Gatland's squad full of talent

So with a little over two weeks to go, Gatland has announced his final 31-man world cup party, and his team to face Italy on the weekend. After last weekends performance against (at the time) the 2nd best team in the world - Ireland - Wales controlled the game, and were deserving winners.

Roberts brought attacking threat
and defence solidity

It was a different Wales team to the one so easily beaten by the Irish at the Millennium Stadium. Showcased from the off with a ferocious blitz defence, trademark of Shaun Edwards, lead by the experienced Jamie Roberts forcing the Irish kickers into uncharacteristic mistakes. It wasn't infallible as a defensive system with Sexton on a couple of occasions able to sweep around the "outside-in" defence, but on the whole it was a defence back to Wales at their best. In attack Wales showcased a powerful driving maul, although it utilised the large bodies of North and Roberts to provide extra ballast, which could be a concern for the Australians especially at the world cup, and will have England thinking about it. The scrum which had crumbled woefully weeks previously, became stable, if not a weapon with the introduction of test newbie Tomas Francis. There was one concerning moment with the last scrum of the first half, but that is likely down to Francis lacking test match fitness and was likely extremely tired. Wales also showed some thrusts of attacking intent generally focused around Scott Williams and Justin Tipuric providing the line breaking play.

William's aerial ability was missed

The Welsh kicking game lacked it's potency that it displayed in the 6 Nations, but that was partially down to the Kearney brothers having an amazing day in the air. Also Wales seemed to missing having the self made "bomb diffuser" of Liam Williams in the line up, Alex Cuthbert yet again not proving why he deserves a test starting place, although he did little wrong he did little right either. Other than that Wales' first choice team proved their effectiveness, resolving the breakdown ball retention issue from the first game with strong ball carrying and the hard work of Lydiate and Faletau.

So after Wales recorded their second win of the year against Ireland, Gatland announced his final squad to the World Cup. There were some shocks in the squad, primarily in the exclusion of Anscombe who after an assured test début (from the bench) looked close to certain to being in the squad. Apparently he picked up an ankle injury and Gatland didn't want to head into the World Cup

Samson Lee looks set to make the start of the tournament

with too many injuries. Speaking of which Samson Lee and Liam Williams both made the squad, despite both having had no game time, but both seem crucial to the Wales team and made it in based on previous merit. This decision has been vindicated with news this afternoon, with news that Lee is finally taking part in full training, and Williams is expected to be fully involved next week. The other selection "shock" was Wales selecting 5 locks, plus James King offering a 6th option. The news from the coaching staff is this decision was made because a couple of the lock forwards are carrying niggles and they believe the engine room will be a crucial part of the World Cup. This has lead to Wales sacrificing the third "reserve" hooker from the squad, while statistically this seems like a good call, with most third choice hookers getting maybe 20 minutes of game time during the entire tournament, it could be a decision which bites them in the arse. If one - or both - of the selected hookers (Baldwin and Owens) were to get injured less than 48 hours before game time, Wales could face a points deduction for playing a game without a hooker. It's a big decision which could either pay off with fitness levels of locks remaining high throughout the tournament, or cost them progressing from the pool stages.

The backs selection was largely expected with those left after the initial cull. Other than Anscombe's injury loss, the only other unexpected twist was Tyler Morgan missing out to Cory Allen. The news

Allen (left) makes the squad over Morgan (right)

eventually came out that Morgan had missed a week of training which had allowed his team mate to over take him in the pecking order, although at such a young age (and with a central contract) Morgan has a large future ahead of him as a back up to Jonathan Davies. I think perhaps Eli Walker was unlucky to miss out on the final squad, he did very little wrong in his first ever test and showed glimpses of his lethal attacking too, and arguably did more than Cuthbert in that game. Yet Gatland's faith in the test Lion remained, promising that Cuthbert would rediscover the form which saw him become such a prolific finisher for Wales. The most exciting selection, without a doubt, was the Bristol fly-half Matthew Morgan. Viewed as a fullback by the Welsh management, for his game breaking ability. In his brief appearances in a Wales shirt he has showed his ability to unlock defences and get the attacking going, it reminds me of the great Shane Williams.

Overall it's a very strong squad put together by Gatland, he has been helped by injuries being kept at a minimum, other than Jonathan Davies everyone was available for selection. The squad contains a core of highly experienced players who have both played in previous World Cups, won the 6 Nations and competed in a Lions Tour, while still being a young team with most players around the mid-twenties.

