by Dylan James
WALES travel to Murrayfield on Saturday as they prepare to take on an in-form Scotland team, Ospreys lock Adam Beard believes it will be a “massive challenge.”
Beard started in Wales’ victory over Ireland on the weekend, and will be hoping to secure another place in the starting 15 come Thursday when the team is revealed.
On the other hand, Scotland also got off to a great start, coming away victorious against England, who were tipped by the bookies to win the tournament. Beard understands the threat this Scotland side pose, and has highlighted what Pivac’s side need to work on to defeat them in their own back yard.
“We need a higher win percentage with the line outs, it’s something that as a group of forwards, we are definitely working on.”
Wales have been vastly criticised since the Autumn tests on their poor performance at the line out, with Scarlets hooker Ryan Elias receiving more than his fair share of stick from viewers.
You joking me?? Wales were poor against 14 men. Their line out was shocking! Ireland looked good and should have won it!
— Tashe Breen (@NatashaBreen) February 7, 2021
An example of Ryan Elias criticism below. This wasn’t the first or last time he was thrown under the bus. With Elias making way for Ken Owen’s return, it became obvious on Sunday that the line out problem is a lot more complex than “Elias isn’t good enough”.
Not one aspect of Wales game is any good. Scrum… Struggling, Line out poor.. Elias is not an international hooker. Breakdown… Outmuscled. Weak and meek all over the park. This could be a mauling second half. Embarrassing from the coaches and players
— andy lanyon (@andylance1977) November 13, 2020
However, Beard insists the squad is focused on amending this problem.
“If you look over the last few games, we’ve probably had four different hookers throwing in the ball. We’ve had different line out callers, different jumpers, so maybe getting that bit of consistency in and around the squad.”
Beard is also tactically aware of Wales’ problems and has assured the Welsh faithful that the squad are working hard on re-enforcing their weaker aspects of the game.
“Myself, as a line out caller, looking at opposition stuff and seeing what works well against opposition teams, getting our drills right: speed across the deck, speed into the air, maximising on our lifts. It’s about getting everything that we can control right come the weekend.”
Jonny Gray and Scott Cummings gave scent of a magnificent future partnership together in the second row on Saturday, with both players putting in a huge shift in their victory over England. With rising concerns about the Wales line out, now is not the time to be facing two quality line out engineers!
However, Beard understands what level the forwards need to be at to challenge Scotland, and believes that by being in the role of line out caller, he can make a difference.
“It will be a massive challenge, come the weekend. Those boys have got operators within the line out, so we’ll have to be on good form.”
“I’m still a young guy and I’m learning on the trade as well. I definitely think it’s (line out caller role) something I enjoy doing, and my point of difference.”
“It can be a stressful time, but the more chilled and calm you are the better it is. If a line out caller is flapping, it’s not going to give a good impression to the other forwards. I’d like to think I’m a calm guy around that, and it works well for me.”
