Lydiate

Wales have not been prone to paradigm shifts in their nine years under the current management team but the manner of Saturday’s defeat to Australia has prompted radical changes for Saturday’s encounter with Argentina in Cardiff. Jamie Roberts and Dan Lydiate, two key figures in the series-winning third Test between the Lions and Australia in Sydney three years ago, were dropped by Rob Howley, who is Wales’s interim head coach while Warren Gatland is taking a sabbatical to prepare for next summer’s Lions tour to New Zealand. The centre Roberts has been a regular in Wales’s starting lineup since 2009, when he last appeared on the bench, renowned for his hard running and strong tackling. Lydiate made his reputation at blindside flanker through his tackling but, at a time when the international game is evolving, becoming more attacking and less structured, Wales have found standing still has taken them backwards: they have lost five consecutive Tests and won … [Read more...] about Wales coach Howley drops Dan Lydiate and Jamie Roberts for Argentina Test

An ordinary game produced an extraordinary finish and left the World Cup hosts in danger of not making the knockout stage of their own tournament. If England do fail to make the last eight, they will in effect have knocked themselves out after letting a double-figure lead slip to a casualty-ravaged Wales side that lost three more players to serious injuries but still scored more points here than ever before. England were 10 points ahead in the third quarter and comfortably in control against opponents who had barely mounted a significant attack and whose vaunted defence was pulled apart with surprising ease at times. Wales, though, had Dan Biggar who achieved what few had thought was possible and replaced the injured Leigh Halfpenny in kind, landing eight kicks out of eight including the winning penalty from the halfway line which was thought to have been out of his range. Biggar was one of the few players who stood out on a night that demanded heroism rather than inspiration. … [Read more...] about Dan Biggar inspires famous Wales comeback to shock England

ENGLAND 15 Mike Brown 7/10 Bristling all night. So assured under Biggar’s bombs. If Brown is at the top of his game it improves those around him, but he faded in the second half. 14 Anthony Watson 7/10 Lively. Had one burst down the wing early on, gave crowd a lift with a chip and chase soon after and teed up May’s try. Can be England’s best weapon. 13 Brad Barritt 5/10 Held his own in the heavy traffic, smashing into anything that came his way. Offers little as an attacking threat though – a waste with talent out wide. 12 Sam Burgess 6/10 Had the ball ripped on his first carry but made a couple of fine runs thereafter. Kicking is, to put it mildly, a work-in progress. Selection will be scrutinised. 11 Jonny May 7/10 Barely touched the ball until he scored down the left and owes Watson big-time for it. Things are going his way at the moment. 10 Owen Farrell 8/10 Wonderful goal-kicking and his selection was entirely justified. Why didn’t he demand … [Read more...] about England 25-28 Wales: player ratings for the Rugby World Cup match

The last time South Africa lost all their autumn Tests they at least went down swinging. A 50-point defeat by England in 2002 was brutal, nasty even, and left Clive Woodward irate at the injuries incurred by the Springboks’ strong-arm tactics. Today it is only the Springboks licking their wounds. A record eighth defeat in a calendar year, and only the third in 110 years by Wales, has proved the final straw and the South African Rugby Union has promised root-and-branch reform. Allister Coetzee looks likely to lose his job after he reports to his employers in mid-December but to suggest the buck stops with him is risible. Political interference – it was the sports minister who labelled the Springboks “a bunch of losers” after the defeat by Japan last year – outdated domestic infrastructure and the ever increasing player drain renders this South Africa’s lowest ebb. “We have a passionate nation, the Springboks stand for excellence,” Coetzee … [Read more...] about Wales’ flawed win leaves South Africa’s Allister Coetzee carrying the can

Australia usually leave it late against Wales but this time they had secured victory by half-time against a team that look very much as they did in the last meeting between the sides, 13 months ago: big and powerful but ponderous and slow-witted. The men in red have become known as slow burners in the autumn and here, on bonfire night, they spluttered like a damp firework, unable to hold a Roman candle to a side supposedly in crisis. It was Australia’s 12th successive victory in the series and their most comfortable for seven years as they started their five-Test tour of Europe with an assurance and fluency that belied their record of seven defeats in 10 Tests this year. They attacked with intent from the outset, using their two openside flankers to ensure quick ball from the breakdown and Wales could only watch as Bernard Foley played the role of conjuror from fly-half. Foley stood flat, attacked the line and took advantage of support runners inside and outside him to get in … [Read more...] about Australia dispel rumours of demise with five-try demolition of Wales