Ireland vs Wales - Six Nations Round 2

First topic message reminder :

Date: Saturday, February 8
Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Kick-off: 14:15 GMT
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant Referees: Luke Pearce (England), Mike Fraser (New Zealand)
TMO: Glenn Newman (New Zealand)

WALES TEAM TO PLAY IRELAND (Saturday February 8 KO 14.15 ITV & S4C)

15. Leigh Halfpenny (86 Caps)
14. George North (92 Caps)
13. Nick Tompkins (1 Cap)
12. Hadleigh Parkes (26 Caps)
11. Josh Adams (22 Caps)
10. Dan Biggar (80 Caps)
9. Tomos Williams (17 Caps)
1. Wyn Jones (23 Caps)
2. Ken Owens (74 Caps)
3. Dillon Lewis (23 Caps)
4. Jake Ball (43 Caps)
5. Alun Wyn Jones (C) (135 Caps)
6. Aaron Wainwright (19 Caps)
7. Justin Tipuric (73 Caps)
8. Taulupe Faletau (73 Caps)

Replacements:
16. Ryan Elias (10 Caps)
17. Rhys Carre (6 Caps)
18. Leon Brown (7 Caps)
19. Adam Beard (20 Caps)
20. Ross Moriarty (42 Caps)
21. Gareth Davies (51 Caps)
22. Owen Williams (3 Caps)
23. Johnny McNicholl (1 Cap)​


Ireland (v Wales):
15. Jordan Larmour
14 Andrew Conway
13 Robbie Henshaw
12 Bundee Aki
11 Jacob Stockdale
10 Johnny Sexton (capt)
9 Conor Murray
1 Cian Healy
2 Rob Herring
3 Tadhg Furlong
4 Iain Henderson
5 James Ryan
6 Peter O’Mahony
7 Josh van der Flier
8 CJ Stander

Replacements:
16 Ronan Kelleher
17 Dave Kilcoyne
18 Andrew Porter
19 Devin Toner
20 Max Deegan
21 John Cooney
22 Ross Byrne
23 Keith Earls

Dirtydave wrote:Wales scrum looked like it wanted to attack, and it was nullified without being penalised, which is weird of a modern day Welsh pack. Then it hit, I hadn't realised just how much this Welsh team was ravaged by injuries:

Francis and Lee on the tight
Dee 2nd choice hook
Hill first choice lock (arguably)
Navidi first choice 6 (arguably)
Falatau is only returning and needs game time
Davies first choice 9
Anscombe first choice 10
Jon Davies first choice 13
Liam Williams first choice 15

Then there's owen Williams pulling out in the warm up, Adams off early doors...

10 starters including both first choice and back up tightheads, world class backs, and defensive leaders.

Both teams in transition, wales seem to have transitioned into a totally new type of play, which feels forced right now.

You're clutching at straws a bit with this list.

How so?

Are all those players not injured? The only player who started is Toby who is trying to be played back to full fitness, and looks off the pace, and not the world class player he was.

Or would you like to add Patchell, Owen Watkin, and Rob Evans?

I don't think all of those are starters, Dave, but it does show that Wales are struggling. Jon Davies was definitely missed. I also wonder what Shingler has to do to play or Wales again. Wainwright doesn't look like the natural replacement for Navidi and Shingler was starting for Wales when he was playing well under Pivac before he got injured. Wales want to play a physical offloading game with lots of tries and Shingler is also a great player at the lineout. I'd like to see him brought back in for the France game.

Because we aren't really missing Lee, Francis or Hill - we have able replacements. Tomos Williams is the form pick at 9, but Davies is just as good. Biggar is first choice fly-half, arguably, because I don't think the management are entirely sure who the best 10 is after that - neither of them have nailed down the spot. Again, Jarrod Evans seems an able replacement.
Lol Rob Evans that's serious straw-clutching, the guy is 3rd choice. Watkin didn't show up well for Wales in the RWC which wasn't helped by putting him to 13 so I can't see how he is missed. JD2 is 31 and has undergone his second knee ACL surgery, I think his best days are behind him sadly.
We definitely missed Navidi and Liam Williams.

I think the key misses were the 2 tightheads, and the 2 defensive leaders in Gareth and Jon Davies. Tompkins looked awfull at 13 yesterday.

