too disjointed after losing Grady.

Well done Fiji.

[pompey-zebra]

Last chance. Need a converted try

Fat frigging chance. Shocking performance.

It’s like we got an early lead and had a player advantage and totally decided that was enough and we could just piss about.

To be honest, there seemed to be a complete inability to do the basics at vital times. This is a new low- until next week at least.

[Sandydragon]

We briefly found some shape when we had a few driving mauls in the second half but it was too many errors. 14-3 up and with player advantage and we let their fly half (who to be fair was excellent) run through half our team.

We had a two man advantage shortly afterwards and Anscombe kicks long. We were just inside our own half so normally I’d approve but with a two man advantage why not try to run a couple of phases and see where the gaps emerge?

I thought it could be a bright afternoon for us after Winnett scored his (disallowed) try. But despite going ahead after our penalty try it was just crap for the next 30 odd minutes

[Wallpaperman]

That was painful after a bright start. Wales created chances to win, but no argument with the result. Credit to Fiji, always an exciting side to watch.

Thought that the Welsh maul would be key but it wasn’t enough. Some nice attacking play for a change but the flip side was that they were way smaller and struggled horribly at times in defence. Also some under par performances upfront, Rowlands looked gassed and got isolated a couple of times to concede penalties, and Plumtree missed an important tackle and also gave away some daft penalties.

I still think there is a decent squad to be picked for Wales but this was poor today.

On a separate note, was there much difference between the Reffell yellow and the Radra red ? At least the red was for 20 minutes and not decisive.

A minor gripe, Fiji dropped the ball a few times with play on, I thought that Ben Thomas dropped the ball backwards in the lead up to the disallowed Murray try.

[Wallpaperman]

Fat frigging chance. Shocking performance.

It’s like we got an early lead and had a player advantage and totally decided that was enough and we could just piss about.

To be honest, there seemed to be a complete inability to do the basics at vital times. This is a new low- until next week at least.

Yes, I’m not totally convinced by Grady as yet, but bringing on Costelow was an issue. Blame the selection I suppose for being 1 back light

[Wallpaperman]

I bet Gatland doesn’t offer to quit again - they might take him up on it this time !

[Son of Mathonwy]

We briefly found some shape when we had a few driving mauls in the second half but it was too many errors. 14-3 up and with player advantage and we let their fly half (who to be fair was excellent) run through half our team.

We had a two man advantage shortly afterwards and Anscombe kicks long. We were just inside our own half so normally I’d approve but with a two man advantage why not try to run a couple of phases and see where the gaps emerge?

I thought it could be a bright afternoon for us after Winnett scored his (disallowed) try. But despite going ahead after our penalty try it was just crap for the next 30 odd minutes

Totally. Obviously a 1 man advantage is no use to us but I thought when Reffell came back on that we'd have a few minutes of 15 to 13 which surely even Wales could make something of. No.

We looked really good in the first 15-20 minutes but second best after that. Although there were a few supposed knock-ons which didn't go forward and a couple of times our players were tackled in the air. Would be nice if the TMO was interested.

Yep, no surprise, having a 6-2 split with Costelow as one of the backs bit us from the 16th minute. I thought Grady was good for the short time he was on - nice hands for Murray's try. Llewellyn was pretty anonymous. Ben Thomas was patchy. Although in general I don't think any one player was particularly poor - it was a team & coaching effort. Hey, at least our line out and scrum both went well.

They should have taken Gatland's resignation after the 6N.

[Sandydragon]

That was painful after a bright start. Wales created chances to win, but no argument with the result. Credit to Fiji, always an exciting side to watch.

Thought that the Welsh maul would be key but it wasn’t enough. Some nice attacking play for a change but the flip side was that they were way smaller and struggled horribly at times in defence. Also some under par performances upfront, Rowlands looked gassed and got isolated a couple of times to concede penalties, and Plumtree missed an important tackle and also gave away some daft penalties.

I still think there is a decent squad to be picked for Wales but this was poor today.

On a separate note, was there much difference between the Reffell yellow and the Radra red ? At least the red was for 20 minutes and not decisive.

A minor gripe, Fiji dropped the ball a few times with play on, I thought that Ben Thomas dropped the ball backwards in the lead up to the disallowed Murray try.

That wasn’t a forward pass and another Fijian scrum should have been ours after a Fijian hand batted the ball forward in the tackle. But the ref was reasonable enough, can’t assign any blame there.

The two red reviews were interesting. I wonder if the fact that Reffell was trying to bind and the Fijian player had been thrown backwards already was the mitigation. For the red, Winnett wasn’t at full height but the Fijian tackler put his shoulder into his head so it was never a legal tackle. That’s the only difference I could reasonably see

[Sandydragon]

Bit of a mixed bag from Thomas. Some lovely hands for two tries but we did lose something in defence.

[pompey-zebra]

We briefly found some shape when we had a few driving mauls in the second half but it was too many errors. 14-3 up and with player advantage and we let their fly half (who to be fair was excellent) run through half our team.

We had a two man advantage shortly afterwards and Anscombe kicks long. We were just inside our own half so normally I’d approve but with a two man advantage why not try to run a couple of phases and see where the gaps emerge?

I thought it could be a bright afternoon for us after Winnett scored his (disallowed) try. But despite going ahead after our penalty try it was just crap for the next 30 odd minutes

Totally. Obviously a 1 man advantage is no use to us but I thought when Reffell came back on that we'd have a few minutes of 15 to 13 which surely even Wales could make something of. No.

We looked really good in the first 15-20 minutes but second best after that. Although there were a few supposed knock-ons which didn't go forward and a couple of times our players were tackled in the air. Would be nice if the TMO was interested.

Yep, no surprise, having a 6-2 split with Costelow as one of the backs bit us from the 16th minute. I thought Grady was good for the short time he was on - nice hands for Murray's try. Llewellyn was pretty anonymous. Ben Thomas was patchy. Although in general I don't think any one player was particularly poor - it was a team & coaching effort. Hey, at least our line out and scrum both went well.

They should have taken Gatland's resignation after the 6N.

Interestingly in the post match interview, Gatland said it was always the intention to use Bevan as back three cover and was baffled as to why Costellow went on instead when Grady was injured. If so, then it just seems to add to the general confusion and inaccuracy surrounding Wales this year.

[Sandydragon]

It was always a risk having two backs on the bench particularly as Ben Thomas could have played ten. Losing Grady so early was a bad blow and Costelow looked very out of sorts on the wing (unsurprisingly).

If the intention was always for Bevan to be the wider replacement then that’s a total cockup. We seem to have reverted to the worst of the 90s and are quickly becoming a laughing stock