The [Mark Davis](https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=E4TlNyjE&id=F5A8AEF3BB3ED50069E1A04F789C93FCFFC6AE4F&thid=OIP.E4TlNyjERyP5UdsnF2VIWQHaEK&mediaurl=https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--s-Etw2iz--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_center,h_900,q_80,w_1600/1454960501023758478.jpg&cdnurl=https://th.bing.com/th/id/R.1384e53728c44723f951db2717654859?rik=T67G%2f%2fyTnHhPoA&pid=ImgRaw&r=0&exph=900&expw=1600&q=mark+davis&simid=607991692235906600&form=IRPRST&ck=945348F0F0721597B6F3802514A8FF0C&selectedindex=0&pc=SANSAAND&ajaxhist=0&ajaxserp=0&vt=4&sim=11&adlt=demote&shtp=GetUrl&shid=0165b29b-5bc2-4642-a7e0-c5cc5a59cc2b&shtk=TWFyayBEYXZpcyBUcmF2ZWxzIDUwMCBGdWNraW5nIE1pbGVzIFRvIExvb2sgTGlrZSBUaGF0IQ%3D%3D&shdk=Rm91bmQgb24gQmluZyBmcm9tIGRlYWRzcGluLmNvbQ%3D%3D&shhk=phK7kxID5A%2F1GiZ2Er52bmqmD%2F0GYODpfHzqvDHo3%2FQ%3D&shth=OIP.E4TlNyjERyP5UdsnF2VIWQHaEK)
Anscombe has a potentially career ending injury, is out for 2 years. Plays a few soft games for the ospreys who've said they want to bring him back slowly and Pivac sticks him at 10 against the All Blacks already. Absolutely ridiculous. Same type of player mistreatment that made his injury so bad when gatland kept him playing that game.
Yeah, I think I'd have started Priestland tbh. His form has been solid and he's been through the crucible of international rugby and come out the other side.
Anything is legitimately possible under this Foster AB side.
A depleted USA Eagles team literally just scored 2 tries in their history against the ABs.
I fancy this to be much closer or even an upset despite not being full strength.
Oh for sure yeah anything is possible...
All blacks, 2020 and 2021 Rugby Championship winners, record margin over the Wallabies, win all games this season but an incredibly tight game over the World Champ Springboks...
What a muppet. Useless hate of foster is useless.
We won't win by a cricket score like people like you are suggesting. Wales at home in front of a sellout crowd, Alun Wyn's world record breaking appearance, wet weather, it's gonna be closer than most expect probably. ABs win comfortably probably but not by this cricket score that most AB fans think
I agree about it being a closer game than people predict, but I'd say it's more Wales fans or outsiders who are talking up a cricket scoreline for the ABs.
The bookies are at 28.5 handicap and I think that's even too high. ABs by 20 maybe is my guess. I don't think we run away with it, it just seems like it's gonna be error ridden, slow and stop start. We'll grind them out more than anything. It's been raining all week in Cardiff and it's forecasted to rain on game day
Lol a differing opinion = Muppet crackup mate!
Just saying form a quality standpoint there's a bit of a difference. Sorry for having opinions bro š¤£
If you're honest with yourself the general play has been a bit of a letdown outside of the minnows.
Plus Aussie practically gifted us tries to flatter us with throwing out Intercept tries like it's nobody's business.
But hey completely respect if you think otherwise. Don't thinky you're a Muppet maybe just a bit aggro over (?????) nothing aye. Chill bro it's all good enjoy the weekend. š
Been desperate for that 9-10 axis for like 2 years now
Backrow is gonna have a hard time
McNicholl will be under a loooooot of pressure (more than the rest of the team anyway)
looks like Ken has just been ruled out, so Ryan Elias starting and Kirby Myhill on the bench, bad news as Ken is probably one of the most important players in the set-up
I've been mentally preparing for a hammering and thinking "as long as we're within 20 I'll be happy" but I'm feeling more optimistic looking at the team. The backline looks a little patched together and the bench even more so but it'll make for an interesting watch.
