An unlikely win for Canada,strength in adversity from Japan, and a torrid time for Uruguay are just a few of the things we can expect at the Rugby World Cup1) Wales’s Tipuric gives Gatland food for thought
Justin Tipuric’s man-of-the-match performance at the Aviva Stadium reignited the debate about Wales’s most effective combination. The Osprey flanker was playing on the open-side because of an injury to Sam Warburton, and the national captain for the final four years. Tipuric has the misfortune to be shadowing a player who not only wears the armband but who is one of the main players in his position in the game. The Wales head coach Warren Gatland knows how he feels having understudied Sean Fitzpatrick on the New Zealand bench during his playing days,never once leaving it to win his cap. Wales contain the option of moving Warburton to the blind-side to accommodate Tipuric, but that would mean omitting Dan Lydiate, and whose 25 tackles in Dublin helped Wales to victory four years after he played a pivotal role in the World Cup quarter-final success against Ireland. Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com