Six Nations Preview Scrum V


Six Nations Preview

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What was yours in 2012? This? Scott Williams! Scott Williams for

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Wales! Or maybe this?

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George North. A beautiful offload. Jonathan Davies is going to score!

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And what about that heart-stopping moment at Twickenham?

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Also the score that sealed the Grand Slam?

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What a magnificent finish! Plenty of moments to treasure from

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last year. Off the they question tonight is, he can the class of

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2013 do it again? I am joined by Jonathan Davies, Jeremy Guscott and

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Martyn Williams. We have leapt Wyn Jones loose with a laptop. He

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offers his thoughts on how Wales can recover their no-show.

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Kingsley-Jones runs the rule over Ireland. We assess an England side

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still basking in the glory of that victory over the All Blacks.

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Hopefully we can kick off to a good start.

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Lions legend of Jeremy Guscott tells us who is in pole position to

:02:09.:02:19.
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make the trip down under. But for now it is all about rugby's

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biggest annual tournament. We were at the Six Nations launch as the

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teams feared up for battle. Six-nation holders, grand-slam

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winners, and we are not going to give up without a fight. It is a

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great situation to be in it. The added pressure is quite nice in a

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way. For us it is important to continue

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at improving but you get a result. If you get a positive result, it is

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The Six Nations is what everyone was raised on. It is an exciting

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tournament. It is cracking. As you can sense from that, plenty

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of excitement, and a most impartial observers picked France as their

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favourites. Art they your favourites? They start most Six

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Nations as favourites, the quality and strength of this one, but it

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all depends if they turn up on the day. Justifiably so, they are

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favourites, but this year I think he will be very close with everyone.

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If Ireland win their first game, they have got England and France at

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home so they could be contenders. It is the old cliche about France,

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which side will Turner, but under Philipe Saint-Andre, they do look a

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bit more organised. If you look at the autumn internationals, they

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were the most consistent. They dispatched Australia as if they

:04:05.:04:15.
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went there. It was so convincing. It was very controlled, very

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organised, and reminiscent of their club teams. They have got the power

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and the backs to score the tries. They look incredibly strong.

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backed France a few weeks ago and it is difficult to change your mind.

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They have had a few injuries and they probably have a short of

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preparation time off because all their players played last week.

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Like Jonathan said, the first game between Wales and Ireland, whoever

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wins that, France have got to go to Dublin, so I would say France at

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the moment but that game is going to be crucial. Frederic Michalak is

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key because he either plays brilliantly or he's rubbish. There

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is no in-between and he is not playing stand-off for his Claire.

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He is playing scrum-half. It has been a strange and confusing years

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Wales. From the euphoria of the Grand Slam last year to the despair

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of the first ever autumn whitewash. Gwyn Jones has been crunching the

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numbers and trying to figure out what has gone wrong.

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In international rugby, if the statistics show that 80 % of

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matches are won by their team's that score the most tries.

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Attacking line-outs often mean tries and tries mean winning. A

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third of all other tries come from turnovers. Only rarely are tries

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scored from a scrum or face play. Line and and turnovers second force

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-- 70 % of all tries scored. When Wales got this right, they won a

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Grand Slam. When they got it wrong, they lost every game in the autumn.

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This is my money ball Theory. During the Grand Slam, Wales did

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everything they could to stop teams getting dangerous attacking line-

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outs. George and off you certain and when it Leigh Halfpenny gets it,

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runs. Eventually he gains a enough ground for the offload, allowing

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Wales to reorganise and set up the infield kick and chase. Even in

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extreme cases against England, Wales ignores the safety of the

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touchline and Mike Phillips uses his strength and power to allow for

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the heavy mob to arrive. And then a sector for the kick and chase. In

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the autumn, Wales just gave away line-outs under no pressure. It was

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a change of tactics that just did not work. What also helped in the

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grand slam was that teams were so scared of the counter attacking off

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George North, Leigh Halfpenny and Alex Cuthbert, if they kick to

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touch to avoid these threats. But Wales 14 tries from line-out and

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not one from a counter-attack. Dan Lydiate's infamous tackle

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immediately isolated players, or creating the possibility of a

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turnover. Off the forwards smell blood and henceforth the ball.