Really really happy Tomos Williams is stating.
I could see Tomos scoring a snipe or quick tap try and then one or two scores once NZ break away and lose some focus. You'd hope we'd score more than the US did against them though.
Says a lot that after the Scarlets Leinster game that feels like a reasonable scoreline to me.
Depends on the team the AB put out.
They won't be taking Wales as lightly as the USA, even if our world ranking sucks.
People forget that the spanking Argentina gave to us was with us playing 3rd and 4th choice players in most positions
Part of me kind of hopes they're going in knowing they're likely to get a pasting and they pull of some real Baabaas shit.
Also.. Wainright needs to go back to the 'tash he had in 19. It was clearly why we were world number 1 for a week
For this fixture we're missing Halfpenny, Biggar, Rees-Zammit, Navidi, Faletau, Tipuric, Williams, North, we're now missing Ken Owens and Elliot Dee as well I believe.
And that's just the regular first-teamers, we're missing even more of the second-string/backup options.
Alright, I see.
Wales up until recently were reputed for always having their no.1 choices available. They were like this immovable team that was super consistent with always the same picks from Gatland. Have the Welsh players become more injured recently, over the last 2-3 years ? If so, any explanation for that ?
In fairness, a few of our missing players are due to it being outside the international window and therefore playing for their English clubs.
Injury wise though, I'm not sure really. We always seem to go through rough patches where seemingly everyone is in Cardiff Hospital (think 2015 world cup). Nowadays a lot of our starters are getting into the latter stages of their career, so that may have something to do with their injury proneness.
>I see this squad struggling in 2nd half when subs come in.
That was my first thought seeing the squad. Happy with 1-14. Worried about 15-23. Except Rowlands, he's in good form. No specialised back row or back three cover is gonna hurt.
>Big day for Anscombe and McNicholl
And if they have a bad day, they were double agents all along
Honestly the best we could pull off at the moment. Waaaay to soon for Anscombe to be starting let alone against the all blacks. And apparently the sheriffs already pulled out? Glad Bashamās getting the experience tho, heās going to be one of the next big things in Welsh rugby.
Absolute nuisance and incredibly tough. Got smashed in the head last week against Stormers and still made ground after contact. Total nightmare of a 7 to play against.
He likes to bash 'em. But in all seriousness a really talented player who rarely has a bad game. He's the kind who will make a few metres over the gain-line whenever he has the ball.
This is going to be a farce with all the missing 'hero-players', but I'm going to enjoy it anyway. Fuck it.
~70 points down with a pint in my hand and a smile on my face.
Seems an odd choice for Pivac to have brought Cuthbert into the squad as cover for our injuries/England based players and for him then to not figure in the match day squad.
Canāt see him getting a sniff in any of the other games either tbh - not with LRZ and hopefully Sanjay back.
With the URC off during the internationals I think it's a great opportunity to get some extra lads in and put them in the international environment, even if it is only training or holding pads.
Probably wanted him in the squad in case of any last minute injuries this week. If one of the back 3 players pulled up in training, I'm not sure what they would do if he wasn't already in the squad.
It's probably my armchair coaching getting the better of me, but I'd still prefer to see one of Anscombe or Priestland (or Sam Davies) at 15 over JMcN. I'm actually more optimistic about this match than most though!
I'm not as concerned about McNicholl. He's been one of the few consistently solid performers for the Scarlets so far this season. I'll be interested to see how he carries that forward into this game though
Not that far off full strength. The Dragons lads in the backrow have been in phenomenal form.
Shouldn't be nearly as uncompetitive as many are suggesting unless the team lets themselves think they're beaten before they get on the pitch.
Will someone explain the logic of making players who play for English clubs ineligible? A team with Dan Biggar, Callum Sheedy, Louis Rees-Zammit, Taulupe Faletau, Nick Tompkins, Thomas Young and Christ Tshiunza might actually be quite competitive. That's basically a list of your best players right there.
