Previous posts
- Journey's end
- Several points to prove against Ireland
- A Roman battle and a huge game to come!
- An Azzurri adventure
- Mixed Magners results and a World Cup Sevens Victory!
- Lost in France
- 24 hours in Paris but returned empty-handed
- À Paris, mes amis!
- A tale of two cities (Cardiff and Paris!)
- Moving on up - Cardiff and the Magners Cup
- No small feat, but an aching head!
- A hat-trick against England?
- Roadblock for our fan
- Rhys Evans - Fan on the move
Six Nations Blog
Lost in France
I've finally managed to get over my short trip to France!! I was still hungover on Tuesday night!!! It was really hard going back to work on Monday, especially knowing that there was a fortnight to wait until the Italy game - I felt quite depressed.
What do you think about the team, then? 10 changes after last week's loss in Paris. The biggest change I see is the change at fly half, with Hook and Peel getting a chance to shine. Fair play, Peel has looked very sharp coming on as a sub in every game so far. I hope he manages to avoid injury playing for Sale at the weekend. I think he's playing a little bit better than Phillips at the moment.
It's obvious that Gatland has decided to give players like Martyn Williams, Gethin Jenkins and Shanks a rest before the crucial game against Ireland the following week. But I'm sure Italy will be thinking of the game as a chance to regain some self-respect after a bad start to their Championship, especially after seeing the changes to the Wales team. Although I think Wales has too much talent for that, and looking at the bench, Gatland has more than enough ammo to bring the big guns on to the pitch if things are going badly.
I have to say, it's great to see Alun Wyn Jones getting the opportunity to be captain after playing so brilliantly so far this year. He has all the qualities you need in a captain, especially for the future of Wales. We'll see even more emotion than usual while he's singing the anthem - with a couple of tears I'm sure.
I would have liked to see more of the team playing for their clubs this weekend, mind, with only Bishop being released to play Leinster at the Liberty. It's a big game for the Ospreys in their attempts to win the Magners Cup, with Leinster level on points. It'll be like a dress rehearsal as a team from Ireland play a team from Wales before the big game in Cardiff in a fortnight. Maybe I'm too optimistic, when we haven't even beaten Italy yet, but it'll be a vey special weekend in Cardiff if both countries are going for the Championship, particularly if Ireland are going for the Grand Slam - Wales will be out to spoil the party, I'm sure.
So - a quiet weekend for me before the last two games in the Six Nations. I'll probably be watching the regional matches in the new flat, and maybe I'll venture to the pub to watch a bit of footy. Have a great weekend! Speak to you next week.
Rhys
This blog has been translated from Welsh.