'He isn't perfect': Callum Sheedy became a Wales hero last Saturday but praise is hard-earned back at Bristol
Callum Sheedy came of age as an international level out-half last Saturday, guiding Wales to an emphatic 16 points victory over England at the Principality Stadium to clinch the Triple Crown and keep alive their 2021 Six Nations Grand Slam bid.
The 25-year-old came off the bench early in the second half in Cardiff to win his seventh cap and he booted England into oblivion with a smart display that culminated in him contributing 13 points to his team’s total in their 40-24 triumph.
He has since returned to English league leaders Bristol ahead of Saturday’s Gallagher Premiership clash at Worcester and Pat Lam has reported that the perfectionist in Sheedy has seen the player busy working on his game rather than bask in the fuzzy glow of being a pivotal contributor to the Wales success over England.
“What he is learning from us is having an impact in Wales and his experience, what he is doing in Wales, is the next stage for both teams,” enthused Lam about Sheedy, who made a November 2015 British and Irish Cup debut for Bristol.
“It’s just his development. Take away Bristol, takes away Wales, it’s about his journey and the confidence and the growth. Don’t get me wrong, I’m talking really well of him but he is not perfect – like any rugby player – but the key is their learnings.
Real pity for the England youngster #SixNations #PremRugby
https://t.co/XnOyRurcJ0— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 3, 2021
“We’re always talking about the learnings and the process but that is what he does. It’s not rocket science. When he doesn’t get something right he goes ‘What can I do?’ There will be things from that (Wales) game he will be hard on himself as well. What he does is gets back into work. He was down doing skills this morning… it’s just the process he is following and he is getting the rewards.”
Having played for England in their June 2019 exhibition game against the Barbarians, Sheedy could have declared for Eddie Jones’ side while was also eligible for Ireland having played for them at age-grade level. However, the Cardiff-born half-back opted for Wales last autumn and he hasn’t looked back in becoming a regular matchday 23 selection under Pivac, a selection consistency that culminated in last Saturday’s exploits versus England.
“I wasn’t surprised at all,” continued Lam. “Callum does the work, he is very composed, he understands the game really well and he is not afraid to call the right shots and he will back it. The best 10s for me, they make the guys around them look good.
“They have got to be game plan players in the sense what is the team looking to do and they drive that, that is one of the key components at 10. What Callum does is what he can do for the team. The show and go (against England), I see it all the time with us.
“His goal kicking has been excellent for us. There was an outlier that happened against Scotland but I wasn’t worried about it at all. I said he’ll come back and sure enough, he was back doing the work and hit six from six against London Irish.
“That is the bonus of him coming back (on fallow Six Nations weeks). After the Scotland game, he had the game against London Irish to tidy up a few things. That was a bonus for him coming and getting some more rugby with us. He knocked six from six, took that confidence back into the Wales camp and was sensational with the goal kicks. They were all clutch kicks.
“Everything he has done on that stage, the intercept he has done that so many times for us. He is just doing what he does but the biggest thing he does is the preparation. The key is preparation meets the opportunity. He is getting the opportunity, he has done the prep and that is what you are getting (with Wales). It doesn’t surprise me at all.”
“Max Malins has played 27 minutes in ten weeks and Ben Earl has played 45 minutes of rugby in eight weeks and by the time they get back (from England) it’s going to be twelve weeks"#SixNations #PremRugbyhttps://t.co/PwBp64sWVw
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 3, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
Why cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to comments