The Springboks will have their work cut out for them if they want to beat Northern Hemisphere champions Wales in Cardiff on Saturday night 09 November 2013 (Kickoff at 19h30). The result of this game will go a long way to determining if Bok head coach Heyneke Meyer’s second year in charge is a success or not. For this game Meyer has gambled on the form of two Japanese based test veterans Jaque Fourie and JP Pietersen, who return to the starting line-up. The main focus of attention should however be on debutant tighthead prop Frans Malherbe. Malherbe has only recently returned from injury and even though he looked the part in broken play after coming off the bench during the Currie Cup final a couple of weeks back, his scrumming was not really put to the test that evening. With new scrumming laws in play, it is Malherbe’s set piece technique that will be closely scrutinised in his duel with seasoned test pro Gethin Jenkins. If the Saffa can nail it, he could establish himself as the new first choice tighthead in Green and Gold. Injured Bok incumbent Jannie du Plessis may have done a reasonable job at scrum-time this season but he has proven to be the Boks’ biggest defensive liability in open play at crucial times during this year’s Rugby Championship internationals.
The South Africa versus Wales game will be followed by France taking on the All Blacks in Paris at 22h00 on the same evening.
| # | Springboks | Age | Caps | Team / Club | School | # | Wales | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tendai Mtawarira | 28 | 50 | Sharks | Peterhouse, Zim | 3 | Adam Jones | Ospreys |
| 2 | Bismarck du Plessis | 29 | 54 | Sharks | Grey College | 2 | Richard Hibbard | Ospreys |
| 3 | Frans Malberhe | 22 | 0 | WP / Stormers | HJS Paarl BH | 1 | Gethin Jenkins | Blues |
| 4 | Eben Etzebeth | 22 | 20 | Stormers | Tygerberg | 4 | Bradley Davies | Blues |
| 5 | Flip van der Merwe | 28 | 31 | Bulls | Grey College | 5 | Alun Wyn Jones | Ospreys |
| 6 | Francois Louw | 28 | 25 | Bath | Bishops | 7 | Sam Warburton | Blues |
| 7 | Willem Alberts | 28 | 27 | Sharks | Monument | 6 | Dan Lydiate | Racing Metro |
| 8 | Duane Vermeulen | 27 | 13 | WP / Stormers | Nelspruit | 8 | Toby Faletau | Dragons |
| 9 | Fourie du Preez | 31 | 65 | Suntory Sungoliath | Affies | 9 | Mike Phillips | Unattached |
| 10 | Morné Steyn | 29 | 51 | Stade Français | Sand du Plessis | 10 | Rhys Priestland | Scarlets |
| 11 | Bryan Habana | 30 | 92 | Toulon | KES | 14 | George North | Northampton |
| 12 | Jean de Villiers (c.) | 32 | 93 | WP / Stormers | Paarl Gim | 12 | Scott Williams | Scarlets |
| 13 | Jaque Fourie | 32 | 69 | Kobelco Steelers | Monument | 13 | Jonathan Davies | Scarlets |
| 14 | JP Pietersen | 27 | 48 | Panasonic Wild Knights | General Hertzog | 11 | Eli Walker | Ospreys |
| 15 | Pat Lambie | 23 | 29 | Sharks | Michaelhouse | 15 | Leigh Halfpenny | Blues |
| 16 | Adriaan Strauss | 27 | 30 | Cheetahs | Grey College | 16 | Ken Owens | Scarlets |
| 17 | Gurthrö Steenkamp | 32 | 46 | Toulouse | HJS Paarl BH | 17 | Paul James | Bath |
| 18 | Coenie Oosthuizen | 24 | 11 | Cheetahs | Grey College | 18 | Scott Andrews | Blues |
| 19 | Pieter-Steph du Toit | 21 | 0 | Sharks | Swartland | 19 | Luke Charteris | Perpignan |
| 20 | Siya Kolisi | 22 | 8 | WP / Stormers | Grey High | 20 | Justin Tipuric | Ospreys |
| 21 | Ruan Pienaar | 29 | 71 | Ulster | Grey College | 21 | Lloyd Williams | Blues |
| 22 | JJ Engelbrecht | 24 | 10 | Bulls | Grey High | 22 | James Hook | Perpignan |
| 23 | Willie le Roux | 24 | 9 | Cheetahs | Paul Roos | 23 | Liam Williams | Scarlets |
| Average | 27 | 37 |
@BuffelsCM: my point was that he should or could have played Coenie as he was there but I hear you. Good luck to a prop without a second row at scrum time ie lock without a good support at at LO time. Ploeg, what you say is fair.
