Wales Look To Make Impact on Autumn Internationals

The Red Dragons face a period of reckoning, where they will look to re-assert themselves on the world stage after falling behind to their European rivals.  Despite this, they still have the quality to mount challenges in the coming weeks and the incoming 2010 Six Nations.

At initial glances, the reading doesn’t really flatter Warren Gatland and his men.

They sit eighth on the IRB world rankings, just ahead of Fiji and Scotland.  They came third in this year’s Six Nations tournament, and their usual poetic attacking game failed to eventuate, scoring just eight tries in five matches—fourth overall and half as many as England managed to register.

But beneath this, there is enough to show that Wales is hardly on a downward curve.

The 2005 and 2008 Grand Slamming Six Nations champions boast arguably the most depth of any European nation, although this will be tested in the coming month due to injuries.  Fifteen Welsh players wore the coveted red of the British and Irish Lions, and at full strength they can field one of the most impressive XV’s in world rugby.

However, this is the immediate problem for Wales and Gatland.

While he has named a strong squad, he is without three key Lions—Adam Jones, Lee Byrne and Mike Phillips—as well as Ian Evans, John Yapp and Joe Bearman.

Jones, Byrne and Phillips are at their best World XV class players, so the immediate challenge is to fill their slots. 

All of the talk regarding Deacon Manu being made available hasn’t come to fruition, but while the absence of Jones is a blow, the recovery of Gethin Jenkins and Martyn Williams in the forwards softens the impact.

Phillips absence will be covered by the test recall of Dwayne Peel.  The Sale based scrumhalf did not feature in Wales’ Six Nation’s campaign this year, but will not be released for arguably the Red Dragons most important match against the All Blacks.

The game falls outside of the IRB’s designated test window and Premier Rugby Limited has no official “deal” with Welsh rugby.  PRL secured a big dollar deal with the English Rugby Football Union regarding player release, with Guinness clubs receiving 50,000 pounds per year per player called up by Martin Johnson.

With Wales themselves just finalising such a deal of its own with the Welsh regions, it is very unlikely they will start cutting deals with other national competitions.

This of course again raises the Pandora’s Box of top players plying their trade within their own countries regions/clubs/provinces to be guaranteed national selection.  Something that Warren Gatland is a staunch advocate of.

But moving forwards, much depends on whether or not Gatland and the Welsh coaching staff make adjustments to the Red Dragons for what is now effectively the two-year countdown to the Rugby World Cup.

As the British and Irish Lions tour showed, Wales is in possession of a talented group of players, with some individuals, such as Jamie Roberts, showing the natural class that often determines whether a team is good or great.

Wales in the recent years has suffered in key areas, namely the breakdown, and its first opponents in New Zealand will brutally expose them if their efficiency is not enhanced in the loose.

One of world rugby’s classic coaching quandaries in the modern game, has been the breakdown or more pointedly, the purposeful stacking of forwards in the backline to enable go forward ball.  Wales have been found guilty here due to their desire to attack, but as many passionate Welshmen have said, fixed tactical planning could actual be Wales’ weakness.

Much of Wales early success came from the heady blend of Gatland’s attacking style and the amalgamation with the art of Welsh running rugby, although in recent times the Red Dragons have been criticised with being almost too programmed, and too predictable.

This inability to adjust to ensuing pressure if this structure has been challenged has led to Wales being matched by its opponents in recent times.

Rob Howley, one of Gatland’s key men, has echoed these sentiments, believing that not only had opposition teams worked Wales out, but had deliberately tried to shut them down.

Ironically, Wales is probably the most similar in their style to their upcoming opponents New Zealand, who also prefer to play positive attacking rugby, but can suffer when teams (as South Africa did this year) deliberately impose a pressure game to take them out of their comfort zone.

As it was shown in the Lions tour, a high-octane and/or structured attacking game can work as long as it is done with precision and with a strong focus on the collisions and the breakdown.

Wales will encounter a full variety of opponents in the coming weeks, from the All Blacks, to the hard hitting Samoans, to the forward orientated Pumas, to the Wallabies who could be playing Wales to secure a Grand Slam (or pride!). 

