Super Saturday, Game 1: Italy v Wales

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ITALY v WALES
Saturday 21 March 2015
KO: 13:30 (local)/12:30 (UK/Ireland)
Stadio Olimpico, Rome

Referee: Chris Pollock (NZR)
AR1: JP Doyle (RFU)
AR2: Luke Pearce (RFU)
TMO: Simon McDowell (IRFU)

***********************

A. Teams

ITALY

Luke McClean (Sale Sharks); Leonardo Sarto (Zebre Rugby), Luca Morisi (Benetton Treviso), Andrea Masi (London Wasps), Giovambattista Venditti (Zebre Rugby); Kelly Haimona (Zebre Rugby), Edoardo Gori (Benetton Treviso); 1 Michele Rizzo (Leicester Tigers), Leonardo Ghiraldini (Leicester Tigers, capt), Martin Castrogiovanni (RT Toulon), George Biagi (Zebre Rugby), Joshua Furno (Newcastle Falcons), Francesco Minto (Benetton Treviso), Mauro Bergamasco (Zebre Rugby), Samuela VUNISA (Zebre Rugby)

Replacements: Andrea Manici (Zebre Rugby), Alberto De Marchi (Sale Sharks), Dario Chistolini (Zebre Rugby), Quintin Geldenhuys (Zebre Rugby), Robert Barbieri (Leicester Tigers), Guglielmo Palazzini (Zebre Rugby), Luciano Orquera (Zebre Rugby), Enrico Bacchin (Benetton Treviso).

WALES

Leigh Halfpenny (Toulon); George North (Northampton Saints), Jonathan Davies (ASM Clermont Auvergne), Jamie Roberts (Racing Metro), Liam Williams (Scarlets); Dan Biggar (Ospreys), Rhys Webb (Ospreys); Rob Evans (Scarlets), Scott Baldwin (Ospreys), Aaron Jarvis (Ospreys), Luke Charteris (Racing Metro), Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys), Dan Lydiate (Ospreys), Sam Warburton (Cardiff Blues, capt), Taulupe Faletau (Newport Gwent Dragons).

Replacements: Ken Owens (Scarlets), Rhys Gill (Saracens), Scott Andrews (Cardiff Blues), Jake Ball (Scarlets), Justin Tipuric (Ospreys), Gareth Davies (Scarlets), Rhys Priestland (Scarlets), Scott Williams (Scarlets).

B. Head to Head

15 Played 15

2 Wins 12

12 Losses 2

1 Draws 1

19 Tries 49

12 Conversions 40

31 Penalties 45

4 Drop Goals 1

224 Points 463

Golden wrote:out of curiosity who got motm?

Alun Wyn Jones.

The Saint, could you just read my comment i posted previously congratulation wales!

Bloomin' Welsh - making life difficult for everyone!


Seriously though - well played Wales - awesome display. Wales in pole position now.

Well deserved by Wales but yes some odd decisions by Pollock throughout ...

A welsh blitz like I predicted.

Great performance by the Welsh. And fair play to Italy to score at the last to make it interesting.

France are now out of it, so have nothing to play for.

Scotland know if they get any kind of a win, can move above Italy on PD.

All to play for.

That last Italy try could be the decider . what a second half

So was 1/2P going off a blessing in disguise?

Well lets hope the next 2 games live up to that! Sets up a fantastic end and bizarrely takes the pressure off Ireland and England.

I do fancy England to win still. I feel if they start well against France, they could win pretty comfortably too.

I genuinely am happy the way we have turned round this tournament and so will take four wins and whatever position we finish.

nathan wrote:The Saint, could you just read my comment i posted previously congratulation wales!

I just framed it. Thanks.

1/2p boot might keep him in the shirt for now, but he is going have to do more to keep his place.

Risca Rev wrote:I do fancy England to win still. I feel if they start well against France, they could win pretty comfortably too.

I genuinely am happy the way we have turned round this tournament and so will take four wins and whatever position we finish.

Dont France have the best defence though?

Good display by Wales. That certainly gives them a decent chance. Ireland need to win by 21 pts against Scotland.

Good job there are no bonus points in the Six Nations as that game would have just about sealed the championship for Wales unless Ireland and England scored four times in their games respectively. That is why I don't like bonus points in the World Cup either. In the last World Cup two teams that could have had a chance of going through were out before the last round of games.

Ireland closing in.

