This week, much of the talk surrounding this, the first of three Internationals, centred round the perceived lack of actual rugby work done as preparation. Plenty of sweat, little or no sign that the players involved had been honing their rugby skills, rather than improving muscle size and lung capacity.
Fundamentally, those worries were well-founded. Although this was a scratch side, selected to play a similarly scratch Ireland, the difference in ability, cohesion, quality, and yes, even match fitness was remarkable.
Thirty five minutes into this game, with Ireland twenty five points up, the game was over, and Ireland were able to take their foot off the gas and coast for the rest of the game. It was noticeable that the pillars of Wales’ game had somehow disappeared down the Taff.
There was no line-speed in defence, there was no continuity and there was no sign that the majority of players involved really wanted to give the coaches a real nudge for selection. Three tries from the outstanding Heaslip, Cave and Earls and two penalties and a conversion from Paddy Jackson demoralised the hosts and the crowd, and left the score at 0-25.
Where was the passion? Where was the similar desire that Ireland displayed to keep hold of the ball, work through the phases and ask questions of the opposition the way Ireland were able to ask questions of us?
Most likely, they were left in the Austrian Tyrol and the desert of Doha, but it was a huge disappointment to see these players not showing any grasp of the basic skills required to be a Test player, and more importantly, make it very hard to leave you out of that final 31 for this year’s World Cup.
There were some stand-out performances. Hallam Amos at full-back, began the game with an excellent, Halfpenny-esque high ball grab, endured a couple of errors following that, and then proceeded to show some real desire to break the gain-line from 15, something that Halfpenny has failed to do at any great length recently.
Eli Walker, showed some desire to beat his man and almost scored a spectacular try from an excellent grubber kick through from centre Hallam Amos. Justin Tipuric was impressive in the loose, but was ineffectual at the contact area – admittedly behind a beaten back.
The vaunted Phillips-Hook axis at half-back was a major let-down. The fact that the combination of Williams and Anscombe, introduced after half time, gave a greater impetus should sound a warning note to these two players. They didn’t cover themselves in any glory whatsoever, and should be worried for their place in the final squad.
I could go on and on with the negatives. The simple fact is that Warren Gatland will be disappointed that very few players performed at the standard required top say they were ready to make that final cull. Was that their fault?
Part of the problem goes back to my opening statement. Not enough proper rugby training has been done in the last couple of months it seems. However, should players with International aspirations display such a perceived lack of ability – many looked like they hadn’t seen a ball for 3 years, not three months!!! Although tries from Hibbard, Tipuric and Cuthbert gave the scoreline a look of respectability, it would be foolish to view the closeness of the result with any positivity.
In the end, the blame needs to lie at the door of the coaches but with some responsibility on the shoulders of the players too. Desperation to get to the World Cup should have seen a better display of basic skills. Not an error free display, but one where the foundations were in greater evidence.
Can this game be consigned to the memory banks now? In some ways I believe it will be, but the perceived lack of strength in depth will be a serious worry for the coaching think tank. There seems to be far better back up for Schmidt than Warren Gatland. But in many ways, Wales’ coaching team only have themselves to blame.
It will be an interesting August and early September for Wales now. The in-house training match next week will be a spiky affair, especially as players are now aware that performances in training are so important for the coaches.
There will be doubts from fans, even some players may be asking questions. But the rest of the time Wales have available to them will be used to rebuild some of the shaken confidence. It is going to be a time where the faith in the side from the fans will be questioned. We don’t really know what is going on behind closed doors, but the players now have the opportunity to display a greater focus.
As I said in my preview, Wales have won or lost nothing right now. But minds will be racing, focus will be sharper and hopefully, with the focus on fitness less sharp now, the next game will offer a little more hope that all the sweat and tears has been worthwile.
