Where do we go from here!

[Ross. S]

I think Sherratt has a free spin of things TBH. Sure theres the pressure of needing a win but since his reign consists of playing Ireland, Scotland and England nobody is expecting anything more than a few steps of progress towards a coherent, consistent gameplan and team. Any more and he's doing well IMO. Sherratt basically has 3 games to interview for the full time gig with very little pressure

[Puja]

I think Sherratt has a free spin of things TBH. Sure theres the pressure of needing a win but since his reign consists of playing Ireland, Scotland and England nobody is expecting anything more than a few steps of progress towards a coherent, consistent gameplan and team. Any more and he's doing well IMO. Sherratt basically has 3 games to interview for the full time gig with very little pressure

Plus presumably he'll be allowed to call up anyone that Gatland didn't like the look of and you can play with an actual fly-half.

Bloody unfair - your lot always raise your game to play England, so I wasn't expecting the same insipid performance that you gave the French, but I was at least hoping we'd get at least one go against the Gatland mess.

Puja

[Sandydragon]

It is not exactly a poisoned chalice for Sherratt, but it will be difficult for him to achieve anything substantial in this short timescale, without preparation. Unless the benefits of retention are clear, I think it is best to clear out assistants at the same time as the Head Coach. If the new man feels he has made a mistake, he should be able to re-engage assistants as they will not have jobs to go to and may be serving notice. With just a week, everything will be difficult. As usual, the upper ranks of the WRU could have managed this better.
.

On the other hand (and I don’t disagree with you on one level) the total clear out of all coaches mid campaign would
Mean the entire team would have limited knowledge of the squad. Since it’s all interim it not a huge problem to keep them for three games.

[Sandydragon]

Sherrat is confirmed by WRU :

"Cardiff's Matt Sherratt has been appointed as the new Wales head coach to lead the side in their final three matches of the Six Nations.

Warren Gatland's second stint in charge of Wales has officially come to an end.

The WRU confirmed the news on Tuesday afternoon, with CEO Abi Tierney expressing her gratitude to Gatland for his service to Welsh rugby and calling upon the nation to back Sherratt as he takes charge for the remaining fixtures of the current campaign, against Ireland, Scotland and England.

"The WRU and Warren have agreed that making this change now is in the best interests of the Wales squad as it continues to compete in the 2025 Six Nations tournament," said Tierney. "We are grateful to Warren for all he has done for the game in Wales. He remains our longest-serving and most decorated head coach in terms of the silverware he has won."
.

Interesting choice, at least it is a clean break from the current coaching team. His Cardiff team plays a totally different style of rugby to Gatland’s Wales. Best of luck to him, I wonder if he will look to change or add to the squad as he will surely have his own ideas.

Changes to the squad is an interesting idea. Can they even make changes mid tournament, except for injury? How many would you bring in va the disruption it would cause? I suspect he will look closely at the fly half position, otherwise I’m not so sure.

[pompey-zebra]

I think Sherratt has a free spin of things TBH. Sure theres the pressure of needing a win but since his reign consists of playing Ireland, Scotland and England nobody is expecting anything more than a few steps of progress towards a coherent, consistent gameplan and team. Any more and he's doing well IMO. Sherratt basically has 3 games to interview for the full time gig with very little pressure

Plus presumably he'll be allowed to call up anyone that Gatland didn't like the look of and you can play with an actual fly-half.

Bloody unfair - your lot always raise your game to play England, so I wasn't expecting the same insipid performance that you gave the French, but I was at least hoping we'd get at least one go against the Gatland mess.

Puja

Yeah, but we'll have Ireland and Scotland to grind the new coach optimism out of us before we play England.

[Sandydragon]

I think Sherratt has a free spin of things TBH. Sure theres the pressure of needing a win but since his reign consists of playing Ireland, Scotland and England nobody is expecting anything more than a few steps of progress towards a coherent, consistent gameplan and team. Any more and he's doing well IMO. Sherratt basically has 3 games to interview for the full time gig with very little pressure

Plus presumably he'll be allowed to call up anyone that Gatland didn't like the look of and you can play with an actual fly-half.

Bloody unfair - your lot always raise your game to play England, so I wasn't expecting the same insipid performance that you gave the French, but I was at least hoping we'd get at least one go against the Gatland mess.

Puja

I’m getting that 2007 feeling

[Sandydragon]

Noting that there’s far more wrong than just Gatlands selections, what do we expect from the remaining three matches?

A win is too much in the eyes of most pundits, so what does some respectability look like?

