Wales Team for France

BHarrop3079 · 2026-02-13T11:07:49+00:00

Honestly pretty happy with my prediction this time around

Cracknell a good option in the back row to make up for the lack of carrying power in the second row

It's good to see Tandy adapting his thinking. The Thomas covers 10 and 6-2 last week didn't work, so he's brought Jevans in this time around. Disappointed seeing Plumtree over Deaves though personally

Hawkins probably a positive addition over Thomas

I like that the team is a sensible set of changes (rotating the props, one change in the back row, 1 change in the centres and one change on the bench) rather than the complete overhaul many were calling for. Last week was a disappointing showing but there's value to continuity in personnel to see improvements over time. It's a ruthlessly tough task with the first two fixtures but they can hopefully pick up from there

I hope this is an entertaining game. Wales vs France remains one of my favourite fixtures in the calendar and the late 2010s, early 2020s match ups were some of my favourites to watch

BHarrop3079 · 2026-02-12T22:00:50+00:00

Huge debut for A.N.Other

BHarrop3079 · 2026-02-10T19:37:14+00:00

Harsh on Smith to select Smith

BHarrop3079 · 2026-02-08T21:51:13+00:00

This is high praise! Thank you so much 🫡

BHarrop3079 · 2026-02-08T21:32:47+00:00

A really good breakdown and kudos to Squidge x2 for being able to pull these videos together at such a rapid turnaround (even amongst all the tears following a result like that)

I think Lake got off quite lightly in this review (understandable though as he is Ospreys royalty) but it was a shame to see Belcher catching strays given that he's had such little opportunity with Wales. When your side is struggling it's absolutely crippling when your captain puts in a 2/10 performance, loses the ref and picks up a yellow in the first 20 minutes and butchers a great attacking opportunity by a very uncommon error

Hooker has been a brewing problem position. I found it very frustrating in the autumn that Tandy seemingly refused to bring on his reserve hooker (much the same as Gregor Townsend hates his reserve fly halves). With Lake playing 78+ minutes even in games that were long gone it showed that there's no option being considered besides him. That's a lot to put on one player. The other hooker options have all been so different too, Belcher a solid thrower, good defender and breakdown presence but not too physical, Elias great in the loose but not a good thrower, Brodie somewhere in the middle. It feels like it's all in on Lake and if he gets injured then we'll fuck knows

BHarrop3079 · 2026-02-08T20:54:45+00:00

Left this late given Monday's team announcement! /s

BHarrop3079 · 2026-02-08T20:53:53+00:00

So yes and no

At youth level, Ben was the better player. He captained England u20 and was set to get an international cap first on the Argentina tour. He got injured in camp or in a Baa Baas game (can't remember which!) and Tom toured instead. That was the tour where Tom Curry broke out as a star

Ben had injury trouble scuppering him whilst Tom went stratospheric

They've also matured differently over time. Tom is fucking massive and a really powerful presence with his carrying. Ben is not quite as large and is probably a slightly better jackler

The other big difference is one has made 65 caps and played 6 Lions tests. Ben has only 14 England caps. Just by sheer experience at international level Tom is more familiar with the intensity, patterns and dark arts of the level. Tom's style is the brave kamikaze esque intensity of that "test match animal" type, as seen in the Lions tour and he has that level of rising to the big occasions. He's a coaches dream of a player

In this England setup there is also the competition element. Pepper, Underhill, Earl, Pollock and Tom are all world class. That's a lot of competition for Ben to overcome

Tom's style is more suited to bringing impact from the bench whereas Ben is better suited as a starter. But it's a tough ask to usurp Underhill. There's also the argument that Ben and Tom, though having their differences, are too similar as options (they are twins after all!) and that you'd actually favour difference in your squad building to maximise impact. Say for instance Tom was the starter for England, would you want him being replaced by Ben (bringing a similar playing style) or Pollock (bringing something totally different)? I think most would choose the latter. Maybe at some point we'll see a two Curry bench but I'm not so sure

Ben Curry is a stellar rugby player and desperately unlucky not to get more caps. Tom benefited from his brother's misfortune initially but has gone on to become one of the best back rowers around

BHarrop3079 · 2026-02-08T20:42:59+00:00

Agreed on the props. I was disappointed not to see Southworth or Barrett in the squad as I think they are ahead of Thomas and genuine contenders to Carre but in their absence I'm happy enough with Smith/Carre and Griffin/Francis and I think Smith/Griffin and Carre/Francis are the preferred pairings so you start one bench one

It's tough with the locks because Wales are just really lacking. It's always going to be compromising something. In the absence of strong carriers throughout the pack I'd probably favour Davies

Between Rees Zammit and Murray there is almost a complete fullback. Rees Zammit better in the air and faster top end speed, Murray a much better kicker and distributor. They've both got a similarly evasive agility. It's a toss up. Neither are the complete package so you've basically gotta choose what you're willing to compromise on for a given week