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Thought -- if turnover is in the opposition half means tries. This

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was the only try of the game and won us the Grand Slam. We miss Dan

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Lydiate when he is not there. The list worked brilliantly for Wales

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last year. Jonathan Davies was Wales's Exocet missile, or locking

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on to his target with devastating effect. You must read the play and

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then commit wholeheartedly. He is a game Changer, turning defence into

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attack, and least of penalties. However, it became a weakness in

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the autumn. Alex Cuthbert did not go there with any conviction. Even

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Jonathan Davies had lost his no- show has he misreads the clay and

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leaves its toll for Australia behind him. Scrums are important

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because 40 % of scrums now end in a penalty. With Adam Jones, we get a

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penalty for star without him, we don't. In the second half, Wales

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are outscored their opponents in attack and defence. When it came

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down to the wire, Wales had the edge. We were the comeback kings.

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But by the autumn, the cry of chamber had lost its chill. Wales

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gave up the lead in a free of the four matches. When fatigue sets in,

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he tries are scored and games and championships are won and lost.

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Jeremy, as a neutral observer, sort of, what have you made of Wales's

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reasons live? I have always believed they have the talent,

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particularly the back line, and they are world class. If you look

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at the performance of the Grand Slam, even though they lost on the

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summer tour in Australia, the performances were great. They have

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got the talent, they just lack the belief. Living in Wales, if people

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outside of Wales don't realise what sort of pressure they are under. In

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England, football dominates. You have got Swansea in the Premiership

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and Cardiff are doing well, if there rugby seems to be the

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goldfish bowl. What has happened to Rhys Priestland, his confidence has

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gone down. He needed some the outside him and inside him to bring

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him up. Mike Phillips has been a wave. Jamie Roberts has been

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injured. That environment is changing continually and it is not

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seem to be a main Voyce. Sam Warburton has been criticised.

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There has been a lot of unanswered questions. The only way they can be

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answered is by putting in a good performance. They have to believe

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they are no worse than last season. If they have not become a bad side

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overnight. Is it still a mental problem? I just think the defeats

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in Australia, they are against they should have won it. They were the

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better side in all three Tests. On the back of those three, they

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started in the first game in the autumn and then confidence,

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momentum goes. If their confidence comes that, and that is why we have

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all mention the first game, it is absolutely massive. If they win

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that, who knows what he can achieve again? They have got the Gallagher

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of player to read everyone. But if they lose it, then you go to France,

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then you go to Italy and Scotland, and people expect them to win those

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games, if there was no confidence it is very difficult. They know

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they have got themselves into this position but now they have got to

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get themselves out of it. Robert Howley is in Sole charge now. He

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appeared in quite confident move. There is no Warren Gatland in the

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background of any more. Will that change things in terms of the

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dynamics? It will change the dynamic with the coaching team. He

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is very hands-on. He is going to have to take a backward step. Mark

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Jones has been brought in to take on the back line and that is it a

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step as well. The Scarlets have got a decent back line but this is

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another step there. It will change the dynamic of the whole coaching

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system. You hustle got Neil Jenkins and Robin McBryde. I think he has

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been unlucky. Warren Gatland was injured and he took over. The

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autumn was scrappy, was he there? Wasn't he there? Even if Warren

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Gatland was there, I still think we would have lost. We were called

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against Argentina. I think he needs to be given his time in the Six

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Nations. When Warren Gatland was absent through his injuries and for

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the Lions, you really need your leaders to really stepper and clay.

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Maybe they went missing a little bit. In the Six Nations, you need

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Adam Jones, Sam Warburton, Toby Faletau. All these guys who have

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performed in the Six Nations, they are big-name players. Leigh

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Halfpenny comic Jamie Roberts. Leigh Halfpenny and the Toby

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Faletau were the only ones who really played well in the autumn.