[Puja]

Sherrat is confirmed by WRU :

"Cardiff's Matt Sherratt has been appointed as the new Wales head coach to lead the side in their final three matches of the Six Nations.

Warren Gatland's second stint in charge of Wales has officially come to an end.

The WRU confirmed the news on Tuesday afternoon, with CEO Abi Tierney expressing her gratitude to Gatland for his service to Welsh rugby and calling upon the nation to back Sherratt as he takes charge for the remaining fixtures of the current campaign, against Ireland, Scotland and England.

"The WRU and Warren have agreed that making this change now is in the best interests of the Wales squad as it continues to compete in the 2025 Six Nations tournament," said Tierney. "We are grateful to Warren for all he has done for the game in Wales. He remains our longest-serving and most decorated head coach in terms of the silverware he has won."
.

Interesting choice, at least it is a clean break from the current coaching team. His Cardiff team plays a totally different style of rugby to Gatland’s Wales. Best of luck to him, I wonder if he will look to change or add to the squad as he will surely have his own ideas.

Changes to the squad is an interesting idea. Can they even make changes mid tournament, except for injury? How many would you bring in va the disruption it would cause? I suspect he will look closely at the fly half position, otherwise I’m not so sure.

I think he can do as he likes - it's only the English that have a proscriptive squad limit and rules about callups. Plus if you write off the Ireland game, then the fallow weeks give you three and a half weeks of preparation time to integrate new players before you play Scotland.

I think Sherratt has a free spin of things TBH. Sure theres the pressure of needing a win but since his reign consists of playing Ireland, Scotland and England nobody is expecting anything more than a few steps of progress towards a coherent, consistent gameplan and team. Any more and he's doing well IMO. Sherratt basically has 3 games to interview for the full time gig with very little pressure

Plus presumably he'll be allowed to call up anyone that Gatland didn't like the look of and you can play with an actual fly-half.

Bloody unfair - your lot always raise your game to play England, so I wasn't expecting the same insipid performance that you gave the French, but I was at least hoping we'd get at least one go against the Gatland mess.

Puja

I’m getting that 2007 feeling

Me too and I don't like it.

Puja

[Wallpaperman]

Might be hard to get good caretaker assistant coaches in who can slot in very quickly. Sherratt has a difficult job as it is without each aspect of the game being rebuilt (in about 10 days).

Shh! Its my coping mechanism to believe we'll finally be shot of Howler

I wouldn't bet on it.

Very good !!

[Wallpaperman]

Sherrat is confirmed by WRU :

"Cardiff's Matt Sherratt has been appointed as the new Wales head coach to lead the side in their final three matches of the Six Nations.

Warren Gatland's second stint in charge of Wales has officially come to an end.

The WRU confirmed the news on Tuesday afternoon, with CEO Abi Tierney expressing her gratitude to Gatland for his service to Welsh rugby and calling upon the nation to back Sherratt as he takes charge for the remaining fixtures of the current campaign, against Ireland, Scotland and England.

"The WRU and Warren have agreed that making this change now is in the best interests of the Wales squad as it continues to compete in the 2025 Six Nations tournament," said Tierney. "We are grateful to Warren for all he has done for the game in Wales. He remains our longest-serving and most decorated head coach in terms of the silverware he has won."
.

Interesting choice, at least it is a clean break from the current coaching team. His Cardiff team plays a totally different style of rugby to Gatland’s Wales. Best of luck to him, I wonder if he will look to change or add to the squad as he will surely have his own ideas.

Changes to the squad is an interesting idea. Can they even make changes mid tournament, except for injury? How many would you bring in va the disruption it would cause? I suspect he will look closely at the fly half position, otherwise I’m not so sure.

Wouldn’t surprise me if he called up Llewelyn, given their links from their time at Cardiff, and I don’t think they called up a replacement for Owen Watkin. Possibly Jarrod Evans, too.

I would like to see Johnny Williams join, I think Gatland cut him loose after his poor World Cup.

[Ross. S]

so what does some respectability look like?

I'll settle for not getting nilled again TBH as long as we keep the other side under 3 figures

[Son of Mathonwy]

I think Sherratt has a free spin of things TBH. Sure theres the pressure of needing a win but since his reign consists of playing Ireland, Scotland and England nobody is expecting anything more than a few steps of progress towards a coherent, consistent gameplan and team. Any more and he's doing well IMO. Sherratt basically has 3 games to interview for the full time gig with very little pressure

Agreed. The pressure's off, especially for the Ireland match. If he can beat 50-0 (that's Ireland 50-0 Wales, just to be clear ) then that's okay given the time he'll have had. Losing the rest of the games is to be expected. It would be nice to see some signs of competitiveness against Scotland and England but I wouldn't say he's failed if we're comprehensively beaten.

