Can we knock Scotland out of kilter?

[Graigwen]

"Josh Adams is ruled out due to a tight calf." Well, that does not help!

.

[normanski]

Wales: L Williams; Cuthbert, Watkin, Tompkins, Rees-Zammit; Biggar (capt), T Williams; W Jones, Elias, Francis, Rowlands, Beard, Basham, Morgan, Moriarty.

Replacements: Lake, G Thomas, D Lewis, S Davies, Wainwright, G Davies, Sheedy, J Davies.

Adams is either unlucky or injured. I hope it’s the latter and he’s not paying for a coaching mistake.

If Cuthbert is going to redeem himself then it’s the best stage at home with 60,000 Wales fans to get him over the line. I hope he doesn’t blow it!

Interesting to see if Basham, Morgan and Moriarty can produce a balanced and aggressive back row. They need to against a pretty settled Scottish pack.

All to play for!

[normanski]

"Josh Adams is ruled out due to a tight calf." Well, that does not help!

.

Just seen that after I posted. At least he’s not being made the scapegoat for the Irish debacle.

Our forwards were pretty passive in Dublin so I hope they don’t go the other way being overly aggressive and start giving away penalties or even a card or two. Discipline and controlled aggression is the order of the day.

[Graigwen]

Adams is either unlucky or injured. I hope it’s the latter and he’s not paying for a coaching mistake.

If Cuthbert is going to redeem himself then it’s the best stage at home with 60,000 Wales fans to get him over the line. I hope he doesn’t blow it!

Interesting to see if Basham, Morgan and Moriarty can produce a balanced and aggressive back row. They need to against a pretty settled Scottish pack.

All to play for!

Adams is supposedly injured. I agree that if Cuthbert is going to start this game is as good as any.

Something had to be done to an unbalanced back row. I think Morgan had to be given a chance. Moriarty or someone like him is essential. I have no idea if this back row will go well against Scotland, but something like it had to be tried, and I won't criticise selection if it goes wrong.
(The Scottish have an all changed front row, but the comment about a settled pack remains true.)
.

[Mikey Brown]

What is it Morgan offers that makes him more suited? Not sure if I’ve ever seen him play.

[normanski]

Adams is either unlucky or injured. I hope it’s the latter and he’s not paying for a coaching mistake.

If Cuthbert is going to redeem himself then it’s the best stage at home with 60,000 Wales fans to get him over the line. I hope he doesn’t blow it!

Interesting to see if Basham, Morgan and Moriarty can produce a balanced and aggressive back row. They need to against a pretty settled Scottish pack.

All to play for!

Adams is supposedly injured. I agree that if Cuthbert is going to start this game is as good as any.

Something had to be done to an unbalanced back row. I think Morgan had to be given a chance. Moriarty or someone like him is essential. I have no idea if this back row will go well against Scotland, but something like it had to be tried, and I won't criticise selection if it goes wrong.
(The Scottish have an all changed front row, but the comment about a settled pack remains true.)
.

Interesting game in prospect. Can we bounce back with speed and aggression? I hope so.

Will the England game have taken some of the steam out of Scotland? Ireland certainly did with us. The Scots must be favourites but I prefer in games like this to be the underdog.

[normanski]

What is it Morgan offers that makes him more suited? Not sure if I’ve ever seen him play.

He is aggressive, carries well and has a very high tackle and turnover success. One for the future.

[Mikey Brown]

Nah, don’t like the sound of that. I hear Seb Davies is a good option at 6.

[Sandydragon]

Real shame about Adams.He remains one of our best wingers; hopefully the injury isnt too serious.

Backrow is interesting. I think it will be a fast and furious game so a mobile unit is no bad thing. Centre partnership looks more normal although I don't seethe point of Jonathan Davies on the bench, unless Halaholo is unavailable still.

And the return of Cuthbert. This one surprises me a little, obviously a great finisher in his day and playing well and offers something different to McNicoll.

[whatisthejava]

Is Watkins the guy you all like or all hate.

This team selection backs up my Pivac is trying to build a squad of 33 for the RWC.

[normanski]

Is Watkins the guy you all like or all hate.

This team selection backs up my Pivac is trying to build a squad of 33 for the RWC.

Many of us would have liked Watkin to have started last week as he’s an out and out centre. Instead Pivac opted to experiment with Adams and we know how that turned out.

You’re right about the team for RWC. Pivac has blooded lots of youngsters like LRZ and this year Dewi Lake and we could go to France with an almost unrecognisable team from Japan.

[Sandydragon]

Is Watkins the guy you all like or all hate.

This team selection backs up my Pivac is trying to build a squad of 33 for the RWC.

Watkin is a good solid player. He was developing well, although I don't think he was ever on course to reach Lions legend status. Decent defender and starting to show a little more in attack. If everyone were available I would have to think long and hard about who my starting and reserve centres were, but Watkin is a good replacement.

