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Team for France
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Wil Chips View Drop Down
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Points: 55013 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Wil Chips Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 February 2026 at 6:13pm
Originally posted by Wil Chips Wil Chips wrote:

By virtue of the bus crash that is Welsh rugby, Tandy has a sort of free pass on results right now...particulalry against top teams.

But his selections are a growing concern for me...starts Thomas at 12 in the AI's, quickly switches to Hawkins...switches back to Thomas for the 6N...quickly switches back to Hawkins...

The French pack is actually quite lightweight these days...last week they came in at 874kgs ( you rarely see a team below 900kgs)..so they are deliberately going for a fast paced offloading game through 1-15...( bigger units on the bench)

So why would we pick Carre and Cracknell...strong boys yes, but very leaden footed...and when you see the 2nd row match ups you really fear that we'll be chasing shadows.

To compound things, we don't pick an openside in the 23 - one of the best ways to slow down the French is at the breakdown....baffling.

Finally if you were going to go. like last week, for a 6/2 split it would be when you can cover 10, so we can cover 10?

It's obvious Elias should be in the 23, how he didn't get in last week does my swede in. I don't understand Plumtree before Mcleod either.

I was hopeful of a spirited showing, but that's diminishing the closer we get to KO.




As I feared..Carre crashed over but did nothing else note, Cracknell was anonymous and was carried by Wainwright.

France had total freedom at the breakdown with no jackal threat. Wales, with +72kgs up front, 'held their own' in the scrums..sorry that's not the outcome you want when you pick 'big guys'.
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gaffer View Drop Down
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Points: 3532 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote gaffer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 February 2026 at 6:14pm
Originally posted by Eastern outpost Eastern outpost wrote:

A saffer friend sent a message that said « Wales are so badly coached »

To my enquiry of « What do you think about the players? » he replied « It’s so difficult to tell. Their structures are so wrong »

This 

Ask any Osprey supporter about Tandy's time at the region and you'd get the same -  it seems only the WRU couldn't see it. 

We have no defence coach (Tandy is doing it ). 344 employees at WRU towers and an international team without a defence coach. The board agreed to this. 
 Don't tell me there's no money to get a top class team to sort out our international squad as in the past 2 or so months the WRU are looking to recruiyt 2 or 3 more appointees at board level @ 200k plus. 

Falling attendances at Mill Stad and ending up with wooden spoons instead of mid table finishes in the 6N are going to cost us in the region of £2-£4 million, We can't afford not to get the best that's out there. Henry came in the 90s and we were a shambles then & he brought Hansen with him - Tandy's appointment only underlines that claims of 'we're a good board' are rubbish. Sweep them all away. 

But have a transparent, costed, practical plan to show when you do. We can't sweep them away to have more dithering. I don't think 4 pro clubs is viable now - success may change that - so grasp the nettle make 3 and go from there. Just be clear and open about it.


Edited by gaffer - 15 February 2026 at 6:29pm
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Davy View Drop Down
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Points: 27 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Davy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 February 2026 at 6:29pm
Originally posted by SA14 SA14 wrote:

Originally posted by Mrfwon Mrfwon wrote:

Originally posted by surfing-mtber surfing-mtber wrote:

Why take Mee off and keep Adams on!?

We like keeping players on that drop balls LOL

Must be about a dozen times since you posted this?
 
Like I said before Eddie was targeted that first half 
No we’re near quick enough at 13 played well second half 
But for getting over the gain line play him 12 
Joe Hawkins very poor again offered very little 
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EJPT View Drop Down
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Points: 3519 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote EJPT Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 February 2026 at 6:29pm
Originally posted by gaffer gaffer wrote:

Originally posted by EJPT EJPT wrote:

Must try flipping 12 and 13 around. James crash ball with hawkins skills on the outside. 
You expect Hawkins to defend the 13 channel...gulp...
Probably would actually. At some point wales have got to do something with the ball instead of always worrying about what teams will do to them. 
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Kentexile View Drop Down
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Originally posted by hoppy hoppy wrote:

Official attendance: 57,744 - Wales' lowest ever crowd for a Six Nations home game.
6000 more than in Dublin yesterday-arrange the words “straws clutching at “ into a well known phrase or saying.
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lofty evans View Drop Down
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Originally posted by hoppy hoppy wrote:

Official attendance: 57,744 - Wales' lowest ever crowd for a Six Nations home game.


This is more alarming than anything.

