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Lionator

Rugby World Cup 2023

By Lionator, in General Football and Sport

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Finnegan

Finnegan

Posted
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, Lionator said:

Hmmm I’m not too sure, Wales didn’t exactly look great in these warm up games. The first game you were 7/10 but the second and third ones were embarrassing all things considered. Challenging your last paragraph, Fiji’s scrum was great, generally well organised and they seemed fit enough throughout the 80. Some of their defence was suspect but it’s definitely a more solid Fiji side than the traditional flair like Fiji. Considering it’s the first game too, I’m on the fence as to who will win.
 

I do agree that Georgia shouldn’t offer too much headache, although I currently think Japan are more overrated. 

 

But I just think you're putting far too much stock in to the outcomes of what are ultimately pre season friendlies. 

 

I dont feel embarrassed by the South Africa result in the slightest. The world champions turned up fresh out of the rugby championship and played an extremely strong side against an enormously rotated Wales in which Gats experimented significantly and a bunch of players got dropped as a result. 

 

Look, I think we're just as likely to lose to both Australia and Fiji as to beat them so absolutely don't take this as complacency or arrogance. But I do think you'll see a Wales at the world cup that is significantly different to the Wales we've been looking at for the last two years (and keep in mind, this is a Wales that went to South Africa last year and came within a harsh 83rd minute penalty of tying the series.)

 

Edited by Finnegan
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Lionator

Lionator

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41 minutes ago, Finnegan said:

 

But I just think you're putting far too much stock in to the outcomes of what are ultimately pre season friendlies. 

 

I dont feel embarrassed by the South Africa result in the slightest. The world champions turned up fresh out of the rugby championship and played an extremely strong side against an enormously rotated Wales in which Gats experimented significantly and a bunch of players got dropped as a result. 

 

Look, I think we're just as likely to lose to both Australia and Fiji as to beat them so absolutely don't take this as complacency or arrogance. But I do think you'll see a Wales at the world cup that is significantly different to the Wales we've been looking at for the last two years (and keep in mind, this is a Wales that went to South Africa last year and came within a harsh 83rd minute penalty of tying the series.)

 

To be fair that has been Wales at the last 3 world cups so you may not be far off. But at the same time, aside from Jac Morgan, I don’t think you have any truly world class players in 2023. But who knows? 
 

There’s also the thing where you don’t have to be that good to get to the semi final given the draw, and I think Welsh fans would very much take that right now. 

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Finnegan

Finnegan

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13 minutes ago, Lionator said:

But at the same time, aside from Jac Morgan, I don’t think you have any truly world class players in 2023

 

I'm honestly not sure how to even respond to this? What is your definition of World Class? This isn't football.

 

I don't really think anyone that actually follows rugby would doubt the "world class" credentials of Biggar, Faletau, Halfpenny, Josh Adams, Liam Williams, LRZ. You've then got the likes of Francis, Gareth Davies, Tomos Williams, Elliot Dee, Aaron Wainwright, Ryan Elias, Nick Tomkins, Dillon Lewis and Dan Lydiate (who would have been in the first group once upon a time) who all make up an extremely strong supporting cast at international level. 

 

And in the next couple of years, the likes of Rio Dyer, Dewi Lake, Taine Basham, Tommy Reffell, Dayfdd Jenkins, Christ Tshinuza, Sam Costelow, Mason Grady and Johnny Williams are all likely to be significant household names.

 

Just a reminder that the squad Gatland took to his first world cup in 2011 included an uncapped Ken Owens, 20 year olds Faletau and Scott Williams, a teenage George North, 23 year olds Dan Lydiate and Jon Davies, 22 year olds Leigh Halfpenny and Sam Warburton. A young Jamie Roberts, a young Alun Wyn Jones. Almost none of them would have been called "WoRlD cLaSs" before the tournament and we were extremely unlucky to miss out on a world cup final because of a controversial red card.

 

Again - I really can't stress enough - it would not surprise me if we fail to get out of the group and have a disaster akin to 2007. It could end up being a significant low point for Welsh rugby. But I'm yet to see a Warren Gatland team ever fail to actually turn up and deliver when it mattered (Waikato Chiefs aside) despite getting consistently written off. 

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Lionator

Lionator

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1 minute ago, Finnegan said:

 

I'm honestly not sure how to even respond to this? What is your definition of World Class? This isn't football.

 

I don't really think anyone that actually follows rugby would doubt the "world class" credentials of Biggar, Faletau, Halfpenny, Josh Adams, Liam Williams, LRZ. You've then got the likes of Francis, Gareth Davies, Tomos Williams, Elliot Dee, Aaron Wainwright, Ryan Elias, Nick Tomkins, Dillon Lewis and Dan Lydiate (who would have been in the first group once upon a time) who all make up an extremely strong supporting cast at international level. 

 

And in the next couple of years, the likes of Rio Dyer, Dewi Lake, Taine Basham, Tommy Reffell, Dayfdd Jenkins, Christ Tshinuza, Sam Costelow, Mason Grady and Johnny Williams are all likely to be significant household names.

 

Just a reminder that the squad Gatland took to his first world cup in 2011 included an uncapped Ken Owens, 20 year olds Faletau and Scott Williams, a teenage George North, 23 year olds Dan Lydiate and Jon Davies, 22 year olds Leigh Halfpenny and Sam Warburton. A young Jamie Roberts, a young Alun Wyn Jones. Almost none of them would have been called "WoRlD cLaSs" before the tournament and we were extremely unlucky to miss out on a world cup final because of a controversial red card.

 

Again - I really can't stress enough - it would not surprise me if we fail to get out of the group and have a disaster akin to 2007. It could end up being a significant low point for Welsh rugby. But I'm yet to see a Warren Gatland team ever fail to actually turn up and deliver when it mattered (Waikato Chiefs aside) despite getting consistently written off. 

Elite player who is top 5 in their position in the world. I feel like Morgan is the only one you could put in that category right now? 
 

Apologies I’m not trying to accuse you of thinking Wales are better than they are.  Gatland could get the best out of the squad and I don’t think they’d be that good, much in a similar way to England. It all comes down to the draw again I guess. 

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Izzy

Izzy

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1 hour ago, Milky said:

I’m still shaking from that really scary haka

We went to NZ on honeymoon years ago and visited a traditional Maouri village.

 

They preformed the Haka for us in the village hall and started off by saying "You may have seen the All Blacks Rugby team do this before a game, but they're just a bunch of ballerinas" :D

 

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