Wales World Cup Squad
Backs: L Halfpenny, L Williams, M Morgan, G North, H Amos, A Cuthbert, C Allen, J Roberts, S Williams, D Biggar, R Priestland, R Webb, G Davies, L Williams
Forwards: G Jenkins, P James, K Owens, S Baldwin, S Lee, T Francis, A Jarvis, AW Jones, B Davies, J Ball, L Charteris, D Day, J King, J Tipuric, S Warburton, D Lydiate, T Faletau

Morgan to impress from bench

Before the World Cup starts, Wales have one more game to play, facing Italy on Saturday at the Millenium Stadium at 17:00. Gatland announced the team today, the team focused on giving the majority of the first choice players another run out, to keep them building towards their best. With Cuthbert getting another chance to find his form and Warburton getting his first run out of the season. Cory Allen gets a chance to show why he made the squad, alongside Scott Williams who starts for the third game in a row. In the engine room, Ball and Day get a chance to fight for the match day 23 come the big games, and Tomas Francis starts again probably with the idea of improving his test-match fitness. The same front row starts this week as last week, with Ken Owens getting another opportunity to show his ability as a starting hooker, and remove his "impact sub" tag.



There is a small disappointment that Matthew Morgan doesn't get the chance to impress from the
kickoff, but he makes the bench and is likely to get a good run out during the game. The bench also includes Kristian Dacey and Ross Moriarty despite neither being involved in the final party, probably so that they both remain at test match intensity in case they are needed to be called up to the World Cup.

Wales Team vs. Italy
Backs: L Halfpenny, A Cuthbert, C Allen, S Williams, G North, D Biggar, R Webb
Forwards: G Jenkins, K Owens, T Francis, J Ball, D Day, J King, S Warburton, T Faletau
Replacements: K Dacey, P James, A Jarvis, L Charteris, R Moriarty, G Davies, R Priestland, M Morgan

Prediction Wales by 15

ESPN Fantasy League is BACK!

So after four years of training, practising, and honing skills now is the crunch time. That's right it's fantasy league time. ESPN have released their new updated system for the 2015 World Cup, and the Tackle Pad has it's own league for any one who wants to test their mettle.

The rules are slightly more complex with this new version. During the group stages you are only permitted 3 players from each nation, which increases to 5 during the knock-out stages. Unlimited transfers are allowed until the first kick off (England vs Fiji at 20:00 18th September); a total of 15 transfers allowed during the group stages; and an additional 10 transfers can be made during the knock-out groups. It's also important to note you can only change your kicker on three occasions, unless you transferred your previous kicker that day.

The scoring system has introduced two new scoring methods, an additional point for 10 tackles made, and another for a total of 50 meters carried in the game. Suddenly blind-side flankers, and fullbacks have much more selection worth.

So if you think of yourself as a expert team selector or tactician. sign up to the Tackle Pad League using league code:

1114626-1167 (Tackle Pad League)

In fact we are running two leagues for the world cup. Just to keep things interesting, we're opening up a "Minnows League". Designed specifically for the players to pick a team made of the lesser nations, it involves much more skill and thought process where are the tries going to come from? To compete in this league you must simply avoid selecting players from any of these nations:
New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, England, Wales, Ireland, and France (ie the top 7 teams in the world).
Once the knockout stages are reached this league will become difficult, at which point the rules may be relaxed.
To really challenge yourself use the league code:

1114626-1212 (Tackle Pad Minnows)

Good luck to everyone involved!

England's inconsistency creates more questions

Will England miss the Bath flyer?

England's build up to their home World Cup has been a confusing one for fans. It started off with the coaching staff making some big name cuts from the training squad, with a large number of wingers removed. In fact the current England squad has none of the top 7 English qualified try scorers from last seasons Aviva Premiership. This raises the question of where does Lancaster see his tries coming from? Is he going to depend on his forwards to produce the five-pointers, or the magic of Ford to create something rather than his wingers? It could be a risky outlook to take heading into a World Cup pool with an Australia team famed for their attacking intent, a Fijian side who include the try scoring - giant - magcian Nandolo, and a Welsh backline containing the much feared George North and maverick Liam Williams. Maybe with the electric Jonathan Joseph in the 13 shirt, they should be able to compensate but lacking the prolific try scorers out-wide could cost them in the long run. In fact they currently only possess two true wingers in their squad (Jonny May and Jack Nowell), while Anthony Watson has proved highly effective at wing rather than his preferred full-back selection. The risk extends to also include injuries, so England not only potentially's lack quality, but also quantity. When you look at the names who have been removed from the England squad: Rokoduguni, Yarde, and Wade are perhaps the standout quality wingers missing. All have test experience and are proven finishers as well as having the ability to create opportunities for those around them.