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All the regions have not been playing well. If you look at the

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starting 15 against Ireland, they are all in good form. I have spoken

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to a few of them and they are in good confidence. So as long as the

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individuals are on form, is that all that matters? For eight is

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difficult. If you are playing for a side that is struggling, it does

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affect morale. When you play for Wales, you get away from it. The

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one thing I would like to see, when everyone is down and confidence is

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low, you have got to the focal. Everyone goes quiet and you don't

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want that. You need guys screaming at each other. It is a steep

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learning curve that it is a young squad. Most of them have ever known

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success. The World Cup and the Grand Slam. As tough as it was in

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the autumn, I think they would have learned a lot and it will stand

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them in good stead in this competition.

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We will have a closer look at Ireland in a moment. But we start

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on Friday when Wales U20s travel north and it is also a big week for

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:15:07.:15:15.

There was this guy, yes, a working- class kid from the middle of

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nowhere. His ambition was to play for Wales but people were always

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doing him down, saying it was not possible. You cannot do it. You are

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too small. You do not fit the plan, the profile. Excuse after excuse.

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Well, in 2000 and it, this guy won his second Grand Slam and became

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the first Welshman to beat crowned world player of the year. -- in

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2008. I could go on and on. The point is that he made up his own

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plan and he did it in spite of them. To achieve that, it has to matter.

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You have to make every training session count. Make every sprint

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cap, every push up, every drill, every repetition. If it does not

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hurt, you do not feel it. If you do not feel it, there is no point.

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When your lungs are screaming for and your legs are turning to jelly

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and your vision is blurred, what do you do? You go again. And again and

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again. Because it matters. Every scrum, every tackle, at every pass,

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every line broke. But because it matters. In case you were wondering,

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that was not Chuck D from Public enemy! We are up North on Friday.

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Then the highlights for the Wales women on Scrum V next week.

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Last year, the team that came closest to this rolling Wales was

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England. It could have been at them lifting the Holy Grail at the end

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of the championship. What sort of shape of in ahead of the tournament

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this year? -- are they in? This is what England did to the

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world champions two months ago. The All Blacks had not tasted defeat

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for 20 matches. They are as close to invincible as you can get. But

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England refused to believe the hype and with that emphatic victory they

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went from Six Nations contenders to Six Nations favourites in the space

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of 80 minutes. It counts a lot to beat New Zealand in lots of ways,

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in terms of belief, mine set for the players, confidence and all of

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that. -- mind that. Equally it counts for nothing because every

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Six Nations game is a game in itself. I think the form book goes

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out of the window to a certain extent. We have to take confidence

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from that game but also hit the ground running at Scotland. It is a

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great position to be in and it is very different to this time last

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year when we went into a tournament. The coaches and the players did not

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know what to expect and there was not really that pressure. Now we

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are in a different situation of the back of that victory. We are going

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into this campaign with a team with more experience. The guys that had

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the 0 caps now have 12 or 13. We have played the majority of the

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best teams in the world. We can get off to a good start, had fully.

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year ago, English robbery had threatened to self-destruct

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following a disastrous World Cup. - - English rugby. In the last 12

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months, the Red Rose has bloomed once more. I think that is credit

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to the coaches and the other players. Players can come in and

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feel comfortable to go and express themselves. It is always an

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intimidating place, an international set-up, for a new

:18:58.:19:03.

player. For players to come in and feel relaxed and play their own

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game, that is what you want and I think they have done a great job.

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Creating the right environment is important to Stuart Lancaster, a

:19:11.:19:15.

former schoolteacher. So is bigging outside of the box, or in this case,

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outside of rugby. Tell me one big thing that you do. You are always

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looking to motivate and inspire the players and remind them of the

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privilege of playing for England. We have two guest speakers coming

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in. Andrew Strauss is one, and he can talk about England's Cricket

:19:32.:19:42.
:19:42.:19:43.

journey, and also Jessica Ellis's coach. -- Jessica Ellis. And trying

:19:43.:19:46.

to get somebody to pick up the right time and deal with a home

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Olympics. England's Leger reads as follows. Played 12, won 6, drawn

:19:54.:20:01.

one. A 50% win rate. Those defeats were against three of the southern

:20:01.:20:05.

hemisphere's superpowers and Wales, the only northern hemisphere team

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to have beaten England Under Lancaster. The trajectories of

:20:09.:20:12.