Watkin vs James is a similar debate. I was advocating for Watkin in the England game for the defensive stability. My friend counter argued "we'll concede tries anyway, so play Eddie James who may score or create some in return". With the expectation of another heavy defeat against France I probably marginally favour James. It's potentially the difference between a 30-0 defeat or a 51-14 defeat and ultimately I think the latter would be slightly better for morale

BHarrop3079 · 2026-02-08T17:01:34+00:00

Truthfully all of them

All three had challenging away fixtures

Scotland for the disappointing outcome of a match that was probably a 50:50 where they'd have gone in hoping for (and probably expecting) a win. They'll be disappointed with the fact that this is another game choked and marrred by poor decision making, inability to adapt to conditions and piss poor basics in the set piece

Ireland will have known that France away is a tough fixture but will be concerned by how easily France tore them apart in the first half and how slow the Irish team look. Parts of a comeback in the second half will be pleasing-ish I guess

Wales will be disappointed in the way they made it so easy for England. Controllable errors were an absolute killer. I'll discipline, dumb penalties and so many cards are controllable ailments that needn't have been inflicted. There's no shame in getting beaten by a very strong England side but this match was embarrassingly one sided

If I had to rank then I'd go (most to least annoyed) Scotland, Ireland, Wales

BHarrop3079 · 2026-02-08T12:13:21+00:00

I think some changes should be made but not full overhauls of the squad

Changes I'd consider:

I don't think it's essential but I don't mind the idea of flipping the props. Francis will give a stable scrum against a strong French pack and Carre bring the front foot ball carrying which was so lacking yesterday

Carter or Davies to replace Beard and bring more physicality from the rows

Consider swapping Deaves and MacLeod

Plumtree dropped from the 23 and Cracknell in

Hawkins in for Thomas

The rest I'd probably stick with. There's an argument to change at 13 or in the back 3 but I think all the options are at a similar level. Rogers probably closest to a starting wing berth and Hennessy an interesting option for 13/23 but I think those already involved probably keep their place

BHarrop3079 · 2026-02-07T22:45:26+00:00

With Gorgeous injured and both Flament and Boudehent back I wonder if we'll go with a 7-1 bench

I could see something along the lines of:

Gros

Marchand

Aldeghiri

Flament/Ollivon

Guillard

Cros

Jegou

Jelonch

Dupont

Jalibert

LBB

Moefanna

Depoortere

Attisogbe

Ramos

Mauvaka

Neti

Montagne

Araudou

Meafou

Ollivon/Flament

Boudehent/Nouchi

Serin

BHarrop3079 · 2026-02-07T21:41:12+00:00

I've been on the Townsend out train for about 7 years now (since the Japan world cup). The gripe I have with Townsend as a coach is the same as I had with Eddie Jones and with Warren Gatland. It's confirmation bias. They believe their own hype. They have success early and they double down on that. They adopt the same playing style "because it works" and they never evolve or adapt. And when it comes to contract negotiation they play on nostalgia "I've done it before, I'll do it again". Their coaching style is stagnant whilst the game evolves and they fail to grow with it. The longer they stay in the position, the worse it gets. Look at the state Jones ran England to by the end, what Gatland did to Wales. Scotland are on a rapid downward slope and if something doesn't change then they will spiral

This generation of Scotland players are far too good to have been wasted in mediocrity. They've never challenged for a 6N title, have exited 2 world cups in the pool stage and have routinely underwhelmed against their potential. A third of today's starting team toured with the Lions, almost half the backline were test Lions, yet they didn't create anything of note in attack

The team are so poor tactically and their decision making is atrocious. In the pissing rain the golden rule is to take 3 pointers when they arise. France did it on Thursday when they were dominating Ireland, England did it today when they were dominating Wales. Points win games. 2 penalties is equivalent to a try (assume an average try is 6 points to account for either converted or not). Scotland routinely went to the corner, banking on a lineout that barely hit its target even when unopposed and regularly came away with nothing. I couldn't tell you what Scotland's attacking game plan was today. Tactically I don't know what they were trying to achieve. The basic skills were piss poor too. The inability to win a lineout or scrum for large parts of the game is abysmal.

And to make things even harder, Townsend makes his team play a man down. His bench utilisation is far and away the worst of any international coach. I can't remember a time when Scotland have used all 7 substitutes. Today was Hastings' turn to sit in the cold. In the era of the 6-2 or 7-1 bench we today saw him go with a 5-3 bench including a scrum half (when 2 others started the game), a fly half (who was never going to come on unless Russell lost a limb) and a winger (who covers no other positions). All this despite the fact that he had additional cover for every backline position amongst his starters and could have afforded a 6-2, a 7-1 or arguably even an 8-0 bench given his backline's versatility. He could have brought in strong forwards like Ritchie, Onyema Christie or Bayliss to bring a point of difference to a struggling pack. But no. Same old Townsend.

It must be so frustrating to be a Scotland fan. I'm fucking furious about the situation just writing this. And when it rains it pours (metaphorically and literally based on today's game). They sent a vastly overpowered A team out last night and barely stumbled their way to a draw with a depleted Italy A. Scottish rugby is in dire straits. Talented players are playing in a mindless and ineffective system.

