{"id":288728,"date":"2023-09-15T14:50:17","date_gmt":"2023-09-15T14:50:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?p=288728"},"modified":"2023-09-15T14:50:17","modified_gmt":"2023-09-15T14:50:17","slug":"wales-taking-heed-of-france-uruguay-battle-as-they-prepare-for-minnows-portugal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-union\/wales-taking-heed-of-france-uruguay-battle-as-they-prepare-for-minnows-portugal\/","title":{"rendered":"Wales taking heed of France-Uruguay battle as they prepare for minnows Portugal"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Sign up to our free sport newsletter for all the latest news on everything from cycling to boxing<\/h3>\n

Sign up to our free sport email for all the latest news<\/h3>\n

Thanks for signing up to the
Sport email<\/h2>\n

Mike Forshaw says Wales will reference Uruguay\u2019s odds-defying display against France when they tackle Rugby World Cup minnows Portugal on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Uruguay, despite being ranked 17th in the world, produced an outstanding performance before going down to a 27-12 defeat.<\/p>\n

They denied Les Bleus a bonus point and will undoubtedly provide inspiration for fellow World Cup underdogs such as Portugal, Chile and Namibia.<\/p>\n

Wales are expected to brush aside Patrice Lagisquet\u2019s team in the countries\u2019 first meeting for 29 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will reference the French game. It is very important we get messages from that,\u201d Wales assistant coach and defence specialist Forshaw said.<\/p>\n

Recommended<\/h3>\n


\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to do our basics well and give them the respect they deserve, but we want to impose ourselves on this team.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know every game is going to be tough, and nothing changes in our preparation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at their backs they have got quite a few sevens players, they play that coast-to-coast game, so we will have to cut that supply off with our defence and our urgency to take space from them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have similar threats to the Fijians, so we have to be right on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wales boss Warren Gatland has made 13 changes from the team that defeated Fiji 32-26 in Bordeaux last weekend.<\/p>\n

Only wing Louis Rees-Zammit and number eight Taulupe Faletau remain from that line-up, with four players \u2013 Mason Grady, Johnny Williams, skipper Dewi Lake and Christ Tshiunza \u2013 making their World Cup debuts.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video<\/p>\n

Sign up now for a 30-day free trial<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video<\/p>\n

Sign up now for a 30-day free trial<\/p>\n

A second successive bonus-point win would keep Wales firmly on course for the quarter-finals \u2013 their minimum return from the last three World Cups.<\/p>\n

Gatland, meanwhile, will set a new World Cup record of 16 wins as a coach, going one above Australia head coach Eddie Jones, if Wales triumph.<\/p>\n

Gatland has only overseen three pool-stage defeats in World Cup history, against Australia 24 years ago when he was Ireland boss, then South Africa in 2011 with Wales and against the Wallabies again four years later.<\/p>\n

Wales made more than 240 tackles to repel Fiji, and although rain is forecast on the French Riviera this weekend, it is their attacking game that should now flourish..<\/p>\n

Just because we have made changes that doesn’t mean anything changes in terms of how we play, the intensity and physicality we want to play with<\/p>\n

Centre Williams said: \u201cIt is a good opportunity for us to show what we are about in attack. Our attitude and intent doesn\u2019t change this week, but hopefully with less tackles.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a hell of a win against Fiji \u2013 we put in a serious effort. Watching from the stands, I was seriously gutted to be missing out as it was such an amazing game and an amazing atmosphere.<\/p>\n

\u201cI get my chance this week, as a few other boys do. Just because we have made changes that doesn\u2019t mean anything changes in terms of how we play, the intensity and physicality we want to play with.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Wales flanker Dan Lydiate, Saturday\u2019s game represents the start of his third World Cup, 12 years after the first.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is my third World Cup, and I am really chuffed to be here, just looking forward to getting on the grass on Saturday,\u201d Lydiate said.<\/p>\n

Recommended<\/h3>\n


\n
\n<\/p>\n

\u201cYou feel the bumps a bit more, the older you get. It is part of the gig, it is what you signed up for. If you love something you keep going as long as you can.<\/p>\n

