Faletau: Wales' Championship 'too far fetched now'
Taulupe Faletau says that a win against England at Twickenham would not define Wales’ Guinness Six Nations campaign.
The reigning Six Nations champions head to English rugby headquarters on a salvage mission in this season’s tournament.
Defeats against Ireland and France have left hopes of a successful title defence in tatters.
Wales have not lost three games in a row during one Six Nations season since 2007, when they defeated England in Cardiff to avoid a whitewash.
A 27-23 defeat against France on Saturday was their first on home soil in the tournament for three years, while it also ended a seven-game unbeaten Six Nations run at the Principality Stadium.
While France edged closer towards a possible Grand Slam, Wales and their new head coach Wayne Pivac are left to regroup ahead of facing England on March 7.
And life is not about to get any easier, with Wales having last won a Six Nations game at Twickenham in 2012.
Wales number eight Faletau said: “A win over England isn’t going to define our championship – as a group of players we are better than that.
“Winning the championship would have been good, but that is probably too far fetched now.
“It (French defeat) was a disappointing result for us. There were key moments in the game when momentum swung different ways.
“Eventually, when we thought we were on top, I think that intercept (France’s third try) was a key moment in the game, and it took them that bit further away.
“It was a tough Test match. The French were physical, as we expected. We are disappointed with the result.
“We can take positives out of it, we are still building, and hopefully we can put a better performance in next time round.
“It is very frustrating not getting over the line, and we definitely feel we could have won those last two games. It just wasn’t to be.
Old habits dying hard for Shaun. https://t.co/7XqFhRyXPZ
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 23, 2020
“We’ve got England next up, and I don’t think we are going to need any motivation going into that game.”
Wales have almost a fortnight to prepare for England, with wings George North (failed head injury assessment) and Josh Adams (ankle injury) needing close attention.
Saracens back Liam Williams, meanwhile, could possibly come into the selection mix after being sidelined since late October due to an ankle problem.
“That has held them back in the performance because it was not where would have expected, certainly against France."@LewisMoody7 tells @heagneyl he thinks the Saracens elephant might still be in the room #ENGvIRE ?????????https://t.co/3CDkTpFoSI
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 23, 2020
Pivac said: “We don’t like losing, no rugby team likes losing, full stop.
“At home, the boys had built up a very proud record and it’s something that is disappointing not to continue.
“But I think we have got to look at this group to keep building. We are confident we are heading in the right direction.
“It’s about building. We created a lot of opportunities. It’s about taking those opportunities – I think we made seven or eight opportunities.
“If we convert one or two more, we are truly in games and winning.
“You come back to the intercept, three versus one. If we are accurate with our passing, we probably score at the other end.
“That was a big momentum shift. We are frustrated with a couple of decisions we made ourselves after creating opportunities on one or two occasions.”
Press Association
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Sounds like quite a bit of development has occurred regarding Mo’unga’s situation. Either NZR has stepped up their offer (big time) or RMo has had a reality check on what it will be like to be outside of the high performance environment of AB rugby. Maybe both. It reads like there are only a few remaining details to be sorted out before it is a done deal.
1 Go to commentsCurrently, a prop that has been substituted can go back on field if his original replacement gets injured. Can a red carded prop go back if his replacement gets injured, or will it be uncontested scrums?
12 Go to commentsWhat about a free kick from a scrum? Can you call another scrum? Or are they just giving straight penalties now?
29 Go to commentsLoved that comment by Andrew that the ‘water boys’ rule was changed in 2020 just to stymie the Boks!
29 Go to commentsOne of the best the Boks have ever produced. PSDT has an engine that goes non-stop for the full 80 min.
5 Go to commentsThe real deal.
5 Go to commentsIt’s been said that Nienaber will head back to SA too before next World Cup , hoarding all the amazing IP gained in Irish system … get a grip … Irish system needs to Milk the likes of Barrett . First time a leading all Black in his prime has gone to Ireland for any period of time . Enjoy it .
20 Go to comments20 min RC is the only good solution of a bunch of bad solutions. Ridiculous that it has taken this long and caused so many uneven contests. In general these are all very good changes - one is surprised that NH brokers were able to see sense at long last.
12 Go to comments“While a red card will mean a temporary team disadvantage, the replacement system will focus punishment on the offending player instead of disrupting the game itself.” This might work for amateur rugby, where players just want to be on the pitch for as long as possible, but hopefully we’ve got to a point where top level professionals care about the success of their team much more than about whether they personally are on the pitch or not.
12 Go to commentsa lot of focus on the targeting of south africa, but aspects of this are positive. The croc roll; the offside law; and time limits on set pieces are all good. calling for a mark off kick offs is baffling, but I guess we’ll see how it plays out in practice
29 Go to commentsSpeeding the game up is great, but I think we will find that the increase in viewership this year mostly comes down to the competition being more competitive…the fall of the Crusaders has been a boon for viewership. This should be at the heart of super rugby changes - how to make the comp more even
23 Go to commentsThe fact that the press were largely to blame for his taking a break is nothing short of disgusting. He’s made a few mistakes but difficult to name a player of any substance who gives it a full go hasn’t also made mistakes? On behalf of a large number of Bokke fans, bring back Farrell !!!!!
1 Go to commentsPSTD is a fantastic flanker. He could benefit from a bit of self-promotion / flair and he is not quite the danger man that Ardie is. That said, he is my 1st pick to build a backrow around. His speed and hustle made up for Duane who got quite a bit slower at the 8.
5 Go to commentssurprised, disco lights haven't been banned by world rugby board
29 Go to commentsToo many changes. Too often. I’m tired of this WR administration. How do we vote these fockers out? Bill needs to go.
29 Go to commentsDu Toit, 2 time W.Cup winner yet rarely mentioned a “Great “…if one looks back on his stellar carrier perhaps someone will one day elevate him to “Richie” status…a quiet, polite yet devastating loose forward that knew action speaks louder than words..
5 Go to commentsI like the offside rule, but this won't affect my team because all their kicks gets chased and that putts everyone on side. Lekker manne!
29 Go to comments20 minute Red Card is untenable. If you don’t punish the whole team, coaches won’t be sufficently incentivised to pick players with, or coach better tackle technique.
12 Go to commentsI can only think of One time ever a team has opted for a scrum from a free kick… Why the law change I wonder
29 Go to commentsYeah, its not going to work. But we see you World Rugby.
29 Go to comments