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Wales explain why they brought forward their XV announcement by two days and highlight what they want from the recalled Gareth Davies

(Photo by PA)

Grand Slam-chasing Wales have outlined why they opted to announce their team to play Italy on Saturday in the Guinness Six Nations two days earlier than planned. Wayne Pivac wasn’t due to reveal his Wales XV for Rome until Thursday but he instead chose to go public much earlier. 

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“We have had a good nine days since the last match and we knew our side once the injuries were all settled,” said Pivac as he seeks to build on an excellent February for Wales which featured Triple Crown-clinching wins over Ireland, Scotland and England. “Internally what we wanted to do was name the team nice and early so we have a good build-up and that is certainly what we have done and it’s about what serves us best for this particular week.”

This best interest included limiting the changes to the starting XV to just two, Gareth Davies returning at scrum-half in place of the injured Kieran Hardy and Cory Hill getting promoted from the bench due to a need to rest the banged up Adam Beard.   

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Wales’ Dan Lydiate guests on RugbyPass Offload

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Wales’ Dan Lydiate guests on RugbyPass Offload

Quizzed on Tuesday about this pair of alterations, Wales boss Pivac said: “Tomos (Williams) wasn’t quite ready. Gareth has been the top two since Tomas has been out injured so we have just stuck with Gareth. “He has got a couple of things in the game he has been working on. Speed to the breakdown is one we want with all our nines.

“We want to move the ball and get it away from the breakdown area quickly so that is what he will be focusing on, and Lloyd (Williams), who has been training very well, comes in on the bench.

“Adam has had a pretty big workload in camp and he was a bit banged up to be honest so we are giving him a break this week. He will come to Rome with us but won’t be in the 23,” continued Pivac, adding what he now expects to see from Hill, a try-scorer off the bench the last day versus England.

“A lot of energy, a lot of enthusiasm. He has trained very, very well and that is why he earned his spot on the bench (against the English). He made an impact when he came on, I’m sure everyone saw that, so we’re happy he will come in and have a start. We’ll freshen up Adam and Alun Wyn just rocks on as usual.

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“Jake Ball has also been training very well throughout the whole campaign. We feel he deserves an opportunity in this game as well and it’s nice to see him get his 50th Test match under his belt.”

Declaring out-half Dan Biggar fit for the Italian job despite limping off early in the second half versus the English, Pivac explained why he resisted making more than two Wales changes even though he could have understandably rested some players ahead of the likely March 20 Grand Slam decider versus France.

“For us, it is about the performance and we are not overly happy with the full 80 minutes yet. We have done some things very well in games and most people would agree we are improving in many areas, but we still have got a long way to go and this team is building a bit of momentum. We want to stay with that momentum and reward the players who have done the bulk of it so far. Certainly, it is another opportunity to build combinations and get our game ready for the last match of the competition.

“We have talked around how we want to play the game and there are two very important games to go and it’s about getting results, so don’t expect us to be throwing it around willy nilly. We have got a job to do and we have got to get on top of this Italian side before you see any of that razzle-dazzle. It’s important that we continue to use the 80 minutes and develop our game the way we want to against the opposition.

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You are seeing a more expansive game from Italy so they pose a few different problems from a defensive point of view than maybe they did a year or two ago. We’ll go out there and make sure our defence is in order. That has been improving and we want to maintain that. We’ll put that challenge in front of the boys but also in attack we want to be very decisive and take our opportunities when they present themselves.”

Pivac insisted there would be no room for complacency. “That message was delivered by the players themselves and we just echoed that. That started in the changing room after the game against England. What the England game has done is put us in a great position but like I said after the game we don’t want to undo the good work that has been done in the first three matches.

“We are taking this game as an important stepping stone in the building of our game going forward and it’s a great opportunity for us to go out there and continue to work hard.”

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Oh no, not him again? 2 hours ago
England internationals disagree on final play execution vs All Blacks

Okay, so we blew it big time on Saturday. So rather than repeating what most people have all ready said, what do I want to see from Borthwick going forward?


Let's keep Marcus Smith on the pitch if he's fit and playing well. I was really pleased with his goal kicking. It used to be his weakness. I feel sympathy for George Ford who hadn't kicked all match and then had a kick to win the game. You hear pundits and commentators commend kickers who have come off the bench and pulled that off. Its not easy. If Steve B continues to substitute players with no clear reason then he is going to get criticised.


On paper I thought England would beat NZ if they played to their potential and didn't show NZ too much respect. Okay, the off the ball tackles certainly stopped England scoring tries, but I would have liked to see more smashing over gainlines and less kicking for position. Yes, I also know it's the Springbok endorsed world cup double winning formula but the Kiwi defence isn't the Bok defence, is it. If you have the power to put Smith on the front foot then why muzzle him? I guess what I'm saying is back, yourself. Why give the momentum to a team like NZ? Why feed the beast? Don't give the ball to NZ. Well d'uh.


Our scrum is a long term weakness. If you are going to play Itoje then he needs an ogre next door and a decent front row. Where is our third world class lock? Where are are realible front row bench replacements? The England scrum has been flakey for a while now. It blows hot and cold. Our front five bench is not world class.


On the positive side I love our starting backrow right now. I'd like to see them stick together through to the next world cup.


Anyway, there is always another Saturday.

7 Go to comments
C
CO 2 hours ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Robertson is more a manager of coaches than a coach so it comes down to intent of outcomes at a high level. I like his intent, I like the fact his Allblacks are really driving the outcomes however as he's pointed out the high error rates are not test level and their control of the game is driving both wins and losses. England didn't have to play a lot of rugby, they made far fewer mistakes and were extremely unlucky not to win.


In fact the English team were very early in their season and should've been comfortably beaten by an Allblacks team that had played multiple tests together.


Razor has himself recognised that to be the best they'll have to sort out the crisis levels of mistakes that have really increased since the first two tests against England.


Early tackles were a classic example of hyper enthusiasm to not give an inch, that passion that Razor has achieved is going to be formidable once the unforced errors are eliminated.


That's his secret, he's already rebuilt the passion and that's the most important aspect, its inevitable that he'll now eradicate the unforced errors. When that happens a fellow tier one nation is going to get thrashed. I don't think it will be until 2025 though.


The Allblacks will lose both tests against Ireland and France if they play high error rates rugby like they did against England.


To get the unforced errors under control he's going to be needing to handover the number eight role to Sititi and reset expectations of what loose forwards do. Establish a clear distinction with a large, swarthy lineout jumper at six that is a feared runner and dominant tackler and a turnover specialist at seven that is abrasive in contact. He'll then need to build depth behind the three starters and ruthlessly select for that group to be peaking in 2027 in hit Australian conditions on firm, dry grounds.


It's going to help him that Savea is shifting to the worst super rugby franchise where he's going to struggle behind a beaten pack every week.


The under performing loose forward trio is the key driver of the high error rates and unacceptable turn overs due to awol link work. Sititi is looking like he's superman compared to his openside and eight.


At this late stage in the season they shouldn't be operating with just the one outstanding loose forward out of four selected for the English test. That's an abject failure but I think Robertson's sacrificing link quality on purpose to build passion amongst the junior Allblacks as they see the reverential treatment the old warhorses are receiving for their long term hard graft.


It's unfortunately losing test matches and making what should be comfortable wins into nail biters but it's early in the world cup cycle so perhaps it's a sacrifice worth making.


However if this was F1 then Sam Cane would be Riccardo and Ardie would be heading into Perez territory so the loose forwards desperately need revitalisation through a rebuild over the next season to complement the formidable tight five.

28 Go to comments
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