Warren Gatland has named an experimental line-up for Wales’ first World Cup warm-up game against Ireland this weekend, selecting a mixture of experience and youth as he attempts to whittle down his squad and ascertain which players cut the mustard.
There are four debutants amongst the starting XV, with centre Tyler Morgan, wing Eli Walker, lock Dom Day and flanker Ross Moriarty all getting a chance to prove themselves in a Wales shirt ahead of the World Cup later this year.
Scott Williams captains the side from inside centre, with Justin Tipuric named as vice captain on the openside flank. Other familiar faces include experienced half-back duo Mike Phillips and James Hook, winger Alex Cuthbert, hooker Richard Hibbard and lock Jake Ball.
On the bench, Gareth Anscombe has the chance to win his first Wales cap since moving to Cardiff from the Chiefs in New Zealand, while teammate Kristian Dacey could also make his international debut.
“Saturday is a real opportunity for these players to put their hand up,” said Gatland. “We have been really impressed over the last few weeks, we have put the players under a lot of pressure and they have responded really well.
“Today is their opportunity to show what they can do on the international stage. We have the right blend of youth and experience and it’s all about grasping the chance at this level. It’s going to be a huge occasion, Ireland coming to town, a packed Millennium Stadium and players with everything to play for.”
WALES TEAM TO PLAY IRELAND:
15. Hallam Amos (Newport Gwent Dragons), 14. Alex Cuthbert (Cardiff Blues), 13. Tyler Morgan (Newport Gwent Dragons), 12. Scott Williams (Scarlets, CAPT), 11. Eli Walker (Ospreys), 10. James Hook (Gloucester Rugby), 9. Mike Phillips (Racing Metro); 1. Nicky Smith (Ospreys), 2. Richard Hibbard (Gloucester), 3. Aaron Jarvis (Ospreys), 4. Jake Ball (Scarlets), 5. Dominic Day (Bath Rugby), 6. Ross Moriarty (Gloucester Rugby), 7. Justin Tipuric (Ospreys, Vice-CAPT), 8. Dan Baker (Ospreys).
Replacements: 16. Rob Evans (Scarlets), 17. Kristian Dacey (Cardiff Blues), 18. Scott Andrews (Cardiff Blues), 19. James King (Ospreys), 20. Taulupe Faletau (Newport Gwent Dragons), 21. Lloyd Williams (Cardiff Blues), 22. Gareth Anscombe (Cardiff Blues), 23. Matthew Morgan (Bristol Rugby)
Mmmm. Dunno about this. Such an experimental team, @ this late stage!
Always liked Tuperic & Hook & think both ought to have had more game time, but what is the point of most of the rest, who’ve not played together before, being thrown into a psychologically important pre WC match?
If Ireland do likewise, ok, but I doubt Joe Schmidt will be so cavalier with his picks. I expect he’ll look to win & surely go for a team to do just that.
England are likewise picking an experimental side for their first warm up, with Burgess and Slade in the centres, according to reports. I think maybe coaches are using the first match to help them make the decision of who to cull ahead of the deadline to finalise the official 31.
I don’t think this too unusual though. If I recall in 03, France and England agreed to play a second team against the other’s first team in reciprocal fixtures. Embarrassingly for France, England’s seconds came very close to beating the French first 15 in Paris. Oh those were the days…
I gather that Gatland’s struggling for props, so can understand some experimentation here, but he ought to know his best 31 by now. Should swallow his pride & ring Adam Jones yesterday IMO. The WC is no place for novice fr. rowers.
Likewise, with England. Surely Lancaster ought to know his best 31, but he’s still mucking around with Burgess @ centre?!
Also, as I understand from a recent TV interview, he only regards Cipriani as 3rd choice fly1/2 & as potential f/back cover!? WHAT?
Ford looked looked embryonic v Saracens when he kicked 3 consecutively & long down their throats when his team needed TRIES late in the game. And I doubt that the elephant kneeling on his chest is going to get any lighter during the WC. Lancaster must still think Farrell will bail him if Ford becomes indisposed.
In any event, surely teams ought to put down WC markers in these games & go all out to down the opposition by as big a scores as possible. Fiddling & burning, in the guise of experimentation though, seems to be the order of the day.