Wales and England may be moving in opposite directions at the moment

:20:12.:20:16.

but they are on a collision course for the end of the championship.

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finish in Cardiff, I have never been there, to be honest. I am

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looking forward to going to the Millennium Stadium. It would be a

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great crescendo. There will be ups and downs all of the tombs along

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the way. -- for all of the teams. You have met Gerry Lancaster. How

:20:35.:20:41.

has he turned the teams around? Results, not brilliant. Knocked out

:20:41.:20:46.

of this world. But he is a good organiser, a good planner, and he

:20:46.:20:52.

thinks deeply. What he makes up for in his lack of experience in

:20:52.:20:56.

coaching, is his selection of people to do the job. Andy

:20:56.:21:01.

Farrell's name was not mentioned and he is huge in the England

:21:01.:21:04.

organisation and for good reason. You do not just love somebody

:21:04.:21:08.

because they have got the good name. Man of Steel, fantastic rugby

:21:08.:21:12.

league player, it is what he says. You have to believe what somebody

:21:12.:21:15.

tells you. That is what coaching at the highest level is about. You

:21:15.:21:19.

cannot teach them to pass and tackle. You have to inspire them

:21:19.:21:23.

and get them to believe. Andy Farrell has a knack of getting to

:21:23.:21:27.

connect with the players at this level and Lancaster spotted that

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inspiration and brought him in. Rowntree has great credentials and

:21:33.:21:38.

they work on the skills, but in his captain, me included, people were

:21:38.:21:44.

wondering what he was doing in the team. But he has a quiet strength

:21:44.:21:47.

and confidence and that it defies Lancaster and the squat. There are

:21:47.:21:57.
:21:57.:21:59.

no superstars in that side. -- that defines Lancaster and the squad.

:21:59.:22:02.

Talking about inspirational and organisational stuff. Lancaster was

:22:02.:22:07.

talking about guest speakers. How important is that the stuff outside

:22:07.:22:13.

of rugby? I think it is invaluable. It can be an intense environment.

:22:13.:22:21.

We listen to the same voices 24/7. When you bring in to the camp

:22:21.:22:26.

somebody from the outside, it is inspirational. It is good to hear

:22:26.:22:30.

from people outside of rugby and it set in stone what it is all about.

:22:30.:22:39.

It is bigger than you. Sports psychologists, some players like it

:22:39.:22:46.

and some do not need it. One thing about England, they are in a good

:22:46.:22:50.

place. They are happy, coming off the back of a tremendous win

:22:50.:22:54.

against New Zealand. But they lost again to Australia when they should

:22:54.:22:58.

have beaten them. Again, they have got a great start because they are

:22:58.:23:07.

playing Scotland at her and I don't think Scotland will not go well. --

:23:07.:23:11.

Scotland at home. They have some very good players. Whether that

:23:11.:23:17.

result was that good, they will have to back it up. You cannot

:23:17.:23:20.

underestimate the feeling one those boys will have beaten New Zealand

:23:20.:23:24.

and gone away. When they turn up in the cap, the feel-good factor will

:23:24.:23:29.

be huge. Like pasta will bring that back down because you have to

:23:29.:23:36.

remind them that New Zealand was eight weeks ago. -- Lancaster will

:23:36.:23:41.

bring that down. They were not expected to beat the All Blacks and

:23:41.:23:49.

now a 2000 at Twickenham will expect them to beat Scotland.

:23:49.:23:59.
:23:59.:24:23.

a few days until the Six Nations After Wales's opening match against

:24:23.:24:26.