Burgess and Slade were effective in the 1st game

After the eye-brow raising squad exclusions England faced a double header against France. As expected the first game was seen as a chance to give those players fighting for a place in the final squad a run out. Sam Burgess was given a debut alongside Henry Slade in the centres and it proved to be an excellent selection choice. While Burgess had proven his credentials more as a flanker than a
centre, his strong ball carrying and good pair of hands allowed the England backline to make some excellent opportunities. And considering no other player has really laid claim to the 12 shirt in a long time, he could be within a shout of starting at the World Cup. Slade too had an excellent game at outside centre, with his excellent passing ability, and left footed kicking option, he brings something that has been missing from the England back-line recently. England have lacked the ability to unlock a defence, maybe having a second play-maker on the field could make a difference and properly utilise the likes of Joseph and Nowell out wide. Although perhaps defensively it may not provide the rigidity liked by most Northern Hemisphere sides. Speaking of which there was one excellent first-phase move execute by the backline, running off a lineout and a fantastic faux-crash by Burgess, May was given the chance to use his pace and work around the drifting French defence, before completing a text-book 2-on-1 to send Watson in at the corner. It was a real warning signal to the other teams at just what the England backline is possible of. Overall the first game proved a worthwhile match for a lot of the players, and although some inevitable rust was apparent England came through the game with a win, and while not convincing in their victory didn't look like they were going to lose either against a similarly rusty France side.

Without Hartley, can Youngs provide good lineout ball?

It was the second run out for the men in white that was perhaps the more interesting result. Team selection looked pretty much like a first choice team, except maybe perhaps at inside centre where no one has truly claimed the shirt. But with the likes of Robshaw, Lawes, Cole, Ford, Joseph and Brown all lining up it was a chance to see where England were heading into the World Cup. It's safe to say it didn't exactly go to plan. Compared to the last time this England team ran out - looking back at the 6 Nations now - they seemed to lack an element of control. Especially in the forwards, Tom Youngs
while excellent in the loose, lacked the accuracy at line out time, which prevented England gaining any significant foot-hold in the game. This problem was exacerbated by an under-pressure scrum that crumbled more than once. Both of these are going to worry coaches, players and fans alike, after all England have always prided themselves on their set piece, and used it as a powerful weapon. While none of the teams in their World Cup pool possess a fearsome scrum, it does perhaps mean that the coaches will have to rethink their tactics if they don't have a dominant scrum anymore. Especially since Australia have now found at least a stable scrummaging platform, and the last time the two faced it was the number one reason England cruised to victory last November.

Away from the set piece, England also struggled at the break down for the majority of the game, the pack was unable to slow the French possession down, and whenever they attempted to slow it down it often lead to a penalty. The English back-row especially failed to really get into the game, Vunipola made some strong carries, but nothing of note and tried some ill-advised off loads, meanwhile
Robshaw was pretty quiet and Haskell didn't make much impact at the contact area. This is an area of major concern, it's the antithesis of the scrummaging issue, with both Wales and Australia possessing fearsome back-rowers, and both teams also at least investigating the possibility of playing two openside flankers. With England lacking any "true" number 7, looking after possession and maintaining tempo around the park could prove to be difficult.

Is the breakdown an issue?

The England backs had a slightly better game than their forwards, although with limited ball they struggled to achieve much more than the occasional threat. Luther Burrell looked ineffective and
didn't really prove himself above any of the other inside centre options, while Jack Nowell worked hard around the park and has perhaps nailed down the test shirt more than either of his winger compatriots.

The substitutes were perhaps the most impressive players for England in Paris, with Nick Easter and Danny Care providing good go-forward ball which brought the England attack to life. The last ten minutes was an England team in full flow, and while perhaps it was a similar case of a team who knew the win was theirs slacking off a little near the end, the true threat was realised. Danny Cipriani took his final chance to impress well, bringing some creative flair to the backline and finishing the game with a try to boot. Although it could be too little too late for the Sale player to worm his way into the 31, with Brown and Goode ahead of him, and then Anthony Watson providing yet more cover at fullback.

Did Cipriani do enough to get into the final squad?

There is still one more game left for people to fight for the numbers 1-15, although by the time the Irish come to Twickenham, the final 31-man party will have been announced (Thursday 27/08), so those outsider options have had their last chance to change Lancaster's mind. The England team isn't looking like a world beater at the minute, but there are the makings of a championship winning team, and the Twickenham crowd will add a lot to the bargain too. There are a lot of questions still to be asked, and not a lot of time to answer them, the pool of death is looking tighter than ever.