But considering the size of the list, it isn't the biggest surprise that theyre weaknesses were worked out in Dublin, especially the set piece

You're still clutching at straws then.

We aren't really missing Francis or Lee? They aren't they are good players and Dillon Lewis is useless!

Hill isnt as powerfull as Ball, but he's a far classier player, and if fit starts.

Tomos Williams was given a masterclass at Cardiff arms park a few weeks ago by davies, and Davies is a defensive leader who makes decisions!

Pivac is trying to play a style of play that suits Anscombe to the ground, who before injury had conclusively usurped Biggar as first choice.

31 isn't old, and surgeries aren't career ruiners, Davies is one of the best 13's in world rugby, and easily has another season or 2 before the questions are asked. Again he leads the defence, and makes decisions out wide... his replacement was absolutely anhialated and was to blame for 2 tries.

No we aren't, certainly not Lee. The players we require are in the squad. I'm a critic of Lewis but he was good yesterday, probably should have been hooked sooner though.

Hill hasn't started for a while though has he, because we require Ball and AWJ in the boiler room. I did previously speak of the need to try Hill at 6 which I think should work.

No he wasn't, was he? There's no issue with either of the 9's starting as they're pretty much a like-for-like. I'm not sure if Davies will have that task, if he ever did, under this new defence 'guru'.

Pivac told you that did he? Oh I see... Fact is Biggar is first choice, maybe has an average game 1 in 20. Superb fly-half. Next in line are one of Patchell, Anscombe, Evans and Williams - neither of which had really nailed down the berth. That includes Anscombe who had some poor games in last year's 6N.

Oh you've never had a serious knee surgery then. I've had 4, trust me they're career-ending. I'm not saying he's old btw, I'm saying at 31 it will be very difficult to get back to his best after the sort of procedure. Tompkins is learning the hard way for sure, the centre's should not have changed for this fixture. If Pivac can't find anyone else to lead this defence you keep talking about then I doubt he would be in the job.

Scrum V is picking up on the point I made yesterday about the best players being relied upon to produce the magic. AWJ, Tipuric, and Faletau yesterday. Add Liam Williams and those are the 4 best rugby players in Wales.

It is a bit worrying if that's how Wales are going to play. Because it's a step back to Gareth Jenkins and teams will just shut down Tipuric at the breakdown and in the loose and that will be it. The other big question is if Wales are being coached with a club coach and not an international coach. After seeing the highlights the more I think Pivac needs to learn some things from Gatland. It's no good beating a team by 40 points one week and losing the next. Sometimes it's good to spread that out and just get the job done. Wales didn't play very well in Japan so it's not like there's a been a huge decline but there has been a drop in some areas like game management. That's a big worry because even France are facing reality in that area. Wales lost the game yesterday, yes because of the ref and some close calls around the breakdown and TMO, but also because two errors from knock ons in their own 22 led to tries for Ireland. The maul try came from the same situation i.e. set piece in the 22 without building pressure.

The more we look back on this game the more it will feel like a very bad game to lose. Ireland did nothing special to put Wales to the sword but they didn't have to. That's not good enough.

The other worrying thing is the (almost) collective loss of accuracy. Lots of unforced errors. Under Gatland we were more clinical, less prone to errors, etc. We tried to make the opposition make mistakes and then live off those, turn the screw, capitalise. But a number of players made uncharacteristic errors yesterday. Could be trying too hard, or trying new things and needing to think more about them (less automatic) leading to taking the eye off the ball (literally!). Obviously everyone was hoping we’d keep the steely edge of the Gatland team and throw in the running rugby of Pivac’s Scarlets. But maybe that’s a bit much to ask for, or a bit too soon.

Another thing to consider - everything wasn’t rosy always under Gatland. GS in 2019 but won nothing for 5 years before that. Only 1 6N win for Gats in Ireland, and that was in his very first 6N back in 2012. Maybe some rose tinted spectacles when thinking back to Gatland. Myself included. Easily done.

Is it possible though that the lack of accuracy was linked to the increase in ambition? I am not sure AWJ would have attempted that off load in days gone by. It will take time to adapt.

Adapting time is the new Black in this year's 6N.

Yes, could be LT. Trying new things outside of training and in the intensity of an international test is always going to be difficult. We need to be patient, but it’s not easy as a fan!