@Ploegskaar: One remark about Marcel vdM. He is one player that used to scrum on the side of the opposing tight head. I’ve discussed the problems about that above.
Against the Griquas the Bulls conceded a penalty try and if I remember correctly Marcel was binned. The next week when he played again it was obvious that Wessel Roux (the scrum coach of the Bulls) had a stern talking with him because his head actually stayed INSIDE the scrum as it is supposed to be.
If he continues by doing it consistently in the correct manner, he may still have a bright future. Let’s wait and see but IMO it is fair to say that he hasn’t lived up to the expectations yet.
He is quite active in the loose as is expected of a LH but he needs to do his basics well.
@HM: I think what we are trying to say is that he was adequate without being spectacular, on debut and taking the conditions and opposition into account. Also a bonus that he cleans rucks, makes his tackles and does not concede penalties for off the ball BS, unlike Jannie Bon Jovi….
@beet: Agree with most of your post, except the bit about Marcel. I have, since his school days, failed to see what the hype was about, and I know that some that were involved with his coaching then agree with me. Ditto Mellet, Kirsten and those two buffoons Greyling and Kruger. Kitshoff, Malherbe, Nyakane and Oosthuisen are the future for now, with a few Bulls youngsters that may come through in a few years’ time.
@HM: “start with a talent like Coenie”…. He is not a TH. Why did Meyer not pick Coenie at TH ? He has finally learnt that Coenie is not a starting TH. He should focus on LH IMO.
At the Cheetahs Nyakane, who prefers LH, was picked at TH and Coenie at LH.
Malherbe was penalized once – I can’t recall that he dropped his bind though.
It is the duty of the 2nd row to push in the scrums!! If the TH is poor then he’ll not be able to handle the pressure coming from behind (by his lock / flank) and coming from the front (Jenkins and co.) To say that he should have done better because of the 2nd row is IMO not a valid point (I’m not denying their importance but it’s their duty).
CJ can play on both sides but he has been injured so often during the last couple of seasons and I’ll not consider him for selection. He simply is not fit enough.
Lastly I don’t think anybody was waxing lyrical about Malherbe’s performance. He did what he had to do. Bear in mind that he made his debut and played against a prop that is 1 short of his century
@BuffelsCM: I am happy to hear your view and will say that I cannot claim to have played at 1, 2 or 3 ie not a guru. What I noticed; number of occasions he dropped to his knee, scrummed in and dropped his bind before Jenkins did. Yes, it was tough conditions but to wax lyrical about it? Also, when considering the quality of the second row behind him one can expect more. Cilliers is injured and not touring, start with a talent like Coenie. Do you know if CJ vd Linde can play both sides?
@Tjoppa: Haha imagine telling Hempies du Toit to leave the field!! Hy sou die coach gedreig het met ‘n snotklap
@BuffelsCM: In my days the tight heads lasted the whole match. The coaches would not dare to replace them.
@BOG: But Bog it is the last two weeks. I do not want friends to tell me what to do. I do not want to say no.
@Ploegskaar: Ploeg I forgot to mention the scrum machine: I’m with you – live scrums are much more important than those against the machine.
I’ve read an article a while ago by a top notch scrummaging coach who said that for every scrum against the machine you should do 2 live scrums, in other words a third against the machine and two thirds (to be) live ones.
The problem is when your packs don’t match up against each other – and there is a mismatch – you invariably go to the scrum machine.
@HM: I’ll concentrate my reply to the things I know about. I’d like to know how you came to the conclusion that Malherbe was poor at scrum time. I assume you know what’s cutting in the scrums in general.
I quote: ” Malerbe was poor at scrum time, the pressure on those cubby cheeks was for all to see, is Mallet his agent? ”
Mallett knows a thing or 2 about scrums. What are your credentials ?
There was a lot of talk during the week about the excellent scrummaging technique of Jenkins and how he was going to take Malherbe apart.
FM conceded 1 penalty at scrum time!! If you take Rolland’s handling of the scrums into consideration FM actually had a more than adequate performance.
All of the props were penalized during the test but Malherbe was penalized once – more or less the 55th minute !! Now he is poor according to you – please elaborate !!