Just great to see another superb game of rugby blighted by accusations of impartiality at the ref, gone are the days when a team could just be lauded for an exceptional try scoring fest, the bitter cynicism of posters on here is a load of pollocks

Awwwwwww crap!!!!!!!!!

I thought I put North in my dream team but he's not there!

Darnation

Wouldn't say the ref was partial - but just made some very odd calls ...

Gwlad wrote:Just great to see another superb game of rugby blighted by accusations of impartiality at the ref, gone are the days when a team could just be lauded for an exceptional try scoring fest, the bitter cynicism of posters on here is a load of pollocks

People have congratulated Wales and said they played really well. People also said that there were a few decisions that went against italy that were dodgy - that doesnt take away from the welsh performance. Stop being so needy

Gwlad wrote:Just great to see another superb game of rugby blighted by accusations of impartiality at the ref, gone are the days when a team could just be lauded for an exceptional try scoring fest, the bitter cynicism of posters on here is a load of pollocks

Relax - majority of posters have just congratulated Wales.
Try to lose the persecution complex!

nathan wrote:

Risca Rev wrote:I do fancy England to win still. I feel if they start well against France, they could win pretty comfortably too.

I genuinely am happy the way we have turned round this tournament and so will take four wins and whatever position we finish.

Dont France have the best defence though?

Don't know, but England are creating a fair bit and surely they will be more clinical than last week. My dream team of all Welsh and English backs is certainly backing that.

Risca Rev wrote:

nathan wrote:

Risca Rev wrote:I do fancy England to win still. I feel if they start well against France, they could win pretty comfortably too.

I genuinely am happy the way we have turned round this tournament and so will take four wins and whatever position we finish.

Dont France have the best defence though?

Don't know, but England are creating a fair bit and surely they will be more clinical than last week. My dream team of all Welsh and English backs is certainly backing that.

just hope we can finish those chances off

Since Halfpenny went off.( I do wish him well by the way) Wales seemed to play a better brand of rugby. So should halfpenny be dropped from the squad? Or was it just a blip?

Dropped from the squad? Oh heck.

Should he be dropped from the team? Probably not either, but Gatland probably won't play Liam Williams fullback or he would've done after Scotland last year.

Could play 1/2 on the wing where he played all of his early rugby? Once the Ref stopped Castro from scrumaging illegally the game changed. Great performance from Wales, shame Italy scored at the death from Biggars (again) missed tackle. The one flaw in his game?

I wasn't overly happy that Biggar kept backing off for so long.

Risca Rev wrote:Dropped from the squad? Oh heck.

I meant dropped from the starting 15. and given a place on the bench. Wales really did seem to come more attacking side than before.

nathan wrote:

Gwlad wrote:Just great to see another superb game of rugby blighted by accusations of impartiality at the ref, gone are the days when a team could just be lauded for an exceptional try scoring fest, the bitter cynicism of posters on here is a load of pollocks

People have congratulated Wales and said they played really well. People also said that there were a few decisions that went against italy that were dodgy - that doesnt take away from the welsh performance. Stop being so needy

When Wales play like that they are a match for anyone, so why don't they do it more often? They got a few decisions and loose balls that they wouldn't have got against most teams, but they turned them into points (England were you watching).

Some strange decisions though; tacking the man without the ball twice. It was the dummy runner who crashed into the potential tackler, if anything should have been a penalty the other way.

Coming in from the side, allowed when behind you own line unless they have changed the laws.

Set up an interesting afternoon. Will Scotland get close to Ireland (10:30 at the moment)? will France turn up now they are out of it?

TheRugbyMaster wrote:Incredible stuff from the six nations champions!

Who ?

No chance now!

Steve_rugby wrote:

TheRugbyMaster wrote:Incredible stuff from the six nations champions!

Who ?

Oops, sorry Ghostie

(Not aimed at any real Welsh fans)

nathan wrote:

Gwlad wrote:Just great to see another superb game of rugby blighted by accusations of impartiality at the ref, gone are the days when a team could just be lauded for an exceptional try scoring fest, the bitter cynicism of posters on here is a load of pollocks

People have congratulated Wales and said they played really well. People also said that there were a few decisions that went against italy that were dodgy - that doesnt take away from the welsh performance. Stop being so needy

All i need is for you to stop being so patronizing nathan, thanks in advance

Talking of need, how many points did england fail to score v scotland last week that they need right now?

Steve_rugby wrote:

TheRugbyMaster wrote:Incredible stuff from the six nations champions!