This is the WRU rolling the dice, figuring a gamble is better than the near-certainty of Gatland losing the rest of the games.

[Numbers]

I think Sherratt has a free spin of things TBH. Sure theres the pressure of needing a win but since his reign consists of playing Ireland, Scotland and England nobody is expecting anything more than a few steps of progress towards a coherent, consistent gameplan and team. Any more and he's doing well IMO. Sherratt basically has 3 games to interview for the full time gig with very little pressure

He's not intetrested in the "Full time gig", he made that clear.

[MrK]

What I would do if I was Sherratt

Squad:
FR - He cant call in Carre unfortunately, But I would Call up Lewis, at least he is an experienced prop (+50 caps) is working with Adam and has worked with Sherratt before.
2nd Row - No Changes
Back Row - I would call up McLeod, he is the form back rower in Wales

9 - Personally I would have had in RMW from the start, but as it is stick with the 3 he has for now
10 - Call up Evans or Anscombe, hes worked with them both - I dont care which one, but call up one of them
Centre - Call up LLewelyn or Williams (or both), again, I dont mind which one, but one of them as a replacement for Watkin
Back 3 - We havet got may choices here that leap out at me so as is

Starting Team
Smith, Parry, Lewis, T Williams, D Jenkins, Mcleod (I know he is a 7 but hes 6'2 and 16 and 1/2 stone) so not small and similar in stature to Botham), Morgan, Wainwright
Williams, Anscombe or Evans, Adams (continued benefit of doubt), Thomas (lets play him at 12), LLewelyn or Williams (one of these at 13), Rogers, Murray

Bench
E LLoyd, G Thomas, H Thomas, F Thomas, J Botham, E Bevan, Edwards, J Roberts

* There is more ball carrying in that pack and McLoed will add additional T/over threat along with Smith, Parry and Lewis
** Adams is lucky but we have few options, I think we should pick Thomas at 12 and say ok, this is your position, show us what you can do.

[Sandydragon]

I wouldn’t drop Faletau at the moment. He’s still class and if he can keep going for another season or 2 then that’s a huge experience boost in our team. Plus Wainwright at 6 is a decent option.

Llewelyn or Williams into centre contention is a decent shout, the priority for me is fly half as Thomas just isn’t working (entirely not his fault) and we need options there. Anscombe would be the obvious choice

[Son of Mathonwy]

Sherratt might consider calling up Sheedy, and playing Thomas outside him. Thomas kicks the goals?

If he's looking for a substantial back rower I'd suggest 18st 6'5 James Ratti for the bench spot. Wouldn't drop Faletau though.

[Sandydragon]

Sherratt might consider calling up Sheedy, and playing Thomas outside him. Thomas kicks the goals?

If he's looking for a substantial back rower I'd suggest 18st 6'5 James Ratti for the bench spot. Wouldn't drop Faletau though.

Ratti is an interesting player. I think he ticks a lot of boxes for the blindside and you notice him when he’s absent from the Ospreys side. Is he quick enough for international rugby?

[Sandydragon]

Sherratt might consider calling up Sheedy, and playing Thomas outside him. Thomas kicks the goals?

If he's looking for a substantial back rower I'd suggest 18st 6'5 James Ratti for the bench spot. Wouldn't drop Faletau though.

Ratti is an interesting player. I think he ticks a lot of boxes for the blindside and you notice him when he’s absent from the Ospreys side. Is he quick enough for international rugby?

[Son of Mathonwy]

Sherratt might consider calling up Sheedy, and playing Thomas outside him. Thomas kicks the goals?

If he's looking for a substantial back rower I'd suggest 18st 6'5 James Ratti for the bench spot. Wouldn't drop Faletau though.

Ratti is an interesting player. I think he ticks a lot of boxes for the blindside and you notice him when he’s absent from the Ospreys side. Is he quick enough for international rugby?

That is always the question with those hybrid 2nd row/6 players (although he is more of a big back rower than a converted 2nd row). It's a shame he's had to play 2nd row quite a bit this season due to Beard and Fender being injured, but I think the Ospreys look better when we have enough fit locks to allow him to play at 6. He's fast enough for the URC, I'd like to see him get a shot at test level - it's the only way to find out.

[Sandydragon]

Sherratt might consider calling up Sheedy, and playing Thomas outside him. Thomas kicks the goals?