\u201cFour years ago I wasn\u2019t selected for the World Cup. You think \u2018is your time done\u2019? But you just keep your head down and keep cracking on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sign up to our free sport newsletter for all the latest news on everything from cycling to boxing Sign up to our free sport email […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":288727,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-288728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rugby-union"],"yoast_head":"\nWales taking heed of France-Uruguay battle as they prepare for minnows Portugal - Sportstoft<\/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:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-union\/wales-taking-heed-of-france-uruguay-battle-as-they-prepare-for-minnows-portugal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wales taking heed of France-Uruguay battle as they prepare for minnows Portugal - Sportstoft\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sign up to our free sport newsletter for all the latest news on everything from cycling to boxing Sign up to our free sport email [...]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-union\/wales-taking-heed-of-france-uruguay-battle-as-they-prepare-for-minnows-portugal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sportstoft\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-09-15T14:50:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jeanette\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jeanette\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-union\/wales-taking-heed-of-france-uruguay-battle-as-they-prepare-for-minnows-portugal\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-union\/wales-taking-heed-of-france-uruguay-battle-as-they-prepare-for-minnows-portugal\/\",\"name\":\"Wales taking heed of France-Uruguay battle as they prepare for minnows Portugal - Sportstoft\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-union\/wales-taking-heed-of-france-uruguay-battle-as-they-prepare-for-minnows-portugal\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-union\/wales-taking-heed-of-france-uruguay-battle-as-they-prepare-for-minnows-portugal\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Wales-taking-heed-of-France-Uruguay-battle-as-they-prepare-for-minnows-Portugal.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-09-15T14:50:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-15T14:50:17+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-union\/wales-taking-heed-of-france-uruguay-battle-as-they-prepare-for-minnows-portugal\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-union\/wales-taking-heed-of-france-uruguay-battle-as-they-prepare-for-minnows-portugal\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-union\/wales-taking-heed-of-france-uruguay-battle-as-they-prepare-for-minnows-portugal\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Wales-taking-heed-of-France-Uruguay-battle-as-they-prepare-for-minnows-Portugal.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Wales-taking-heed-of-France-Uruguay-battle-as-they-prepare-for-minnows-Portugal.jpg\",\"width\":1388,\"height\":925},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-union\/wales-taking-heed-of-france-uruguay-battle-as-they-prepare-for-minnows-portugal\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Rugby Union\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/category\/rugby-union\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Wales taking heed of France-Uruguay battle as they prepare for minnows Portugal\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/\",\"name\":\"Sportstoft\",\"description\":\"sportstoft.com\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609\",\"name\":\"Jeanette\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jeanette\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Wales taking heed of France-Uruguay battle as they prepare for minnows Portugal - Sportstoft","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-union\/wales-taking-heed-of-france-uruguay-battle-as-they-prepare-for-minnows-portugal\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Wales taking heed of France-Uruguay battle as they prepare for minnows Portugal - Sportstoft","og_description":"Sign up to our free sport newsletter for all the latest news on everything from cycling to boxing Sign up to our free sport email [...]","og_url":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-union\/wales-taking-heed-of-france-uruguay-battle-as-they-prepare-for-minnows-portugal\/","og_site_name":"Sportstoft","article_published_time":"2023-09-15T14:50:17+00:00","author":"Jeanette","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jeanette","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-union\/wales-taking-heed-of-france-uruguay-battle-as-they-prepare-for-minnows-portugal\/","url":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-union\/wales-taking-heed-of-france-uruguay-battle-as-they-prepare-for-minnows-portugal\/","name":"Wales taking heed of France-Uruguay battle as they prepare for minnows Portugal - Sportstoft","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-union\/wales-taking-heed-of-france-uruguay-battle-as-they-prepare-for-minnows-portugal\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-union\/wales-taking-heed-of-france-uruguay-battle-as-they-prepare-for-minnows-portugal\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Wales-taking-heed-of-France-Uruguay-battle-as-they-prepare-for-minnows-Portugal.jpg","datePublished":"2023-09-15T14:50:17+00:00","dateModified":"2023-09-15T14:50:17+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-union\/wales-taking-heed-of-france-uruguay-battle-as-they-prepare-for-minnows-portugal\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-union\/wales-taking-heed-of-france-uruguay-battle-as-they-prepare-for-minnows-portugal\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-union\/wales-taking-heed-of-france-uruguay-battle-as-they-prepare-for-minnows-portugal\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Wales-taking-heed-of-France-Uruguay-battle-as-they-prepare-for-minnows-Portugal.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Wales-taking-heed-of-France-Uruguay-battle-as-they-prepare-for-minnows-Portugal.jpg","width":1388,"height":925},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-union\/wales-taking-heed-of-france-uruguay-battle-as-they-prepare-for-minnows-portugal\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Rugby Union","item":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/category\/rugby-union\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Wales taking heed of France-Uruguay battle as they prepare for minnows Portugal"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/","name":"Sportstoft","description":"sportstoft.com","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609","name":"Jeanette","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jeanette"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288728","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=288728"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288728\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/288727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=288728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=288728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=288728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}