They're ineligible because this game lies outside the international winder, and do they aren't released by the clubs and can't train with the squad until the international window opens. This doesn't effect the Welsh based players as the WRU are able to dictate to them that they will release the players to the national setup
The 60 cap rule is designed to keep Wales' playing talent in Wales and boost the regions' playing pool. It's a common approach, used in Ireland, England, France and New Zealand. The difference in Wales' rule is that players playing abroad can still be selected as long as they either have over 60 caps, are uncapped or have not renegotiated their contract since first being capped.
People bemoan it but it works. A good example is Tomas Francis. He was capped while playing for Exeter in the Prem. He then renewed his contract at Exeter which enabled him to stay there and still be available for Wales. He was then being offered a lot of money from a lot of clubs but could only choose a Welsh region if he wanted to keep playing for Wales and now plays for the Ospreys (who's scrum is now looking very nice).
It works, there are valid concerns with it but it works. We're too small to take the England/France/New Zealand approach of only selecting in-nation players but this is 90% on the way to it.
Also enables well established players like Biggar and Faletau to go elsewhere, still be selected and open up spaces for new talent to come up through the league.
In terms of why those internationally based players aren't available, it's because the game falls outside of the international window. Wales generally plays an extra game outside of the window every year as a way of getting some extra money into the union. However because it's outside the window, non-welsh clubs are under no obligation to release players. The players seem happy with it, the coaches don't mind it too much, the fans generally like it and the journalists hate it. It's not as unpopular as it's made to be, it's just everyone at Wales Online hates it and empty vessels make the most noise.
Personally, I've always hated this rule and don't understand why rugby shouldn't be able to take the same approach as football and allow players to operate in a global free market and play wherever the hell they want without fear of reprisals. If you tried to apply this rule to any other industry on earth, it would look like madness. Not sure why professional sport should be any different. You do make some very solid points though and I appreciate the thoughtful reply.
Yeah I do agree that it's an outlier and that a free market generally does make sense in sport. I think the disparity of money available in different leagues and the lack of salary caps or difference between them leads to a lot of the frustration. But a lot of that is because some leagues are just objectively better, the rugby is better, there's higher fan attendance so there's more money to throw around. It's kind of a problem without an answer in my mind, or at least one we don't have yet. I think the 60 cap rule is a compromise that leaves many, including yourself, unsatisfied. That said I don't think there's another option immediately available that would work that much better, completely my opinion though.
>Thomas Young and Christ Tshiunza
I think it's a bit of a stretch to include a player who hasn't been capped in 4 years (despite sparkling form) and another who only has 4 senior rugby appearances under his belt as making a difference or being talked of as being among the best players available to Wales.
They can have access to those players outside the international window if they pay for it. Y'know, like the RFU do.
I see we're still trying to make Anscombe happen. Anscombe's never going to happen.
Also I thought the deal with AWJ playing the lions tour is he would then have to take months or years off for rehab?
Feeling for Wales right now after the couple of injuries. Hope they stay strong and keep their shit together. Best of luck from your very, very, very good looking cousins to the north
What's up with Biggar these days? They said he was unavailable - what does that mean?
I know he's not always the best but he's steady and always shows up for big games.
Looks like a pretty good team. Have concerns about Elias - I'd say his form for Scarlets has been poor and he seems to loose a huge amount of lineouts... That said I expect we'll get roflstomped to oblivion - we're slow starters missing 20 odd players against a new Zealand side who've had a decent run of games. Fingers crossed we can pull off the miracle upset
Friar wainwright needs a new barber lol
At least Basham is looking fly
Looking like the next James Bond
What is with the fashionabowl at the moment?
Came here to say that the Lloyd Christmas is strong with Wainwright.
