17/11/2013 Scrum V Sunday

The roof was shut. Mines were focused. And milestones were met.

Wales look for their first autumn victory in four years against the

Pumas. Mike Phillips. He is over halfway!

That is what they needed. George North, straight through. No

doubt whatsoever what the outcome was going to be.

Hopefully no injuries now going into the last two games.

But victory has come at a cost. The midfield has been put through a

mincer. Plenty for Warren Gatland to ponder. Good evening and welcome to

Scrum V. Wales return to winning ways in

emphatic fashion but that injury list is growing. Jonathan Davies,

Robert Jones and Lyn Jones are here to assess wales's first autumn

victory in four years. But first let's remind ourselves how they did

it. Immediately taken by the captain,

Juan Manuel Leguizamon. And the clearing kick under pressure does

not gain too much ground. Advantage, not ten metres back, so still be

penalty coming for Wales. Justin Tipuric waiting. Still advantage.

Mike Phillips took it quickly. Liam Williams. Is that advantage is still

there for them? They are finding the half gap. A great tackle, that is.

It was still advantage. A very good tackle by Nicolas Sanchez.

Leigh Halfpenny and Wales band running.

A little bit long but it works for Argentina. This is what the captain

does so well. Argentina, their first venture into the Welsh 22.

A great run by the Argentinian captain. Still they have it.

That is an interception and surely it is going to be a try. There's

Mike Phillips have the legs? The dummy is enough and Mike Phillips

goes the length of the field to score. That is what they needed. But

George North, just watch the supporting run of George North which

takes both defenders away from Mike Phillips. I did not think he had the

legs. Wales have it again and Williams

once more sense this one low. Santiago Cordero. Wonderful stuff.

Still going! This is marvellous. The support not quite there but that is

magic. The ball goes loose. Did it go forward? There is still a chance

here for Argentina. Dan Biggar are getting across there, just in time.

What a fantastic run. A dummy kick, steps of his right and then his

left. What a great run. A yellow card for Justin Tipuric who

is deemed to have taken a man of the ball. A chance for Nicolas Sanchez.

He plies his trade at Bordeaux. A chance here if it falls for

Argentina! That was so dangerous for Wales. Three points missed could

easily have been seven. Still Argentina. Wales are riding their

luck at the moment. They are a man short now. An opportunity here for

Argentina. Great play. A little chip through from Nicolas Sanchez but it

is well shepherded into touch. And Wales have the penalty inside

the Argentinian half. Yes, sealing off.

He is running back, Leigh Halfpenny. He knows it is good.

Mike Phillips with the kick, inviting the captain, who decides to

kick this time. Here he goes! That was a great chip. Was there a

knock-on? No, of the foot says the rectory. -- referee. That was great

play by Juan Manuel Leguizamon. Good tackle.

Still playing with a man advantage, remember. Scott Williams was rocked

there as he made that tackle. They need to go wide. And so they do.

Argentina need points to show for all of this. It just slows down a

little bit. They are playing good football at the minute, the

Argentinians. Forward say the crowd but play on says the referee.

I think they will be happy with things so far. Just a few things to

give Argentina chances. Straight through! George North! There is no

stopping him now. In four Wales's second try. A lovely step.

Wales claim there was a knock-on. Wide it comes. Joaquin Tuculet.

Advantage Argentina. Wales straying offside. The chance for the first

points on the board. Nicolas Sanchez gathers them up.

Held at the back by Toby Faletau. Mike Phillips. He looks inside.

George North had just strayed in front of him. They had both wingers

on that side. This penalty will be the last action of the first half. A

wonderful kick. Five from five for Leigh Halfpenny. A very impressive

first half for Wales. Toby Faletau plays scrum half.

Richard Hibbard. There is a forward on the wing here so if they get it

wide, there is a chance. Scott Williams through the gap. George

North calling for it. This could be a great try. Leigh Halfpenny is

there. The space appearing. Justin Tipuric. Liam Williams. Argentina

get there in numbers now. Rhodri Jones. They looked certain they were

going to score there, Wales. Wide it comes. George North again. Taken

down around the ankles but coming back for a Welsh penalty.

It did not end in a try but it does end in three more points for Wales.

That was a good drive from Argentina. Scott Williams. Liam

Williams. He takes it well. Liam Williams infield to Toby Faletau. A

wonderful try for Toby Faletau! That is what we like to see, Leigh

Halfpenny running the channel outside 13. He has got the pace. And

brilliant, brilliant support play from Toby Faletau.

