Wales storm it with second-half blitz

Feb 25 2008 by Simon Thomas, Western Mail

WARREN GATLAND won’t want his Wales to become known as a second-half side, but for now that’s a fact which is reaping the richest of rewards.

And if they can start producing the goods for the full 80 minutes, then who knows what they are capable of over the next few weeks and beyond?

Wales have been a team of two halves so far during the Six Nations with the disparity between their record either side of the interval startling to say the least.

After three games, their cumulative return from the opening 40 minutes reads: points for 29, points against 30.

Yet when it comes to the second period, it’s a totally different story, with the aggregate tally working out as 74-12 in their favour.

This second-half syndrome was seen in its most acute form yet on Saturday, when Gatland’s men rattled off 34 unanswered points to cruise home against an Italian side who had trailed just 13-8 at the break.

So how can this Jekyll and Hyde-like scoring phenomenon be explained?

It’s bound to lead people to wonder what inspirational words of wisdom Gatland and his coaching lieutenants are coming up with at half-time.

Yet two-try man-of-the-match Lee Byrne was insistent after the game that there’s no magic team talk being delivered.

If that’s the case, then perhaps we need to start acknowledging Wales’ fitness levels, because they’ve certainly finished the stronger of the sides in all three matches to date.

And it’s also reasonable to suggest that their natural attacking flair – personified by try-machine Shane Williams – comes into its own when the game breaks up, as it generally tends to do later on.

But maybe, above all, we need to recognise the new-found confidence, attitude and self-belief that has enabled them to navigate themselves out of tricky corners in each game.

This is a team that sticks to its game-plan in the surety that it will eventually bear fruit and that was the case again on the weekend.

Their first-half efforts may not have produced the points they would have liked given their superiority in terms of possession and territory, but it was all part of a wearing down process that ultimately produced results in the shape of a record win.

It is also worth recognising there were a couple of pivotal moments that went Wales’ way, suggesting fortune may just be on the side as they set their sights on Six Nations glory.

These two incidents revolved around the respective outside-centres, meaning it was a case of 13 being unlucky for some and not for others.

The first came on 21 minutes when Gonzalo Canale spilled the ball with the line at his mercy after winger Ezio Galon had sliced through in midfield.

Had the try been scored, Italy would have gone 12-6 up and started believing they could extend their run as Wales’ bogey side.

Despite that miss, they still only trailed by five points at the restart and it was clear the next score was going to be vital.

Indeed it was and it went to the hosts, with Canale’s opposite number Tom Shanklin marking his 50th cap by intercepting a long pass from fly-half Andrea Masi and running in from 50 metres. It was a score that was a victory for the blitz defence which Shanklin has been working hard to get to grips with and it was also a score that knocked the stuffing out of the Italians.

You could visibly see their heads dropping as they trudged back behind their posts and from that moment on it was one-way traffic as Wales produced arguably their most complete 40 minutes of rugby since their first-half demolition of Scotland in the 2005 Grand Slam.

Thoughts will now inevitably turn to the prospect of another Grand Slam, with Gatland’s men three-fifths of the way there, having added Italy’s scalp to that of England and Scotland, taking their try tally to 10 and extending their place-kicking record to a perfect 21 from 21.

But the coach will be well aware of the task that lies ahead in a fortnight when he takes his team to Croke Park to take on Ireland in a Triple Crown clash.

The big question of course is what team will he pick for that trip to Dublin?

The Kiwi has kept people guessing throughout the championship, surprising us with his numerous changes and you wouldn’t put it past him to have another couple of tricks up his sleeve. But it does seem that the majority of positions have now been clarified after Saturday’s encounter.

Although Rhys Thomas wasn’t the weak link that some had feared at tight-head prop, with scrums being few and far between, he was penalised for turning in once and didn’t make that huge an impact around the park, so Adam Jones looks nailed on to return at No 3.

Similarly, Huw Bennett will surely start at hooker, with Matthew Rees having struggled at the line-out, most notably with the overthrow that sailed above Ian Gough and into the arms of Martin Castrogiovanni who gratefully accepted the gift to plough over on 12 minutes.

Alun Wyn Jones may be fit for Dublin, but by then he will have gone a month without any rugby, so a place on the bench would seem his likeliest role, with locks Gough and Ian Evans both having performed creditably.

Out wide, Mark Jones was clearly right up for it after being axed for the Scotland game and proved his point with a lively display that should see him hang on to No 14 jersey.

As always, loose-head prop remains a tough call, with Gethin Jenkins having stood up to Castrogiovanni’s challenge in the scrum and got through a massive amount of work to stake a real claim in his ongoing battle with Duncan Jones. There’s little to choose between the pair and whoever Gatland goes for will do a fine job.

Of course where it really gets interesting is at half-back.

If you are going on current form, then you would think the scrum-half battle has to be won by Mike Phillips.

His rival Dwayne Peel failed to grab his chance, with his passing uncharacteristically sloppy. Phillips can be guilty of being greedy at times and the coaches won’t have been happy with the way he fatally delayed delivering an inside ball to Mark Jones straight after coming on.

But let’s not forget he had created that opportunity with the kind of searing break that makes him such a threat to defences.

The abrasive Osprey is riding high on confidence at the moment and he certainly injected a spark when he replaced Peel. So unless Gatland decides to bank on experience, and class being permanent, then you would think Phillips has to get the nod for Dublin.

The biggest debate will, as ever, surround the No 10 jersey.

Gatland said before the weekend that James Hook was in the box seat, having started the first two games. But Stephen Jones couldn’t have done much more to dislodge him from that seat.

There’s no doubting Hook’s popularity with the public, as demonstrated by the huge cheer he received when called on to replace Jones.

And during his cameo, he showed glimpses of his attacking class, notably the miss pass to Sonny Parker that led to the looping Shane Williams carving through for the fifth and final try. But before the switch at fly-half, Jones had demonstrated his own qualities, with his tactical control, measured distribution and Test nous shining through. He’d had to deal with some shocking bouncing bombs from Peel – once having to trap the ball with his boot – but he handled them cooly and generally made the right calls. The way he capitalised on Josh Sole flying out of the line by darting through and perfectly exploiting a two-on-one to put two-try Shane in was consummate.

He may not be everybody’s cup of tea as a player and may not fit the romantic notion of a classic Welsh No 10 in the way that the Barry John-like Hook does.

But when the 68-cap Jones plays like he did on Saturday there are few safer pairs of hands and his game management and vast experience may well get him the nod for Dublin. He slotted seven out of seven at goal, while his kicking out of hand was generally excellent, as he dovetailed well with the left-footed Byrne to execute the game-plan of kicking long and keeping the ball in play to deny Italy the chance to get their driving line-out going.

They restricted the visitors to just eight throw-ins, thereby neutralising a big part of their game. Wales also more than held their own at the breakdown, where referee Dave Pearson was as hot on players going off their feet as Gatland had hoped he would be.

Pearson eventually lost patience with Italy’s serial offending and binned Mirco Bergamasco on 50 minutes, which was the cue for the hosts to run riot.

After Williams had been put in by Jones, Byrne capped a near-perfect display by handing off the hapless Canale and cantering home from midway to add to his 31st-minute run-in.

It had been Shane who had sparked Byrne’s first try and it was left to the wing wizard to have the last say with an electrifying finish that had Shaun Edwards, up in the stand, declaring, “What a player.”

As Edwards says, all roads now lead to Dublin, so roll on Croke Park and a game of two halves – hopefully both of them memorable for Wales.

HOW WALES RATED - page 2