Wales explain why they brought forward their XV announcement by two days and highlight what they want from the recalled Gareth Davies
Grand Slam-chasing Wales have outlined why they opted to announce their team to play Italy on Saturday in the Guinness Six Nations two days earlier than planned. Wayne Pivac wasn’t due to reveal his Wales XV for Rome until Thursday but he instead chose to go public much earlier.
“We have had a good nine days since the last match and we knew our side once the injuries were all settled,” said Pivac as he seeks to build on an excellent February for Wales which featured Triple Crown-clinching wins over Ireland, Scotland and England. “Internally what we wanted to do was name the team nice and early so we have a good build-up and that is certainly what we have done and it’s about what serves us best for this particular week.”
This best interest included limiting the changes to the starting XV to just two, Gareth Davies returning at scrum-half in place of the injured Kieran Hardy and Cory Hill getting promoted from the bench due to a need to rest the banged up Adam Beard.
Quizzed on Tuesday about this pair of alterations, Wales boss Pivac said: “Tomos (Williams) wasn’t quite ready. Gareth has been the top two since Tomas has been out injured so we have just stuck with Gareth. “He has got a couple of things in the game he has been working on. Speed to the breakdown is one we want with all our nines.
“We want to move the ball and get it away from the breakdown area quickly so that is what he will be focusing on, and Lloyd (Williams), who has been training very well, comes in on the bench.
Wayne Pivac has named his team for Wales' Italian job#SixNations #ITAvWALhttps://t.co/ocsqn10dmN
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 9, 2021
“Adam has had a pretty big workload in camp and he was a bit banged up to be honest so we are giving him a break this week. He will come to Rome with us but won’t be in the 23,” continued Pivac, adding what he now expects to see from Hill, a try-scorer off the bench the last day versus England.
“A lot of energy, a lot of enthusiasm. He has trained very, very well and that is why he earned his spot on the bench (against the English). He made an impact when he came on, I’m sure everyone saw that, so we’re happy he will come in and have a start. We’ll freshen up Adam and Alun Wyn just rocks on as usual.
“Jake Ball has also been training very well throughout the whole campaign. We feel he deserves an opportunity in this game as well and it’s nice to see him get his 50th Test match under his belt.”
Declaring out-half Dan Biggar fit for the Italian job despite limping off early in the second half versus the English, Pivac explained why he resisted making more than two Wales changes even though he could have understandably rested some players ahead of the likely March 20 Grand Slam decider versus France.
“For us, it is about the performance and we are not overly happy with the full 80 minutes yet. We have done some things very well in games and most people would agree we are improving in many areas, but we still have got a long way to go and this team is building a bit of momentum. We want to stay with that momentum and reward the players who have done the bulk of it so far. Certainly, it is another opportunity to build combinations and get our game ready for the last match of the competition.
“We have talked around how we want to play the game and there are two very important games to go and it’s about getting results, so don’t expect us to be throwing it around willy nilly. We have got a job to do and we have got to get on top of this Italian side before you see any of that razzle-dazzle. It’s important that we continue to use the 80 minutes and develop our game the way we want to against the opposition.
“You are seeing a more expansive game from Italy so they pose a few different problems from a defensive point of view than maybe they did a year or two ago. We’ll go out there and make sure our defence is in order. That has been improving and we want to maintain that. We’ll put that challenge in front of the boys but also in attack we want to be very decisive and take our opportunities when they present themselves.”
Pivac insisted there would be no room for complacency. “That message was delivered by the players themselves and we just echoed that. That started in the changing room after the game against England. What the England game has done is put us in a great position but like I said after the game we don’t want to undo the good work that has been done in the first three matches.
“We are taking this game as an important stepping stone in the building of our game going forward and it’s a great opportunity for us to go out there and continue to work hard.”
ICYMI: Freshly minted Azzurri @MontyIoane talked this week to @heagneyl ??? about Wallaby Uncle Digby, his ink, why he converted to Islam and how an obsession with rugby led to @Federugby #SixNations #ITAvFRAhttps://t.co/9VkM1JDEFV
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 6, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
Beautiful 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 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 comments