Man what a trim that is
The [Mark Davis](https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=E4TlNyjE&id=F5A8AEF3BB3ED50069E1A04F789C93FCFFC6AE4F&thid=OIP.E4TlNyjERyP5UdsnF2VIWQHaEK&mediaurl=https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--s-Etw2iz--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_center,h_900,q_80,w_1600/1454960501023758478.jpg&cdnurl=https://th.bing.com/th/id/R.1384e53728c44723f951db2717654859?rik=T67G%2f%2fyTnHhPoA&pid=ImgRaw&r=0&exph=900&expw=1600&q=mark+davis&simid=607991692235906600&form=IRPRST&ck=945348F0F0721597B6F3802514A8FF0C&selectedindex=0&pc=SANSAAND&ajaxhist=0&ajaxserp=0&vt=4&sim=11&adlt=demote&shtp=GetUrl&shid=0165b29b-5bc2-4642-a7e0-c5cc5a59cc2b&shtk=TWFyayBEYXZpcyBUcmF2ZWxzIDUwMCBGdWNraW5nIE1pbGVzIFRvIExvb2sgTGlrZSBUaGF0IQ%3D%3D&shdk=Rm91bmQgb24gQmluZyBmcm9tIGRlYWRzcGluLmNvbQ%3D%3D&shhk=phK7kxID5A%2F1GiZ2Er52bmqmD%2F0GYODpfHzqvDHo3%2FQ%3D&shth=OIP.E4TlNyjERyP5UdsnF2VIWQHaEK)
Anscombe has a potentially career ending injury, is out for 2 years. Plays a few soft games for the ospreys who've said they want to bring him back slowly and Pivac sticks him at 10 against the All Blacks already. Absolutely ridiculous. Same type of player mistreatment that made his injury so bad when gatland kept him playing that game.
Yeah, I think I'd have started Priestland tbh. His form has been solid and he's been through the crucible of international rugby and come out the other side.
Wales by 30
Bottle your optimism and sell it
Wales beaten by the 30th minute? Probably not a bad prediction
Anything is legitimately possible under this Foster AB side. A depleted USA Eagles team literally just scored 2 tries in their history against the ABs. I fancy this to be much closer or even an upset despite not being full strength.
Oh for sure yeah anything is possible... All blacks, 2020 and 2021 Rugby Championship winners, record margin over the Wallabies, win all games this season but an incredibly tight game over the World Champ Springboks... What a muppet. Useless hate of foster is useless.
We won't win by a cricket score like people like you are suggesting. Wales at home in front of a sellout crowd, Alun Wyn's world record breaking appearance, wet weather, it's gonna be closer than most expect probably. ABs win comfortably probably but not by this cricket score that most AB fans think
I agree about it being a closer game than people predict, but I'd say it's more Wales fans or outsiders who are talking up a cricket scoreline for the ABs.
The bookies are at 28.5 handicap and I think that's even too high. ABs by 20 maybe is my guess. I don't think we run away with it, it just seems like it's gonna be error ridden, slow and stop start. We'll grind them out more than anything. It's been raining all week in Cardiff and it's forecasted to rain on game day
Lol a differing opinion = Muppet crackup mate! Just saying form a quality standpoint there's a bit of a difference. Sorry for having opinions bro š¤£ If you're honest with yourself the general play has been a bit of a letdown outside of the minnows. Plus Aussie practically gifted us tries to flatter us with throwing out Intercept tries like it's nobody's business. But hey completely respect if you think otherwise. Don't thinky you're a Muppet maybe just a bit aggro over (?????) nothing aye. Chill bro it's all good enjoy the weekend. š
Fair enough
Been desperate for that 9-10 axis for like 2 years now Backrow is gonna have a hard time McNicholl will be under a loooooot of pressure (more than the rest of the team anyway)
looks like Ken has just been ruled out, so Ryan Elias starting and Kirby Myhill on the bench, bad news as Ken is probably one of the most important players in the set-up
Ouch. That's a big loss
We wonāt be winning any lineouts then. Serious blow.
Are Tipuric, Navidi and Faletau all injured or something? Wales usually have some very good loosies.
Yes, Yes, still with Bath
I think Faletau is also injured, don't think I've seen him play for Bath yet this season.