Who ?

Hey! I didn't specify a year.

Wales sooooooo close but not close enough.

majesticimperialman wrote:Wales sooooooo close but not close enough.

We'll settle happily for 2nd place - apparently it is the best place to be- after that performance and another awesome 6 Nations bar a hiccup v England, all the pressure on England now.

Rory_Gallagher wrote:When Wales play like that, they are on par with the very best in the world. They could beat anyone, they need that mentality consistently. In particular, Warburton to me has been one of the players of the tournament. He leads from the front, and just drives his team forward. What a player, one of the best open-side flankers in the world.

Is that not down to Italy giving up in the second half, especially with some of the decisions that went against them? Wales maybe have a good performance in them, like in the second half today, but I think they're too often let down by their accuracy and discipline (like in the first half today). Looking at how they've played in this 6N I can't see them getting out of the RWC group.

Gwlad wrote:

nathan wrote:

Gwlad wrote:Just great to see another superb game of rugby blighted by accusations of impartiality at the ref, gone are the days when a team could just be lauded for an exceptional try scoring fest, the bitter cynicism of posters on here is a load of pollocks

People have congratulated Wales and said they played really well. People also said that there were a few decisions that went against italy that were dodgy - that doesnt take away from the welsh performance. Stop being so needy

All i need is for you to stop being so patronizing nathan, thanks in advance

No, you need to stop being so needy. People have opinions that may not line up with yours. Deal with it, thats life.

As Gatland said after the game G Davies dropping the ball with a run in under the posts Wales gain 7 points and as a result don't concede the try at the end, Wales would end up with 14 extra points difference and win the 6N. The same goes with Hogg dropping the ball over the line England win the 6N.

Great day

biggar backed off from two runners, waiting for the pass or take the man with ball. pays your money takes your choice as they say. good effort I thought considering where he had come from initially , and no it is not a weakness in his game. he is the best tackling 10 we've had. he's been caught flat footed twice in this championship.
Last week he was the fourth top tackler in the team. Today did he put more points on the board than he let in ? yes . 1 missed kick . awesome. lets start giving this guy some credit. other 10's including sexton have been steam rollered by opposition players, don't hear them being criticised for it.
a more committed tackling 10 i'ive yet to see. well done dan, great championship.

gavstar wrote:biggar backed off from two runners, waiting for the pass or take the man with ball. pays your money takes your choice as they say. good effort I thought considering where he had come from initially , and no it is not a weakness in his game. he is the best tackling 10 we've had. he's been caught flat footed twice in this championship.
Last week he was the fourth top tackler in the team. Today did he put more points on the board than he let in ? yes . 1 missed kick . awesome. lets start giving this guy some credit. other 10's including sexton have been steam rollered by opposition players, don't hear them being criticised for it.
a more committed tackling 10 i'ive yet to see. well done dan, great championship.

Gav, as an Os supporter I didn't want to reply to the poster, who I assume you are replying to, if he had gone to the player carrying the ball early, he would have passed inside and it would have been an even easier kick for the conversion, he ( Biggar) nearly forced him into touch, and finally, where would we be if our reserve O/H had played the amount of time, Dan has played we would be nowhere near where we are now.

Biggar - who has been legendary all tourney - should have stood his ground and forced the carrier to take the inside. He back dup way too far. Not sure if he was playing FB at this point..both he and Preistland were on? As a 10 he is awesome in defense but i think he just showed he is easily beaten in space. Shocking defense and i am just glad that Ireland own by 10 and not 7.

Gwlad wrote:Biggar - who has been legendary all tourney - should have stood his ground and forced the carrier to take the inside. He back dup way too far. Not sure if he was playing FB at this point..both he and Preistland were on? As a 10 he is awesome in defense but i think he just showed he is easily beaten in space. Shocking defense and i am just glad that Ireland own by 10 and not 7.

Did you actually watch the incident, the player had a release on the inside of him, if Dan had gone to tackle him he would have been drawn and the inside runner would have had an easier run in, Dan was at full back at that point, I don't like blaming players and I will not here, but the Title was lost a little earlier in the game, NOT in the exchange that you are highlighting.

wayne wrote:

gavstar wrote:biggar backed off from two runners, waiting for the pass or take the man with ball. pays your money takes your choice as they say. good effort I thought considering where he had come from initially , and no it is not a weakness in his game. he is the best tackling 10 we've had. he's been caught flat footed twice in this championship.
Last week he was the fourth top tackler in the team. Today did he put more points on the board than he let in ? yes . 1 missed kick . awesome. lets start giving this guy some credit. other 10's including sexton have been steam rollered by opposition players, don't hear them being criticised for it.
a more committed tackling 10 i'ive yet to see. well done dan, great championship.

