RWC19 "Stuff"
Re: RWC19 "Stuff"
For me that’s fine. He doesn’t comment on another team that is nothing to do with him. Gatland, again, has shown no respect and no class with his comments. Wonder how he would have answered if asked why his teams haven’t attempted anything verging on attacking rugby for 2-3 years.
Re: RWC19 "Stuff"
To ask a captain and indirectly his coach why a team hadnt turned up after they had plainly flogged themselves into the ground is a pathetic and disrepectful question
Re: RWC19 "Stuff"
you do talk some tosh bud. Cast your mind back to 23rd feb 2019.[/quote]
And that my friend is why Wales didn't win the RWC. 'ah but we beat England eight months ago' doesn't provide enough ambition to win a World Cup. And scoring their only two tries in the last 12 minutes of that game in February hardly shouts 'attacking prowess' either.[/quote]
Exactly as above, to be fair a win against England is the same as winning the World Cup for some... 
I’d much rather lose the 6 nations and be where we are now, as Jones has said throughout it’s all about building to the world cup.
Wales have done extremely well these last 2 years improving their record against the Southern Hemisphere teams but they’ve relied so heavily on defence, losing Anscombe has hurt them as he could get them going.
Truth rather than Tosh I’d say.
Re: RWC19 "Stuff"
King Prawn Bhuna wrote:Compare Reid's response to this one...
I’ve never thought highly of Mike Brown.
"The Holy Writ of Gloucester Rugby Club demands: first, that the forwards shall win the ball; second, that the forwards shall keep the ball; and third, the backs shall buy the beer." - Doug Ibbotson
Re: RWC19 "Stuff"
It's going to be very interesting to see how the new coaches sort out the next 4 yrs for Wales. I assume a 3-4 of the older players will retire shortly and I guess this will help the transition. I'm not sure how good Gats poker face really is but I can't believe he really thought the game was that close and that they really tried to attack. The stats don't tell that story given Wales had over 60% of the ball and teritory.
Gats comes over a a decent guy even if a bit dour. He certainly has a good CV but at the end of the day only a 50% win record against 6N's and RC teams over his tenure. He improved Wales from where they were just before but not to the extent that the media seem to suggest.
The scene is well set for Pivac to go again and get the record well above 50/50. However it may take a season to settle a new set up in?
It will be very interesting to see how he is when he comes back to tdo the Lions in a couple of years time.
Re: RWC19 "Stuff"
The comment by Gatland is disappointing as I thought he was bigger than that. Wales have been consistently effective, if unexciting, for the last two years but were undone by key injuries and lack of ambition.
The saddest thing for me is that the careers of two of the greatest British players have been unfulfilled at RWC level. Alun Wyn Jones and Jonathan Davies are giants of the game and I sympathise with them. The future will belong to the younger players in Wales and I reckon they will come back firing.
Re: RWC19 "Stuff"
All very true Porky. I said to a very blinkered Welsh friend that wales would come unstuck at this World Cup as there would come a point when they would have to play and attack and they don’t have that in the locker anymore.
Re: RWC19 "Stuff"
Glen Sannox wrote:Just read Gatland's suggestion that England might have peaked too early. Even if believed it, what purpose was there in him saying it? Not for the first time (by a long way) he has demonstrated a lack of class.
Decent and pretty much expected retort by EJ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/50205293
Re: RWC19 "Stuff"
Sadly if your a Welsh or indeed Irish fan. Both teams utterly peaked too soon, they put so much effort into winning a 6N Grand Slam and getting to World Number 1 ranking, forgetting their was a World Cup round the corner. They enjoy licking the bowl clean, but left the party before the cake was baked.
Ireland peaked in 2017/18 and have been on the slide since.
Wales peaked in March 2019, since then lost to England & Ireland, scraped past a poor Aussie team, had a poor performance against Fiji, and got lucky thanks to French stupidity. They have been clinging onto their form of 6-18 months ago, their self professed "Forgotten how to lose period", throughout this world cup.
Finally their grip on their form let them down.