The one we miss most of those is Cipriani, as player, and probably mote as de facto coach of the backs too, if what had been intimated on message boards by more knowledgeable guys than me is true.
Be honest, prior to Cips we were ok to good in attack, and relied on Wade/Varndell in a bit of space. Varndell was the guy who Losi replaced, as I have mentioned a couple of times recently. The most lethal wing we had ever, bar Wade, replaced by someone who played like someone between an 8 and and a 13.we kind of forgot it as we then signed quality after quality, but whay if Dai actually thought that Losi was a better bet than Varndell? What if that is what he wanted? Halai was another power house. Maybe Dai actually does prefer more power in the backs. We had some decent tens in that time prior to Cips, and our basic strategy was throw it around and hope to get it wide as the fowards were underpowered or over the hill. Once Cips arrived we developed a more coherent attack that still relied on individual brilliance but also had some structure. Post Cips we have been dire. Hell the number one ten at the club last Feb was Searle. Earned the shirt on merit, according to Dai, and he was not wrong.
Players will come and go, you will always lose players you regret losing, but the worry for me is not that we lost X or Y, but that what we have bought in at the same cost - Shields, Fekitoa, Lima is not going to work as well. Fekitoa has plenty of time, but to still be making paper thin excuses for Lima is beyond the pale. Shields for me is a decent choice who offers much grunt abd unseen stuff but once Carr, Young and Willises are all fit doesn't even make the fifteen, before we even consider our latest import at 8.
I hope that we get that W soon. I want Dai to see out the year, but if we start with 5 or 6 loses that may not be possible.
Always a Wasp