A penalty for Wales now. Mike Phillips takes it quickly. Here come

Wales again. Support outside from Liam Williams. Back inside for Leigh

Halfpenny. Still Wales come. Gethin Jenkins. Justin Tipuric.

Richard Hibbard in there. Wales, Wales, is the cry. Cory Allen with

the little chip. George North tries to take the ball. Ken Owens, the

replacement hooker for Wales. This is a very good attacking position.

Let's see if they will go for the driving line-out here.

Goodbody angles. The ball at the back with Ken Owens. Let's go. They

are going faster now, driving towards that line. Down they go.

Another try for Wales. They will be absolutely delighted. Ken Owens that

is. To score a driving line-out against Argentina, very well worked.

Totally in control. Paul James. Ken Owens dropped it. It

seemed to go backwards but forwards says the rectory and that will be

the end of things. Wales very happy with a very handsome win. 40-6.

Wales have finally got the monkey off their back, ending a run of 11

or two games without a win. It was really pleasing. It was the

ability and vision at times to move the ball from the 22 behind our own

line and the opportunities and chances we created, those are the

kinds of things we have continued to work on. I was pleased with the

scrum and the line-up today. Again, it was as good as last week. You

always looking for a perfect performance and there's still a few

things for us to work on. It's nice to get a winner. We haven't won

since the 2009 series. It is a great feeling now that we have one. A lot

of hard work and now we have a decent score line behind us. I think

we made a lot of mistakes. Really expensive. The Welsh players played

an awesome match, as well. We gave away too much this

afternoon. Sometimes it's hard to get away with some of the stuff we

tried today full you always tried to play a good brand of rugby and get

the board is going. I think we managed to an appellate Argentina

well. We managed to take apart in the last half an hour. Those

injuries, they don't get easier, do they? It looks like Allen has

deserted the shoulder. Scott Williams, he has damaged his toe.

Radley Davis has hurt his shoulder. We have options. If we are

desperate, we can put George in there. We want to see him. We are

short on centres and wingers, so we may need to get some people in the

week. We will talk about the injury crisis at the moment but we had

Gethin Jenkins say they took Argentina apart in the second half.

Warren Gatland said Wales had been guilty in the past of dropping down

to the opposition babble. Was that more of a ruthless Wales yesterday?

Yes, but you have got to take the opposition into account. They were

not South Africa. Argentina RNA situation of transition. A new

coach. That are in a. Wales went out there and do the job. They went out

from the word go they had control. Control of the ball, defensively,

very, very good. I think it was the workrate of most players. The work

off the ball was fantastic. To get four tries and to dominate the

second half, and to prevent Argentina from scoring was massive.

I disagree. Argentina are a very good side and they do played to a

high standard. That was a record score for Wales against Argentina.

We've always struggled against them since day one. I thought it was an

excellent performance from Wales. From start to finish. Full of

positives. They must have delighted. Everything they tried

came off. It was one of those days for Wales and they played really

well. I'm sure they will play a lot worse than that and lose in the

future but everything went right for Wales on the day and you have just

got to take those big trees when they come. Argentina are full of

good players but nothing went right for them. Maybe because we were

sharp in defence, maybe a bit of everything, but that was a really

good performance from Wales. Jonathan, I know you spoke to Warren

Gatland about the aspect he wanted to improve on after South Africa.

What were they? They matched South Africa physically and they wanted to

work on the 1% of their game. They had opportunities to score 50 plus

yesterday. The aerial game, I think that was a lot better. They kicked

and chased better. This is a lovely kick into the corner. You can get

the ball back onto the halfway line. They don't give him time whatsoever.

Great chasing. They scramble across the field. They make a tackle. And,

all of a sudden, they are in the 22 and get the ball back, which was

great. The other thing was, a couple of breaks against South Africa, they

didn't bust a gut. They gave up on the inside and outside support but

that could have been a try scoring opportunity. Yesterday, every break,

they chased and supported inside and out.

This was a lovely chap. Watch the inside support runners. Options on

both sides. -- clip. The only downside of this, they should've

scored in that situation. This is brilliant. Scott Williams, look at

this. Four forwards on their feet. The cuts them to pieces. George

comes on the inside, maybe should've stayed on the outside. Watch the

other two on the touchline. They get a pass away. The ball goes one pass

a game, they scored but, unfortunately, they don't score, so

they said they were going to work on that and they certainly showed that.

