Rugby World Cup - Talking points as Gatland shows his hand
Rookie captains, excluded stars and multiple injury issues leave Wales fans much to think about after Warren Gatland named his 33-man squad for the Rugby World Cup. Flanker Jack Morgan and prostitute Dewey Lake shared the captaincy during the Summer Nations Series and will do so again next month despite their inexperience on the world stage.
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Neither pair of Ospreys have previously played in a Rugby World Cup and have only made 20 caps, but their new status highlights the freshness in the Gatland team. Wales have reached the quarter-finals in each of the three World Cups under the New Zealanders' coach - here we'll look at topics of conversation that are sure to influence their progress this time around.
Lesser-known leaders
Sam Warburton was the surprise choice to lead Wales ahead of the 2011 Rugby World Cup squad, and history appears to be repeating itself 12 years later. An injury to Matthew Rees left Warburton as the youngest ever World Cup captain at just 22, with Morgan and Lake not far behind him in that regard.
As seasoned former captains Alan Wyn Jones, Justin Tipurik and Ken Owens retired from international rugby or withdrew from the game with injuries, the opportunity arose for a new leader or leaders to emerge. Morgan captained Wales in two of the three warm-up games, the first victory against England at Cardiff and the final defeat against South Africa, while Lake captained the team in the return leg against England at Twickenham.
There were also more experienced options such as Dan Lidiate and Adam Byrd who have captaining experience, as well as defenseman George North who scored the most caps, but instead Gatland chose his two youngest stars.
"These are two young players who complement each other well, Gatland said. They are good friends and have a good relationship. This is a good opportunity. This is something I have never done before. They have a great future ahead of them."
Scrum-half surprise
For the first time since 2003, Wales included only two grappling specialists in their World Championship roster. In this case, a striker named Shane Williams was included as the third option for the tournament, behind Duane Peel and Gareth Cooper.
Gareth Davis and Tomos Williams will be in contention for the number 9 shirt this time around, and Kieran Hardy appears to have failed his final audition since starting against South Africa at the weekend. The decision to take just two scrimmage halves provided Gatland with an additional defender among the 14 selected players.
Lee Halfpenny is one of those names and he will be the fifth Welsh player to feature in four World Cups, after Gareth Thomas, Stephen Jones, Gethin Jenkins and Alan Wyn Jones. Explaining his decision, Gatland revealed that it was ultimately a toss-up between the third half of the scrum and an option with three extra defenders.
If we get injured, it's not that far away, Gatland said. From the very beginning, we discussed with the players that the turning point could be whether we take two nines or three tens. There was no certainty that someone would be selected in the squad.
“Probably all this time we were thinking about three nines and we were just looking at some depth of our back three and covering players who are moving forward a bit and whether they can retreat in all games. We just wanted a little more cover in this back three."
Who makes the start line?
The squad may already have been finalized, but Gatland will still have to work hard on the fitness of some of the selected players. He currently has up to seven players recovering from injuries ahead of the first leg against Fiji in Bordeaux on 10 September.
Despite previously stating that challengers must play this month to get on the plane, he broke that policy by including Gareth Anscombe and Taulupe Faletau, who were absent throughout the Summer Nations Series. For more to know about Wales Vs Georgia Tickets.
Skipper Lake and fellow prostitute Ryan Elias were injured during the England game, as was second row Dafyd Jenkins, who is the youngest player on the road team. Jenkins' injury is of particular concern as the only two other blocking specialists are Will Rowlands and Adam Byrd, while hybrid forward Krist Chiunza offers versatility in the second and back row.
Thane Plumtree was included in the Wales training squad on the left but after impressing in training camps in Turkey and Switzerland he was in serious trouble until a shoulder injury against England at Twickenham. Thane is out of luck, Gatland said.
“Over the next few weeks you will probably look at the number of players that will be able to take part in practice and some live sessions. Unfortunately, in this regard, he drew a short straw. I spoke to him this morning and told him to be ready in case the opportunity arises. It was always difficult to decide if we would take him."
