Wales need to start getting some self belief that they can take the Boks on up front. This is the basis to defeat any Bok team. If you start with the belief you cannot do it because they are HUGE, you have already lost the war.
Stretching the game as Pablito suggests is a tacit acceptance you cannot front up in the tight five and that a mere holding job there is best. This notion that stretching the game is going to wear out the Bok tight five is fools gold in my view. Look at how athletic those guys in that tight 5 are. If Flip van der Merwe who is probably the only one who is not athletic struggles they bring on PSdT.
Wales have lost every encounter barring the 99 win because they cannot dominate the tight 5 exchanges for 80 minutes. I’m not calling for a grinding forward game. I’m calling for the tight five to dominate the exchanges and give the rest a chance to play ball. Start by stopping every single attempt at a driving maul and you are halfway there.
]]>Whilst they do need to be aggressive in defence, in attack they need the forwards to equal the massive SA bunch at the breakdown, giving Philips the chance to get the ball away quickly and Priestland the chance to distribute the ball to his centres and back three
The more they can stretch the SA forwards and bring Ha’Penny and North into the game, the more chance they have of winning
That said, as Jay points out, it will take a huge forward effort from Wales to equal the SA forwards throughout the entire game.
If you could ally the Welsh backs to the SA forwards (+ Lydiate and Adam Jones) you’d have a hell of a team
]]>Also, you want Wales to take SA on up front? Isn’t the exact opposite of what any sane person would do against the Boks? They are HUGE! That back row is massive and bringing the game in tight will be brutal.
]]>You cannot buy experience. McCaw proved that when he played the full 80+ mins in the last Bok game. These guys have tons of experience, should be fresh and should not slip up.
This backline will be a lot more solid defensively than the one which played against the ABs. Also Lambie and Steyn are interchangeable at FH depending on the field position and expected play. Wales may just have a few problems given that this backline will play and defend differently to the one which played in the RC.
Wales best chance here is to put together a 82 minutes forward display which takes the SA backs out of the equation. Lastly the bench is a lot more flexible than the one which played the ABs last. If Habana is injured, there is proper wing replacement. In my view this backline looks a lot more solid than anything that was put out on in the RC.
]]>Chris Farley – http://i803.photobucket.com/albums/yy320/CelebuzzEditorial/Colin/Chris_Farley2.jpg
Adriaan Strauss – http://www.ilovethespringboks.co.za/strauss-the-next-bok-captain-drotske/
they must be related
That Oosthuizen looks like a right handful though!
]]>Shame Le Roux isn’t starting. He’s a fantastic runner
]]>Who is covering tighthead from the bench? Thought both of those guys were loosehead (though Osthuizen looks to be the size of an entire front row on his own)
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