I think the next 1% is when they do school, after the New Zealand game,

I think the last example is the Faletau try. The scrum is under

pressure. Straight out and Faletau is away. Allen fixes that guy and

take the eyeliner of the outside centre which causes the winger to

come in which I like to see. A good defence by Liam Williams. Faletau

was brilliant yesterday, man of the match. It could've been Mike

Phillips, Scott Williams, George North. Pickering man of the match

was virtually impossible, but it's nice to be in that position that

picking a man. It was a great performance. You saw yesterday, with

the making breaks against Australia, they didn't finish off on

the inside. Wales are creating, off-loading opportunities. At least

they are creating and it's only a matter of time before things take

off. Shaun Edwards was beaming in the press conference yesterday

because they did not concede a single try in the game. It was a

ruthless defensive effort yesterday. Since Warren came in, he wanted to

improve the defence. 13 ospreys to play against England, because they

wanted to bolster defence and the ospreys created that for them. A

couple of things I picked up on yesterday. In the centre, you have

players who are used to blitz defence. They push up here but then

Liam Williams, three metres behind where he should be. But they are

experienced the two make Argentina recycle and go through another

phase. George North going back, releases

11, to push up. Liam is waiting for Halfpenny to come across. He needs

to come across behind the defensive line. Book. Fantastic. He can take a

or B depending on the pass. Great defensive work. It took about 12

months. We have George North doing exactly the same. They should

release Liam Williams to push up. Now we have two forwards on the

outside and a bit of lift. Not sure what to do. You can't allow them to

play out there because they will eat you up and we all know what happened

next. Scoring a try at the death to women. -- to win.

Ashley back and James Beck should start the next game. We have to get

the Australian game in perspective. Huge game, southern hemisphere

scalp. We have to try to get a combination there. James Hook could

start at 15. Do I pick a strong team to carry on the momentum to go into

the game? Do I risk injuries? Do I take experience? Do I rest my key

players? The centre and the wing are two areas of concern at the moment.

We don't have the numbers. Williams is back fit. A number of options but

I think we have to look ahead and James Hoch is a problem. There one

centre playing the bar for the moment who everybody forgets about.

It all depends on their selection policy. Do they rest Scott Williams

or play him? Do you play Williams? James at ten? Here's such a great

utility player. Do you play him the centre because of injuries? They

haven't got the strength and depth over other nations unfortunately. We

are talking about how good it is the youngsters are coming through, but

we haven't got strength and depth. It would be dangerous to throw in

these boys. If you put into centre, Biggar is a liar who wants to play

every week and he gets better when he plays every week. -- he is a

player. It's the toughest position of all, defence. You don't know

what's around you. You have to trust everybody around you, inside and

outside. Who was going to play against Australia? They need to be

put in against Tonga. They need to have the ability to make mistakes

against Tonga. I'm focusing on the defensive side. We need to shut them

down. We will go into this after the programme. There were numerous

candidates for man of the match but we must mention Gethin Jenkins, his

100 cap. He really is one of the all-time bests. He does his work at

scrum time but his work ethic on the field, he's one of the fittest guys

in the squad. We have seen it constantly at the breakdown, he is

constantly there charging down kicks. Offering himself as a

ball-carrier. There's public affair bit left in him. He will keep going.

He will probably break the record. And maybe even cracked a smile for

something large and too Gethin Jenkins. Let's move on to the other

international is over the weekend starting with England against New

Zealand. New Zealand went to Twickenham looking for revenge after

their defeat last year and were celebrating dan Carter's 100th cap

and the all Blacks got off to a flying start.

Here is the early chance. The early score, as well. Read, a lot of

action early on. A good ball-carrier for England. Franks to the rescue

for England. The tackle still had to be made. Here is Read. He is over

for New Zealand's second try of the game. England regrouped. A little

bit scrappy. The ball is on the floor and now it is down and over

the line. A try for England. Farrell kicked 17 points and, with this,

England took the lead. England lead New Zealand. But the visitors came

back and Savea's second try gave them a hard-fought victory. Nonu

thought about going himself. Here comes Savea. Has he got another one

here? Yes, he has. New Zealand get the try. They found it tough going

against insurgent Australia. Moore. A good angle by the Hawk-eye, get

the pass away. A brilliant try. -- by the hooker. Another good pass

from the hooker. Australia with numbers outside. Farley breaks free.

