Offside Opinion: Residency Players

Pivac has wasted no time in making headlines with
his first training squad.

This week Wayne Pivac became the first new coach to announce a squad, post World Cup. In doing so he made a number of surprise selections, but he also made two that everyone expected. Bringing two former Kiwi's into the Welsh international set up, with Johnny McNicholl and Willis Halaholo having completed the mandatory minimum three-year residency to play for a national team.

Now, let's be clear, I do understand the decision to pick two of the most naturally gifted attackers available to him. Wales were consistently maligned under Gatland for being predictable in attack, and dropping in the dancing feet of Halaholo to midfield, and the free-running of McNicholl to the back field will certainly have an impact on that issue. But I have fundamental issues with their selection, which certainly leaves an ashen taste in my mouth.

Quick Tap: Wales 13 - 16 South Africa Takeaways

A day after England crusaded through the All Blacks, we witnessed a much tenser affair as Wales took on South Africa. The game was billed to be an arm wrestle between two similar teams, and so it proved from the outset. A game dominated by kicks (73 in all) and physical defence, where each team was looking to prey off the opponent's mistakes. In the end, it came down to a single two minute period of play, to just about put the Springboks into the final. So how did that come about, here are the takeaways from South Africa's victory.

South Africa claimed a hard earned victory, de Allende scored their only try of the game in a
wonderful solo effort.

Wales v South Africa Preview

Semi-finals are tough, knowing that if you win you've got a chance for glory, lose and you're playing in a game which is pointless and painful. We've covered New Zealand v England (read that here), now it's time for the other side of the draw. Wales and South Africa meet in the knockout stages for the second consecutive World Cup. Last time South Africa stole victory against an injured ravaged Welsh side with a last-minute try. Wales have not lost to the Springboks since that fateful day at Twickenham, with four consecutive victories against various forms of the green shirted giants. But friendly games in November don't matter for much when it comes to the added pressure of knockout rugby, so what are the talking points before Sunday's do or die game?

Du Preez's late try in the corner knocked Wales out last time these two met in a World Cup.

The State of Play

Japan has been eventful, hasn't it? The pool stages were extraordinary, filled with dozens of memorable moments, a couple of amazing victories, and its fair share of controversy. For me personally, this has been the best World Cup I've watched in my lifetime, from the attitude of the host nation to the moments of ridiculous skill, to the performances of the likes of Uruguay, Japan, and the Tongans.

It's been a historic World Cup from every angle, from the hosts to the number of red cards, to the weather, and much more besides. To that end, it seems highly appropriate that all four of the quarter-final match-ups have plenty of history to go with them. England and Australia is a feud as old as time; New Zealand v Ireland is a more modern titanic rivalry; Wales want revenge after the events of 2011; lastly, Japan and South Africa engage in a rematch of the "Brighton Miracle".

So who's going in on a roll, who's under prepared, and crucially who's going to make the semis?

There's plenty of history in the quarter-finals, an opportunity for teams to lay deamons to rest,
or for others to make fresh memories of victory.

RWC Pool D: Toughest of the lot

And we finally reach the best pool of the lot (not biased I swear), with just over a week to go till it all kicks off. This has the look of a traditional Rugby World Cup pool. There are two front runners who will be pushing each other for top seed, along with a couple of Tier Two sides who will have eyes on causing a significant upset, and then finally a minnow to make up the numbers. A number of games could go any which way in this pool, but who will come out on top?

Wales and Australia have gone toe-to-toe for years, Wales finally got a win last November.

Quick Tap: Wales are Top of the Pile

The world ranking system barely makes sense, no one really likes it, and ultimately it doesn't matter. And yet, right now, the Welsh public don't care. They don't care that it came by avoiding New Zealand for nearly two years, they don't care it came by squeaking home against England (although beating the old rival to go top does bring an extra level of satisfaction), and they really don't care that the Kiwi media are insulting them and calling their place at the top "laughable".

