6Nations - Wales, now with full compiment of players
Discussion
So, now Henson and Williams (hopefully Roberts will be OK) are back will we keep it toghether against France? France have played some good rugby but are they consistent enough? They have home advantage too. I'm feeling really nervous.
Dam it, L is missing, I meant compliment. I always seen to miss-spell the title of a thread.
Dam it, L is missing, I meant compliment. I always seen to miss-spell the title of a thread.
Edited by cat@10 on Tuesday 17th February 20:24
From the form of the first two weekends, Wales should have no worries.
Unless they bring Henson back - never rated him that much myself.
Wales were in top form against Scotland (backed off in the last 20 mins, but still in charge). Scotland looked good against France, apart from a large colection of woeful mistakes which France thrived on - they didn't do much for themselves.
Wales also looked quite composed against England, and never looked like losing, in spite of England's two tries.
I go for Wales by 15 points or more.
Good stuff, the British Taxpayer's 6 Nations.
Unless they bring Henson back - never rated him that much myself.
Wales were in top form against Scotland (backed off in the last 20 mins, but still in charge). Scotland looked good against France, apart from a large colection of woeful mistakes which France thrived on - they didn't do much for themselves.
Wales also looked quite composed against England, and never looked like losing, in spite of England's two tries.
I go for Wales by 15 points or more.
Good stuff, the British Taxpayer's 6 Nations.
Size Nine Elm said:
From the form of the first two weekends, Wales should have no worries.
Unless they bring Henson back - never rated him that much myself.
Wales were in top form against Scotland (backed off in the last 20 mins, but still in charge). Scotland looked good against France, apart from a large colection of woeful mistakes which France thrived on - they didn't do much for themselves.
Wales also looked quite composed against England, and never looked like losing, in spite of England's two tries.
I go for Wales by 15 points or more.
Good stuff, the British Taxpayer's 6 Nations.
Agree with the general sentiment! I reckon Wales will turn France over without too much difficulty and Shane Williams would add to pretty much any team. However, I'm also not so sure about Henson and if giving him a place in the team would mean a reshuffle with someone like Tom Shanklin dropping out I think that would be a BIG mistake. When he plays Shanklin's almost always one of the best players in the Welsh team and I think he's seriously underrated. In contrast Henson seems to get lots of hype but is very inconsistent in comparison; brilliant on occasion but anonymous far too often IMO.Unless they bring Henson back - never rated him that much myself.
Wales were in top form against Scotland (backed off in the last 20 mins, but still in charge). Scotland looked good against France, apart from a large colection of woeful mistakes which France thrived on - they didn't do much for themselves.
Wales also looked quite composed against England, and never looked like losing, in spite of England's two tries.
I go for Wales by 15 points or more.
Good stuff, the British Taxpayer's 6 Nations.
I'm also nervous about the France game. I think we could be in for a tough time - France are unpredictable at the best of times, but have been even more so under Lievremont. However, our record at Stade de France is pretty good, so hopefully that'll stand us in good stead.
I'm delighted that Henson and Shane will be back. Against England, I thought we really missed the creative spark that these guys give us. We had a lot of powerful runners (Roberts, Powell, Shanklin et al) who were pretty effective without really breaking down the defensive line on too many occasions. I think with Henson and/or Shane we'd have done that much more effectively and they could have taken advantage of the gaps created by the big guys.
Although I'm still disappointed that Henson wasn't available from the start of the tournament, it will be interesting to see whether he gets a starting place against France because, as the OP says, to do so would mean dropping either Jamie Roberts or Tom Shanklin, both of whom have been playing exceptionally well. I suspect we might see him picked on the bench, but hopefully at some stage we'll get to see the centre partnership that Gatland has been trying to get together for a while - Henson at 12 and Roberts at 13.
I'm delighted that Henson and Shane will be back. Against England, I thought we really missed the creative spark that these guys give us. We had a lot of powerful runners (Roberts, Powell, Shanklin et al) who were pretty effective without really breaking down the defensive line on too many occasions. I think with Henson and/or Shane we'd have done that much more effectively and they could have taken advantage of the gaps created by the big guys.
Although I'm still disappointed that Henson wasn't available from the start of the tournament, it will be interesting to see whether he gets a starting place against France because, as the OP says, to do so would mean dropping either Jamie Roberts or Tom Shanklin, both of whom have been playing exceptionally well. I suspect we might see him picked on the bench, but hopefully at some stage we'll get to see the centre partnership that Gatland has been trying to get together for a while - Henson at 12 and Roberts at 13.
TheGreatSoprendo said:
ferrisbueller said:
I wouldn't bank on Henson being back. His behaviour at the weekend may land him with a disciplinary from the WRFU.