Question How could Wales put in a performance like they did against Italy, put in some great passages of play score 40+ points and the fall flat against Ireland the following week and only score 14 points Against Ireland?

I cannot remember a Welsh team with so ,amy Handling errors.

majesticimperialman wrote:Question How could Wales put in a performance like they did against Italy, put in some great passages of play score 40+ points and the fall flat against Ireland the following week and only score 14 points Against Ireland?

I cannot remember a Welsh team with so ,amy Handling errors.

Erm, because Ireland are not Italy?!

The Oracle wrote:

majesticimperialman wrote:Question How could Wales put in a performance like they did against Italy, put in some great passages of play score 40+ points and the fall flat against Ireland the following week and only score 14 points Against Ireland?

I cannot remember a Welsh team with so ,amy Handling errors.

Erm, because Ireland are not Italy?!  

Ermm Ireland did not reach the semi final of the Rugby World Cup. (/quote)

corrected that mistake myself.

We did?!!!

Christ, well that was a bit of an overreaction from all us moaners then!

majesticimperialman wrote:

The Oracle wrote:

majesticimperialman wrote:Question How could Wales put in a performance like they did against Italy, put in some great passages of play score 40+ points and the fall flat against Ireland the following week and only score 14 points Against Ireland?

I cannot remember a Welsh team with so ,amy Handling errors.

Erm, because Ireland are not Italy?!  

Ermm Ireland did reach the semi final of the Rugby World Cup. (/quote)

What the dickens are you on about?!

Wales beat Italy at home and Italy are not very good. Wales lost to Ireland away and Ireland are a much better team than Italy. How is that difficult to understand? If we’d played Italy twice and messed up the 2nd week then fair enough. But it was a different game, against a different team, different level of quality, in different locations.......... and a different outcome!

Why waste your time explaining it to someone who doesn’t understand?

I said a while back that Pivac might get his team playing a better brand of rugby and win big in some matches but when it comes to the tight battles, Gatland was the man to get his teams over the line. It wasn't pretty rugby but it got results.


It's a rough introduction to the big time for Pivac. I'd say he will be under massive pressure if results don't go his way. Already theres anger about losing yesterday's match. With the likes of Toby Faletau looking past it, Jon Davies crocked, North over the hill and the lack of athletes in the pack, it could be a rocky road for Pivac.


On the other hand Wales did show glimpses of their attacking game. If they can get that going then who knows, Pivac could be the new Gatland but more pleasing on the eye.

Wales missing so many key players, Francis, Hill, Navidi, a fit Faletau, Anscombe, JD2, Liam.

North has gone south, set piece look spoor, centre a huge problem and Wales look set for 4tp place IMO

Faletau was one of the best players on the pitch. Strange to call him past it.

A much improved showing from Ireland.

Hard to pick out anyone who had a poor game.

I thought our centres looked more effective - Henshaw in particular before he had to go off. Earls did a great job when he came on.
Stockdale was a handful earlier on in the wide channels. Though sometimes i think he needs to hold onto the ball and recycle rather than going for the chip ahead/grubber every time. Conway looked so solid in attack and defence.
Larmour looks like he should be Welsh with those side steps. Great try!

A very good team performance without any real standouts either negatively or positively.

Without getting carried away, at least it was an improvement.

rapidsnowman wrote:A much improved showing from Ireland.

Hard to pick out anyone who had a poor game.

I thought our centres looked more effective - Henshaw in particular before he had to go off. Earls did a great job when he came on.
Stockdale was a handful earlier on in the wide channels. Though sometimes i think he needs to hold onto the ball and recycle rather than going for the chip ahead/grubber every time. Conway looked so solid in attack and defence.
Larmour looks like he should be Welsh with those side steps. Great try!

A very good team performance without any real standouts either negatively or positively.

Without getting carried away, at least it was an improvement.

Massive improvement. Ireland looked a real controlling threat. Next is the acid test for them though eh? England at HQ..!

Thought Henshaw was great

Agree about Stockdale.  Needs to add to his threat repertoire.  Think it'll come.  Going through a little down period after his notable first season. Looking forward to his rebirth/second coming in an Irish shirt.