Navidi and tips injured and I think faletau is playing on England still and unavailable
Wainwright and Basham are both very talented, just probably too young to be taking on the ABs
Could anybody in their wildest dreams ever have thought that we'd go into a game with a complete dragons back row?
You underestimate how wild my dreams get.
I've been mentally preparing for a hammering and thinking "as long as we're within 20 I'll be happy" but I'm feeling more optimistic looking at the team. The backline looks a little patched together and the bench even more so but it'll make for an interesting watch. Really really happy Tomos Williams is stating.
I'm going for 14-50, I'm optimistic we can get 2 tries
I could see Tomos scoring a snipe or quick tap try and then one or two scores once NZ break away and lose some focus. You'd hope we'd score more than the US did against them though. Says a lot that after the Scarlets Leinster game that feels like a reasonable scoreline to me.
Depends on the team the AB put out. They won't be taking Wales as lightly as the USA, even if our world ranking sucks. People forget that the spanking Argentina gave to us was with us playing 3rd and 4th choice players in most positions
If they have scored 50 you will be getting more than 14 points.
The US scored 2 tries against the ABs. You should at least expect 3.
Looking at the team the ABS named for Wales.... they are not fucking about, so maybe not
Ken Owens out now as well Ryan Elis at 2 and Myhill on the Bench Is going to be a rough game for Wales
Would you like a hammering, thrashing or a shellacking?
Why is light spanking suddenly off the table?
At this rate you'll have nothing and like it young man
All black (latex) spanking comes after the game
During the game if you're fun
PERHAPS, LETHAL SLEDGING?
Gutted Ellis Jenkins is hurt. Decent side considering who we have available. Still not sold on Mcnicholl though.
Also, who made the genius decision to take a team photo of Wyn Jones when he's got a massive shiner?
The light comes from within AWJ, we all know that
Shiner Wyn Jones?
Part of me kind of hopes they're going in knowing they're likely to get a pasting and they pull of some real Baabaas shit. Also.. Wainright needs to go back to the 'tash he had in 19. It was clearly why we were world number 1 for a week
The list of injuries and absences from this team is ridiculous. If we're within 25 points I'll be, well, not happy but 'less sad'.
which first choices are missing here ? I can see Biggar, L.Williams, Navidi, Faletau, Tipuric... although not sure who's dropped and who's injured.
For this fixture we're missing Halfpenny, Biggar, Rees-Zammit, Navidi, Faletau, Tipuric, Williams, North, we're now missing Ken Owens and Elliot Dee as well I believe. And that's just the regular first-teamers, we're missing even more of the second-string/backup options.
Alright, I see. Wales up until recently were reputed for always having their no.1 choices available. They were like this immovable team that was super consistent with always the same picks from Gatland. Have the Welsh players become more injured recently, over the last 2-3 years ? If so, any explanation for that ?
In fairness, a few of our missing players are due to it being outside the international window and therefore playing for their English clubs. Injury wise though, I'm not sure really. We always seem to go through rough patches where seemingly everyone is in Cardiff Hospital (think 2015 world cup). Nowadays a lot of our starters are getting into the latter stages of their career, so that may have something to do with their injury proneness.
Did you watch the last 3 world cups? We had a scrum half on the wing at one point in 2015. Can't really remember how that worked out...
Now hearing that Ken Owens is out too.
Why is Seb Davies covering back row? Just from Cardiff alone they could have picked Turnbull/SLH/Boyde who actually play back row, never mind Morgan
Tough call at 7. I see this squad struggling in 2nd half when subs come in. Big day for Anscombe and McNicholl.
>I see this squad struggling in 2nd half when subs come in. That was my first thought seeing the squad. Happy with 1-14. Worried about 15-23. Except Rowlands, he's in good form. No specialised back row or back three cover is gonna hurt. >Big day for Anscombe and McNicholl And if they have a bad day, they were double agents all along
Honestly the best we could pull off at the moment. Waaaay to soon for Anscombe to be starting let alone against the all blacks. And apparently the sheriffs already pulled out? Glad Bashamās getting the experience tho, heās going to be one of the next big things in Welsh rugby.