Ireland, they are on the road for three games in a row, facing

:24:27.:24:32.

everybody away from home. It was a similar story back in 2005, and you

:24:32.:24:36.

do not need me to remind you that Wales won the Grand Slam. We have

:24:36.:24:42.

been assessing how we have fared against the Blues in all that time.

:24:42.:24:51.

The Blues have been the blue tit team in recent years. They won

:24:51.:24:57.

Grand Slam in 2010. But France's only blip came last year when the

:24:57.:25:01.

4th place was their only finish outside the top three since the

:25:01.:25:09.

turn of the century. But since then, Andre has brought stability to

:25:09.:25:17.

their performance. They beat Samoa, Argentina and Australia. This class

:25:17.:25:26.

when they get it right. They have some great players from Clermont

:25:26.:25:33.

and Toulon. One cautionary note, since that win in 2005, Wales have

:25:33.:25:38.

drawn a complete blank in Paris. Even though they are moving to a

:25:38.:25:42.

new home in the study and a bigger this year, it has been the same old

:25:42.:25:47.

same old for the Italians. Only once have they managed to finish

:25:47.:25:52.

out of the bottom two by recording two wins in a season. They came

:25:52.:25:56.

against Wales and Scotland. Italy have recorded all of their Six

:25:56.:25:59.

Nations wins against them, except from one famous victory against

:26:00.:26:09.
:26:10.:26:10.

France in 2011. Once again, the Italian hopes will be carried on

:26:10.:26:19.

the broad shoulders of their one Scotland have suffered the most

:26:19.:26:23.

dramatic turnaround of anyone over recent months. After a clean sweep

:26:24.:26:27.

from their summer tour including a win in Australia, three autumn

:26:27.:26:37.
:26:37.:26:38.

defeats, the last recently, was enough for Robinson to call it a

:26:38.:26:43.

draw. Stepping out of the shadows, his number two, a very well-known

:26:43.:26:47.

figure in Wales. Latterly with the Ospreys, then previously as part of

:26:47.:26:50.

the coaching team that delivered that long awaited Grand Slam in

:26:50.:26:54.

2005. But despite the history, there have been no divided

:26:54.:26:58.

loyalties. There is respect and it is a privilege to play with the

:26:58.:27:03.

Welsh boys. The fact is that my loyalties lie with the Scottish

:27:03.:27:07.

boys and I want to see them perform. Nothing is better than seeing

:27:07.:27:12.

Scotland win. Scotland's Six Nations record is almost identical

:27:12.:27:18.

to Italy's. Stuck in the bottom two and asked half a dozen campaigns.

:27:18.:27:23.

The only time Wales have lost, home or away in seven encounters, it

:27:23.:27:28.

took seven penalties from Chris Paterson in 2007. Given Wales's

:27:29.:27:32.

excellent recent record against the Scots, losing to their former coach

:27:32.:27:42.
:27:42.:27:43.

Scott Johnson in the blue of Scotland now. He threatened to wear

:27:43.:27:48.

a kilt at the Six Nations launch. You have played with him and worked

:27:48.:27:53.

under him. Is he the man for the job? Scotland have struggled in the

:27:53.:27:58.

past with their attack. I can only speak from experience. He was the

:27:58.:28:03.

most attacking coach that I have ever worked with. It is difficult

:28:03.:28:06.

being a number two rather than a number one, so it will be

:28:06.:28:11.

interesting to see how he get along. It is a different coaching team.

:28:11.:28:15.

Scotland potentially could be a banana-skin for Wales, in Edinburgh,

:28:15.:28:22.

definitely. We were talking about Scotland having a good pack, which

:28:22.:28:27.

will make a difference. Yes, he is very straight down the line, an ex

:28:27.:28:33.

army guy. It is a pretty much one- way conversation. He tells you, you

:28:33.:28:39.

do it. If you do something different, then you run around and

:28:39.:28:43.

you do some press ups. He is tough on the discipline. He will have

:28:43.:28:47.

that kind of respect from players who have watched him. He

:28:47.:28:53.

understands the game. It will be hard for a Scotsman to listen to an

:28:53.:28:57.