The fact of the matter is, this is yet another moment to add to the long list of accolades achieved by Gatland in his decade long tenure as Welsh coach. Drop all the question's over "Do Wales deserve to be number 1", and the critique of the system, and appreciate the work Gatland has put into to Welsh rugby.

North scored the try which put Wales top of the world, meanwhile, Ken Owens turns into the Messiah.

Quick Tap: Wales' Back Row Woes

Four years ago, Wales went through an injury crisis rarely seen in international rugby. Watching backline players litter the hospital ward was painful, despite the unbelievable run to the quarter-finals. Well with another World Cup on the horizon, it's happening all over again. Although this time a bit earlier, and in the back row, rather than the back-three.

The Welsh back row was a real strength in the Six Nations, but will they make it to the World Cup in one piece?

It wasn't too long ago, a couple of months to be honest, that the Welsh media were debating which stellar players would be left behind in the back row. With only room for - probably - five players, and Gatland stating he would plan to take the main four from the Six Nations with him to Japan. That left a single place on the plan, most likely to be snapped up by the world-class, test Lion, Taulupe Faletau. Leaving the likes of James Davies, Aaron Shingler, Ellis Jenkins, and more behind in the rainy valleys of home.

Faletau in the hospital again, not the best
image for a world-class player

Well within one week that's all changed. Faletau suffered his third injury of the year, ruling him out of the tournament. The news wasn't better when it came to Ellis Jenkins who is continuing his battle with recovery after his nightmare injury in the Autumn, and struggling to progress at the speed the coaches had hoped. James Davies and Josh Navidi, both, are recovering from injuries of their own and yet to train fully. The previously deep well of the back row has been cracked by an injury earthquake of unreal scale.

It is likely that Gatland will look to call up a replacement to Faletau before too long, with Thomas Young a strong contender. Thanks to his versatility since he is another who can - if required - cover the No. 8 hole left by Faletau. More than anything, Gatland will be desperate that Ross Moriarty remains injury-free through the next couple of months. As the only true No. 8 left in Wales he has become more important to the national side than many thought he would four years ago, and without him, the Welsh back row looks a little small compared to the Georgians and Fijians they'll be facing come Japan.

It's not the best start to Wales' World Cup preparations, but they have overcome these problems before, and will not panic any time soon, but the coaching staff, pundits, journalists, and fans will all be crossing their fingers no more injuries creep out of the woodwork.

Offside Opinions: Wales can beat New Zealand

As it stands New Zealand and Wales are the top two teams in the world, and for two weeks running New Zealand have had to defend their #1 ranking, a loss against either Argentina or South Africa would have seen them drop below the Welsh. This poses an interesting question, could Warren Gatland and the men in red, Hansen and the All Blacks, were they to meet next weekend?

Jantjies' last-minute try put the world on notice, that the All Blacks really do appear vulnerable.

Fight for Position: Review

The Six Nations might be over, but the analysis isn't, yet, in fact, it's going to be referenced all the way till September. Before the tournament began, I wrote an article focusing on the position each team had to resolve ahead of the World Cup - ideally by the end of the Six Nations. So it's time to review how each team did. Did they find the man to fill the jersey for Japan, or are they still searching?

Alun Wyn Jones won Player of the Tournament, but who stepped up to stake a claim for the World Cup?

Quick Tap: Six Nations Round 5 Round Up

Super Saturday never fails to disappoint, does it? It started with Italy somehow losing against France in a game filled with endless basic errors, before heading to Cardiff for the Grand Slam decider. Wales strolled to the title, keeping an out of sorts Ireland from ever looking comfortable. Then it ended with the most ridiculous game of the season, Scotland almost yanking victory for the jaws of defeat, only to have England find the necessary score to draw. It was an unbelievable day of rugby, which some memorable headlines, but what other notes were there from the matches?

Wales claimed their fourth Six Nations Grand Slam, Warren Gatland's third, setting a new record.

