Celtic Crusaders reserves vs England : Sat Oct 17, 2009 11:04 am  

Not looking forward to tonight.Its going to do more damage than the worth of it getting beat about 80-0 on our own patch

: Sat Oct 17, 2009 12:12 pm  

I'm fearing the same but they have to start somewhere and so do the Welsh national squad after hitting our lowest ebb for a long time.

Now to restore a bit of pride in the shirt and build for up coming world cups.

: Sat Oct 17, 2009 12:34 pm  

crucrucrusaders wrote:

I'm fearing the same but they have to start somewhere and so do the Welsh national squad after hitting our lowest ebb for a long time.

I would agree. It's prbably not going to be pretty but if a Wales national squad doesn't start going on a regular basis then that would be a real shame. It would be great at some point in the future to have a kind of origin game between England and Wales, along with France, that really tests out all the players concerned.

Besides, the Welsh may surprise everyone as some of them have had SL and NRL experience!

: Sat Oct 17, 2009 7:34 pm  

All credit to Iestyn Harris, Clive Griffiths and the Wales coaching staff. A great effort tonight that put England to shame.
Carry on like this and it won't be long till we're watching France and Wales take on the Kiwis and Aussies in the Four Nations.

: Sat Oct 17, 2009 8:05 pm  

Cheers Catalancs. Clearly it's not all party poppers and baloons down here, but it was a pretty decent performance considering how many expected it would go. I really feel optimistic for the future.

A few years away from a side that can compete on equal(ish) terms with England yet, but heading in the right direction. Well done our new coaches and the lads.

I think we did enough to get the English lads sweating and revealed the strengths and weaknesses of that team a little at least.

Congrats on the expected victory and good luck for the 4 nations.

: Sat Oct 17, 2009 8:08 pm  

Grendel wrote:

Cheers Catalancs. Clearly it's not all party poppers and baloons down here, but it was a pretty decent performance considering how many expected it would go. I really feel optimistic for the future.
A few years away from a side that can compete on equal(ish) terms with England yet, but heading in the right direction. Well done our new coaches and the lads.
I think we did enough to get the English lads sweating and revealed the strengths and weaknesses of that team a little at least.
Congrats on the expected victory and good luck for the 4 nations.

With more Welsh players at the Crusaders and more Super League experience Wales can only improve. It's just a shame that some rugby league fans are so insular and short sighted when it comes to the international game.

: Sat Oct 17, 2009 9:13 pm  

Credit to the Welsh team tonight . I hope Harris and eventually Noble can build on this.

: Sat Oct 17, 2009 9:43 pm  

I thought the Welsh side were much improved on last year. I wasn't much interested in the English side, to be honest, since it isn't going to be the one that faces the Aussies, etc. I was much more interested in seeing how the Welsh side had developed and what potential there was in the team for the future of Wales internationally as well as locally.

I was somewhat encouraged, I have to say. Had it not been for a totally wrong call by Halibut, one of England's later tries would not have happened. One Welsh player in particular was prone to handling errors and I think three of England's other tries came straight off the back of them. Had those four tries not occurred, and had Halibut been more consistent with his reffing on interference, the final score would have more closely reflected the effort of the Welsh lads, who at this stage are more raw potential than anything.

I think your new coaches have done wonders in a very short space of time and apparently Harris was let down by some players who withdrew at short notice, which is a shame. I think the Welsh RL supporters should take some heart at that performance. If the development continues, both as an international team and at Celtic Crusaders (first grade and the younger lads) then I think there is a lot to be hopeful about for Welsh RL. I just hope the RFL continue the investment this time instead of letting it all go to pot again.

As for England. Well. We will just get our ritual tonking! I'm going to enjoy watching the Aussies live and also to see how our own young hopefuls perform against the best in the world (assuming Smith gives them the opportunity).

: Sun Oct 18, 2009 9:41 am  

Thanks for the encouraging words.

But a comment on the players who pulled out late. Some of them apparently pulled out to go to a wedding.

As far as I'm concerned these guys should not ever represent Wales again.
was it a surprise wedding? It's not like the date of the match has not been known for the best part of a year!

Especially when we had one lad (Griffiths) whose grandmother was being buried earlier in the day and STILL made himself available to play.

: Sun Oct 18, 2009 10:49 am  

What was the starting line up for wales?? missed it on tv