Mike Ruddock believes Wales coach Rob Howley should have made three key changes to his team to face Ireland on Friday night.
The former Grand Slam winner says he would have gone for size and power to counter the Irish threat in a one-off test of brute force for a game Wales cannot afford to lose.
Ruddock – who is still coaching in Ireland with Lansdowne, who top the ulster Bank League – reckons Howley needed to bring back Jamie Roberts, Luke Charteris and Taulupe Faletau for the Cardiff clash.
Instead, Howley has named an unchanged team as Wles try to avoid a third straight Six Nations defeat and further threat to their World Cup seeding.
“I can see what Rob Howley is trying to do, but those three players would make a massive difference for this game,” said Ruddock.
“I would put Jamie straight in. He’s hurting, he’s angry, he’s been on the bench. It’s Lions year. I’d say to him, ‘you’ve had your kick up the backside. Robbie Henshaw is going to be in the Lions unless you get out there today and show what you’re made of’. That would be my pep talk to him.
“The Irish back row is so big and powerful and they’re such big ball carriers that you want the biggest back row you can have against them. I know there’s going to be a fight on the floor as well, but I would have gone for Ross Moriarty at six, Faletau at eight and Warburton at seven.
“It’s more than just the collisions. The bigger guys give you a bigger lift in the lineout, they give you a little more weight in the scrum. Every little 1% really makes a difference.
“I would also have gone for Luke Charteris (in the second row). I coached him at Dragons many years ago and I’ve seen what he can do. I know he’s short of game time but he made a record 31 tackles against Ireland a couple of years ago. He has a great engine and great ability to get low and chop guys down.”
If Wales lose on Friday, it will be the first time since 2007 they will have suffered three successive defeats in one Six Nations campaign, while losses in both remaining fixtures against Ireland and France would put them outside the top-ranked eight nations for May’s 2019 World Cup draw.
“In sport, sometimes fine margins make a huge difference, and we need to get on the positive side of them,” Howley said. “We expect a reaction on Friday night.
“The challenge for us is to make sure we deliver a performance this week.
“Every player has a point to prove when you pull the national jersey on. That’s the challenge of international rugby. It’s about handling the pressure from one minute to 80 minutes. That’s the challenge for all of us.
“Winning is pretty important on Friday night, as everyone knows. International rugby is about winning. It’s the same in cricket, football or rugby. That is the same consistent message to our players.
“We missed out on six or seven try-scoring opportunities against Scotland.
“It’s about being clinical and keeping hold of the ball. The disappointment was the unforced errors in the first 15 minutes of the second half. Scotland had 99 per cent possession, and we had one per cent in that period.”