Englishman, giving coaching advice on how to beat England. It all

:28:57.:29:02.

seems peculiar to me. I am sure he will do a decent job. He is any

:29:02.:29:06.

there for 12 weeks and they have to get their heads around that as well.

:29:06.:29:10.

So Gotland play a pressurised game. Their defence is good but they do

:29:10.:29:18.

not create enough. -- Scotland play a pressurised game. Unfortunately

:29:18.:29:23.

they have not got the 12-10 axis that creates a lot and that is

:29:23.:29:28.

their Achilles heel. Let's get back to Wales and the opener against

:29:28.:29:33.

Ireland. Kingsley Jones has compiled a detailed dossier on the

:29:33.:29:39.

men in green. Wales's opening game against

:29:39.:29:45.

Ireland is massive and could make or break either team's tournament.

:29:45.:29:48.

Ireland's talisman Brian O'Driscoll is back but the captaincy has gone

:29:48.:29:57.

to Jamie. Will he be able to cope with the pressure? This is him at

:29:57.:30:02.

his devastating best. Low body position, strong tackle, winning

:30:02.:30:07.

yards for his team. Not only is he a battering ram, he plays his first

:30:07.:30:12.

receiver, creating space for the people behind him. Can Wales target

:30:12.:30:16.

him? Yes. He likes to carry high and free his hands in the tackle.

:30:16.:30:24.

That leaves him to say that -- susceptible to turnovers. Wrap him

:30:24.:30:34.
:30:34.:30:35.

up, stop him getting the ball away, and he can give penalties away.

:30:35.:30:40.

Healey often turns a slow ball into quick ball. He gets the team to go

:30:40.:30:48.

forward. Around the fringes, nice and a low, pick and go, valuable

:30:48.:30:51.

yards around the edges. Buddy can carry the ball like Brian

:30:51.:30:58.

O'Driscoll. Can you target him? Yes. He likes to play too much and he

:30:58.:31:02.

will run off on his own and get himself isolated and give penalties

:31:02.:31:12.
:31:12.:31:19.

Wales can target the scrum. Mike Ross has been a big player in

:31:19.:31:26.

recent seasons. There is a lot of pressure in this scrum. And if the

:31:26.:31:30.

replacement has not played on the right side as much as last season

:31:30.:31:35.

there look what happened then. This really took the momentum out of

:31:35.:31:40.

Ireland a's game and cause them problems on the day. This is

:31:40.:31:48.

something Wales must target. And lastly we look at the half backs.

:31:48.:31:53.

Murray is a threat, a big strong player, but is he technically that

:31:54.:31:59.

good? He often less his team down with his kicking game. His kicks

:31:59.:32:03.

can be flat, allowing counter- attacking opportunities, putting

:32:03.:32:09.

his team under pressure. If I was Alex Cuthbert Fort George North, I

:32:09.:32:19.
:32:19.:32:22.

But don't forget, Brian O'Driscoll is back. He can be defenders for

:32:22.:32:26.

fun, he creates space for others, and is one of the best defenders in

:32:26.:32:30.

the tournament. And he is the most experienced player in the Six

:32:30.:32:38.

Nations. Brian O'Driscoll is back. He is not

:32:38.:32:42.

catch him though. You spent the day with him yesterday. Does he feel

:32:42.:32:50.

aggrieved? He is a top bloke. He's not going to be around much longer

:32:50.:32:54.

and he said he's disappointed because he is a proud Irishmen. He

:32:54.:32:59.

was injured in the autumn and Jamie Heaslip did a good job, so

:32:59.:33:03.

naturally disappointed, but he will still be like a leader on the field

:33:03.:33:08.

anyway. He's that type of bloke. But he's really looking forward to

:33:09.:33:14.

this because he has only played a few games. He is really fresh and

:33:14.:33:19.

this could be his last Six Nations. I want to talk about the Wales

:33:19.:33:26.

injury situation. A bit of a crisis in the second row. That aside, are

:33:26.:33:31.

there many selection dilemmas? back row is an issue with Dan

:33:31.:33:35.

