Tough Wales battle back in Dublin

It certainly was a fierce opening weekend to the post-World Cup 6 Nations. The game in Paris swung back and forth more times than a metronome, with neither team showing considerable control of the game. Up in Scotland, Eddie Jones' England choked the life out of the men in blue, suffocating the match in an incredibly powerful and effective display. Meanwhile out in Dublin, Wales and Ireland produced yet another closely contested arm wrestle that both teams could have won.

Ireland and Wales duked it out in a full on aggressive test match that left bodies lying everywhere.

In the end it finished honours even which was a justifiable result for all those involved. In post match interviews it seemed the Welsh were the more disappointed of the two. Whereas the Irish were just disappointed about losing, the men in red looked like they had lost. In the final 20 minutes, if any team was going to take all the point, it looked like Wales were in charge. Lead by the ferocious ball carrying and thunderous tackles of Jamie Roberts, Wales were camped inside Ireland's half for long lengths of time. Although to be fair to Ireland they avoided giving away any penalties to give Wales the victory which seems to getting a very difficult thing to do these days. Plenty of credit should also go to referee Garces for keeping the breakdown a fair contest throughout - although he did miss a few glaring forward passes from both sides.

Priestland had a measured performance
in Dublin.

The pre-match build up was largely focused on the fly-half battle, between the two Lion's prospects
for the 10 shirt. Sadly it didn't last as Dan Biggar was injured within the first minute, and eventually limped off after twenty minutes. Which meant the inclusion of Rhys Priestland, many fans (including myself) felt that would be the nail in the Welsh coffin. At first it seemed our fears were vindicated, with practically his first touch of the ball dropping a pass, which while it wasn't a great pass was still catchable, before allowing Devin Toner to collect the ball and break away. Shortly afterwards, Toner again caused problems charging down scrum half Davies' box kick, instead of simply touching the ball down and calming everything down with a 22m drop out, Priestland panicked producing a hap-hazard sliced clearance kick. A few phases later Connor Murray was diving over the try line to give Ireland a 13 point lead.

It looked an impossible task for Wales at this point, two scores down and without arguably their form player. Instead Wales stepped up and fought back, with their scrum to the fore. A succession of scrum penalties on the Ireland 5m line lead to Talupe Faletau powered over the line. After his earlier wobbles Priestland seemed to find his old confidence, moving Wales around the park with some crisp passing and getting them out of some tight spots with some excellent clearance kicks. If Biggar is injured for Scotland next week then Priestland looks stable enough to step into the famed shirt, although Anscombe will also be pushing for the privilege.

The other topic widely discussed by the media and pundits is whether Wales were going to finally adopt a more expansive and adventurous game plan. On first appearance Jamie Roberts crash balls were still heavily prominent; but that is justified it has been highly effective for years, the desired "expansion" shouldn't replaced Warrenball, but instead be a layer added on top. This looked like it was beginning to happen, Wales getting North on the ball in and around the 13 channel looking to utilise his size and speed by bringing him in from the blindside. Jonathan Davies' return added the extra dimension that was missing in the world cup, the little kicks in behind the defence, forcing the opposition to turn and Wales to put pressure on. The only glaring issue for Wales in the wider areas was the backs drifted far too much on the ball, allowing the Irish defence to shift across the pitch without much issue. Wales produced a few opportunities, but players needed to straighten up and fix

The return of Davies increased Wales' portency

their man before shifting the ball out, it's a simple thing but it makes a large difference.

In addition Wales were not afraid to have forwards in the outside channels, allowing Wales to play a more expansive game and have forwards around in case of a breakdown. This had it's problems in the obvious lack in ability between forwards and backs, killing a couple of potential try scoring opportunities, but that is a price that will have to be paid. But this is an indicator of Wales attempting to play like Southern Hemisphere sides, trusting forwards to execute 2-on-1's and 3-on-2's, the only reason it didn't work this weekend was due to a lack of skills. Something that can be worked upon, even if it will never be as intrinsic as the Kiwi forwards. It's a start.

Lastly, many eyebrows were raised by the selection of Rob Evans over the veteran Gethin Jenkins or even top scrummager Paul James. Rob Evans is seen as the future and after this showing he is also the present, up against a renowned - if weakened - Irish scrum he was part of a dominant Welsh pack. And in the loose he was as industrious and active as the man he replaced, making a number of tackles and a large number of carries. He was replaced quite early in the second half which shows he still has a short way to go on the stamina front, but he could easily be Wales' first choice by the end of the 6 Nations. Gatland is sure to utlise the likes of Jenkins and James effectively during the championship both as starters and replacements, but also to help teach the new generation and turn them into the top class props they are capable of being.