If he's looking for a substantial back rower I'd suggest 18st 6'5 James Ratti for the bench spot. Wouldn't drop Faletau though.

Ratti is an interesting player. I think he ticks a lot of boxes for the blindside and you notice him when he’s absent from the Ospreys side. Is he quick enough for international rugby?

That is always the question with those hybrid 2nd row/6 players (although he is more of a big back rower than a converted 2nd row). It's a shame he's had to play 2nd row quite a bit this season due to Beard and Fender being injured, but I think the Ospreys look better when we have enough fit locks to allow him to play at 6. He's fast enough for the URC, I'd like to see him get a shot at test level - it's the only way to find out.

It’s absolutely worth a shit. Our best six is probably Wainwright right now (noting that Moriarty is returning to Wales and may come back into contention), but Wainwright may have to cover 8 more as Faletau ain’t getting any younger. None of the other blindsides have nailed down the position. They are either open sides or have been hybrid players and not really set the world on fire. Plum tree has probably turned in the best performance to date.

It could of course be a horses for courses approach. A big blindside for the opposition with huge packs, a 6.5 for when it’s likely to be a faster game. But I’d agree that Rattis performances have put him into position to be able to have a go.

[Son of Mathonwy]

Ratti is an interesting player. I think he ticks a lot of boxes for the blindside and you notice him when he’s absent from the Ospreys side. Is he quick enough for international rugby?

That is always the question with those hybrid 2nd row/6 players (although he is more of a big back rower than a converted 2nd row). It's a shame he's had to play 2nd row quite a bit this season due to Beard and Fender being injured, but I think the Ospreys look better when we have enough fit locks to allow him to play at 6. He's fast enough for the URC, I'd like to see him get a shot at test level - it's the only way to find out.

It’s absolutely worth a shit. Our best six is probably Wainwright right now (noting that Moriarty is returning to Wales and may come back into contention), but Wainwright may have to cover 8 more as Faletau ain’t getting any younger. None of the other blindsides have nailed down the position. They are either open sides or have been hybrid players and not really set the world on fire. Plum tree has probably turned in the best performance to date.

It could of course be a horses for courses approach. A big blindside for the opposition with huge packs, a 6.5 for when it’s likely to be a faster game. But I’d agree that Rattis performances have put him into position to be able to have a go.

Yeah, hopefully he'll get a chance now or more likely, the summer.

[Mikey Brown]

Howley out. Watkins and Williams injured. Anscombe, Llewellyn and Jarrod Evans in.

Seems pretty sensible?

[pompey-zebra]

Howley out. Watkins and Williams injured. Anscombe, Llewellyn and Jarrod Evans in.

Seems pretty sensible?

Yes, that does seem a bit sensible. The WRU will soon stamp that out.

[Son of Mathonwy]

Howley out. Watkins and Williams injured. Anscombe, Llewellyn and Jarrod Evans in.

Seems pretty sensible?

Will Howley get a replacement I wonder? Howley's charmed life under Gatland has come to an end at long last* - and will always be a bit of a mystery.

Anscombe and Llewellyn are no-brainers. Bringing Evans in as the 3rd fly half (assuming Ben Thomas is now a centre) is reasonable although there's a case for bringing in Sheedy or Lloyd instead.

With Williams out it's perhaps surprising that Cardiff coach Sherratt didn't look to Winnett but there are several full back options in the squad (plus Anscombe).

I feel more hopeful now. Shame it's Ireland next and the Italy game is gone. But that's on the WRU.


* actually, that may not be true if Gatland needs an ineffective backs coach wherever he goes next.

[Numbers]

Howley out. Watkins and Williams injured. Anscombe, Llewellyn and Jarrod Evans in.

Seems pretty sensible?

Will Howley get a replacement I wonder? Howley's charmed life under Gatland has come to an end at long last* - and will always be a bit of a mystery.

Anscombe and Llewellyn are no-brainers. Bringing Evans in as the 3rd fly half (assuming Ben Thomas is now a centre) is reasonable although there's a case for bringing in Sheedy or Lloyd instead.

With Williams out it's perhaps surprising that Cardiff coach Sherratt didn't look to Winnett but there are several full back options in the squad (plus Anscombe).

I feel more hopeful now. Shame it's Ireland next and the Italy game is gone. But that's on the WRU.


* actually, that may not be true if Gatland needs an ineffective backs coach wherever he goes next.

Evans and Thomas know each others game inside out so we can expect to see Ben Thomas starting at 12 before the end of the tournament.