Quick Tap: Six Nations Week 4 Round Up

Week four set up a very exciting final round on Super Saturday, with the tournament wide open, with three teams able to win the trophy still. Wales survived a Scotland revival with stubborn grit; England routed Italy in typical fashion; finally, Ireland found their blueprint again to walk over a lackluster French outfit. Read on to see my points from each game.

Alun Wyn Jones wasn't the most cheerful after beating Scotland, he knows the big one is yet to come.

The Welsh Regional Debate

The landscape of Welsh rugby is in turmoil right now. While the national team are on a winning streak never before seen in the Land of St. David the regional structure is cracking at the foundations. The WRU are in the process of finalising a new agreement with the regions, focused on handling the finances of the game above all. This has led to a lot of debate on social media and in newspapers in the last week. Now I'm putting forth my thoughts.

I will put forward a small disclaimer. I do not know the details for the money being discussed, and even if I did I probably wouldn't understand what they mean. What is here is my thoughts on the regions, and the WRU's plans to change the look of professional club rugby in Wales.

The regions could be about to undergo the biggest shift in their history, as the WRU looks to build a long term plan.

Quick Tap: Six Nations Week 3 Round Up

The middle week of the Six Nations served up the game of the tournament so far, serving up a middle finger to World Rugby wanting to dispose of the championship. Either side of the monumental clash in Cardiff, France piled on to Scotland's woes, and Ireland did the minimum required in Rome. Read on to find my less obvious takeaways from each game, in this week's Quick Tap.

When Adams crossed the line Cardiff went crazy, and the 2019 Tournament was blown wide open.

Quick Tap: 6 Nations Week 2 Round Up

Ireland regained some semblance of form, Wales made hard work of it in Rome, and the England juggernaut steamrolled into a second weekend. But away from the results what were the main takeaways from the games last weekend?

Farrell is captain of a behemoth right now, as England rampaged through the headless French roosters.

Quick Tap: 6 Nations Week 1 Round Up

Time for another Quick Tap article. The 6 Nations started this weekend, so here's my chief take away from each game on a weekend that saw Wales come from behind in Paris; Scotland get their expected bonus point against Italy, and finally England romp to victory in Dublin.

England put in the performance of the weekend, but what were the takeaways from the first round?

6 Nations: Fight for Positions

The Six Nations is always important, but in a World Cup year it takes on a new level of significance. The head coaches have to weigh up the desire to win games and gain momentum for Japan, as well as fine-tuning any elements that require it and giving form players opportunity to stake a claim for September. By now most national teams should know their first choice team and simply be tweaking the game plan a little. However that is never the case, and below I discuss the primary position each Six Nations team needs to sort out before the end of March.

There's a lot riding on this tournament for the head coaches, the will to win, but also to prepare for the World Cup.

Five doesn't go into Seven

Throughout time there has been one selection debate above all others that has raged like an inferno in Wales, which player should wear the coveted number ten jersey. And while the discussions over pints in the pub still continue now, another fierce discourse has arisen in the last few years, that as to who should have lucky number seven on their back. Seven years ago Sam Warburton was the undisputed openside, the only one to travel to New Zealand for the World Cup, captain, and respected on a global level. However new challengers have arisen and now Warren Gatland has tough decision to make ahead of 2019, here's the rundown of the five capped opensides available to Gatland and co.

He might be saying it's a "good headache", but there will be some tough decisions to make for Gatland.

Wales Outclass Again

Anybody else get de ja vu last night? Wales pushing the All Blacks all the way for 50 minutes, never quite getting the scoreboard going, and then being sucker punched in 10 minutes and watching the Kiwi's cruise to the final whistle. It's a familiar tale by now, even if the method was a little different this time around. So why did an ambitious Wales fail to defeat an under-strength New Zealand?

Rieko Ioane's second try sealed the game away.

Five Things from Wales v Australia

On a miserable day in Cardiff, which saw a lot of paying fans frustrated with the queue's into the stadium, Wales wrote the same story against the Wallabies as they have for nearly a decade. Close, showed promise, but ultimately undone by a few killer blows. In reality, there wasn't a large amount of hope for a home win going into the match, many supporters looking instead for a decent performance under a new style, and it is what they got. Despite this, it is another loss - twelfth in a row against the men in gold - and performances need to turn into results quickly if the World Cup is the objective. Below are five topics of conversation from the game.

