Page 4 of 4
Re: Wales team v Australia
Posted: Sun Nov 17, 2024 6:55 pm
by Sandydragon
Positives:
Jac Morgan
Rowlands
Griffin
Scrummaging in general
Botham
Rhodri Williams
Eddie James
Rodgers
Other players such as Lake, Winnett, Nicky Smith were ok.
Ben Thomas has a good skill set, but can he defend for 80 at inside centre? Is he better as an impact sub, or did Gatland have the right idea with putting him at fly half in the summer?
I don’t think Thomas is excessively light to defend that channel, and the issue seems to be that our defence in general is dire. Too many missed tackles again and that’s across the team. Our defence used to be something to be feared. Not now. The Aussies had plenty of ball carriers but that’s nothing new.
Re: Wales team v Australia
Posted: Sun Nov 17, 2024 7:01 pm
by Wallpaperman
Sandydragon wrote: ↑Sun Nov 17, 2024 6:55 pm
Positives:
Jac Morgan
Rowlands
Griffin
Scrummaging in general
Botham
Rhodri Williams
Eddie James
Rodgers
Other players such as Lake, Winnett, Nicky Smith were ok.
Ben Thomas has a good skill set, but can he defend for 80 at inside centre? Is he better as an impact sub, or did Gatland have the right idea with putting him at fly half in the summer?
I don’t think Thomas is excessively light to defend that channel, and the issue seems to be that our defence in general is dire. Too many missed tackles again and that’s across the team. Our defence used to be something to be feared. Not now. The Aussies had plenty of ball carriers but that’s nothing new.
Agree with your positives Sandy, although Wales online gave Rowlands 4 out of 10 !
Thomas does have a good skill set, and he’s not a bad defender, but is small for a 12. When he plays alongside Anscombe, that potentially exposes Wales. I think he can be accommodated elsewhere in the team, at 10 or 15, but Eddie James would be my 12.
Re: Wales team v Australia
Posted: Sun Nov 17, 2024 7:05 pm
by Sandydragon
Eddie James looked good when he came on and I’d give him an opportunity. Not sure who get the 13 shirt but we have got to shore up the defence. Perhaps move Thomas to the bench and drop Costelow completely? Or bring on both Costelow and Thomas when the opposition tire?
I’d prefer not to revert to Watkin or Tompkins. I don’t think that would have made a huge difference today and it would be a step backward.
Re: Wales team v Australia
Posted: Sun Nov 17, 2024 7:12 pm
by Sandydragon
But our defensive system just isn’t working. Thomas is by no means the reason why our defence keeps getting shredded and we are gifting tries at the moment
Re: Wales team v Australia
Posted: Sun Nov 17, 2024 7:28 pm
by Graigwen
In retrospect, it was a bad blow for us losing Beard so early. Tshiunza had a fairly good game, but is a different kind of player. It is rare for a side so much on top in the scrums to lose like that.
The post-mortem will be interesting.
I am going to lie down in a dark room with more beer and watch junk TV, trying to blot out the memory.
.
Re: Wales team v Australia
Posted: Mon Nov 18, 2024 2:44 pm
by Son of Mathonwy
Unfortunately ESPN aren't doing those nice player stats tables any more. Some stats are here:
https://www.rugbypass.com/live/australi ... /?g=941814
Jac Morgan tackled like a maniac, with 27 completed. Tshiunza and Botham got 21 and 19. The starting front row all did will for the time they were on: 12,13,14, unlike their replacements. Beard made 5 tackles in 7 minutes!
Turnovers killed us: we got 1 they got 7.
And missed tackles: 25 vs 16. And line breaks: 3 vs 9. And lineout success: 67% vs 92%.
Just awful really. Scoreline was not unfair.
Re: Wales team v Australia
Posted: Mon Nov 18, 2024 7:58 pm
by Sandydragon
Son of Mathonwy wrote: ↑Mon Nov 18, 2024 2:44 pm
Unfortunately ESPN aren't doing those nice player stats tables any more. Some stats are here:
https://www.rugbypass.com/live/australi ... /?g=941814
Jac Morgan tackled like a maniac, with 27 completed. Tshiunza and Botham got 21 and 19. The starting front row all did will for the time they were on: 12,13,14, unlike their replacements. Beard made 5 tackles in 7 minutes!
Turnovers killed us: we got 1 they got 7.
And missed tackles: 25 vs 16. And line breaks: 3 vs 9. And lineout success: 67% vs 92%.
Just awful really. Scoreline was not unfair.
The lineout implosion was a huge point in the game. The missed tackle stat at one point wasn’t too uneven. We had missed more but we had also made more tackles. But we just couldn’t slow down their momentum and our weakness at the tackle became beyond a joke later in the game as players seemed to hit rock bottom.
Someone said before the game that wales are a hard team to break down. That’s a joke and no longer applies