Gav, as an Os supporter I didn't want to reply to the poster, who I assume you are replying to, if he had gone to the player carrying the ball early, he would have passed inside and it would have been an even easier kick for the conversion, he ( Biggar) nearly forced him into touch, and finally, where would we be if our reserve O/H had played the amount of time, Dan has played we would be nowhere near where we are now.  

Don't know why you won't reply to somebody if you have a point to make? Bit strange.

It's hardly being that critical saying he did back off a bit. Personally I would rather just go for the man with ball and take him, then you have done all you can rather than play a game of what ifs. By backing off you give the advantage to the man with the ball, as he has more time to weigh up options etc.

Risca Rev wrote:

wayne wrote:

gavstar wrote:biggar backed off from two runners, waiting for the pass or take the man with ball. pays your money takes your choice as they say. good effort I thought considering where he had come from initially , and no it is not a weakness in his game. he is the best tackling 10 we've had. he's been caught flat footed twice in this championship.
Last week he was the fourth top tackler in the team. Today did he put more points on the board than he let in ? yes . 1 missed kick . awesome. lets start giving this guy some credit. other 10's including sexton have been steam rollered by opposition players, don't hear them being criticised for it.
a more committed tackling 10 i'ive yet to see. well done dan, great championship.

Gav, as an Os supporter I didn't want to reply to the poster, who I assume you are replying to, if he had gone to the player carrying the ball early, he would have passed inside and it would have been an even easier kick for the conversion, he ( Biggar) nearly forced him into touch, and finally, where would we be if our reserve O/H had played the amount of time, Dan has played we would be nowhere near where we are now.  

Don't know why you won't reply to somebody if you have a point to make? Bit strange.

It's hardly being that critical saying he did back off a bit. Personally I would rather just go for the man with ball and take him, then you have done all you can rather than play a game of what ifs. By backing off you give the advantage to the man with the ball, as he has more time to weigh up options etc.

Because we all have a NATURAL bias for one of our OWN players, I wanted somebody else to give an opinion that I could agree with.
Dan went to full back even though I would bet Priestland has played many more minutes in that position than he has, I don't know how many times I have to say this, yet the player in possession had an outlet INSIDE him and if Dan had gone and tackled him early on he would have been drawn and the inside pass would have released said player and it would have ensured an even easier kick at goal

2 on 1, odds on you're going to lose out. Stop blaming the last man left with 2 men to defend. Blame the team.

wayne wrote:

Gwlad wrote:Biggar - who has been legendary all tourney - should have stood his ground and forced the carrier to take the inside. He back dup way too far. Not sure if he was playing FB at this point..both he and Preistland were on? As a 10 he is awesome in defense but i think he just showed he is easily beaten in space. Shocking defense and i am just glad that Ireland own by 10 and not 7.

Did you actually watch the incident, the player had a release on the inside of him, if Dan had gone to tackle him he would have been drawn and the inside runner would have had an easier run in, Dan was at full back at that point, I don't like blaming players and I will not here, but the Title was lost a little earlier in the game, NOT in the exchange that you are highlighting.  

what a ridiculous comment, no wayne i didn't watch it, that is why i am saying what he should have done.

I didn't say he should have "gone to tackle him' - i can see you have really thought that through from a technical perspective- i said he should not have backed up and should have given him the inside so that he would have run towards welsh players not away from them. Nor did i say the title was lost there as those 7 points did not make the difference. Got it?

Griff wrote:2 on 1, odds on you're going to lose out. Stop blaming the last man left with 2 men to defend. Blame the team.

well said as the previous comments also Biggar nearly pulled it off. Good to see the subs do well like S williams, R Gill, K Owens, G Davies, Tips but could have done with A Jones in the first hslf.

Griff wrote:2 on 1, odds on you're going to lose out. Stop blaming the last man left with 2 men to defend. Blame the team.

well said as the previous comments also Biggar nearly pulled it off. Good to see the subs do well like S williams, R Gill, K Owens, G Davies, Tips but could have done with A Jones in the first hslf.

Adam Jones? Oh heck.