The condition of the poor pitch also played a part in the problems at scrum time. BTW Gatland said so himself !
Given the under foot conditions, the 2 yellow cards were ridiculous but as I have said FM conceded 1 penalty after more than 55 minutes. Prior to that all the other props (including the powerhouse Jones) had conceded penalties in the scrum.
If you make a statement please substantiate it so that we can all know why you’ve said it.
@Ploegskaar: Well Ploeg this is not only happening at SBR level but “higher” up as well. These indiscretions are generally punished at the higher levels but not always at SBR level.
I have to agree with your sentiments though. It is the easy way out to bind “wide” for the LH – that is on the outside of the opposing TH’s right hand side. The LH should get his head underneath the TH and push forward at the same time (not upwards as in our time). Once his head is on the outside all the power coming through from his lock is directed to the outside of the scrum instead of going forward. By doing that the “walking around” is more emphasized as well.
I agree with the feeding of the ball by the SH. The ref is more often than not in the way of the SH and when he says “Yes 9” the opposition knows when to push
Last week I watched England vs Australia. From an officiating point of view that match was also a disaster.
The English fullback Brown caught a penalty punt heading out near his try line with both his feet on the touchline yet was allowed to play on. Moments later England scored a try on the other end.
Then Aussie hooker Moore was clearly blocked off his line by an English defender. As a result he couldn’t properly cover the gap which England flyhalf Farrell ran thru to score a second try. Even after the TMO review the try was not reversed. Terrible.
2 decisions that probably changed the outcome of the match.
For the first one I really think it’s time to change all those one-foot in touch/in-goal/deadball line rules. They were cool back in the day when Queensland fullback Matt Pini was the only one using them but now the make little sense from technical simplifying the game. It would be far easier to let the ball go out or over the tryline or deadball line on its own, than with the help of a defender.
I would say if you catch a ball with one foot in touch or on the touch line, the other team gets the throw in (you therefore have to catch it with both feet over the touchline to get advantage). If you help a ball over your own tryline, 5m scrum! If you help the ball over the deadball line 22m drop out not scrum back fro where it was kicked.
2 bad
@Ploegskaar: A SBR parent told me a few years ago that the IRB needs to tweak the laws every year to justify having their jobs.
@HM: Bakkies might be the biggest waste of time all Meyer’s selections. All I have memories of towards the end of the Enforcer’s regular starting days under de Villiers is a player with severe self-disciple issues who’d lost effectiveness due to his injury time outs. Not sure he can cope at 5 either unless you are saying EE should move there.
Sorry you are right Steenkamp is the biggest waste of time. That might make Bakkies second worst.
Beast’s failure to catch that bread and butter pass definitely the duff of the game, made even more upsetting when we did not get a penalty for an early tackle on EE in the lead up.
WRT Coenie. I believe that Coenie captured everyone’s attention, not just coz he started pro rugby very young but because of his amazing ability in broken play. He got pinged a few times along the way but it seemed more a case of over-enthusiasm and keeping up with play than for the wrong reasons like laziness etc. He had good handling skills and unbelieveable mobility for a big man. You contrast him to Dale Chadwick a year or so ago. Chadders under the old laws seemed little more than a glorified scrummer who acted as the ruck’s shadow coz he was never early arriving or in a ruck trying to clear out or support and didn’t do much for the team defensively or on attack. Coenie ate him alive in terms of potential back then. But now in 2013, Coenie has lost a quite a bit of that extra loose forward type x-factor that he had not so long ago. Chadwick I’ve noticed this season is hitting more rucks. We no longer see him in his once familiar “I’ll cover the fringe of the breakdown with my head out while someone else does the hard work” role. He has upped his game as a support player. His ball handling has improved and his mobility is encouraging. He’ll never be a physical ballcarrier coz he just is not forceful enough to generate go-forward. Under the new laws admittedly Chadders’ scrumming has also had some questions. The point is that a prop that no one really rates is closing the gap on the one who was suppose to be the next great thing. I just wonder if the Coenie hype is more about reputation than anything else right now. Just like CJ vd Linde, I feel Coenie should not go near the TH at international level. Maybe some people are right when they say give him time to mature and he will prove his worth as a scrummager. Right now I fear he even needs to prove his is a good loosehead in the set piece. I have seen little to suggest he can outscrum an opponent. We have a ginger on the rise in Cape Town. Marcel vd Merwe who was also playing a great ballcarrying game before his injury last year is on the mend. These are two “watch this space” players for 2014. Coenie has to produce high level stuff soon either in the scrums or hope for a return to his sublime form as a player in broken play.