You get the pass infield. The hooker from the back row scores Australia's

second try. Quade Cooper, clean through. Set

piece try. Quade Cooper. In a change of style, Australia's forthright

came from Moore. His second of the match. The Australian centre was red

carded for this tackle. But even with a one-man advantage, Ireland

couldn't break through and the coach was left annoyed. Last week Scotland

have a comfortable win against Japan but South Africa was a tougher

challenge. Going for the defensive shot. And easy score to the

line-out. He scored a try. It is given. Under pressure for most of

the first half, Scotland were coming back into the match when the

Springboks struck twice in quick succession. He is away. Nobody is

going to catch him. An interception gives them a try against South

Africa. Two men in front of him. La Roux. He

doesn't get there. He will score! And, as the rain fell in the second

half, South Africa went back to full strength.

Carbon copy, once again, over the line. The try is given.

A convincing win for South Africa over Scotland. To what extent is

that what the result against Wales into perspective? It was a great

performance by Wales last week but those 1% did not come through and

that is why they lost. They took their chances and we did not. They

are clearly the second-best team in the world. I just feel the two

rolling mauls were far too simple. And Australia are never down for

long, are they? They look to be improving. They are getting better.

What they had yesterday for the first time in years was a scrum.

Ewan McKenzie will have focused on that, knowing it is important to be

the top opposition. Again, just watching the game, it is

highlighting the fact that Australia, South Africa and New

Zealand play rugby in the contact area. They can off-load, they can

path. In the northern hemisphere, we played this side of the defensive

line. You have got to put pressure on these top teams. England do it.

They got the tactics right. That will be the difference. Yesterday,

that's all they did, once they got any faceplate, they put it wide and

they just fell through the defensive line. And then they got the off-load

away. But Wales play an aggressive blitz defence so it will be

interesting to see how they try to work that out. Everybody is saying

Wales against Australia, it is an easy win. It is never an easy win

against Australia. By the end of this tour they will have put their

house in order. The scrum is now looking solid and they are always

going to be dangerous. They are smart, intelligent players. Before

Wales face the Wallabies, they will have the Tongans to play with. They

may be a raft of changes for that game but what Heaven happens to Toby

Faletau, it is sure to be a special occasion.

Dynamic, skilful, strong and quick. Toby Faletau is fast becoming one of

the best number eight in world rugby. His rise to the top has been

meteoric and the journey there a little bit different from most. Born

in Tonga in 1990, he lived until he was seven surrounded by palm trees,

beaches and turquoise lagoons but when the Tongan national side toured

Wales in 1997, a squad which included his dad, that is when fate

intervened. The coach of that side was the father of Wales flanker

Kingsley Jones. I was nagging my dad to try and help us out with a couple

of Tongans, particularly second row and fullback. He arrived from Tonga.