Can I be the first to have reservations about Henshaw.  For me he played like a man wanting a quick hospital pass back to serious injury.  He looked to me a player playing with too much fear of rivals, too eager to show what he's got.  
In my humble opinion, he was taking it to a dangerous level.  Think his aggression needs to be more controlled, more method than just a rage to make ground.  I only say this for his own longevity in the shirt.  He reminds me of O'Brien - just a tad too eager to reclaim his shirt and risking losing it again quickly to injury.

Some stats for those interested.

https://www.espn.co.uk/rugby/matchstats?gameId=295495&league=180659

Last year's fixture had 3 clean line breaks for each team. This year 11 clean breaks for Ireland, 4 clean breaks for Wales.

Attacking
Ireland front row, 24 metres from 14 carries (6 passes). Wales front row, 4 metres from 19 carries (2 passes)
Locks, Ireland 13 metres on 22 carries (6 passes), Wales 11 metres from 15 carries (8 passes)
BR, Ireland 29 metres from 17 carries, Wales 38 metres from 20 carries

Halfbacks, Ireland 100 passes (15 kicks), Wales 57 passes (8 kicks) (welsh did have 3 clean breaks by onfield generals though)

Centres, Ireland 10 passes-23 runs-51 metres , Wales 11 passes-19 runs-28 metres
Back3, Ireland 7 passes-30 runs-175 metres , Wales 7 passes-22 runs-72 metres (including Nicholl too as Adams went off fairly early)

Also to note, Ireland back 3 had 10 clean breaks recorded (Larmour 3, Conway 3, Stockdale 4)


Sexton joint highest tackler for Ireland with 14 (tied with James Ryan)

Only James Ryan on the Ireland starters didn't miss a tackle.

Belated post from me.

Really delighted with that performance and result, I really did not see that coming and thought we might take a thumping from Wales.

I think we have got a bit lucky over the opening 2 games with the Hogg and Parkes dropping the ball over the line but certainly I thought we dominated this game and were good for the bonus point.

The set piece was much improved and individually was very impressed by Conway, Henshaw, Stander, O'Mahoney and Furlong.

The bench also had a very positive impact - Earls looked really sharp at 13.

Wales were pretty poor, especially in defense and lacked the physicality they had under Gats and Edwards. I think the late try flattered them a bit as they really didn't seem to show up.

The 6N looks very open still with France to travel to Cardiff, even though they are in the driving seat England still have 2 home games plus Italy to play so for me are favorites.

I think we'll need to be a lot better to get anything at Twickenham but it's all to play for.

England will attempt to snowstorm us from the get go. It's happened to us plenty in the last year since they did it first.
So we should at least know alllllll the detail of what's coming and will we finally have an answer ready to repel it?

SecretFly wrote:Agree about Stockdale.  Needs to add to his threat repertoire.  Think it'll come.  Going through a little down period after his notable first season.  Looking forward to his rebirth/second coming in an Irish shirt.

Can I be the first to have reservations about Henshaw.  For me he played like a man wanting a quick hospital pass back to serious injury.  He looked to me a player playing with too much fear of rivals, too eager to show what he's got.  
In my humble opinion, he was taking it to a dangerous level.  Think his aggression needs to be more controlled, more method than just a rage to make ground.  I only say this for his own longevity in the shirt.  He reminds me of O'Brien - just a tad too eager to reclaim his shirt and risking losing it again quickly to injury.

I think Stockdale is finding a lot less space now, clearly he is seen as a key danger man. I noticed also that defenders are really going low on him now, whereas previously they were underestimating his strength and ability to fend defenders off and going high on him. I think he is playing quite well and making quite a few meters, just not getting the try scoring opportunities as much. He still needs to improve his defence and add a bit more but for me the back 3 looked really balanced and did very well.

Also the chips in behind were a tactic according to Farrell, both Conway did the same down the right. Whilst predictable they were very effective at keeping Wales pinned in their 22.

I disagree on Henshaw, I thought he was excellent, arguably are best player in the first half. I think he also combines better with Aki than Ringrose does because of his extra physicality. Ringrose looks like he needs a foil like McCloskey or Farrell inside to create more space for him to shine - based on Saturday I'd go with Hensahw and Aki again for Twickenham.

profitius wrote:I said a while back that Pivac might get his team playing a better brand of rugby and win big in some matches but when it comes to the tight battles, Gatland was the man to get his teams over the line. It wasn't pretty rugby but it got results.


