'Slam is a chance in a lifetime for some of these boys - and that is not lost on anybody'
Robin McBryde believes that Wales will face “arguably the best side in world rugby” when they go for Guinness Six Nations title and Grand Slam glory on Saturday.
Ireland stand between Wales and them achieving a third Six Nations clean sweep of head coach Warren Gatland’s reign. It’s Gatland’s final Six Nations game before he steps down from his Wales post after the World Cup later this year.
Ireland can still win the championship, while England – who host Scotland at Twickenham this weekend – are also in the title mix. But unbeaten tournament leaders Wales occupy pole position, knowing that a win at the Principality Stadium will be enough to land European rugby’s biggest double prize.
“We know it will be a big test for us,” Wales assistant coach McBryde said. “We have put ourselves in a great position, and it’s a chance in a lifetime for some of these boys, and that is not lost on anybody. We are facing arguably the best side in world rugby to do that on the weekend. It would be no mean feat in the Six Nations, and games can be decided on small margins and decisions.
“We have done exceptionally well to put us in this position, but it won’t mean anything if we don’t finish the job on the weekend. New Zealand have not played for a while, but I would say they [Ireland] are the team to beat at the moment.
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“The (Wales and Ireland) players are familiar with each other, having been on numerous British and Irish Lions tours together. With that familiarity there is a respect for each other, and it brings an extra edge. It is a lot more personal when you want to beat the guy you know, and that will be the case on Saturday.
“There will be a lot of personal battles and scores to settle, and hopefully we will have some rugby being played as well. Both teams are used to playing on the big stage when something is at stake, and once you have tasted success you know there is no secret formula to it.”
Gatland is due to name his team on Thursday, with McBryde reporting that full-back Liam Williams is “moving in the right direction” after going off injured against Scotland at Murrayfield last Saturday. “He just took a little bit of a stinger on his shoulder,” McBryde added.
2⃣0⃣0⃣5⃣ – the ultimate blast from the past for any Welsh rugby fan. @rhys_patch and @RyanJElias take a walk down memory lane to an unforgettable #WALvIRE match in Cardiff 🏴 pic.twitter.com/jrH4qyzZOR
— Welsh Rugby Union 🏴 (@WelshRugbyUnion) March 12, 2019
“He is improving. His return to training is gradual, and there has been no contact, and we will gradually increase that to see how he is, but everything is moving in the right direction at the moment.”
McBryde, meanwhile, readily acknowledges the threat posed by Ireland fly-half Johnny Sexton, and he also underlined a need for improved discipline, with Wales considerably weaker in that key area against Scotland than they had been in defeating England two weeks earlier.
“It is important we put a number of their decision-makers under pressure,” McBryde said. “The spine of their team is a very strong one and you can’t single out one individual. Having said that, Johnny is very influential on the game, as any world-class 10 is. We have to go about our work legally and ask questions of them.
“We have got to be disciplined. That’s one thing we have got to improve from the weekend against Scotland because we gave them numerous opportunities within 10 metres of our line. As Ireland showed against France, if you give them the same opportunities, they will take them.”
Press Association
Comments on RugbyPass
🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
29 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
1 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 Crusades , you can keep going.
1 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!😭😭😭 !!!
29 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
29 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.
29 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
29 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
11 Go to comments