You do know that tale started on a Cardiff City forum, don't you? You may want to wait for the facts before bandying it around as gospel.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7895261.stm
ferrisbueller said:
My point exactly. How do you seperate the fact from fiction of that lot? Or are you happy to take the word of some nameless Cardiff City fans as gospel?TheGreatSoprendo said:
Although I'm still disappointed that Henson wasn't available from the start of the tournament, it will be interesting to see whether he gets a starting place against France because, as the OP says, to do so would mean dropping either Jamie Roberts or Tom Shanklin, both of whom have been playing exceptionally well. I suspect we might see him picked on the bench, but hopefully at some stage we'll get to see the centre partnership that Gatland has been trying to get together for a while - Henson at 12 and Roberts at 13.
As an England supporter I was also disappointed that Henson was missing on Saturday! He may be creative on his day but I don't think he does it often enough in the big games which is why I would have much rather seen him in the Wales team than Shanklin!cat@10 said:
So, now Henson and Williams (hopefully Roberts will be OK) are back will we keep it toghether against France? France have played some good rugby but are they consistent enough? They have home advantage too. I'm feeling really nervous.
So that'll be 16 on your side again, will it?pwd95 said:
Derek Smith said:
So that'll be 16 on your side again, will it?
That game's haunting you isn't it Derek......It's only a game see boyo. 
I enjoy my rugby with abandon. I feel I must confess that the only matches where winning is important to me are those that my son plays in. I regard everthing else as entertainment. You might detect a little frivolity in my postings on this forum that is not always apparent on others. I think a match where there isn't a bit of a laugh is a bit of a waste.
I watched my side play Esher and the fans from my club started to barrack the Esher official photographer when he cheared an Esher try (there were, unfortunately, quite a few of them). Instead of letting it go the photographer shouted back and for twenty minutes there was hilarity in the stands. I was sitting with some Esher officials (I was filming the match) and they thought it funny as well. For the second half the photographer went to the far side of the pitch amid shouts of "Can you hear us over there?"
We were at home once against a 'robust' team whom we were beating quite easily. The other side did a defensive place kick that just cept over the line and to stop a quick line out one of their replacements tried to catch it but fumbled. He shouldn't have done it. It's as close to cheating as you can get, so I thought it put him in the frame. Seeing the fumble I shouted out: That's why you're only on the bench and not in the real team. He too couldn't let it go and tried to back chat the whole stand. It was hilarious and his coach sent him to the changing rooms about ten minutes before the half-time whistle and the cheering was so great that the ref actually blew for time out in order to see what was going on.
When he was sent on about half-way through the second half it to was to massive cheers from all the spectators. He'd got over it and bowed in mock appreciation.
I think rugby should be fun. I'm all for a little bit of sledging and interpretation of the facts that borders on the mystical.
I'm a big fan of thrilling rugby. I thoroughly enjoyed Saturday's match. It had me on the edge of my seat. Both teams deserve praise for their committment and hard work. I felt Kaplan didn't do his bit but I've come to expect that. Rugy is a game for the players and has not been designed for the enjoymnt of spectators (note: see the Ireland match that followed the England Wales one) so a thriller is that much more enjoyable.
I am, unfortunately, old enough to know that winning and losing are both ephemeral. It is true what they say: they only thing in sport worth a light is playing it to the best of your ability.
I'd apologise for any offence caused by my posting but that would be dishonest as I'll probably do the same thing again.
I'm going to say Wales will be enjoying another Grand Slam win. I cant put my finger on why i'm so confident but having seen them play through out the Autumn internationals and into the 6nations i cant help but think the best is yet to come, just when you thing they are starting to slip they continue to put pressure on and gradually get there in the end.
The Australia and the England game where very similar, seat of your pants stuff, which i think is set to continue with the next two games for Wales, but i'm confident they will win both.
The Australia and the England game where very similar, seat of your pants stuff, which i think is set to continue with the next two games for Wales, but i'm confident they will win both.
hornetrider said:
Paris is a huge ask though. I think the bookies have it right at as near to 50/50 as it gets.
Perhaps but France looked very ordinary against Scotland and the home crowd is actually a disadvantage when things aren't going well as they get on their own team's back very quickly. Wales seem to be able to lift their game whenever the need arises and I think they'll get a result in Paris and go on to win the grand slam! dickymint said:
I'm more worried about Ireland than France - Wales to beat France by at least 15.
The performance against France will be a good guide to how we will do against Ireland. I'm also feeling that the Irish game will be hardest of the tournament, but their style isn't too far from the French. A good win at Paris would make me feel confident for the Irish encounter. My biggest reserve is that Ireland have a good track record of winning in Cardiff.Edited by dickymint on Tuesday 17th February 23:03
Just read the BBC sport website, and Roberts is good !! If S Jones sorts his kicking game out ( his odd style of kicking seems to be a little inconsistent at the mo.) I will be feeling much more confident for the 27th.
Edited by cat@10 on Wednesday 18th February 23:27
dickymint said:
Derek Smith said:
pwd95 said:
Derek Smith said:
Said some stuff about chase the egg
Yes yes ok yes but 
Where's my SPRINT???????? 
Hey Dicky, Sell me that car of yours again? I'll be offloading the Griff soon, It's got a fresh MOT now so it's time now I think. Scratched the itch so to speak.
Gassing Station | Sports | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff