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gaffer 
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 Posted: 12 July 2025 at 1:56pm |
 roy munster wrote:
whats your verdict on individual performances? I only saw the highlights... is edwards now the number 1 fly half? how was the front row? second row pairing?
as usual blair looked like our best player (in the highlights) hardy scored a few but almost threw the game away too....nice little back flip pass from plumtree ..ben thomas had a few nice touches....adams yet again blew hot and cold as he managed to finish 1 nicely and missed an open goal too....
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It's not a very high bar. Japan were awful. Our backrow did a decent job. front 5 collectively are weak. Hardy wasawful, Dan an upgrade at 10 (he just has more confidence in himself) centres all wrong but had a go, back 3 fairly efficient. Subs helped for once.
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aber-fan
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Posted: 12 July 2025 at 2:10pm |
SA14 wrote:
aber-fan wrote:
greypower1 wrote:
For all the stick he gets on here I thought "the best player in Wales" had a good game.We ditched the kick and chase in favour of ball in hand and it worked.
I don't think we'll win another game this year though. |
Remind me - who is that?
No one had a perfect game, but I think that overall the Scarlets did us proud - Murray with his elusive and determined running and some long kicks - lost out in some aerial battles; Rogers with his air defence and some important link play in attack including the last try, plus a long kick at the end - though he messed up the turnover chance; and MacLeod for some great turnover work at the breakdown - don't recall any errors except maybe a pen.? Jonny W. didn't have much chance in attack, but don't think he messed up in defence? Plumtree definitely made a difference when he came on, and gave a crucuail pass, plus another long kick upfield.
Otherwise... scrums were OK (ref seemed to allow Japan to wheel and reset... probably another who doesn't know who to blame...), lineout iffy as usual - don't Wales have anyone who can coach lineout work effectively? Hardy given better protection at ruck time than last week, so went better himself - i'd have started Morgan-Williams FWIW. Suppose lack of experience went against him.
I do hope we find a really good head coach - someone of the calibre of Bath's Johan van Graan, for example. He clearly hates to lose - it's the mindset we need.
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Ben Thomas I think. He’s the new Brett Cockbain on here. |
Pretty invisible today...
I don't think he's terrible (or even worse than some other options,) but it makes no sense to pick him at 12 and then put Jonny W. at 13... Jonny needs to play 12. Straight choice. If you want a hard yards runner, Jonny plays. If a ball handler, Thomas.
FWIW, I'm a fan of the notion that it pays to play units of players who are used to each others' game - such as, for the Lions, you pick either Aki and Ringrose OR Tuipolotu and Jones, but don't pick and mix. Since Cardiff have no 13 on tour, I'd have gone with Williams at 12 and Roberts at 13.
Edited by aber-fan - 12 July 2025 at 2:11pm
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“You cannot reason a man out of what he never reasoned himself into.” (Jonathan Swift)
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aber-fan
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Posted: 12 July 2025 at 2:29pm |
gaffer wrote:
roy munster wrote:
whats your verdict on individual performances? I only saw the highlights... is edwards now the number 1 fly half? how was the front row? second row pairing?
as usual blair looked like our best player (in the highlights) hardy scored a few but almost threw the game away too....nice little back flip pass from plumtree ..ben thomas had a few nice touches....adams yet again blew hot and cold as he managed to finish 1 nicely and missed an open goal too....
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It's not a very high bar. Japan were awful. Our backrow did a decent job. front 5 collectively are weak. Hardy wasawful, Dan an upgrade at 10 (he just has more confidence in himself) centres all wrong but had a go, back 3 fairly efficient. Subs helped for once. |
Pluses were Blair (as usual) Rogers, MacLeod and Plumtree - all Scarlets, but that's a coincidence!  Wainwright was pretty good overall, as was Teddy Williams who had his moments.
Mixed day - Edwards - I like him a lot at 10, he looks cool, kicks his goals and gets long distance downfield. The only minus for him was his missed tackles - but they matter. Sort that out and the starting shirt is his for a while. Giles showed some awareness and pace in trying to break out from lost Japan balls.
Hardy scored two tries BUT despite having a much better caterpillar for his kicks still nearly got charged down a few times, and did once for a try, I think (?) He also threw a pass above Edwards' head which definitely led directly to a Japan try. I was amazed he was picked again after last week's display. Can't coaches see when players are off form? Baffling. Definitely, Reuben M-W deserved a shot.
Unit skills wise - the scrum looked OK; the lineout was shaky once again.. several throws were pinched or not straight, including attacking ones. I've said for years that Dee should start, if only because he's our best lineout hooker. Is he injured? AFAIK he didn't get on the pitch on the tour.
Lake is not a captain. Last week, Hardy was getting charged down time and again - or scragged - at rucks. Lake - and Sherratt - should have sorted this for the second half, but didn't. This week was a lot better, but not perfect by any means.
A win is a win. At least it gets the monkey off the back of the Wales team.
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“You cannot reason a man out of what he never reasoned himself into.” (Jonathan Swift)
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GPR - Rochester
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Posted: 13 July 2025 at 8:30am |
aber-fan wrote:
gaffer wrote:
roy munster wrote:
whats your verdict on individual performances? I only saw the highlights... is edwards now the number 1 fly half? how was the front row? second row pairing?
as usual blair looked like our best player (in the highlights) hardy scored a few but almost threw the game away too....nice little back flip pass from plumtree ..ben thomas had a few nice touches....adams yet again blew hot and cold as he managed to finish 1 nicely and missed an open goal too....
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It's not a very high bar. Japan were awful. Our backrow did a decent job. front 5 collectively are weak. Hardy wasawful, Dan an upgrade at 10 (he just has more confidence in himself) centres all wrong but had a go, back 3 fairly efficient. Subs helped for once. |
Pluses were Blair (as usual) Rogers, MacLeod and Plumtree - all Scarlets, but that's a coincidence! Wainwright was pretty good overall, as was Teddy Williams who had his moments.
Mixed day - Edwards - I like him a lot at 10, he looks cool, kicks his goals and gets long distance downfield. The only minus for him was his missed tackles - but they matter. Sort that out and the starting shirt is his for a while. Giles showed some awareness and pace in trying to break out from lost Japan balls.
Hardy scored two tries BUT despite having a much better caterpillar for his kicks still nearly got charged down a few times, and did once for a try, I think (?) He also threw a pass above Edwards' head which definitely led directly to a Japan try. I was amazed he was picked again after last week's display. Can't coaches see when players are off form? Baffling. Definitely, Reuben M-W deserved a shot.
Unit skills wise - the scrum looked OK; the lineout was shaky once again.. several throws were pinched or not straight, including attacking ones. I've said for years that Dee should start, if only because he's our best lineout hooker. Is he injured? AFAIK he didn't get on the pitch on the tour.
Lake is not a captain. Last week, Hardy was getting charged down time and again - or scragged - at rucks. Lake - and Sherratt - should have sorted this for the second half, but didn't. This week was a lot better, but not perfect by any means.
A win is a win. At least it gets the monkey off the back of the Wales team.
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That was a win despite the coach. Totally agree with you about Dee. Lake is a nightmare at lineout time. Mann before Plumtree, Belcher ahead of Dee, JBR at 13 = total nonsense as was the decision to not have enough back cover which led to us having two scrum halves on the field for the last 15 minutes.
Did Sherratt not realise that conditions were going to mean that your decision makers at 9/10 are going to be running on empty after 60 minutes so fresh cover was essential. If I was Joe Hawkins I would licking my lips in pre-season as any sign of decent form at 10/12 for the Scarlets will see him nail down a similar shirt for Wales. Sam is as brave as they come but his kicking from hand is not even URC level which leads to him being found at at the top level.
Hawkins is a big man with a siege gun boot on him. If he can find what Gatland saw in him back in the day consistently he could wear the red 10 for years to come until, of course, Leggatt-Jones arrives on the scene & he can move to 12!!!!!!
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Why
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Posted: 13 July 2025 at 10:42am |
GPR - Rochester wrote:
aber-fan wrote:
gaffer wrote:
roy munster wrote:
whats your verdict on individual performances? I only saw the highlights... is edwards now the number 1 fly half? how was the front row? second row pairing?
as usual blair looked like our best player (in the highlights) hardy scored a few but almost threw the game away too....nice little back flip pass from plumtree ..ben thomas had a few nice touches....adams yet again blew hot and cold as he managed to finish 1 nicely and missed an open goal too....
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It's not a very high bar. Japan were awful. Our backrow did a decent job. front 5 collectively are weak. Hardy wasawful, Dan an upgrade at 10 (he just has more confidence in himself) centres all wrong but had a go, back 3 fairly efficient. Subs helped for once. |
Pluses were Blair (as usual) Rogers, MacLeod and Plumtree - all Scarlets, but that's a coincidence! Wainwright was pretty good overall, as was Teddy Williams who had his moments.
Mixed day - Edwards - I like him a lot at 10, he looks cool, kicks his goals and gets long distance downfield. The only minus for him was his missed tackles - but they matter. Sort that out and the starting shirt is his for a while. Giles showed some awareness and pace in trying to break out from lost Japan balls.
Hardy scored two tries BUT despite having a much better caterpillar for his kicks still nearly got charged down a few times, and did once for a try, I think (?) He also threw a pass above Edwards' head which definitely led directly to a Japan try. I was amazed he was picked again after last week's display. Can't coaches see when players are off form? Baffling. Definitely, Reuben M-W deserved a shot.
Unit skills wise - the scrum looked OK; the lineout was shaky once again.. several throws were pinched or not straight, including attacking ones. I've said for years that Dee should start, if only because he's our best lineout hooker. Is he injured? AFAIK he didn't get on the pitch on the tour.
Lake is not a captain. Last week, Hardy was getting charged down time and again - or scragged - at rucks. Lake - and Sherratt - should have sorted this for the second half, but didn't. This week was a lot better, but not perfect by any means.
A win is a win. At least it gets the monkey off the back of the Wales team.
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That was a win despite the coach. Totally agree with you about Dee. Lake is a nightmare at lineout time. Mann before Plumtree, Belcher ahead of Dee, JBR at 13 = total nonsense as was the decision to not have enough back cover which led to us having two scrum halves on the field for the last 15 minutes.
Did Sherratt not realise that conditions were going to mean that your decision makers at 9/10 are going to be running on empty after 60 minutes so fresh cover was essential. If I was Joe Hawkins I would licking my lips in pre-season as any sign of decent form at 10/12 for the Scarlets will see him nail down a similar shirt for Wales. Sam is as brave as they come but his kicking from hand is not even URC level which leads to him being found at at the top level.
Hawkins is a big man with a siege gun boot on him. If he can find what Gatland saw in him back in the day consistently he could wear the red 10 for years to come until, of course, Leggatt-Jones arrives on the scene & he can move to 12!!!!!! |
I really have come to see that despite all the plaudits he has had that Sherratt is not a good coach and I for one am glad for one he will not be full time. His selection was muddled at best. One thing I noticed yesterday and I’ve always thought he was a really good player is Dewi Lake is very overrated. He doesn’t pass when he should and though gets his hand on the ball a lot he doesn’t seem to make much ground. As for his throwing in well it’s inconsistent to be kind.
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She asks why i still can't answer. I guess its in the blood.
