Dismal Display Part 2 - The Edinburgh Experience
By Dai
March 21 2003
Wales traveled to Scotland on the weekend to take part in a match dubbed "the wooden spoon decider". Both teams rooted to the bottom of the Six Nations table were desperate to seek their first win of the championship and on the day it was Scotland who came out on top.
Scotland 30 - 22 Wales
At 4.00pm the two teams entered the Murrayfield playing field as the thousands of supporters packed inside waited for the battle to commence. The Welsh supporters were quietly confident after a much improved display against England however by 4.30pm the only cheers were from the home fans.
Within the opening few minutes Wales were on the backfoot, conceding a penalty from their own lineout resulting in an opportunity for Chris Patterson to give Scotland the first points of the match. He stepped up and confidently struck the ball between the uprights leaving Wales 3- 0 down. From then on it got worse for Wales who struggled to get any ball during the opening quarter. A break through the defence from Gregor Townsend would have resulted in a try had it not been for a last ditch tackle from new captain Martyn Williams forcing a double movement from Townsend as he touched down.
Scotland went on to control most of the set piece ball and as a result, prop Bruce Douglas managed to crash over the line from a Scottish catch and drive move. Patterson converted and Wales were already 10 points adrift. However, there was an immediate response from full back Kevin Morgan as he caught the ball and burst through the Scottish defence before kicking upfield. Unfortunately the bounce of the ball didn't allow him to regather it but Argentine referee Pablo Deluca awarded Wales a penalty, allowing recalled outside half Stephen Jones to slot over the ball for Wales' first points of the game.
However, any signs of a recovery from the away team were short lived as Scotland immediately responded with a try from number eight, Simon Taylor who picked up a loose pass and easily waltzed through the shambolic Welsh defence. Chris Patterson again managed to add the conversion giving Scotland a comfortable 17 - 3 lead with only a few minutes left in the first half. From then on Wales began to show some signs of determination to score which was highlighted with an excellent move, started by Kevin Morgan in his own 22 and involved most of the team, resulting in a try for scrum half Gareth Cooper. Stephen Jones added the conversion and so Wales were back in contention - only 17 - 10 down at the break.
Throughout the interval many of the crowd were discussing possible changes to the Welsh team which could spark a recovery but to most peoples amazement, the only change of the second half was a change in referee with Tony Speadbury replacing the injured Pablo Deluca. As the second half began Wales gradually began to gain more and more of the possession but handling errors prevented them from scoring.
Within 10 minutes of the second half, the first change was made with Gethin Jenkins coming on for Ben Evans. The scrum then became more secure but still the errors meant that the scoreboard wasn't increasing - only Gareth Williams' ambitious chip and chase gave the Welsh support something to cheer. As a result, wholesale changes were made with remaining subs Colin Charvis, Mefin Davies, Gareth Llewellyn, Dwayne Peel, Iestyn Harris and Matthew Watkins coming on. Unfortunately for Wales, Kevin Morgan was one of those players who had to be replaced having suffered an injury to his knee which could potentially finish his career although if he is able to return it won't be until at least September.
Things began to improve for Wales until the last 10 minutes when a lucky bounce and an error from Rhys Williams let in Chris Patterson to add his name to the Scottish try scorers. He converted his own try which meant that Scotland had secured the match - leading 30 - 10.
Dismayed by the Wales performance hundreds if not thousands of the traveling Welsh fans began to leave the ground and consequently missed Wales' best moments of the match with Mark Taylor and Rhys Williams running in consolation tries. The final score reading 30 - 22.
Wales Scorers
Tries: Cooper, R Williams, Taylor
Cons: S Jones (2)
Pens: S Jones (1)
Analysis of player performances
Kevin Morgan - Made a couple of promising attacks - Unfortunately for him, the injury he sustained could ruin his career - Lets hope he makes a full recovery.
Rhys Williams - Did little to impress out wide on the wing and often found himself running across the field minimising the space for other players to work with. Morgan's injury will probably result in him having to face a tough test against the Irish in two weeks time - Could be a bad day for him.
Mark Taylor - Offered very little to the team other than his try - Sonny Prker must be brought back in when he recovers from his injury.
Tom Shanklin - Too similar a player to Taylor and as a result the combination at centre suffered.
Gareth Thomas - Tried hard and did well in Wales' first try - Could find it tough against Ireland.
Stephen Jones - Rushed back into the team too soon - Poor line kicking and organisation of the defence should see him replaced for the Ireland game although he seems to be a favourite of the Welsh coaching team (Don't know why).
Gareth Cooper - Like most of the other players he failed to perform at the highest level - Took his try well though.
Iestyn Thomas - Scrum sometimes suffered - can't blame him alone though.
Gareth Williams - Did well on his first start - Unfortunate not to score in the corner although lack of experience at international level could result in him dropping to the bench in two weeks time.
Ben Evans - Why is he still in the team? Scrum improved slightly after his departure - Must surely be replaced by youngster Gethin Jenkins for the Ireland game.
Robert Sidoli - Not as good as his England performance but secured most of the ball intended for him and got into attacking positions in the second half.
Steve Williams - Another player whose place must be under threat - If there is no improvement against Ireland his international career could be over.
Dafydd Jones - Tried hard although the coaching staff must be blamed for the selection of the back row.
Martyn Williams - The new captain got stuck in and played with his usual determination - Unfortunately he was captain of the losing team.
Gavin Thomas - Not a natural number eight and so perhaps its hard to critisise him - Again the selectors must take the blame.
Replacements - Iestyn Harris had the ability to put players into space and the introduction of experienced players like Gareth Llewellyn and Colin Charivs weathered the Scottish storm. Promising displays from Gethin Jenkins, Dwayne Peel and Matthew Watlins. Also pleasing to see that Mefin Davies was given another chance after he was unnecessarily discarded after the Italy performance.
Views on the coaching performance
Coach Steve Hansen has to accept some of the blame for this latest in a long line of defeats throughout his Wales coaching career. I believe that he made mistakes in his team selection and as a result the nation paid the price. Stephen Jones should not have been rushed back into the team and his lack of match practice was seen in this game. Also, Ben Evans should have been dropped after a couple of poor games previously. As well as these problems, the back row was badly put together - Dafydd Jones, Gavin Thomas and Martyn Williams are too lightweight as a unit and we need to find a solid ball carrier if we want to see an improvement against Ireland - Geraint Lewis is the obvious choice.
After this latest defeat it must surely be time for Hansen to go. There is something seriously wrong when our club sides can perform well against the Scottish provinces but they can't do anything at international level. Is it a question of motivation? Whether it is or not Hansen has had his chance and from what I have seen there has been no progress made - Bring in a Welshman!
Should Hansen step down?
Who should we pick for the visit of Ireland?
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