Lydiate being out. Are they going to go with Sam Warburton and Justin

:33:35.:33:40.

Tipuric together? I think they should. I think Justin Tipuric is

:33:40.:33:45.

the best player in Wales at the moment. If you look at the way Sam

:33:45.:33:50.

Warburton tackles, he is very similar to Dan Lydiate. In the

:33:50.:33:54.

second row, if Ian Evans is fit, I would put him straight back in

:33:54.:33:59.

because I think he is that important. Apart from that, if the

:33:59.:34:05.

back line more or less picks itself. I think they will go with Dan

:34:05.:34:13.

Biggar. He has got a few issues, particularly in the pack. I think

:34:13.:34:17.

Number 10 will be interesting. He will definitely go with Dan Biggar

:34:17.:34:21.

because he has been the form player if they can he bring that regional

:34:21.:34:28.

form to the international stage. He is a confidence player. With James

:34:28.:34:32.

Hook, you don't know what he's going to bring. Does he control the

:34:32.:34:38.

game? But it has been unfair because he has been flown in

:34:38.:34:42.

sometimes. You know what Dan Biggar can do for you so you could start

:34:42.:34:48.

with him. Or you could say, let's give James Hook a run, see how he

:34:48.:34:58.

goes, and if he is not controlling it, then bringing damn. -- -- then

:34:58.:35:07.

a bringing Dan Biggar. If I wanted to win I would probably go with it

:35:07.:35:12.

Dan Biggar. International rugby is about consistency and stability.

:35:12.:35:18.

You have got to go for Dan Biggar. But he has got to run it. What he

:35:18.:35:23.

does for the Ospreys, or bring the centres in, good kicking, and let

:35:23.:35:32.

him run it. Don't let Mike Phillips boss it. And bring Jamie Roberts

:35:32.:35:35.

and Jonathan Davies enter the game. Those guys charging down the middle

:35:35.:35:40.

against anybody is going to be causing problems. Against Ireland

:35:40.:35:47.

last year, they could not handle Jamie Roberts and George North.

:35:47.:35:53.

Play the game in the Irish territory. And Dan Biggar is very

:35:53.:35:59.

vocal and he has got to come onto this stage and say, I am in charge.

:35:59.:36:05.

He has got a Ossett, as he does for the Ospreys. That is what he did

:36:05.:36:12.

not do last time. It is very difficult though.

:36:12.:36:16.

We will talk about the Lions in a minute but 40 years ago today, the

:36:17.:36:21.

greatest try ever seen was caught just down the road. It has never

:36:21.:36:31.
:36:31.:36:42.

seen so past and we have never It is just nice to be able to

:36:42.:36:51.

recollect it. It just gives you a special thrill to think that you

:36:51.:36:57.

will still want you to talk about it. Really, you can't put a value

:36:57.:37:04.

on that so it is not what it is worth, it is what it has given us

:37:04.:37:14.
:37:14.:37:24.

for the last 40 years. That is a That is brilliant! John Williams.

:37:24.:37:34.
:37:34.:37:35.

Brian Williams. A great dummy. David. The halfway line. Brilliant

:37:35.:37:44.

by Quinnell. This is Gareth Edwards. A dramatic start. What a score!

:37:44.:37:54.
:37:54.:37:56.

This Six Nations this critical for those hoping to make on the playing

:37:56.:38:00.

for for the Lions tour. Every week we will be inviting a tended game

:38:00.:38:10.
:38:10.:38:11.

to take a Lions starting 15. Jeremy Guscott is the first.

:38:11.:38:14.

The first selector his Jeremy Guscott. Before you start moaning

:38:14.:38:21.

that Jeremy could not pick a pair of matching socks. This is the

:38:21.:38:28.

trickiest selection, taking 18 the for the Six Nations has started. No

:38:28.:38:32.

