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Band Ben Coles
It is a fact that it will provide some comfort or increase the pressure. When Wales won their first three matches in the Six Nations, there was only one result: another Grand Slam.
Wayne Pivac’s team will have landed in Rome on Thursday with the message ringing in their ears to look no further than this weekend’s game against Italy. And yet, with this young Italian team in the middle of a major rebuild and sending an average of 46 points per game, attention is already turning to Wales’ date with France in Paris the following week.
Dan Biggar, who will start again in Rome for Wales after shaking off a blow, can spot the repeated patterns with the Welsh Grand Slam two years ago.
“[This Six Nations] has similarities to 2019, “admits Bigger.” If we are brutally honest, we did not play that well in the first two games of this campaign. We played well in the second half against Ireland, but in Scotland we had two moments of magic from Louis [Rees-Zammit] and the second made the difference. It was the same a couple of years ago when we didn’t play well in the first two games, but we still got the results. In both years we have played well against England in the middle game and that prepared us to do the job in 2019. “
The change in the coaching staff, from the successful tenure of Warren Gatland to the Wayne Pivac era, clearly came with some growing pains last year. And yet Pivac should feel vindicated for sticking to its philosophies and choosing to build depth where possible last year.
Sam Parry, Will Rowlands, James Botham, Shane Lewis-Hughes, Kieran Hardy, Callum Sheedy, Johnny Williams and Rees-Zammit received multiple caps last year, with Hardy, Sheedy and Rees-Zammit all instrumental for Wales. in that recent win over England. Rees-Zammit, when Wales took the Grand Slam two years ago, was watching like a supporter from the stands.
However, in terms of personnel this year, not much has changed when comparing the current starting XV of Wales with the 2019 Six Nations champions. Ignoring Gatland’s selection in 2019 against Italy, when several marginal players had a chance, There are only four Welsh players who started the other matches in that 2019 Six Nations who have yet to do the same in 2021: Hadleigh Parkes, Gareth Anscombe, Ross Moriarty and Rob Evans. The change has been minimal, highlighting the consistency of Wales in the national team. By contrast, 20 players who started with Italy two years ago have not appeared in this year’s Six Nations.
Even if Pivac might be new to this situation with Wales, their players certainly aren’t, particularly Alun Wyn Jones as captain, aiming for a fourth Grand Slam. The big difference, Biggar points out, is the lack of atmosphere in the stadiums.
“The only thing I have not enjoyed is the games without crowds. It has been very difficult for me. It is such a strange atmosphere to play. We beat England and won a Triple Crown and it was a very low-key event. After the match, we had a Celebratory beer bottle and then we all got in our cars and headed home. That was tough. “
It would be remiss to listen to Biggar and not know his opinion on that first attempt against England, when his cross kick to Josh Adams caught England sleeping and sparked a fight between Owen Farrell and referee Pascal Gauzere.
“It’s one of those where if you were wearing a white shirt or holding them, you’d probably be upset. If you were wearing a red shirt, you probably wouldn’t have seen anything wrong with it. The only thing I’d say about it When you look at the top image, the edge England’s left side on Jonny’s side May was in position and ready to go. If I kicked him to Jonny’s side, he marked him and he went back 90 meters, would England be asking ‘Oh we’re ready now, can you kick the goal? now?’
Wales may be undefeated and impressed by the way they ripped England apart in that fourth quarter in Cardiff a fortnight ago, but it certainly hasn’t been perfect.
“Wayne said earlier this week that we’re looking for an 80-minute performance that would be really nice,” Biggar notes. “We’ve probably had a bit of luck in the first three games, but it’s one of those things where if you’re on the right side of luck, you probably don’t care.”
Ben coles
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