It's a rough introduction to the big time for Pivac. I'd say he will be under massive pressure if results don't go his way. Already theres anger about losing yesterday's match. With the likes of Toby Faletau looking past it, Jon Davies crocked, North over the hill and the lack of athletes in the pack, it could be a rocky road for Pivac.


On the other hand Wales did show glimpses of their attacking game. If they can get that going then who knows, Pivac could be the new Gatland but more pleasing on the eye.

I think we are judging this result from a Welsh point of view quite harshly.

Ireland have lost once at home in the 6N since 2013, and the margin of victory for them was the same as it was 2 years ago, so by no means should we have gone in with the expectation of winning.

There are certainly areas that need to improve, Tompkins has now seen the step up from club to international rugby in regards to defence, our back row needs to be more dominant at the breakdown, and we need to be able to guarantee ball of our own scrums.

But had we scored from our pressure to get within 5, then we may have seen a different result. Congratulations to Ireland though, a very strong performance and very clinical when they had a sniff.

I thought the scoreline flattered Ireland particularly with the Parkes try, which I am still sure is a try, and the dubious maul try for Ireland. But also 3 of Ireland's tries came from unforced errors by Wales close to their line. Ireland barely had to play for their points. I don't think it was dominance at all.

And the forward pass by Jones for the actual try. It was a pretty dominant victory

rodders wrote:
I disagree on Henshaw, I thought he was excellent, arguably are best player in the first half. I think he also combines better with Aki than Ringrose does because of his extra physicality. Ringrose looks like he needs a foil like McCloskey or Farrell inside to create more space for him to shine - based on Saturday I'd go with Hensahw and Aki again for Twickenham.

I know that fizzicality is always admired in rugby circles. No surprises that he's being lauded. I appreciate the dynamics looked impressive but for me... I began almost closing my eyes every time he surged. He just has a very loose languid way of being combatively physical and it kinda disturbs me because it is an injury style and I expect stretcher buggies on the field every time.
Now you gotta be physical and play without fear - got that. But there are players I don't worry about and there are players that I do.

guestalt_physicality wrote:I thought the scoreline flattered Ireland particularly with the Parkes try, which I am still sure is a try, and the dubious maul try for Ireland. But also 3 of Ireland's tries came from unforced errors by Wales close to their line. Ireland barely had to play for their points. I don't think it was dominance at all.

It was dominance Irish style.  It may have looked a mess but it was Ireland making Wales look ordinary and impotent.  
All good sides (as Wales are) have real chances through a game that might have been tries on another day.  Ireland scored plenty of tries under the dullest of Schmidt's term too.  
But Ireland mostly contained anything Wales wanted to do or planned to do and the show was basically over.  You could feel it.  Wales usually know they'll have a crack at us in other games but that belief wasn't there in this game.  For a start by Ireland simply hinting wider play was on if required, Wales had to redraw their in-game thought processes and they didn't seem to like having to rethink their attitude of what we might bring.

As I've always claimed, just having the very threat that width can be placed on attack and quickly, it changes the entire perspective of the opposition and what they want to do to you in attack.  We've mostly made life too easy for opponent sides in Schmidt's time.  They didn't have to think on their feet too much.  They knew Ireland's drill as well as the Irish players themselves.  That hopefully might be about to change.

Ireland do make dull seem simple but not many sides at the top can play dull so effectively and still get a result

guestalt_physicality wrote:I thought the scoreline flattered Ireland particularly with the Parkes try, which I am still sure is a try, and the dubious maul try for Ireland. But also 3 of Ireland's tries came from unforced errors by Wales close to their line. Ireland barely had to play for their points. I don't think it was dominance at all.

Firstly Parkes dropped the ball, it's that simple, he lost control of the ball before it got to ground. It's very clear to see so I can only assume you're still wearing your red tinted glasses, something we're all guilty of I might add.
Ireland's 3rd try from the maul was only dubious to the armchair critics. Poite saw the grounding over the line but needed to check if there'd been any clear and obvious knock-on in the maul. There was nothing clear and obvious so the try stood. If he'd not made the on-field decision due to seeing the grounding then the TMO would have had to make that decision in which case the try would not have stood. Once again, it all depends on what's said before the TMO is involved.