Rob Evans produced an excellent display, proving he is the ready replacement for veteran Gethin Jenkins.

Russell lacked in confidence against
England.

Looking ahead to next weekend, how are Scotland looking. In short they looked rusty, a lot of players were off their best, and they seemed incapable of executing an attacking game, not to mention a constant slew of basic handling errors costing them possession and territory. Finn Russell so widely praised during the World Cup seemed devoid of confidence. Greig Laidlaw the hero of Scotland's campaign in September/October looked tired, slow to every breakdown which cost Scotland any sort of tempo. The forwards struggled to get over the gain line, and classy centre Mark Bennett was clearly low on match experience. However there were positives among the defeat. The scrum was solid, if actually stronger than England's; Stuart Hogg looked a threat every time he had the ball and constantly looked to challenge the English kick chase; and John Hardie has continued his great form fighting at every breakdown and tackling everything he could find.

It's going to be tough for Scotland to find form at a sell-out Principality Stadium (formerly Millennium Stadium), but they could still cause Wales problems. The scrum will be a big battle, and I think potentially Scotland have the edge, which could cause Gatland to select Jenkins or James to start on Saturday. Scotland also tried to use the double open-side system that served Australia so well, but it didn't quite work, to be fair neither did it for Wales. The main reason it didn't work for Scotland was because they lacked any ferocity in defence, which meant they were always on the back foot limiting the chances the flankers had to get involved. For Wales the end result was the same, but their problem was arch jackler Warburton was two yards further from the initial breakdown after every set piece due to playing 6 instead of 7. Two yards doesn't sound much, but it's another one or two seconds which Warburton is behind the tackle point meaning he can't get set over the ball and strong before the clear out arrives.

If Wales want to Warburton at his best they need to select him at 7 in my opinion, and as big an admirer I am of Justin Tipuric, Warburton's breakdown ability at international level is a big presence than Tipuric. Tipuric also has the ability to make an impact from the bench, something that Warburton is less likely to pull off, although to really make an impact on a game he needs more than 10 minutes at the end of a game. Wales - and Gatland - have known their best back-row balance for four years now Lydiate-Warburton-Faletau. They provide the complete package and balance each other expertly, it's an unpopular opinion among the Welsh public but I feel it's the best trio we can put out, even if Tipuric is a "better player".

The Lydiate-Warburton-Faletau has been so successful since it's inception.

There are few other selection issues heading to Saturday, other than the hope that Biggar is fit, although if not Priestland looks capable enough to fill the void once again. At fullback Liam Williams will have had another week of conditioning and training on top of the full 80 in Dublin and will be looking once again like his best adding that extra dimension to Wales' game. Tom James had little impact on the game, although his defence was noted shutting down one massive break with excellent reading of the play. In the pack at loosehead as mentioned we could the return of Jenkins to combat WP Nel on the Scottish tight-head although Rob Evans did nothing wrong on Sunday. At lock, alongside Alun Wyn Jones, Charteris provides plenty of lineout ability and an endless work ethic for defence, however against the gritty Scotland pack it might be worth starting Bradley Davies and battering the fringe defence for the first 50-60 minutes.

The game plan should remain largely the same as it did against Ireland. Roberts' ball carrying ability has improved since signing for Harlequins hitting harder and faster with better lines and should be used. The encouraging signs of the additional usage of George North has to continue and become even more effective, if Wales can get him to either run into gaps created by offloads in and out-off the tackle; or get him to set up the offloads by drawing two defenders to him - as he did all game against Ireland - then the likes of Liam Williams and Tom James could rake in the tries. The new layer in Wales' arsenal is a wonderful thing and should be built upon against Scotland. Last year Wales used the aerial ability of their backline to beat the Scots, and England used it effectively too this weekend, if Biggar returns in addition to Williams, James and Roberts it's a method that should be considered again. I think Wales will have too much for Scotland especially in front of 74,000 supporters, but it's not a game that can be taken lightly.

Prediction Wales -  by 8+ points

Wales Line-Up
Backs: L Williams, G North, J Davies, J Roberts, T James, D Biggar/R Priestland, G Davies
Forwards: R Evans, S Baldwin, S Lee, B Davies, AW Jones, D Lydiate, S Warburton, T Faletau
Subs: K Owens, G Jenkins, T Francis, L Charteris, J Tipuric, A Davies, R Priestland/G Anscombe, H Amos