RugbyRebels

Mellsblue wrote:

Sandydragon wrote:

Buggaluggs wrote:
I wasn't sold, but he's had a very good autumn. He seems to be able to time his runs very well

He isn’t th quickest on the wing, it the Stef Evans didn’t show that much on the interception either. As it stands, Amos has the habit of finishing moves off nicely and can offload nicely. I thinkStef Evans is a quality player in the making, but Amos is offering more st the moment in attack whilst being sounder in defence. Mix in the running threat of Williams and the power of North and I think that’s a decent back 3 combination.

I haven’t seen much of him but he strikes me as your version of Nowell without him being as busy. Which is to say, I don’t think he’ll be anything but ok at test level. Better than Cuthbert, though.

At the moment we don’t have anyone better. A fully on form Cuthbert I’d take, but that form seems to be elusive. Stef Evans has had fantastic regional form but didn’t offer as much in attack and to be fair did have some defensive issues over the series. He will learn and be a better player, but time is now short until the next RWC. Other promising wingers such as Gilles and Hewitt don’t have the time to establish themselves. Amos isn’t as quick as many wingers, but he does have good game awareness and can offer some real potency in attack.

Currently our best option on the wing after North and I’d include Halfpenny in that analysis.

Sandydragon wrote:He will learn and be a better player, but time is now short until the next RWC. Other promising wingers such as Gilles and Hewitt don’t have the time to establish themselves.

I'm not altogether comfortable with this reasoning. World Cups aren't the be-all and end-all. We're never going to win one. Denying promising players their proper, timely development because we feel we're in the wrong part of some notional "cycle" is a bad idea IMO. We should be trying to get better, and trying to get our good players better, and replacing the good ones who are no longer so good.

There are two 6N tournaments and a tour to Argentina before RWC19. Injury permitting, that should be long enough to get anyone up to standard. If we were that serious about Evans (or Giles or Hewitt) they could go into RWC19 on a dozen caps.

I am not sure how many players have been involved in Welsh Rugby sqauds since summer 2016 ..but quite a lot of the players we come up with as options have been involved with a few notable exceptions such as James Davies and others ,but the majority not included have been seen before.

But still someone may come through between now and autumn 2019 and be established in the sqaud by the time it arrives.

So yep I agree let's get these lads involved anyways ..and if the B team get matches let's get them out and exposed.
Every opportunity to get them exposed and tested has to be a plus for Wales.

That's the one major positive of this campaign, I think. No-one is going to be scared after we scraped two wins against Georgia and this SA team, but we now have a significantly wider base of players who - if not worldbeaters - can at least be trusted to back up our first choices with something approaching competence. Of the new and new-ish faces, I'd suggest no-one ruled themselves out, and a few really stood up. Given our depth problems this is hugely welcome.

Navidi,....no surprise.
Patch'.......good stuff, give him a start.
My Brother is of the opinion that Aled is now Wales 3rd choice 9.
I'm sticking with Lloyd Williams.....There's a lot more to playing 9 at test level than just delivery.

There are a lot of 9's that can deliver....but oddly it seems that delivery is the least of the abilities.

I agree that the 6 Nations remains important, but the RWC is the pinnacle and what we should be aiming for. Yes the odds are long but if we aspire to be one of the top rugby nations we should be aiming to get to the semi finals as a minimum.

With 2 six nations campaigns to go, the squad should be taking shape, and the game plan, barring the odd bolter.

Even if we are going to settle for six nations success only, then we should recognise that the top coaches tend to be available on cycles reflecting the RWC. They at least will want success there to make their next job more lucrative.

Sourdust wrote:That's the one major positive of this campaign, I think. No-one is going to be scared after we scraped two wins against Georgia and this SA team, but we now have a significantly wider base of players who - if not worldbeaters - can at least be trusted to back up our first choices with something approaching competence. Of the new and new-ish faces, I'd suggest no-one ruled themselves out, and a few really stood up. Given our depth problems this is hugely welcome.

That’s a fair summary. A few welcome surprises and no one really screwed up.

Sandydragon wrote:I agree that the 6 Nations remains important, but the RWC is the pinnacle and what we should be aiming for. Yes the odds are long but if we aspire to be one of the top rugby nations we should be aiming to get to the semi finals as a minimum.
.

I just don't see the point in "aiming for" something we get one 20/1 shot at every 4 years. If we concentrate on our regular competition and excel in that, we'll be in decent shape for WCs by default. I can't see 6N as a "preparatory" tournament; it's our bread and butter, and it's where we have the most chance of sustained success. Obviously a WC win would be a crowning glory, but I sometimes feel as though some Welsh fans would trade a couple of 6N titles for a WC semi. Not me. One over-zealous ref applying a new interpretation of the tackle laws, and four years of sacrifice goes up in smoke.

Lloyd was quality at test level.....out of position.

Sandydragon wrote:

Mellsblue wrote:

Sandydragon wrote: He isn’t th quickest on the wing, it the Stef Evans didn’t show that much on the interception either. As it stands, Amos has the habit of finishing moves off nicely and can offload nicely. I thinkStef Evans is a quality player in the making, but Amos is offering more st the moment in attack whilst being sounder in defence. Mix in the running threat of Williams and the power of North and I think that’s a decent back 3 combination.

I haven’t seen much of him but he strikes me as your version of Nowell without him being as busy. Which is to say, I don’t think he’ll be anything but ok at test level. Better than Cuthbert, though.

At the moment we don’t have anyone better. A fully on form Cuthbert I’d take, but that form seems to be elusive. Stef Evans has had fantastic regional form but didn’t offer as much in attack and to be fair did have some defensive issues over the series. He will learn and be a better player, but time is now short until the next RWC. Other promising wingers such as Gilles and Hewitt don’t have the time to establish themselves. Amos isn’t as quick as many wingers, but he does have good game awareness and can offer some real potency in attack.

Currently our best option on the wing after North and I’d include Halfpenny in that analysis.

I'd say our current best back three when fit would be North, Amos and Williams, with either Williams or Amos at 15.

Steff Evans will come on over the next season or so, I expect him to be better by the time we get to the world cup, the fringe players will get a good opportunity against Argentina in the summer, I am looking forward to seeing Ollie Griffiths, he was immense against Ulster on Friday night.