The Wales team versus All Blacks was announced at 12 midnight on Thursday night, but what do the Welsh think of the selection of some players new and experienced?
Wales Team Versus All Blacks Announced
There are two changes to the Welsh team that started against the All Blacks in the first test. This sees the inclusion of Luke Charteris in place of Bradley Davies and Rhys Patchell comes in for a start at full back with Liam Williams moving on to the wing where he replaces the injured George North.
UP FRONT
The front row stays the same with Gethin Jenkins, Ken Owens and Samson Lee fitting in at one, two and three and all played pretty well in the first Test and deserve their places in the starting XV for the liking of many Welsh fans. Although Rob Evans, Scott Baldwin and Tomos Francis will have to make more of an impact and be used better by the coaches if we want to compete with New Zealand (NZ) for the full 80 minutes.
The second row will be vital for Walesin order for Wales to compete at line-outs and driving mauls created off these, especially after New Zealand introduced Sam Whitelock in the place of Luke Romano . Wales have lacked creative ball off line-out in this series and good ball delivery off of this is key to creating better and more inventive moves to trouble New Zealand. Bringing in Charteris to partner Alun Wyn Jones is a bold move considering his performance against the Chiefs, however he will definitely add some spice to their pack and will not disappoint. If Alun Wyn plays like he did in the first Test and Charteris plays well then Wales could trouble New Zealand at set plays and around the park.
The back row remains unchanged with Ross Moriaty at six, Sam Warburton at seven and Talaupe Faletau at eight. They performed solidly, with Faletau grabbing a try and getting one disallowed in the opening Test. However, as good as Moriaty was, many felt that captain Warburton was too quiet and he must up his game for Wales to have the upper hand up front.
OUT BACK
The backs are perhaps looking a lot more shaky, with a lot of speculation over centre partnerships, George North’s replacement and if Hallum Amos proves to be good enough.
One pair that have not come under scrutiny are the half backs, Rhys Webb and Dan Biggar. Both performed well in the first test and Biggar kicked pretty well, although he should be set for windy stadium in Wellington prior to Saturdays test. The bench replacement for Rhys Webb, Gareth Davies has been criticised for his slow ball delivery, which we need to be fast against the kiwi’s. This has prompted some to shout for new-be Aled Davies. A good shout in all fairness as he brings that energetic fast play that the Welsh team needs.
The centre partnership of Jamie Roberts and Jonathan Davies has been sealed, more by their lack of doing anything wrong and Scott Williams’ poor match play due to lack of game time in recent games. All Wales fans must be hoping to see more offloads and running into space from these two in order to push the All Blacks defence to its max.
The first Test saw the Wales team dealt a massive blow; George North out for the series. This started the rumour mill of whether Keelan Giles would get a first senior start or whether the likes of Eli walker or Tom James back in Wales colours. In the end it was pretty much sealed that Amos would keep his wing spot, more through his attacking skills than defence it is believed. Liam Williams moves into the 14 shirt and Rhys Patchell gains his well deserved start at his favoured full back position. Here he should be able to exploit his huge kicking game and his ”cannon” of a boot and if worst comes to worst he could take over the kicking reigns from Biggar.
Overall it must be said the Wales team selected is the strongest available to Warren Gatland and the expectation or hope amongst Wales fans is that they must do better than the first Test, but probably won’t do so.
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