We shall eagerly await their potential evolution.

Wales squad

Paul James, Duncan Jones, Craig Mitchell, Huw Bennett, Alun Wyn Jones, Jonathan Thomas Ryan Jones (captain), Dan Biggar, James Hook, Shane Williams (all Ospreys), Gethin Jenkins, Bradley Davies, Andy Powell, Sam Warburton, Martyn Williams, Gareth Cooper, Jamie Roberts, Tom Shanklin, Tom James, Leigh Halfpenny (all Blues), Matthew Rees, Dafydd Jones, Martin Roberts, Stephen Jones, Jonathan Davies, Mark Jones (all Scarlets), Luke Charteris, Dan Lydiate (both Dragons), Dwayne Peel (Sale)

Wales record under Warren Gatland

Sat, 02 Feb 2008 - Wales v England, 26-19 @ Twickenham, London

Sat, 09 Feb 2008 - Wales v Scotland, 30-15 @ Millennium Stadium, Cardiff

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 - Wales v Italy, 47-8 @ Millennium Stadium, Cardiff         

Sat, 08 Mar 2008 - Wales v Ireland, 16-12 @ Croke Park, Dublin     

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 - Wales v France, 29-12 @ Millennium Stadium, Cardiff

Sat, 07 Jun 2008 - Wales v South Africa, 17-43 @ Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein     

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 - Wales v South Africa, 21-37 @ Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria

Sat, 08 Nov 2008 - Wales v South Africa, 15-20 @ Millennium Stadium, Cardiff

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 - Wales v Canada, 34-13 @ Millennium Stadium, Cardiff  

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 - Wales v New Zealand, 9-29 @ Millennium Stadium, Cardiff      

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 - Wales v Australia, 21-18 @ Millennium Stadium, Cardiff           

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 - Wales v Scotland, 26-13 @ Murrayfield, Edinburgh

Sat, 14 Feb 2009 - Wales v England, 23-15 @ Millennium Stadium, Cardiff 

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 - Wales v France, 16-21 @ Stade de France, Paris   

Sat, 14 Mar 2009 - Wales v Italy, 20-15 @ Stadio Flaminio, Rome    

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 - Wales v Ireland, 15-17 @ Millennium Stadium, Cardiff  

Sat, 30 May 2009 - Wales v Canada, 32-23 @ York Stadium, Toronto          

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 - Wales v United States, 48-15 @ Bridgeview, Illinois

Wales’ upcoming matches

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 - Wales v New Zealand @ Millennium Stadium

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 - Wales v Samoa @ Millennium Stadium    

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 - Wales v Argentina @ Millennium Stadium

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 - Wales v Australia @ Millennium Stadium

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 - England v Wales @ Twickenham

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 - Wales v Scotland @ Millennium Stadium 

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 - Wales v France @ Millennium Stadium

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 - Ireland v Wales @ Croke Park

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 - Wales v Italy @ Millennium Stadium       

Sat, 19 Jun 2010 - New Zealand v Wales @ Carisbrook

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 - New Zealand v Wales @ Waikato Stadium           

Sun, 11 Sep 2011 - Pool D - South Africa v Wales @ Westpac Trust

Sun, 02 Oct 2011 - Pool D - Wales v Fiji @ Rugby Park        

Wales last test XV (V United States – without Lions representatives)

Wales: Evans, M. Jones, Davies, Bishop, T. James, Robinson, Peel, Yapp, Williams, D. Jones, D. Jones, Gough, D. Jones, Sowden-Taylor, R. Jones. Replacements: Hibbard, Mitchell, Charteris, Warburton, Cooper, Biggar, Spratt.

Wales last full strength  XV (V Ireland)

Wales: Byrne, M Jones, Shanklin, Henson, S Williams, S Jones, Phillips,  Jenkins, Rees, A. Jones, Gough, A Jones, D Jones, M Williams, R Jones (capt). Replacements: Roberts, Bennett, Charteris, Yapp, J Thomas, Fury, Hook.