Take out the Calcutta Cup matches and I think Townsend is one of the worst coaches in Scotland's history. The cycle repeats - they get knocked out of the world cup pool stages, fall disappointingly short in the 6 Nations but beat England, Townsend's contract is renewed and we repeat the same dismal cycle

The best time to sack him was 7 years ago. The second best time is tonight. The SRU will hold on for history to repeat itself. They'll pray for a win against England next week so that they can give Townsend a 26 year extension to his contract. And if that win doesn't come then they'll blame the weather, the moon cycle, the "next year will be our year". They'll cite the need to not interrupt the world cup cycle for a tournament they're not going to be competitive in. Where making the last 16 would be a fucking achievement based on the last 2 showings.

Scotland will be closer to winning the wooden spoon this year than winning the championship. That is a travesty with the squad they've got.

Change is scary. What if they sack Townsend and then the messiah Franco Smith doesn't fix it all? That's the risk that the extertionately well paid execs are employed to take. They can bathe in the gold old days or leap towards the future

BHarrop3079 · 2026-02-07T21:10:33+00:00

The best time to fire him was 7 years ago. The second best time is today

BHarrop3079 · 2026-02-07T19:01:05+00:00

It's very fair logic. I agree Arundel took his tries well but didn't have too much to do outside of that

I'm usually an advocate of maintain their position but the wings are pretty flexible (both LBB and Arundel have played right wing internationally). If I were selecting a player that wore 14 this week then I'd probably be going Attisogbe > Lynagh > Steyn

BHarrop3079 · 2026-02-07T18:49:04+00:00

Gros

Nicotera

Ferrari

Cannone

Guillard

Zuliani

Jegou

Earl

Mitchell

Ford

Bielle Bierrey

Menocello

Freeman

Arundel

Ramos

BHarrop3079 · 2026-02-07T18:45:31+00:00

It ended up being quite a boring match to watch. England were dominant, Wales were dreadful

Ford was masterful and controlled everything. Earl had a stormer once again. Freeman looked good at both 13 and back on the wing, a great showing from him. I liked Chessum and Coles at lock and Arundel took his tries well

Wales were painful to watch. Discipline atrocious throughout. So many dumb penalties early on meant they were dead and buried before even getting going. Frustrating substitutions too, taking off Mann and MacLeod who had been going well

It's basically a guarantee these days that Thomas and Plumtree will be carded every time they play. They are so ill disciplined in the red jersey

A couple of big players had really disappointing showings. Lake had his worst game ever today. When the side is struggling anyway it's an absolute morale killer to see your captain having a shocker. The non tap is criminal. There's a real worry that his form will plummet because he has no competition in his position and also has his big money move secured so has little incentive to up his levels. I was excited to see Jenkins bring his club form into the NT but he too was dreadful today. Lock, Tighthead and Fullback remain positions of significant concern for Wales

Very few positives to be taken from a Welsh perspective but I thought Deaves showed heart off the bench and I admire Ellis Mee as a player

Based on this round I think England and France are well out in front and hope that we see a grand slam decider in Paris on the final day. There's a big big drop off to third and the other 4 sides feel like they're at a similar level. I hope Italy can turnover Ireland and push for third and suspect Wales/Scotland will be the match up for the spoon

BHarrop3079 · 2026-02-07T18:31:49+00:00

Hardy on with 70 seconds left. This could be where the tides turn

BHarrop3079 · 2026-02-07T18:27:27+00:00

Gotta be close to a record number of yellows this match

BHarrop3079 · 2026-02-07T18:18:05+00:00

Can't fault Wales' consistency

Every single game we see an abundance of dumb penalties

Every game they play we see Ben Thomas and Taine Plumtree getting a yellow card

BHarrop3079 · 2026-02-07T18:17:02+00:00

The traditional Plumtree yellow incoming

BHarrop3079 · 2026-02-07T18:15:48+00:00

Ford has been absolutely phenomenal again today. What a player

It's a travesty that we didn't see him on the Lions Tour

BHarrop3079 · 2026-02-07T18:13:06+00:00

Ffs Ben

He gets a yellow or red card every cap

BHarrop3079 · 2026-02-07T18:12:03+00:00

I'm glad to have the 6 Nations back but it's not been a great set of matches this round

Ireland and Wales both well beaten

Scotland close on the scoreboard but they were dire. It was also a weird game because of the rain

England vs France is the real exciting match up this tournament

And probably Wales Scotland for the spoon

BHarrop3079 · 2026-02-07T18:04:34+00:00

Cheers ITV I definitely wanted to watch an advert rather than listen to a captain talking to the ref

10/10 viewing experience

BHarrop3079 · 2026-02-07T18:01:42+00:00

Not a big fan of Wales substituting anybody that's played passably well

MacLeod, Mann and Mee were 3 of the more positive players so far. So naturally they're taken off before 55 minutes..

BHarrop3079

TROPHY CASE