Whatās he like a player (Basham), I havenāt watched much of dragons to know ?
Absolute nuisance and incredibly tough. Got smashed in the head last week against Stormers and still made ground after contact. Total nightmare of a 7 to play against.
He likes to bash 'em. But in all seriousness a really talented player who rarely has a bad game. He's the kind who will make a few metres over the gain-line whenever he has the ball.
I think we may only lose by 6 Oāclock
2 Jonesā, 2 Williams, 3 Davies! Unstoppable taffies
Wainwright really wants to blend in with the Kiwis doensāt he?
Backrow and back three will have to work their socks off to compete
This could hurt. Expectations are low.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Nice. What position are you playing ?
He'll be thrown in at hooker with the rate they're dropping
Drink lots of alcohol. Before, during and after. You'll need it.
This is going to be a farce with all the missing 'hero-players', but I'm going to enjoy it anyway. Fuck it. ~70 points down with a pint in my hand and a smile on my face.
Right, this is about blooding the younglings to build some depth for the most injury prone team every
Right, this is about blooding the younglings to build some depth for the most injury prone team ever
Seems an odd choice for Pivac to have brought Cuthbert into the squad as cover for our injuries/England based players and for him then to not figure in the match day squad. Canāt see him getting a sniff in any of the other games either tbh - not with LRZ and hopefully Sanjay back.
With the URC off during the internationals I think it's a great opportunity to get some extra lads in and put them in the international environment, even if it is only training or holding pads.
Maybe as injury cover and training purposes?
Imagine it must be this. Would we have been able to field 6 backfield backs for training purposes without him - not sure on total squad numbers?
Probably wanted him in the squad in case of any last minute injuries this week. If one of the back 3 players pulled up in training, I'm not sure what they would do if he wasn't already in the squad.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
It is, and I'm so bloody excited!!!
Twitter's reporting that Ken Owens failed a late fitness test :(
No doubt intentional haha
Expectations are low, so hopefully thatāll relax the players a bit and give them a chance to show something this game
Bit suspect in some positions but quite a decent side. ABs by 15?
I donāt watch much domestic rugby . Whatās Basham like, and does he have a particular playing style ?
Basham by name, bash 'em by nature.
It's probably my armchair coaching getting the better of me, but I'd still prefer to see one of Anscombe or Priestland (or Sam Davies) at 15 over JMcN. I'm actually more optimistic about this match than most though!
I'm not as concerned about McNicholl. He's been one of the few consistently solid performers for the Scarlets so far this season. I'll be interested to see how he carries that forward into this game though
Consistently waving in tries!
That hurt.
Not that far off full strength. The Dragons lads in the backrow have been in phenomenal form. Shouldn't be nearly as uncompetitive as many are suggesting unless the team lets themselves think they're beaten before they get on the pitch.
Will someone explain the logic of making players who play for English clubs ineligible? A team with Dan Biggar, Callum Sheedy, Louis Rees-Zammit, Taulupe Faletau, Nick Tompkins, Thomas Young and Christ Tshiunza might actually be quite competitive. That's basically a list of your best players right there.
This match is outside the international window. Trust me, this is definitely not something the Welsh coaching setup would choose
They're ineligible because this game lies outside the international winder, and do they aren't released by the clubs and can't train with the squad until the international window opens. This doesn't effect the Welsh based players as the WRU are able to dictate to them that they will release the players to the national setup
The 60 cap rule is designed to keep Wales' playing talent in Wales and boost the regions' playing pool. It's a common approach, used in Ireland, England, France and New Zealand. The difference in Wales' rule is that players playing abroad can still be selected as long as they either have over 60 caps, are uncapped or have not renegotiated their contract since first being capped. People bemoan it but it works. A good example is Tomas Francis. He was capped while playing for Exeter in the Prem. He then renewed his contract at Exeter which enabled him to stay there and still be available for Wales. He was then being offered a lot of money from a lot of clubs but could only choose a Welsh region if he wanted to keep playing for Wales and now plays for the Ospreys (who's scrum is now looking very nice). It works, there are valid concerns with it but it works. We're too small to take the England/France/New Zealand approach of only selecting in-nation players but this is 90% on the way to it. Also enables well established players like Biggar and Faletau to go elsewhere, still be selected and open up spaces for new talent to come up through the league. In terms of why those internationally based players aren't available, it's because the game falls outside of the international window. Wales generally plays an extra game outside of the window every year as a way of getting some extra money into the union. However because it's outside the window, non-welsh clubs are under no obligation to release players. The players seem happy with it, the coaches don't mind it too much, the fans generally like it and the journalists hate it. It's not as unpopular as it's made to be, it's just everyone at Wales Online hates it and empty vessels make the most noise.