A brilliant French team at home in Cardiff and always,  always a sell out, the usual dressed up party animals who make their pilgrimage, but seeing Reddin sitting on his own with around 10 red empty seats , lovely Abi looking at herself on the giant screen are the images that stick in the mind on this Sunday evening .

And that's the real sadness, no inspiration, no real coaches to get the best out of players , when the mindset to get performance is just simply not there. 

We really need coaches that can coach, mentor, inspire and have a bit of nous about them. The negativity of the rugby culture in Wales right now is a real poo pit and it shows with the crowd numbers, the teams results and the infighting with the very sides that supply the players.

Besides all of everything that's happening right now I do really feel for the players , damned if they do or don't. 

And on that note im going to behave tonight.




Edited by lofty evans - 15 February 2026 at 9:32pm
In 1972, Roy Bergiers scored that try and said "that was for you lofty"

"All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us"
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Mrfwon View Drop Down
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Points: 18251 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mrfwon Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 February 2026 at 10:12pm
Originally posted by Kentexile Kentexile wrote:

Originally posted by hoppy hoppy wrote:

Official attendance: 57,744 - Wales' lowest ever crowd for a Six Nations home game.
6000 more than in Dublin yesterday-arrange the words “straws clutching at “ into a well known phrase or saying.

You can clearly see that the WRU business model is based on a Six Nations sell-out, for each home game. Otherwise, why would they chuck in an out of 'International Window' fixture each and every autumn it would seem.

These next two home games are going to have significant financial implications if that stadium isn't sold out. The WRU need to take accountability as to why so many tickets aren't sold for todays game, and the next two. Current off the field affairs are one thing, but there are many other factors that need addressing and sorting out.

It's not going to get any better anytime soon if nothing is done, or we lose a region, and/or we keep losing. If anything, it's possibly going to get worse even more. My fear, is that if it does, we may not come back from it!


Edited by Mrfwon - 15 February 2026 at 10:13pm
Scarlets!!!
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Sir Duckling Tuft View Drop Down
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Points: 1141 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Sir Duckling Tuft Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 February 2026 at 4:05am
Every day tierney remains is a day closer to welsh rugby armageddon 
Get rid all 3....then search for infinitely better people...
They will in turn employ a proven coaching team with defensive coach...only then can we begin to rebuild
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GPR - Rochester View Drop Down
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EO & Wil have mentioned it but having a 10 kg/man advantage up front didn't really show. France selected a pack full of running & offloading epitomised by Olivon who was everywhere. He did his job at set piece & came alive in the loose. It will be interesting to see if France would have selected that pack against South Africa - I think perhaps not but they don't have too many packs to worry about in the 6 nations. Next week's selection will be telling as the Italian pack are a handful.

Talking about selection - what a great job Galthie is doing with his team. Admittedly he has riches galore at his disposal but he isn't slow in making changes or indeed giving youth their chances. Compare this with the stodgy selections of Tandy. Lets take Eddie James as a perfect example. He is a 12 who has a handful of games at 13 so we ask him to defend the 13 channel against the best team in the World at exploiting space. France targetted him from the off & in fairness to him he stuck to his task & improved as the game went on but the fact remains that he should never have been put in that position. 

Scotland will do the same next weekend for sure & England found out that 13 is a specialist position not to be messed with. Tandy needs to select Eddie at 12 because he has got what it takes to be our Menancello if given a chance. Hennessey or Watkin at 13 for me. 

Finally what a pleasure to watch France play this game with simplicity with the ball doing most of the work. In Dupont & Jalibert they have the best half backs in the World by some distance. 
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John View Drop Down
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Originally posted by GPR - Rochester GPR - Rochester wrote:

EO & Wil have mentioned it but having a 10 kg/man advantage up front didn't really show. France selected a pack full of running & offloading epitomised by Olivon who was everywhere. He did his job at set piece & came alive in the loose. It will be interesting to see if France would have selected that pack against South Africa - I think perhaps not but they don't have too many packs to worry about in the 6 nations. Next week's selection will be telling as the Italian pack are a handful.

Talking about selection - what a great job Galthie is doing with his team. Admittedly he has riches galore at his disposal but he isn't slow in making changes or indeed giving youth their chances. Compare this with the stodgy selections of Tandy. Lets take Eddie James as a perfect example. He is a 12 who has a handful of games at 13 so we ask him to defend the 13 channel against the best team in the World at exploiting space. France targetted him from the off & in fairness to him he stuck to his task & improved as the game went on but the fact remains that he should never have been put in that position. 