Alex Cuthbert end of a free and Leigh Halfpenny out of position.

:38:32.:38:37.

Despite being a silky skills merchant, he has gone for two big

:38:37.:38:47.
:38:47.:38:48.

Jonathan Sexton at Number Ten. Mike Phillips will be slightly about

:38:48.:38:56.

being left out. Dan Lydiate is in the back row, but his and Sam

:38:56.:39:02.

Warburton bread to be captain? Alun-Wyn Jones has done it all

:39:02.:39:08.

before in the boiler house. No doubt in the front row. The best,

:39:08.:39:18.
:39:18.:39:22.

the best and the best. For English, five Irish and six Welsh. Thank you

:39:22.:39:32.
:39:32.:39:35.

Phil Bennett will be making his choice next week. Jeremy, you had

:39:35.:39:43.

endear yourself to the Welsh audience. I knew where I was coming.

:39:43.:39:48.

Sam Warburton is missing there Dan Lydiate is in. Robshaw has not

:39:48.:39:52.

shown that he can compete at the highest level with the best players.

:39:52.:39:57.

He has shown great leadership qualities also. Sam Warburton is

:39:57.:40:02.

pretty much the same. On form, the word he does is probably more

:40:02.:40:07.

collective. We have seen Sam Warburton make match-saving tackles.

:40:07.:40:12.

The one he made on Manu Tuilagi last year was phenomenal. But we

:40:12.:40:19.

need to see more of that. I agree with league macro at number six and

:40:19.:40:29.

number 8 but the number seven is very contentious. Warren Gatland

:40:29.:40:33.

has gone on record as saying you need an out and out seven. Robshaw

:40:33.:40:37.

is a fantastic player and a great leader but I still question whether

:40:37.:40:42.

he is again absent out seven. He will be interesting if Justin

:40:42.:40:48.

Tipuric does play seven and plays really well for Wales. The players

:40:48.:40:51.

all public be downplayed talk of the Lions but it is going to be the

:40:51.:40:59.

backdrop of this Six Nations. I interviewed Brian O'Driscoll, he

:40:59.:41:02.

said that every a Lions tour, Ireland have played well and they

:41:02.:41:07.

get a lot of players on the tour. That will be at the back of their

:41:07.:41:11.

minds. Last year, if you are picking the Lions on last season,

:41:11.:41:16.

all of the Welsh players would go. Now, if they don't get the results,

:41:16.:41:21.

will Warren Gatland the the Welsh boys? He is a huge season for

:41:21.:41:27.

everyone. I think it is going to be really close and the start is very

:41:27.:41:32.

important. To get that momentum and confidence than you are not chasing

:41:32.:41:38.

the competition then. He is not get easier. If you get injuries.

:41:38.:41:42.

have got very little time left but I am going to come see you for a

:41:42.:41:49.

prediction. Wales against Ireland? Wales, like last year, three or

:41:49.:41:55.

four points. Ireland, only because you said Wales. I think Ireland

:41:55.:42:02.

going as favourites. That is all from us. Thank you for watching.

:42:02.:42:07.

Just five days until Wales play Ireland. We thought we would leave

:42:07.:42:17.
:42:17.:42:20.

you with the thoughts of Eddie Off we go again, this is our thing.

:42:20.:42:24.

We don't win the World Cups, we don't win summer tours, autumn

:42:24.:42:34.

series, no, but this what we do. There is no time to stop, no time

:42:34.:42:41.

to pause even, because to have caused is to doubt. And to doubt is

:42:41.:42:47.

out. So we marched to be on the move, to be on the move is to

:42:47.:42:55.

escape the shadows that haunt us. There are always demons in Wales.

:42:55.:43:00.

For it is all going horribly wrong for Wales. So we marched like

:43:00.:43:10.
:43:10.:43:21.

pilgrims passed away shrines. St Alexander the Great. Can we do it

:43:21.:43:27.

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