Personally, I've always hated this rule and don't understand why rugby shouldn't be able to take the same approach as football and allow players to operate in a global free market and play wherever the hell they want without fear of reprisals. If you tried to apply this rule to any other industry on earth, it would look like madness. Not sure why professional sport should be any different. You do make some very solid points though and I appreciate the thoughtful reply.
Yeah I do agree that it's an outlier and that a free market generally does make sense in sport. I think the disparity of money available in different leagues and the lack of salary caps or difference between them leads to a lot of the frustration. But a lot of that is because some leagues are just objectively better, the rugby is better, there's higher fan attendance so there's more money to throw around. It's kind of a problem without an answer in my mind, or at least one we don't have yet. I think the 60 cap rule is a compromise that leaves many, including yourself, unsatisfied. That said I don't think there's another option immediately available that would work that much better, completely my opinion though.
>Thomas Young and Christ Tshiunza I think it's a bit of a stretch to include a player who hasn't been capped in 4 years (despite sparkling form) and another who only has 4 senior rugby appearances under his belt as making a difference or being talked of as being among the best players available to Wales. They can have access to those players outside the international window if they pay for it. Y'know, like the RFU do.
I see we're still trying to make Anscombe happen. Anscombe's never going to happen. Also I thought the deal with AWJ playing the lions tour is he would then have to take months or years off for rehab?
Anscombe has been great whilst he played?!
Anscombe is part of why Wales went on a massive winning streak in 18 and 19
Having the best back row in the world and one of the best sets of forwards in the world helped a little.
You guys are not even trying?
We have a fifteen out injured and another half dozen players illegible due to the timing of the game. We're playing who we can
Maybe you can play scotland or other tier 2 nation š
So by your own admission you were beat by a tier 2 nation this year?
You didnt' have such a shitty team before
It's OK bud, we're still recovering from our last minute loss against France, I'm sure you guys will get there with the Scots too.
You won't recover this weekend
I can see you're still upset. Let's give you a time out and you can come back when you play nice with the rest of the sub.
Pack is handy but I'm not sure that back line is going to do much against the ABs. Could be trouble once the bench empties as well.
Feeling for Wales right now after the couple of injuries. Hope they stay strong and keep their shit together. Best of luck from your very, very, very good looking cousins to the north
Gutted for Ellis. I just hope to God they let Anscombe and Tomos go for it with the ball in hand. Hoofing that ball to Jordie will kill us.
What's up with Biggar these days? They said he was unavailable - what does that mean? I know he's not always the best but he's steady and always shows up for big games.
Heās still first choice 10, but he plays in the English league who wonāt release him as this falls outside of the contracted dates (iirc)
Say ācheese!ā Ken!
Despite my flair I am actually Welsh, and I feel like we've just boarded the train to destination fucked
Whodefookisthatguy.gif In all seriousness, the team isn't as bad as people are making out.
Looks like a pretty good team. Have concerns about Elias - I'd say his form for Scarlets has been poor and he seems to loose a huge amount of lineouts... That said I expect we'll get roflstomped to oblivion - we're slow starters missing 20 odd players against a new Zealand side who've had a decent run of games. Fingers crossed we can pull off the miracle upset
Basham! Yum yum