Don, all teams will be rotating in these early warm-up games – NZ included (see first caps given to Broadhurst, Sopoaga, Milner-Skudder, Naholo). It’s a chance for fringe players to stake their claim for a squad place. No doubt Gatland and Lancaster both have the majority of their starting XVs in mind, but still need to decide on a few of the final squad spots. The closer we get to the RWC, the closer they will get to naming their first choice teams (see Aus, NZ & SA this weekend).
The other thing to consider are injuries/burnout. A run to the final means 2 solid months of knockout rugby – if you start your first XV from now until then, that’s 3 months – which would be madness, almost begging for several injuries.
As for Ford, he’s proved on more than enough occasions that he can handle the big games (see 6N for reference). He didn’t have his best game in the Prem final but neither did many of the Bath players – you can’t make an argument based on that game alone. Cipriani is certainly a long, long way from Mr. Consistent when it comes to the biggest occasions (which, incidentally, he has mostly missed during his time at Sale). Farrell has been there and done it but he’s not the right man for all occasions.
Surely you miss the point. With NZ for instance, Hansen has only played or rotated 2 or 3 ‘newer’ guys in an established AB team per game. Sure he, like others, has chucked on the reserves before the end, but that ain’t ‘experimenting’ wholesale just over a mth out from the WC in the hope of seeing who floats to the top… or pinning the tail on to the donkey, more like.
Regds injuries, these happen anyway. Recall NZ’s fly 1/2s DURING last WC? Besides, Hansen’s already ‘mothballed’ DC & Ritchie to an extent. Rotation rather than resting is a better option if you’re concerned about burn-out/injuries, otherwise you risk yr team being underdone as opposed to battle hardened/ready methinks.
The point with Ford is that, IMO, he can’t do anything that Cip can’t. And with the acid test, the 1 that REALLY mattered, the Prem final, boy wonder went AWOL. It’s not a 1 off, it’s a character flaw. His kicking, as aforementioned, when the ONLY option was to retain & recycle (as per the ABs v Ireland last up), showed that when he had to make the RIGHT choice, he made the wrong one!
Yr opinion though is typically English I think.
Not sure what you mean by that exactly, but I’m Scottish anyway.
Well, yr view that the SH’s & NH’s ‘experimenting’ is the same. I’ve pointed out that Hansen, e.g., has used a couple of ‘new’ guys per game as opposed to the NH’s more ‘wholesale’ approach (Ireland apart perhaps. JS went for the WIN 1st!).
In respect of Ford, the proof you still seem to require will be likely revealed in only arena that matters, the Int’al one of the WC. He’s a decent club player, so far. For me he’s ok for England when his pack’s on top (like most are), but Saracens exposed a character flaw (in his – muddled – thinking; as per Robshaw prev with his going/not going for goal/try) when under sustained pressure.
I didn’t know you are Scottish, but couldn’t that mean that you’ve been ‘conditioned’ by English, or if you prefer, British, thinking about rugby?
Interesting selection. Warren Gatland is trying to generate competition within the sqaud of 47 players before naming his final World Cup 2015 squad of 31.
With Liam Williams recovering from surgery to his foot, it is good to see Hallam Amos getting a run a full back. Similarly with Tyler Morgan at outside centre. These two young players are future test players.
Richard Hibbard is a player who needs match practice. Hibbard is not guaranteed a starting place in the Welsh test team. He faces stiff competition from Scott Baldwin and Ken Owens.
There has been plenty of talk in the media about Ross Moriarty and Dan Baker. I would expect one of these players to make the squad of 31 for the World Cup. Taulupe Faletau aside Dan Baker is the only other recognized No. 8 in the Welsh training squad.
With Samson Lee’s participation in the world cup in some doubt, Warren Gatland will use the warm up matches to gauge the form of Aaron Jarvis, Thomas Francis, and Scott Andrews. Aaron Jarvis struggled in the later stages of the 2015 6 Nations at scrum time. Scott Andrews is not renowned for his scrummaging ability. Jarvis and Andrews will need to put a strong performance in at the weekend against Ireland, to put their hands up for final selection.
Overall I believe Warren Gatland will be more concerned about player performance than the overall result on Saturday against Ireland. The starting 15 and the replacements bench know that a poor performance will diminish their selection chances.