Scotland will do the same next weekend for sure & England found out that 13 is a specialist position not to be messed with. Tandy needs to select Eddie at 12 because he has got what it takes to be our Menancello if given a chance. Hennessey or Watkin at 13 for me. 

Finally what a pleasure to watch France play this game with simplicity with the ball doing most of the work. In Dupont & Jalibert they have the best half backs in the World by some distance. 

All of which is true, until they come up against the Boks in the.late stages of the world cup when the weight of the pack really will count. And, two years out, they should be preparing for that now. I'd love to say that their idea will work but in the end, the small light fast pack always comes unstuck. Eventually.
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GPR - Rochester View Drop Down
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Originally posted by John John wrote:

Originally posted by GPR - Rochester GPR - Rochester wrote:

EO & Wil have mentioned it but having a 10 kg/man advantage up front didn't really show. France selected a pack full of running & offloading epitomised by Olivon who was everywhere. He did his job at set piece & came alive in the loose. It will be interesting to see if France would have selected that pack against South Africa - I think perhaps not but they don't have too many packs to worry about in the 6 nations. Next week's selection will be telling as the Italian pack are a handful.

Talking about selection - what a great job Galthie is doing with his team. Admittedly he has riches galore at his disposal but he isn't slow in making changes or indeed giving youth their chances. Compare this with the stodgy selections of Tandy. Lets take Eddie James as a perfect example. He is a 12 who has a handful of games at 13 so we ask him to defend the 13 channel against the best team in the World at exploiting space. France targetted him from the off & in fairness to him he stuck to his task & improved as the game went on but the fact remains that he should never have been put in that position. 

Scotland will do the same next weekend for sure & England found out that 13 is a specialist position not to be messed with. Tandy needs to select Eddie at 12 because he has got what it takes to be our Menancello if given a chance. Hennessey or Watkin at 13 for me. 

Finally what a pleasure to watch France play this game with simplicity with the ball doing most of the work. In Dupont & Jalibert they have the best half backs in the World by some distance. 

All of which is true, until they come up against the Boks in the.late stages of the world cup when the weight of the pack really will count. And, two years out, they should be preparing for that now. I'd love to say that their idea will work but in the end, the small light fast pack always comes unstuck. Eventually.

I agree John but they do have some ballast on the bench Meafou is a beast so Galthie has options. 
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Eastern outpost View Drop Down
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Galthié has rotated his squad in a different way, at least amongst the pack. The locks required for the heavy lifting have hardly played. They’ll be fresh for Italy, Ireland & England.
In a world where you can be anything – Be Kind.
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Why View Drop Down
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I would bring in Elias to start Jake Ball Moriaty and Reffell for Scotland game in the pack. Put Sam at 10 with Eddie at 12 and either Joe or Hennessy at 13. Bring in Murray at 15 and LRZ on wing instead of a very sluggish Adams.  Think we have half a chance with that lot. 
She asks why i still can't answer. I guess its in the blood.
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Not sure about Hennessy for this season . Think he benefits a bit from the he plays in England so he has got to be good mentally. He is someone who will probably become a top player but has only started one game in the Prem at 13 this season (and 1 in the Premiership cup) with another  3 appearances on the wing so if he isn’t ready for Bath he probably isn’t ready for Wales either. If we still had A team fixtures…
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Originally posted by Kentexile Kentexile wrote:

Not sure about Hennessy for this season . Think he benefits a bit from the he plays in England so he has got to be good mentally. He is someone who will probably become a top player but has only started one game in the Prem at 13 this season (and 1 in the Premiership cup) with another  3 appearances on the wing so if he isn’t ready for Bath he probably isn’t ready for Wales either. If we still had A team fixtures…

Being brutally honest it's probably easier to get into the Wales team than the Bath team.
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Originally posted by skyblue skyblue wrote:

Originally posted by Kentexile Kentexile wrote:

Not sure about Hennessy for this season . Think he benefits a bit from the he plays in England so he has got to be good mentally. He is someone who will probably become a top player but has only started one game in the Prem at 13 this season (and 1 in the Premiership cup) with another  3 appearances on the wing so if he isn’t ready for Bath he probably isn’t ready for Wales either. If we still had A team fixtures…


Being brutally honest it's probably easier to get into the Wales team than the Bath team.
Griffin needs to leave Bath for his own development, he’s currently 4th choice atm.
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