Double Pivot System

Owen Williams seemed at home in the Welsh midfield.
Given enough time he could be crucial come 2019.

It was the big talking point going into the game. Owen Williams selected at twelve, so long the jersey for the bruising straight running Jamie Roberts, instead gone to a thinking, passing playmaker. Ironically Australia turned up with the big ball carriers in centre, hoping to question the lighter Williams in defence.

Did the system work? In a nutshell yes. It granted Wales the ability to play with width, and get on the outside of the Australian defence, especially in the middle third of the park. The passing skills shown by Owen Williams especially the ability to move the ball quickly under pressure showed why he was selected. But really those hands could have been provided by Scott Williams - or even Roberts himself - what Williams provided as another player who can look up, read the defence and look for the weaknesses. The nature of rugby today means the fly-half no longer can be expected to read the whole defence, there simply isn't enough time with blitz defences, having a second pair of eyes further out allows holes in the wider channel to be spotted and exploited.

Was it perfect? No, obviously, it was the first time Wales had played with this structure and it was never going to click instantly. On occasion, there was still a lack of a decent screen behind which the second pivot could operate. Additionally, after making the breaks in the middle third, in the red zone, Wales once again looked inept out wide. Only this time instead of battering down the 12 channel repeatedly, they seemed to fling passes and hoping something would happen. This issue could

Will the system work better with North's physicality?

possibly be fixed by the return of the likes of Moriarty or North who can add a physical, hard line down the centre channel, which will fix defences allowing the width to be exploited on the try line. It will be interesting to see what team is Gatland's first choice with everyone fit.

Rookie Players Step Up

No Roberts, no Warburton, no Tipuric, no North, no Webb. There was something of a notable injury list for Wales heading into the game, which meant plenty of inexperienced players got a chance to prove they can step up. Navidi at 7, Owen Williams already mentioned and Stefan Evans the notable three. The question was could they take their consistently excellent form at a regional level up to the Test stage, and overall yeh they kinda did.

Navidi has added another option in the
backrow to Gatland's resources.

Navidi especially can be pleased, a few years ago when he was storming around for the Cardiff Blues Gatland questioned whether he was big enough for Test rugby, after Saturday's performance I think we can agree he definitely is. Regularly made ground, and showed up very well in the wider channels, as Wales will ask from their 7's in the new game. On the other flank Shingler returned to the red of Wales looking like he'd never left, a regular target in the lineout and did all the graft needed from the blindside, Wales' strength in depth in the back row is formidable now. Meanwhile out on the wing at best it was a mixed day for Steff Evans, once outstanding finish against two covering defenders, and often beating the first tackler in open player, combined with a number of handling errors and guilty of being ripped by Beale in the play of the match. None the less he looked ready to be a consistent fixture on the wing, and what happens when North returns will be very interesting. 

From the bench the likes of Leon Brown, Sam Cross, and Owen Watkin all showed up decently in their five-minute cameos, Watkin deserves a special mention for triggering a line break which lead to Hallam Amos' try at the death. 

Kick Off Nightmares

Now referred to as the "third set piece" it was rather shocking to see how clunky and disappointing the Welsh were on the restarts. With alarming regularity, they were unable to clear their lines and gifted Australia great territory and possession. Which put them right back under pressure after pulling themselves back into contention on the scoreboard. All in all in meant Wales could never really get any momentum in the game and double up on scores. In fact in the first half, from poor restart control, Australia were able to score two tries with minimal effort. 

Davies is used often by Wales during
their exit strategies.

