3 hot takes as Warren Gatland names Wales team to visit Scotland,
Desperate times call for desperate measures and the damaging downturn in Wales has now resulted in Warren Gatland taking a sledgehammer to the pack that got blown away last weekend by Ireland in the Guinness Six Nations round one. Something had to dramatically give and it has, the coach axing three of his 2021 British and Irish Lions forwards. Here are three RugbyPass hot takes on the selection announced on Thursday:
Culling the Lions
Gatland is a creature of habit in generally liking his old reliables and keeping selection consistent without there ever being a frequent nod to the future, but the risible nature of last weekend’s surrender by Wales meant he had to now act fast to stop the rot. Thing is, the coach should have done this with his opening-round team and he didn’t cover himself in glory by not taking that risk.
It was last month when Gatland had a pop at Wayne Pivac for not better energising Wales by bringing through more young players, but he then turned around and selected his own Dad’s Army team of 30-something veterans to host the Irish. That left a side already low on confidence vulnerable to getting blown away by a fast start and so it proved.
In a climate where measures have been taken to speed up the game, Gatland was caught napping by his conservative approach to selection and the need for teams to have way more energy in this year’s championship is now reflected in his revamped pack, especially at back row.
A debate leading into last weekend was that you could perhaps pick either Jac Morgan or Tommy Reffell but not both even though both players have been in excellent club form. That premise has now been scratched, with Morgan chosen at No8 and Reffell at openside along with Christ Tshiunza at blindside.
It’s a massive change in tack, axing Justin Tipuric and benching Taulupe Faletau. That experienced pair have a whopping 186 Wales caps between them but Gatland is now coming to the table in Scotland with an entire back row made up of just 15 caps – Morgan with seven, Reffell on five and Tshiunza three. Their youthful promise is something for depressed Welsh fans to get excited about.
The AWJ optics
Welsh rugby and negative headlines have been quite a tag team in recent times and the last thing Gatland would have needed heading to Scotland was another deluge by naming Alun Wyn Jones in his matchday 23. The coach ruled the veteran out of round two last Saturday when sifting through the debris of the loss to Ireland, explaining he had failed his HIA after going off against Ireland.
This plot about AWJ thickened on Tuesday, though, when it was reported that the veteran lock was now suddenly available for selection. The explanation given was that Jones’ HIA1 produced an abnormal result and the match day doctor ruled he couldn’t rejoin the action.
However, Jones’ subsequent – and more detailed – HIA2 and HIA3 assessments were normal and he did not show any signs or symptoms of concussion, with a neck injury instead diagnosed but not one bad enough to sideline him for this weekend.
Although now green-lighted by the medics to be included for Edinburgh, the naming of Jones would have been contentious in a climate where concussion and bangs to the head are a burning hot topic. In the end, Gatland opted to give youth its fling in the second row and it’s the right call in terms of optics.
Wales would have had much to lose by way of credibility had Jones played in Scotland and suffered another head knock whereas now there is a nothing-to-lose excitement about the two-cap Dafydd Jenkins pairing up with Adam Beard at second row and having the uncapped Rhys Davies waiting for his chance from the bench.
As regards the changed props, Tomas Francis was unavailable through injury while the progress of Wyn Jones at training reportedly tipped the selection battle at No1 his way on this occasion. Jones is a front-rower with quite an engine on him, so he can only add to the collective energy in the pack getting around the park.
Backing the backs
Gatland tried to accentuate the positive in the wake of the 10-34 loss to Ireland, emphasising missed chances and how the second half was a seven-all draw compared to what unfolded earlier. That is why he has opted to stick with the exact same starting backline in the hope that they can deliver an end product at Murrayfield compared to the Principality.
It’s an understandable call. Gatland already has youth in there in the guise of Joe Hawkins and Rio Dyer and they did look like a backline with tries in it versus the Irish only for the scoreboard pressure to tell.
“We tried to keep some continuity with the same backline; we thought we created opportunity last week, but we weren’t clinical enough in finishing off some of those chances so that has been the message for this week,” ruminated Gatland. That faith now needs to be repaid, though, or else he will be visiting the drawing board to alter the backs for round three against England.
Wales (vs Scotland, Saturday – 4:45pm): L Williams (Cardiff); J Adams (Cardiff), G North (Ospreys), J Hawkins (Ospreys), R Dyer (Dragons); D Biggar (Toulon), T Williams (Cardiff); W Jones (Scarlets), K Owens (Scarlets, capt), D Lewis (Cardiff), D Jenkins (Exeter), A Beard (Ospreys), C Tshiunza (Exeter), T Reffell (Leicester), J Morgan (Ospreys). Reps: S Baldwin (Ospreys), R Carre (Cardiff), L Brown (Dragons), R Davies (Ospreys), T Faletau (Cardiff), R Webb (Ospreys), R Patchell (Scarlets), A Cuthbert (Ospreys).
Comments on RugbyPass
excellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
9 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
9 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
9 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
9 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
9 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
41 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
1 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
3 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
3 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to comments