On Stockdale, his chip and chase has served him very well in the past but defences are expecting it these days so they just aren't coming off as much. I do feel that he gets very isolated out on the unfamiliar far reaches of an Irish offensive play. He then has to decide to take the ball into contact where, if there's no support players he'll get turned over / penalised or stick to his old tried and trusted chip that gained him so many attacking opportunities in the past. One of them'll come off for him eventually, maybe against England, wouldn't that be sweet.

Pete330v2 wrote:One of them'll come off for him eventually, maybe against England, wouldn't that be sweet.

No! That wouldn't be sweet. I want three of them in a 15 minute sequence.... nothing less.

SecretFly wrote:

Pete330v2 wrote:One of them'll come off for him eventually, maybe against England, wouldn't that be sweet.

No!  That wouldn't be sweet.  I want three of them in a 15 minute sequence.... nothing less.

No! That's be sickly sweet. Too much sweetness can be a bad thing.

Oh how I'd laugh if my fantasy wish now actually happened.

Em... a few of them have in the past so ...fingers crossed.

Pete330v2 wrote:

guestalt_physicality wrote:I thought the scoreline flattered Ireland particularly with the Parkes try, which I am still sure is a try, and the dubious maul try for Ireland. But also 3 of Ireland's tries came from unforced errors by Wales close to their line. Ireland barely had to play for their points. I don't think it was dominance at all.

Firstly Parkes dropped the ball, it's that simple, he lost control of the ball before it got to ground. It's very clear to see so I can only assume you're still wearing your red tinted glasses, something we're all guilty of I might add.
Ireland's 3rd try from the maul was only dubious to the armchair critics. Poite saw the grounding over the line but needed to check if there'd been any clear and obvious knock-on in the maul. There was nothing clear and obvious so the try stood. If he'd not made the on-field decision due to seeing the grounding then the TMO would have had to make that decision in which case the try would not have stood. Once again, it all depends on what's said before the TMO is involved.

There is no law about control or downward pressure.

"Is first to ground the ball in the opponents’ in-goal, against the opponents’ goal post or its surrounding padding. "

His hand never leaves contact with the ball. Is it a lot of contact? No. But Parkes has as much contact with his hand as Hogg did with his body justs before the England try. It's just that the hand is obviously much smaller than the torso. It was at best unclear but to me I saw a try.

Clear no try to me.

The laws do specify pressing down.

His hand doesn't leave the ball and it squirms sideways once the pressure between ground and ball is made. Try.

guestalt_physicality wrote:His hand doesn't leave the ball and it squirms sideways once the pressure between ground and ball is made. Try.

His hand not leaving the ball isn't relevant, if he's not holding the ball it has to be pressed down which it was not.

No that's not the law.

I think at the millenium Parks gets the decision. I've seen them given, it does look like he's lost control in process of grounding but I think benefit of the doubt should go to the attacker.

There is a clear forward pass by AWJ for Wales first though so I think it balances out.

guestalt_physicality wrote:No that's not the law.

You'll find it is, you either have to be holding the ball and touch the ground or press down on it, neither of which happened on Saturday.

1. The ball can be grounded in in-goal:
a. By holding it and touching the ground with it; or
b. By pressing down on it with a hand or hands, arm or arms, or the front of the player’s body from waist to neck.

guestalt_physicality wrote: Parkes has as much contact with his hand as Hogg did with his body justs before the England try.

That's not true at all.

rapidsnowman wrote:A much improved showing from Ireland.

Hard to pick out anyone who had a poor game.

I thought our centres looked more effective - Henshaw in particular before he had to go off. Earls did a great job when he came on.
Stockdale was a handful earlier on in the wide channels. Though sometimes i think he needs to hold onto the ball and recycle rather than going for the chip ahead/grubber every time. Conway looked so solid in attack and defence.
Larmour looks like he should be Welsh with those side steps. Great try!

A very good team performance without any real standouts either negatively or positively.

Without getting carried away, at least it was an improvement.

It was a very much more improved and solid performance from Ireland. I thought Henshaw was magnificent while he was on and a constant threat and for the first time in a long time, I saw Aki actually straightening the line in attack which is his major strength for me. That said, I felt the Welsh centres were very poor defensively as was North which did afford Ireland more room in attack.


Larmour is just getting better and better with every game. He is no replacement for Kearney just yet but he is well on the way albeit his defensive work needs to improve but that will come.

Conway was my MoTM, thought he was outstanding.