Malerbe was poor at scrum time, the pressure on those cubby cheeks was for all to see, is Mallet his agent? Jaque Fourie had one offside moment of brilliance, other than that he was pretty poor. Hate to be a 10 in this country with such a lack of options. French 12 was really impressive, we will need to play to beat them, stupid flank cost them a draw. JP might be big in Japan but a smaller Aplon or Kolbe (when out of jail) would have brought more to the table. Steenkamp? What’s the point of spending time and money on him? Coenie is our best no 1 but he does not fit the transformation ….., he would not have dropped that sitter. Hate saying it but rather play Bakkies than Flip..pet he is useless. DHS, Westville and College would have been better options as a playing surface.
@BuffelsCM: I may be on my own with this one, but I have noticed a disturbing trend over the past few years at SBR level where most LH’s are scrumming out and around, walking around as they term it, and the majority TH’s are scrumming in and down. Maybe down to too much scrum machine seasons and too little live scrums, where chinks can be identified and rectified? WRT the Test, I thought Malherbe had a good debut, but as a specialist TH that was already impressive as a school boy, one would not expect less. To the law makers, stick to the current bind/set regime, but allow the SH to decide on the feed and let said feed be the trigger to strike and scrum, as most of the instability and collapses are due to the jostling before the feed. Small adjustment, which will ironically bring us almost full circle to the stable scrums of the 80’s and early 90’s.
@beet: Yes Beet my thoughts about the lineouts exactly. Many of their throws went straight (that is not down the middle) to the jumper / catcher.
The one incident where Habana was penalized, Halfpenny never released Habana or got up from the tackle, yet Wales got the penalty and 3 points.
When Louw was yellow carded, Vermeulen was blown up for holding on. When he walked back you could see that he told Jean to ask / tell the ref that the tacklers needed to roll away. There were more of these incidents.
I have to admit I was disappointed in Lambie’s performance. Let’s hope he can make the step-up next week. I believe Steyn had a muscle spam in his back before the match. After the one try he still took the conversion kick but left the field immediately after that. Just after the try was scored I could see Craig Roberts (team doctor) speaking to Morne.
I’m not sure if Goosen will be ready to play – I can remember that Meyer said that Goosen would not necessarily get any game time.
@BOG: You are welcome to differ but I stand by what I’ve said. I’m not saying I know everything about the front row but I’ve spent some time there playing and coaching as well.
Fortunately this is a blog where we are allowed to have a difference of opinion.
@BuffelsCM: I beg to differ. I have been watching him play for many years, mostly TH. By that Im not insisting that he MUST play TH. He is so skilled there that he is able to play both sides. And for those completely unfamiliar with the finer parts of the game, there is a huge difference, as Grasshopper rightly confirms about lock.@beet: Did Lambie play yesterday? I wondered why his followers were so quite? Reffing is in a bad state- let us not deny it. If its this bad at international level, can you imagine what its like at U13 level?
I think Romain Poite will be sending Alain Rolland a big thank you text. September’s screw up by a North Hemisphere ref now seems a distant memory.
Rolland looked like he was guessing his way through the 80min at scrum time. Some of his tackled ball calls were also very puzzling. In the later game Peyper made some mistakes as well but was consistent in his calling. His approach of giving the benefit to the team that carried the ball into a breakdown, resulted in fewer turnovers and offered the chance for more continuity.
Both fields in Cardiff and Paris were in crappy condition. Perhaps the ref should have taken that into account before guessing who to award scrumming penalties to.
Mallett mentioned that under these new rules there were meant to be fewer scrumming collapses. It worked very well in SBR this season. I hope the schoolboy frontrows don’t watch how the pros go about it otherwise 2014 is going to be a mess. I’m still undecided if putting the ball under the hooker’s feet is a bad thing or not from a scrum stability point of view. I get a feeling that even if the rules dictate zero tolerance, the refs know the real situation on the ground.
I also thought all Wales lineout throws to the front where the lock did not jump were skew.
For me Willem Alberts was MotM and Duane Vermeulen was great too. Bismarck and Habana had excellent first halves as well. Fourie du Preez had the brain ticking but his accuracy was off in the first half.
