And the winner of x factor is...?

Genia, Pocock, Barnes, Higginbotham...or Joubert(again) Not Priestland, who looked laboured at 10, or Adam Jones, whose lack of mobility was constantly targeted by the Aussie half backs. Or Sam Warburton, who came second to David Pocock before his early departure in today's final Test. With only eleven points to separate the two sides after 240 minutes of high intensity rugby, the Welsh have some cause for satisfaction when reflecting on how far they have come under Gatland. This team will challenge the best, even away from the Millenium cauldron. But the overall feeling will be one of a missed opportunity. They let the Australians bite back in the final moments in the decisive second test, and Gatland's team will rue the lack of the killer instinct that did for the French so magnificently in the Grand Slam match. The coaching team will study the videos, perhaps reconfiguring the kick and chase game (do we need someone to do the kind of job Habanna does for the Boks, a fast hustler who may not actually make the tackle on the gathering player, but who stops him scanning all the options?) More than anything, Gatland's team will be thinking about how best to keep this team of players hungry. That, above all else, will be the decisive x factor come 2015.

Hot Tipuric for the top ?

 

I feel a little bit like Martin Luther hammering the 95 Theses to a church door, or perhaps the first Tory to suggest that Maggie may have lost it back at the end of the 1980's, but I'll go ahead and say it anyway. Should Justin Tipuric be starting at 7 for Wales ?

It is a measure of Capt. Sam's impact on the world rugby scene that such an opinion might be considered blasphemy, but the Ospreys flanker with the Croatian name is, quite simply, one of the best open sides around. Warburton's medical travails may just present Tipiric with a lorry load of caps anyway, but the multi-skilled flanker just keeps performing at such high levels that the Welsh selectors will have to consider this brave move if David Pocock manages to burgle as much ball as he did in the 1st Test. 

The pressure is on the Home Nations this weekend. Can Ireland prevent the series against the All blacks becoming a rout ? Can England offer an alternative to the "in yer face" approach they adopted last Saturday ? Can Capt. Sam's Wales turn the tables on Pocock and Co. ?

Ho hum. Another busy Saturday on the couch...