{"id":10054,"date":"2016-03-11T16:00:22","date_gmt":"2016-03-11T16:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/?p=10054"},"modified":"2016-03-11T16:00:22","modified_gmt":"2016-03-11T16:00:22","slug":"wales-set-for-arm-wrestle-as-championship-decider-looms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2016\/03\/11\/wales-set-for-arm-wrestle-as-championship-decider-looms\/","title":{"rendered":"Wales set for arm wrestle in Championship decider"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>WALES travel up the M4 looking to achieve the rare feat of a second victory over England at Twickenham in the space of six months.<br \/>\nThe Welsh went 20 years without a\u00a0victory in London, with the years between 1988 and 2008 signifying English dominance at their London home.<br \/>\nHowever, the tide has turned somewhat in recent seasons, with Wales having triumphed three times at Twickenham during the Gatland era.<br \/>\nSaturday\u2019s meeting between the two old foes takes on extra significance, with the clash effectively a championship decider.<br \/>\n<figure id=\"attachment_10060\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10060\" style=\"width: 364px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/wales.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10060\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-10060\" src=\"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/wales-300x214.jpg\" alt=\"Wales will need to bring their strike runners into the game\" width=\"364\" height=\"260\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10060\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-10060\" src=\"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/wales-300x214.jpg\" alt=\"Wales will need to bring their strike runners into the game\" width=\"364\" height=\"260\" \/><\/noscript><\/a> Wales will need to bring their strike runners into the game<\/figcaption><\/figure><br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nThe biggest difference between Gatland\u2019s side\u00a0and Welsh sides of yesteryear is the physicality they possess across the board.<br \/>\nIt is very rare to see an England side without a strong pack, with the Welsh fully aware that they will have to stop the old enemy on the gain-line if they are to triumph.<br \/>\nEngland, under the guidance of Australian Eddie Jones, have made more metres (1,144) than any other side in the Championship\u00a0and have made 260 carries.<br \/>\nThe challenge for the Welsh pack, and in particular their back-row, is obvious; win the collisions and they will likely win the game.<br \/>\nThe first battle that Wales must win is in the scrum with Eddie Jones claiming that the visitors scrummage illegally.<br \/>\n<figure id=\"attachment_10062\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10062\" style=\"width: 346px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/HQ.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10062\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-10062\" src=\"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/HQ-300x204.jpg\" alt=\"The setting of Saturday's Championship decider\" width=\"346\" height=\"235\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10062\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-10062\" src=\"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/HQ-300x204.jpg\" alt=\"The setting of Saturday's Championship decider\" width=\"346\" height=\"235\" \/><\/noscript><\/a> The setting of Saturday&#8217;s Championship decider<\/figcaption><\/figure><br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nPowerful tight-head prop Samson Lee will have a crucial role to play because if Joe Marler is forced to scrummage straight then Lee will likely gain the upper-hand as he is the stronger scrummager.<br \/>\nDespite calls for the return of Justin Tipuric, it was a no-brainer to revert to defensive lynchpin Dan Lydiate.<br \/>\nLydiate will have a crucial role to play in halting destructive ball carrier Billy Vunipola, with Wales aware that if they can isolate the English ball carriers it will allow Warburton gain the upper hand on the floor.<br \/>\nHowever, gaining parity alone may not be enough, as Wales will need to exploit\u00a0space far better than they have done in recent weeks.<br \/>\nRealistically, the two sides are evenly matched, with the championship likely to be decided by the smallest of margins.<br \/>\nThe side that controls the key moments will ultimately be the side that lifts the Six Nations Championship.<br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WALES travel up the M4 looking to achieve the rare feat of a second victory over England at Twickenham in the space of six months. The Welsh went 20 years without a\u00a0victory in London, with the years between 1988 and 2008 signifying English dominance at their London home. However, the tide has turned somewhat in recent seasons, with Wales having triumphed three times at Twickenham during the Gatland era. Saturday\u2019s meeting between the two old foes takes on extra significance, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":248,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[151,4],"tags":[1642,154,328,1028,339,293],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-10054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-rugby","category-sport","tag-england","tag-rugby-2","tag-six-nations","tag-twickenham","tag-wales","tag-welsh"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Wales set for arm wrestle in Championship decider - The Cardiffian<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2016\/03\/11\/wales-set-for-arm-wrestle-as-championship-decider-looms\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wales set for arm wrestle in Championship decider - The Cardiffian\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"WALES travel up the M4 looking to achieve the rare feat of a second victory over England at Twickenham in the space of six months. The Welsh went 20 years without a\u00a0victory in London, with the years between 1988 and 2008 signifying English dominance at their London home. However, the tide has turned somewhat in recent seasons, with Wales having triumphed three times at Twickenham during the Gatland era. Saturday\u2019s meeting between the two old foes takes on extra significance, [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2016\/03\/11\/wales-set-for-arm-wrestle-as-championship-decider-looms\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Cardiffian\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-03-11T16:00:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/wales-300x214.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cathyduncan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@cathyduncan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cathyduncan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2016\/03\/11\/wales-set-for-arm-wrestle-as-championship-decider-looms\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2016\/03\/11\/wales-set-for-arm-wrestle-as-championship-decider-looms\/\",\"name\":\"Wales set for arm wrestle in Championship decider - The Cardiffian\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2016\/03\/11\/wales-set-for-arm-wrestle-as-championship-decider-looms\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2016\/03\/11\/wales-set-for-arm-wrestle-as-championship-decider-looms\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/wales-300x214.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-03-11T16:00:22+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#\/schema\/person\/41c76b1e66d8cf6e57cba8550c3772b1\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2016\/03\/11\/wales-set-for-arm-wrestle-as-championship-decider-looms\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2016\/03\/11\/wales-set-for-arm-wrestle-as-championship-decider-looms\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2016\/03\/11\/wales-set-for-arm-wrestle-as-championship-decider-looms\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/wales-300x214.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/wales-300x214.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2016\/03\/11\/wales-set-for-arm-wrestle-as-championship-decider-looms\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Wales set for arm wrestle in Championship decider\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/\",\"name\":\"The Cardiffian\",\"description\":\"Just another JOMEC Sites Network site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#\/schema\/person\/41c76b1e66d8cf6e57cba8550c3772b1\",\"name\":\"cathyduncan\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/d4d0895f6e1f7ccb86d04236a870a18b\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7cd1b1b63598c25c15d3e0d390366ec2ba1c99865b1a23c34339be8c5c396a81?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7cd1b1b63598c25c15d3e0d390366ec2ba1c99865b1a23c34339be8c5c396a81?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cathyduncan\"},\"description\":\"Lecturer, Cardiff University News Journalism MA. 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