There were few surprises during Warren Gatland’s Wales team announcement at lunchtime today. George North moves back to the wing, following Liam Williams tournament-ending injury last weekend, with Tyler Morgan slotting in at centre. Justin Tipuric dropped to the bench with Dan Lydiate taking his place, meaning captain Sam Warburton reverted to 7. Finally, Paul James makes way for Gethin Jenkins at loose head prop.
Why were there few surprises? The coach said prior to the Australia game that Jenkins and Lydiate would play this weekend, and owing to the management’s obvious mistrust of the mercurial James Hook, it was unlikely that North would remain at 13 and Morgan is another “last man standing” in his position.
Harsh Words
For many, owing to the extensive list of injuries sustained by Wales, the team have done a remarkable job to get this far. However, it was revealed today that even in this context, no punches had been pulled in the debrief this week.
“… we have been really hard on the players in terms of making the right decisions at this level. Part of our whole preparation, with the physical work we have done, has been making decisions under pressure and making the right decisions under fatigue.” – Warren Gatland
Whatever the injuries, players that aspire to play at this level, are required to display a reasonable grasp of the basic skills that are second nature to many in other countries, especially the Southern Hemisphere ones. Last Saturday, with Australia down to 13 men for 7 minutes, Wales were sadly lacking in this department.
Two of the players who apparently felt the ire of the coaches were Jamie Roberts and Taulupe Faletau. Both were guilty of making the wrong decisions. These aren’t young pups in International terms, they are both British Lions, tour winning ones at that, against the same opposition.
The issue now is whether this side have it in them to step up another level in this weekend’s game—because that is exactly what they will need to do to progress to the semi-final stage.
Victors in the Autumn
One of the positives that stand in Wales’ favour is that Wales actually beat South Africa last November—only their second win against Southern Hemisphere opposition under the current regime. Much has been made of this recently, and it will certainly be in Wales’ minds when they take to the Twickenham turf once again this weekend.
Indeed, the pack only sees one change this weekend to the one that started that game—Luke Charteris instead of Jake Ball. On that particular day, the Welsh forwards lived with their South African counterparts, even disrupting a Springbok 5m scrum in the dying moments to seal a momentous 12-6 victory.
It’s in the backs that Wales may suffer. The inexperience of Anscombe and Morgan will surely be targeted, so defensively the team must be at it’s best. But again, it’s with the ball in hand that Wales will need to show some nous and accuracy. It’s not necessarily the case that Wales will need to score tries aplenty, but this South African side aren’t as good as they have been in the past. It would certainly be a bonus for them to actually apply some pressure on the scoreboard to really test an aging group of players, and should the unthinkable happen and they win the game, actually make future opponents sit up and take notice.
Gatland’s Legacy
It’s time then, if all the bravado this week about going one better this time is to be taken seriously, for this group of players to produce the goods once again. Warren Gatland has been in charge of this team for 7 years now. In that time he has shown he is capable of lifting this Wales team to be the best in Europe. However, he has also shown that he is unable to lift them to any great heights against the big three teams.
All the social media chatter has focussed on the achievement of qualifying out of the group owing to the injury list, and many have been defensive about any criticism of the team in light of this. However, that is a smokescreen in many ways. There is still a huge amount of experience to call on, Wales have still underachieved in terms of performance.
The game last weekend was eminently winnable—even with the depleted playing resources available. Defeat last week was regrettable, but Wales knew they were still in the tournament. This weekend, it genuinely is, in polite parlance, do or die. Those players who take the field have to prove that the time and resources invested in them have all been worthwhile.
It’s the coach’s job to prepare them properly, to ensure they truly believe they are worthy of a position in the last 8 of the tournament and to give them the freedom to express themselves so that the time they have spent together is not proved to have been a total waste of time and money.
If Wales fail this weekend, all the talk from the coaches, the limited approach they have taken in terms of game plan and the reputation that Gatland has garnered here in Wales as a “great coach” will be proven very hollow. As Gatland himself admitted, the approach to training they have adopted was taken to ensure that moments like last Saturday were not lost in the heat of battle.
It won’t be “gallant failure” if Wales lose. If there is any intellectual honesty in the fans and pundits here in Wales, a defeat should put Gatland and Co. under severe pressure. It should also place those players who have worn the jersey for many years under the same scrutiny. So far Wales haven’t been fortunate to qualify. However, they have only done half a job. Reputations and careers rest on the result this weekend. No excuses, this is the big one. The team’s destiny is in their own hands. The question is can the set-up make the grade?
Wales team to face South Africa:
Gareth Anscombe (Cardiff Blues), Alex Cuthbert (Cardiff Blues), Tyler Morgan (Newport Gwent Dragons), Jamie Roberts (Harlequins), George North (Northampton Saints), Dan Biggar (Ospreys), Gareth Davies (Scarlets), Gethin Jenkins (Cardiff Blues), Scott Baldwin (Ospreys), Samson Lee (Scarlets), Luke Charteris (Racing 92), Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys), Dan Lydiate (Ospreys), Sam Warburton (Capt) (Cardiff Blues), Taulupe Faletau (Newport Gwent Dragons).
Replacements: Ken Owens (Scarlets), Paul James (Ospreys), Tomas Francis (Exeter Chiefs), Bradley Davies (Wasps), Justin Tipuric (Ospreys), Lloyd Williams (Cardiff Blues), Rhys Priestland (Bath Rugby), James Hook (Gloucester Rugby).