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Scarlswb
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Posted: 13 July 2025 at 11:03am |
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I think people over critical of Sam, the change of tactics yesterday to run the ball more, would have suited Sam. EDWARDS WAS OK, Nothing special, poor defence, dropped a really poor pass from Hardy, which gave away a try, Sherratt's tactics over the 2 games with playing squad selection on and match day squads are poor and lack any logic. Assiratti I, S No way international level, The backrow was good, Mcloed MoM well deserved,
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RR1972
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Posted: 13 July 2025 at 1:18pm |
GPR - Rochester wrote:
aber-fan wrote:
gaffer wrote:
roy munster wrote:
whats your verdict on individual performances? I only saw the highlights... is edwards now the number 1 fly half? how was the front row? second row pairing?
as usual blair looked like our best player (in the highlights) hardy scored a few but almost threw the game away too....nice little back flip pass from plumtree ..ben thomas had a few nice touches....adams yet again blew hot and cold as he managed to finish 1 nicely and missed an open goal too....
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It's not a very high bar. Japan were awful. Our backrow did a decent job. front 5 collectively are weak. Hardy wasawful, Dan an upgrade at 10 (he just has more confidence in himself) centres all wrong but had a go, back 3 fairly efficient. Subs helped for once. |
Pluses were Blair (as usual) Rogers, MacLeod and Plumtree - all Scarlets, but that's a coincidence! Wainwright was pretty good overall, as was Teddy Williams who had his moments.
Mixed day - Edwards - I like him a lot at 10, he looks cool, kicks his goals and gets long distance downfield. The only minus for him was his missed tackles - but they matter. Sort that out and the starting shirt is his for a while. Giles showed some awareness and pace in trying to break out from lost Japan balls.
Hardy scored two tries BUT despite having a much better caterpillar for his kicks still nearly got charged down a few times, and did once for a try, I think (?) He also threw a pass above Edwards' head which definitely led directly to a Japan try. I was amazed he was picked again after last week's display. Can't coaches see when players are off form? Baffling. Definitely, Reuben M-W deserved a shot.
Unit skills wise - the scrum looked OK; the lineout was shaky once again.. several throws were pinched or not straight, including attacking ones. I've said for years that Dee should start, if only because he's our best lineout hooker. Is he injured? AFAIK he didn't get on the pitch on the tour.
Lake is not a captain. Last week, Hardy was getting charged down time and again - or scragged - at rucks. Lake - and Sherratt - should have sorted this for the second half, but didn't. This week was a lot better, but not perfect by any means.
A win is a win. At least it gets the monkey off the back of the Wales team.
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That was a win despite the coach. Totally agree with you about Dee. Lake is a nightmare at lineout time. Mann before Plumtree, Belcher ahead of Dee, JBR at 13 = total nonsense as was the decision to not have enough back cover which led to us having two scrum halves on the field for the last 15 minutes.
Did Sherratt not realise that conditions were going to mean that your decision makers at 9/10 are going to be running on empty after 60 minutes so fresh cover was essential. If I was Joe Hawkins I would licking my lips in pre-season as any sign of decent form at 10/12 for the Scarlets will see him nail down a similar shirt for Wales. Sam is as brave as they come but his kicking from hand is not even URC level which leads to him being found at at the top level.
Hawkins is a big man with a siege gun boot on him. If he can find what Gatland saw in him back in the day consistently he could wear the red 10 for years to come until, of course, Leggatt-Jones arrives on the scene & he can move to 12!!!!!! |
hawkins cant get a game at 10 at regional or club level so far, i don’t see him being our starting 10 next year let alone wales tbh lads
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RR1972
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Posted: 13 July 2025 at 1:19pm |
Scarlswb wrote:
I think people over critical of Sam, the change of tactics yesterday to run the ball more, would have suited Sam. EDWARDS WAS OK, Nothing special, poor defence, dropped a really poor pass from Hardy, which gave away a try, Sherratt's tactics over the 2 games with playing squad selection on and match day squads are poor and lack any logic. Assiratti I, S No way international level, The backrow was good, Mcloed MoM well deserved, |
edwards was ok which was a big step up on sam last few wales games. edwards is weak in defebce so is thomas and so is thomas williams having a 9 10 12 who can’t tackle is a huge worry
Edited by RR1972 - 13 July 2025 at 1:20pm
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Eastern outpost
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Posted: 13 July 2025 at 1:45pm |
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It’s sobering to think that the Dragons have won more matches than Wales, although I’ve checked and could be wrong.