Throughout the game Bernard Foley was targetting Jonathan Davies with his kicks, aiming to get what they sort as the danger man out of the game. If Davies catches and gets tackled Wales lose their left-footed kick to touch. It was obvious, so why didn't Wales realise this and adapt. Move Davies around a bit test Foley's thinking and ability. Or leave him where he is and get the players around him to secure the ball and clear your lines. At least twice the ball was coughed up at the breakdown just from not looking after the ball for Gareth Davies. It was a number of basic things you'd expect professional players to do, that wasn' there for the men in red. Against Georgia, they will need to sort it out, because if they keep the Georgians in the match then that result could go anywhere.

Handling Errors and Retaining Possession

Honestly handling errors have been an ever-present thing with Wales for a few years now. Something that creeps up often and why players aren't turning up to the international camps with the basic handling skills expected. Things have improved overall but with this new style focused on passing the ball wide, it was bound to appear again. Saturday showed that all the players - even props and second rows - have the ability to pass the ball under pressure, which is great and can only help the attack. However far too often players were guilty of trying to get one too many passes in. 

Gareth Davies crucially held possession after
 making a break by himself.

I lost count of the number of times Wales would successfully manage to get outside the defence and the player with the ball would fling a wild pass as they got brought down. It was frustrating as a fan, can't imagine how much it annoyed Rob Howley. With how often Wales were able to make twenty or thirty-yard breaks in the outside channels, they needed to realise being tackled and forming a ruck wasn't the end of the world. Recycle the ball, and go again against a retreating defence. Two things are going to have happened. Either the defence has all be sucked in scrambling to bring down the line break, and so there is, even more, space on the opposite wing. Or the defence hasn't made it back to defend the breakdown and your close support and make a big burst down the same flank.

You don't need to score off every line break instantly, just look at the Steff Evans try. Gareth Davies made a great break off the lineout and held on to the ball when brought down in the 22. From the ensuing ruck, the ball was passed to a forward pod who heard the call from the fly-half to tip it on. At this point the defence had been fixed by the forwards and some slick hands in the backline put Evans over in the corner. More of that and Wales could have scored a couple more tries.

Yellow Card Sins

What is it about Wales and a complete inability to make one man advantages count? Especially against Australia? It is becoming a huge worry that Wales can't find the extra space left by a missing player. Two years ago it was two men off and Wales still couldn't score. This time it was captain and talisman Michael Hooper who was shown the yellow. Wales should have had the extra power in the pack, less to deal with at the breakdown, and a notable defender was off the pitch. So despite being camped on the Australia line with a succession of scrums, mauls, and phases, they couldn't find a way over. 

Hallam Amos pulls off a spectacular finish in the corner
to give Wales a little hope.
 (Huw Evans)

As discussed before the backline seemed to struggle with fixing the defence in narrow to find any decent space out wide. Instead, resorting to long passes with an attached hope that someone wider out would find the space to get over. A change in method from two years ago, but the same result yielded. Eventually, the try did come, but Hooper was actually back on the field in time to witness Hallam Amos' spectacular finish in the corner (something Shane Williams would have been proud of). When it comes to red-zone try scoring Wales still look as limp as ever, but I think it could be improved upon with the return of North to the backline. With his physicality down the 10-12 channel off the wing as an option for Biggar or Owen Williams, it will fix the defence and allow space outside to be found. That, or the defence will drift a little too much and the 17 stone powerhouse from Northampton will dive underneath the posts.

Overall plenty of positives for Wales to take into Georgia next weekend, and the rest of the Autumn, but still plenty which needs work as well.

Where do the Home Nations stand?

After a truly majestic series in New Zealand, the Lions are in good shape for the foreseeable future. Fans, players, coaches, and pundits all are celebrating the success of the Lions and what it means for World Rugby, so it seems that the incessant talk about the "death" of the Lions should be put to rest and the suits in the boardrooms accept that it should remain in place and be given a priority.

With the tour over focus shifts back to the four home nations. The coaches will all have kept a close eye on the Lions tour, looking for individual player performances, useful tactical approaches which worked, and any other areas which spark a thought. So what questions has the tour posed each of them?

The series ended all square, as the greatest in the world shared the trophy. Was truly one of the greatest series' ever.