Lambie will have to play a lot better. Watching the way the AB’s play, I think Lambie would thrive in a team like that but in Meyer’s setup I think we have all got to hope that Johan Goosen can put his injury streak behind him and remain fit for the next couple of years.
I am told when we go to The New World all will be perfect and that includes all rugby refs too. Poor old Coenie and his wry smile, knowing well, he had just had a plonker call of note.
I thought at one stage the Welsh were going to run out of flippin ammo with the sudden 3 early injuries.
Yes, ugly win it was but a but a win is a win!!!. Next please——
@BOG: Well Bog, another player’s transgression – one penalty against Frans. Jenkins the 99 test veteran had more penalties against him though. The pitch was in a bad condition as well.
It was ridiculous by Rolland to bin Jenkins and Coenie – we agree on that but it still doesn’t mean that Coenie is a TH.
@Grasshopper: Well said about Coenie
@BOG: still don’t understand HM, Coenie is a loose head. Why is he trying to convert him into a tight head or utility prop. People are left handed or right therefore feel more comfortable on a particular side. I remember playing lock a few times and I just had no power locking on the right but had plenty on the left. Same with surfing you either prone or goofy. Coenie’s most natural position is loose head, stop trying to hammer a square peg into a round hole HM!
@Grasshopper: You just explain, in practice the concept, opinion, very well. Flip was rated the best lock on the day. And Alain Rolland just confirmed what I said about refs when he sin binned Coenie for another players transgressions. What is worse, is that Rolland was a prop at some stage in his life. How much less do the other refs know ?
Kak game, but a win is a win! We still beat the best of the Northern Hemisphere at 60%! Fourie Du Preez again brilliant. Why is Flip on the field? Next game must start with Eben & PSTD. Francois Malherbe had a solid game. Ref was a little bipolar! Mike Phillips is just a pillock, fullstop! Mallet is a legend!
Meadows, not a great game for the No 15, poorly protected ball by the forwards, scrappy ball from the SH and Lambie too shallow to get any time and purchase on drop goal attempts, but great on defense. All in all our forwards were not able to create clean ball.
What a chop Alain Roland is. Box yourself in by making a stupid threat, then follow through with it after a new Bok prop made it clear who was at fault.
@badboy: I like you already, maybe a little better than B League, does reasonably with a monster pack, when and only when we can control rucks and loose ball on the ground, and a SH with a 20 meter pass so he can sit in the pocket and dictate from behind the advantage line to ensure we stay there
or kick the ball away. HM knows no different, it is typical “ill moer you” type of rugby. But we all have gripes with coaches, the best thing about P Divy, was that it seems he wasn’t the coach 
@BOG:I know he has played TH at school BOG. The point is at senior level he has played LH more often than TH.
During the latter part of the Currie Cup, Coenie played LH and Trevor Nyakane TH.
Coenie has technical difficulties at TH and it is not only the view of referees! Why do you think is Coenie not starting at TH against Wales ?
In my opinion Coenie should concentrate on LH where he is more effective. A LH is also more involved in general play – and Coenie likes to be involved in the loose.
@BuffelsCM: Coenie O played TH for most of his life. It was not long ago, where tight forwards only entered the international arena around 26-27. If he does have technical problems, Im sure that between Os and Pieter de Villiers, it will be sorted out. But sadly he has now gained this “reputation” among a professional group, refs,whose technical abilities in recent times, have been strongly questioned. Time will learn.@Tjoppa: Saying “no” is much easier with the help of a Friend
@Tjoppa: I think before the rest: the reserve tight head !
and then the rest
@BuffelsCM: Agree 100% regarding Coenie. A world class loose head but a shitty primary school tight head. Doc Craven always said he first pick his tight head then his captain and then the rest.
@BOG: Please Bog just you not. Imagine yourself caught up in the sinner’s paradise. Wine wine wine and beaches full of bitches.
@BoishaaiPa: At least Heyneke has seen the light by not playing Coenie, at tighthead !! Somewhere along the line he must have seen Coenie’s problems (technical difficulties) at TH.
Jenkins could have destroyed his “career as tighthead”. Play Coenie off the bench as loosehead IMO.
Having said that, I would have had Lourens Adriaanse (in the place of Steenkamp) on the bench as well.
You need specialist tightheads in the UK conditions.
I am still quietly confident that Frans will pass the test.
I would have liked Pieter-Steph du Toit to start but I guess Meyer wants to have as much experience as possible around Malherbe. Bismarck on his left with Flip and Alberts / Louw on his right “cheek”.