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In a world where you can be anything – Be Kind.
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SA14
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Posted: 13 July 2025 at 2:16pm |
roy munster wrote:
does this mean downturn abbey will cling on for another few years? |
Still don’t get what that means.
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Kentexile
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Posted: 13 July 2025 at 2:27pm |
Eastern outpost wrote:
It’s sobering to think that the Dragons have won more matches than Wales, although I’ve checked and could be wrong. |
Numerically but not on win percentage . Dragons win% on the season just finished 8.3% Wales 10%- sorry just putting off going to the allotment to dig potatoes!
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Dai Guevara
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Posted: 13 July 2025 at 2:32pm |
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I think Sherratt's plan of reviving the All Black tactic of having the inside centre as a sort of second 10 or !st five eighth as they used to call it is appropriate for the modern game. Defences are too good to just bulldoze your way through with a strong carrying 12 and a 12 that can kick /pass/carry and has a better idea of where the opposition's weaknesses lie will give us better attacking options. At the moment the best example in Wales is Ben Thomas, but if Hawkins has anywhere near the talent he had before leaving for Exeter he will be a strong challenger, but give him a couple of months to readjust.
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Eastern outpost
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Posted: 13 July 2025 at 2:34pm |
Kentexile wrote:
Eastern outpost wrote:
It’s sobering to think that the Dragons have won more matches than Wales, although I’ve checked and could be wrong. |
Numerically but not on win percentage . Dragons win% on the season just finished 8.3% Wales 10%- sorry just putting off going to the allotment to dig potatoes! |
Something more productive 
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In a world where you can be anything – Be Kind.
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Trostre Parc Boy
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Posted: 13 July 2025 at 3:03pm |
Dai Guevara wrote:
I think Sherratt's plan of reviving the All Black tactic of having the inside centre as a sort of second 10 or !st five eighth as they used to call it is appropriate for the modern game. Defences are too good to just bulldoze your way through with a strong carrying 12 and a 12 that can kick /pass/carry and has a better idea of where the opposition's weaknesses lie will give us better attacking options. At the moment the best example in Wales is Ben Thomas, but if Hawkins has anywhere near the talent he had before leaving for Exeter he will be a strong challenger, but give him a couple of months to readjust. |
I don’t think he was a Regular for the Ospreys before leaving for Exeter and definitely hasn’t been a regular for Exeter either. Personally I think we need a more experienced 10 than Hawkins to see us through the season.
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Seagultaf
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Posted: 13 July 2025 at 3:46pm |
Dai Guevara wrote:
I think Sherratt's plan of reviving the All Black tactic of having the inside centre as a sort of second 10 or !st five eighth as they used to call it is appropriate for the modern game. Defences are too good to just bulldoze your way through with a strong carrying 12 and a 12 that can kick /pass/carry and has a better idea of where the opposition's weaknesses lie will give us better attacking options. At the moment the best example in Wales is Ben Thomas, but if Hawkins has anywhere near the talent he had before leaving for Exeter he will be a strong challenger, but give him a couple of months to readjust. |
In New Zealand they still sometimes call the inside centre the second five eight, but not necessarily a second playmaker. Unfortunately Sherratt, is selecting Ben Thomas as a second playmaker and the resulting back play is very poor. So Ben then gets used as a crash ball centre, which he just isnt built for.
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RR1972
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Posted: 13 July 2025 at 5:21pm |
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danry aki the jock aussie tuitoplta and the saffer 12 are all big ball carrying tyoes. thomas isn’t and tbh hes not that good of a footballer (no reagan king is he) i reckom hawkins be wales 12 cone the autumn
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