Axe wielded
When Gatland called the extended 48-man squad, doomsday was always disappointing. Alex Cuthbert is perhaps the most notorious absentee as he was Gatland's favorite for most of his first reign.
Elsewhere, linebacker Owen Williams started in two Guinness Six Nations games this year but appeared to slip to fourth in the pecking order, while fullback Kai Evans went unnoticed despite making his international debut over the weekend.
Of all the Gatland teams that have competed in the Rugby World Cup, this is the roster with the most caps. But without Alan Wyn Jones and Justin Tipurik, it remains to seen if the next generation of Wales can maintain their strong recent tournament form.
Wales squad for the Rugby World Cup
Forwards (19)
Taine Basham, Adam Beard, Elliot Dee, Corey Domachowski, Ryan Elias, Taulupe Faletau, Tomas Francis, Dafydd Jenkins, Dewi Lake (co-captain), Dillon Lewis, Dan Lydiate, Jac Morgan (co-captain), Tommy Reffell, Will Rowlands, Nicky Smith, Gareth Thomas, Henry Thomas, Christ Tshiunza, Aaron Wainwright
Backs (14)
Josh Adams, Gareth Anscombe, Dan Biggar, Sam Costelow, Gareth Davies, Rio Dyer, Mason Grady, Leigh Halfpenny, George North, Louis Rees-Zammit, Nick Tompkins, Johnny Williams, Liam Williams, Tomos Williams
Rugby World Cup - Why Eddie Jones is confident that young Wallabies are becoming a good team
Australia coach Eddie Jones is confident the Wallabies are still on track to become a good team despite suffering their fifth defeat after as many starts this year. With only a couple of weeks left before the Rugby World Cup on French soil, the Wallabies were hoping it would rain at the Le Bleu parade at the Stade de France on Sunday.
Playing in front of an incredible crowd in the north of Paris, the Wallabies controlled the territorial battle during an exciting debut in the 40s, but failed to turn their attacking pressure into points. Young playmaker Carter Gordon missed the shootout and Les Bleu made the Wallabies pay on the scoreboard. France put on a show and won in a landslide 41–17.
Rugby World Cup: Eddie Jones and the Wallabies
Sometimes in games like this, the scoreboard is always important, don't get me wrong, but we have a bigger goal than in this game, Jones told reporters after the test. As far as what we want to do in the Rugby World Cup and especially in our first game, we probably did a lot of good things, but we need to learn how to convert territory into points better.
We have 63 per cent of the territory in the first half and 16-5 behind at half-time, so it's a good team that can't played against. They are not a bad team, but we are not a good team yet. We are going through the process of becoming a good team. Just need to keep believing, keep working hard, and it will happen. For more to know about Rugby World Cup Tickets.
It could be two weeks against Georgia, it could be three weeks against Fiji, it could be four weeks against Wales, it could be five weeks against Portugal, we don't know when. Under coach Jones, the Wallabies began their new dawn with a heavy loss to World Champions South Africa in Pretoria, opening their campaign for the rugby title.
Navigating Challenges and Embracing Change
This followed by losses on Australian soil to Argentina and New Zealand and finally a heartbreaking loss to archrivals All Blacks in Dunedin earlier this month. At 0-4 under Jones, the coach made some bold changes ahead of the test with France and the Rugby World Cup. There was no place for Michael Hooper and Quaid Cooper in the 33-man Australian team.
The Wallabies went in a new direction by choosing 25 players who had never played in a Rugby World Cup. This young team, of course, showed a promising game against Le Bleu, but will still enter the exhibition rugby tournament with a record of zero wins and five losses. We have enough trust inside the camp, Jones added. Obviously, we would like to have a better result in terms of victories and defeats.
“We have removed all the leadership that was before, we have a new team of leaders, we are trying to play differently, but the results are not very good. I'm not hiding from it, but we have a long-term plan for the Rugby World Cup and that's what we're here for."
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