[Son of Mathonwy]

Another match without a proper 6 at blindside. Both 7s are good though, so it might just work. Against Scotland anyway.

Watkin, yeah, he's solid, a safe choice.

Cuthbert. I don't get this one. He's done nothing to deserve this, he's on his last legs and there are at least 4 wingers ahead of him IMO. Also, we have no full back cover without McNicholl (or Holmes, who would have been the sensible choice for winger).

JD2 at 23? Shame he hasn't shown much regional form. Should be Halaholo if we want proper centre cover, or McNicholl if we want full back cover.

I really don't fancy our chances. Although as last week, it's more down to the forwards to step up, regardless of the selections in the backs.

[newgalesurf]

Much better balance.

Irritated by the article that Adams would have still been in contention for a centre spot if not injured. Can't Pivac get away from this idea and put him on the wing where he can be used properly. Will never see Adams as a centre

Back row should show more grunt and has speed to get to Scotland

From Beeb

Pivac insists regular Cardiff wing Adams would have been in contention for another centre start if he was fit.

"It was a discussion we were having," added Pivac.

"There has been a lot of talk about that selection. When you break down the performance, we don't think that him playing at 13 was the cause for the tries they scored and he did a lot of good work.

[Sandydragon]

Another match without a proper 6 at blindside. Both 7s are good though, so it might just work. Against Scotland anyway.

Watkin, yeah, he's solid, a safe choice.

Cuthbert. I don't get this one. He's done nothing to deserve this, he's on his last legs and there are at least 4 wingers ahead of him IMO. Also, we have no full back cover without McNicholl (or Holmes, who would have been the sensible choice for winger).

JD2 at 23? Shame he hasn't shown much regional form. Should be Halaholo if we want proper centre cover, or McNicholl if we want full back cover.

I really don't fancy our chances. Although as last week, it's more down to the forwards to step up, regardless of the selections in the backs.

It really should be Holmes rather than Cuthbert and I don’t get the selection of JD2 on the bench either

[normanski]

It really should be Holmes rather than Cuthbert and I don’t get the selection of JD2 on the bench either[/quote]
Foxy is there because Pivac wants him to reach 100 caps. He will not make 101 caps though.

[Son of Mathonwy]

It really should be Holmes rather than Cuthbert and I don’t get the selection of JD2 on the bench either

Foxy is there because Pivac wants him to reach 100 caps. He will not make 101 caps though.

Yeah, I can see the temptation but I don't think Pivac would do that - in this must win match. He has the Italy game if he wants to give JD2 the 100. So I reckon he actually thinks Foxy is the best for the 23 shirt.

[Sandydragon]

It really should be Holmes rather than Cuthbert and I don’t get the selection of JD2 on the bench either

Foxy is there because Pivac wants him to reach 100 caps. He will not make 101 caps though.[/quote]
I don’t think so. As SoM points out there’s the Italy game for that so he must have been genuinely unimpressed with McNicholl to have dropped him entirely. I would have assumed that McNicholl would have been the better impact sub for this match.

[cashead]

Cuthbert? It feels like an age since he's been in the test squad. How's his domestic form been?

[Son of Mathonwy]

Cuthbert? It feels like an age since he's been in the test squad. How's his domestic form been?

His form's been reasonable for that level. He's not let the Ospreys down in the short time he's been there.

But he doesn't stand out amongst his peers. He's clearly behind Holmes and Lane. I'd put him behind Luke Morgan, Ryan Conbeer and Mat Protheroe too. He's not obviously better than Steff Evans, Rio Dyer or Tom Rogers either. Add to that the fact that we could be developing a younger player instead and his inclusion remains a mystery.

[normanski]

QBE with their rugby algorithms are predicting a Wales win 21-16!

I think that would have made sense if this was the first game of the championship but the Scots are on a roll bolstered by their win over England.

It’s going to be a tough day on Saturday.

[Buggaluggs]

I remember 1982. I was spoiled by Wales' strong previous 10 years and when Scotland got ahead I just figured we'd have to work a bit harder to win this. But we'd obviously still win it. It was a grim realization that the days of automatic home wins was well and truly over. Little did I know that it would go on for 20+ years!

I suspect we'll pinch a few points by being crafty, but Scotland will get there fair share too. And I think they'll win it as they seem to be a team with a better overall plan than we have at the moment. Of course, a couple of Scottish reds would help!

[normanski]

Cuthbert? It feels like an age since he's been in the test squad. How's his domestic form been?

Perhaps he’s been picked to counter the height and weight of Van de Meuve. But as others have pointed out Holmes or Lane could have done an equal or better job of containment.

[Sandydragon]

Apparently, if we lose tomorrow we will drop to 9th in the world rankings. Can’t say I’ll lose too much sleep over that.

[normanski]

Rain forecast for tomorrow afternoon. Do we know if the roof is closed?