He was a big hit and a favourite at the club. After the first year,

because the people in Ebbw Vale are so friendly and I feel at home,

after two weeks, I feel I can carry on playing so I got back and told my

wife and kids to come over. My earliest memories are coming down

from training and seeing these two young Tongan lads hanging onto the

roof of the clubhouse, jumping on the roof of your car, just typical

young lads. And while Toby was familiarising himself with his new

environment, his new friends were trying to familiarise themselves

with the Tongan language, but struggling. When we first came over

to Ebbw Vale, they went to school. They could not say his name so he

just said, call me Toby. He wasted no time in following in his

father's footsteps. This is Billy Vunipola with Kobe. Our mothers are

distant relatives but we call ourselves cousins now. We pretty

much grew up together checking a ball around, playing rugby. We never

thought we would be on the Lions tour together. The brothers

ultimately chose England over Wales. Although Toby Faletau played youth

rugby over the border, there was never any danger of him trading the

three feathers for the red rose. Not at all. He went to play at the

Bristol Academy but I already told him, if you are good enough, you

have to come back and play in Wales. The reality was he was more than

good enough. A succession of barnstorming performances for the

Dragons saw him named in the Wales under 20 squad. And while he was

still a teenager, his profile, along with his Afro, was expanding

rapidly. I still see this young lad starting to change. But the first

few weeks training with him, it is really strange because I still see

him as this young lad. Despite the growing attention, he remained

grounded. His Tongan heritage and strong family values meant he never

allowed his success go to his head. He was given a club car. The

following day, he turns up in the old banger again. The reason was

that he had given his car to his father to travel around in. That is

not a surprise to me. That is family values that happens in Tonga. For

most observers it was only a matter of time before the he ran out at the

Millennium Stadium for his first full Welsh cap and he did so in

2011. I tell him, now you are not a Tongan any more, this is your

country. You have to die for your country. I was crying. To me, I told

them, I was crying... He is a very quiet guy off the field and I

suppose when he started in the international seal that was a big

problem because he never said a word. But now he just does stuff and

you think, I am glad is on my team. He is probably the most modest guy I

have ever met and I tell him to wind him up. I honestly believe he is up

there with the best number eight in world rugby. Up there with Kieran

Read. But you can't accept a con -- compliment. Kieran Read is the best

number eight in the world, in my opinion anyway. He likes things to

go right. He likes players to be accurate and skill levels to be

there. And I think we are lucky to have him at the moment. Hopefully he

will continue to improve. I don't think we have seen the best of him

yet. And if his best years are ahead of him, his next three at least will

be in Wales. Despite the lure of big money abroad, he has decided to stay

in Wales. We talked over the options and we both thought it was the best

thing to stick around for another couple of years and see what happens

after that. Sometimes you have to stay where you are. But don't

forget, this is the club that gave you the chance to express yourself

and you have a chance to play for Wales. Don't go with the money. A

lot of people may be surprised he's decided to stay in Wales with the

Dragons but it speaks volumes to his father and the family values and I

wish more people would look at that. I think a lot of people out there

would love to get their hands on Toby Faletau but he has committed

himself and I think that needs to be recognised and rewarded as well. I

was talking to someone earlier today saying I still sometimes reflect on

where I am and a couple of years back I never thought I would be in

this position at all. I am so thankful and grateful for this.

A wonderful try for Toby Faletau! It was nice of him to put in a Man

of the Match performance the week we decided to run a feature on him. A

really modest bloke. As we saw in that feature, it goes to show that

money is not the only factor when it comes to making these decisions. He

is very popular with the players at the Dragons. He enjoys his rugby and

he has freedom to do what he likes. I like his warm up. He runs around

the field just kicking the ball in the air and catching it. All the

sort of things you do when you are very young. He practices his

goal-kicking is well like all good number eight. His game has come on a

lot in the last two months! With Kingsley Jones! He is a great player

but he is a great footballer. He does the right things at the right

time. The passing, the support play. His values come from his family, in

terms of the loyalty. There are a lot of good rugby players in Tonga

so he has got the perfect balance. He has got lots of good attributes

but he has got some weaknesses as well. I am sure you will put that

right. He has got lots to come in his game. He can still be a great

player. I just want to talk about next week

now. What sort of team Warren Gatland should pick. Whether he

should go full strength and build a bit of momentum. Given the injury

situation, do you think you should pick a second string? The first

thing is, they need to win. That is the first thing because

international rugby, you are judged by results. It is always going to be

one of those banana skins, purely down to the injuries. If we are

anywhere near our full strength, we would be Tonga quite comfortably.

But with injuries, there is an element of doubt. Whoever he picks,

the forwards will be too strong for Tonga. Again, it is whether they

save players for the big one at the end. We will have to wait and see.

Selection is very personal to the coaches and it depends on how they

see it. You could look at it and say there are seven or eight key players

that we really want to be there for Australia. If you look back 12

months ago to the Six Nations, Luke Charteris and Andrew Coombs were

representing Wales and doing a really good job as well. If Alun Wyn

Jones doesn't play and Bradley does not play, we have got two good

second row players coming in. If you look at New Zealand, they have got

30 international quality players. We have got to increase our pool of

players if we are going to challenge. I think they will rest

some key players. Scott Williams has got an injury, I don't think they

will whisk him. Bradley Davies has got a shoulder problem, I don't

think they will whisk him. But Ryan Jones has experience. If anything

happens again Mike Phillips, we need Lloyd Williams to stepping so he

needs some rugby. We will keep this chat going on

Scrum V Extra Time. It is Tonga next up. We don't know whether Toby

Faletau will be picked to play against the land of his fathers but

if he does play and he does score, he won't be celebrating. It is not

his style. I just don't see the point in

jumping up and down. You could end up losing the game so you don't want

to celebrate. I guess it is not in my nature.

So simple, so effective. Thousands of people pass it

every day, unaware it even exists - For 50 years, this white stone

plaque has marked the weekend President John F Kennedy visited

the Sussex village of Forest Row for a political summit

at the height of the Cold War.