GO BOKKE !!!
You are missing the point. CT is in a different time zone- about 2 weeks behind the rest. If the world comes to an end, rush to CT for 2 weeks extra.
@BOG: No..Beet had the SA game at 21:30…he fixed it now.
@beet: It was just a question of time for Frans!..We all know what he is capable of and are very proud!…But it is going to be a very tough debut against most probably the best technical loosehead in World rugby at the moment…We are waiting with abated breath that he will not dissapoint…he is good enough, but is he ready now…that we will only know tomorrow!
@BoishaaiPa: FIXED! No kind words about your Boishaai starter winning his first cap
@BoishaaiPa: That is a delayed broadcast of the test against the ABs that you are only seeing on Saturday
Beet?..Do you guys live in a different timezone there in KZN?..Here in CT the game begins at 19:30!….
@Mike: I thought that with the number of oldies in the 22, the young players were there for the sole purpose of helping up the older ones after they have been tackled.
@BOG: Same as you guys I guess, haha.@rugbyfan: It is a bit strange, but it could have something to do with the older guys mentoring the young guys. As far as I know, there is still a lot of hierarchy within the Springboks, and you don’t want a situation where the youngsters feel like they are invincible. Don’t know how good of an influence Bakkies is though, but it adds to the spectacle.
As a note, JF is not 32 years old. Born in 83.
@Mike: If HM wants to test conditions that will be at the WC why play players well past there sell by date they will not be there.
@Mike: What do you call your old boys “get-togethers” ? Thats what I meant by “noggin”.
Apparently HM wants to test the players against the conditions they will face at the World Cup, which is why originally he requested the roof stay open. But both parties had to agree to it and clearly the welsh did not agree.
@Maroon: Close the roof after the rain has saturated the pitch? Like closing the door after the horse has bolted? I would think that it would make sense if they do it the other way round. Keep the pitch dry, and let nature take its course on match day@rugbyfan: Looks like we got ourselves a “Noggin” here. Meyer does not have much of a choice I think. And he realises that its just going to get worse. I honestly believe, that as the Rand weakens, more and more players will leave and that eventually, we will only have the very young and those at the end of their careers, playing in SA. Its sad, but unfortunately true. Rugby is no different to all the other sectors of SA society. But yes, I agree- HM should have used this tour to blood all the young players and not raid the old age home in rugby terms.
@rugbyfan: Would like to correct a blatant error above you quote that Fourie,Du Preez,Pienaar,Bakkies,Steyn were all very good players. Sorry you might be right on most but incorrect when it come to M Steyn he must be the most overated flyhalf I have everseen only thing he could do was kick for the rest of he,s ability he would not even qualify as a B league player.
I mean there is no ways that J Fourie/F Du Preez/R Pienaar/Bakkies/M Steyn ( as good a players as they were ) can be the future of bok rugby they have had there day they should be riding off into the sunset by now.
If you don’t blood your new players now when will you.
I do believe that playing overseas based players is sign of the weakness we have if we as the so called holy grale of rugby in SA and we cannot even replace players who leave for overseas with quality replacements our rugby is not as healthy as we think.
What is the general feel for us playing overseas based players there has been a lot of talk on this subject and it seems the general feedback from people out there is we need to do this although the negatives out weight the positive.
The positives we can call on people like Flouw but the negatives are it will destroy the local rugby in the long run.
Surely I am missing something here but how can HM keep on playing Flip he is at best average and we have most likely the best lock pairing of Eben/PSD in the world but we go and pick Flip.
All I can say is “Flip” are we that blind.
The roof will be closed on Saturday, according to News24.
@geronimo: Not sure why they dont use the roof at the Millennium stadium to protect the surface. They can open it for the match, but I suppose they see that as an advantage for Wales.But not conducive for good rugby, for sure.
Lets see if our two jap players are a good choice – lads look to have beefed up a tad?. Wet underfoot so a forward grind expected but lets hope it still has running, as the days motto should be; Play the unexpected and expect it .Reminds me of the Glenwood ,MHS game this year – horrific wet and miserable conditions and Glenwood chose to run the backs and what an amazing winning performance…they played the unexpected !!!!!
Patrick go well ( and take out spiral bomb,Gary Owen every time). You are long overdue this run on – congrats to MHS too.(any MHS supporters gone across again ???)