| Venue:Aviva Stadium in Dublin Date:Saturday, February 5 Kick-off:14:15 GMT |
| Coverage: Live on S4C. BBC Radio Wales. BBC Radio Cymru. Radio 5 Live Extra. BBC Sport website and app. |
| Highlights:Scrum V, BBC Two Wales starting at 18:00 GMT Sunday 6 February. on demand |
“If you have the clarity to bring the brutality, you can.”
It’s unquestionably a masterful soundbite from Ryan Elias, hooker to Wales as they prepare for their Six Nations title defense against Ireland at Dublin on Saturday.
This is also how Wayne Pivac hopes Wayne’s men will be able to take on the challenge of the battle: they must learn their roles and perform their duties in the battlefield.
It’s unlikely that Scarlets’ star, Scarlets, would be pleased if one his lineout throws were stolen in such brazen fashion. Elias admitted on the Scrum V Podcast that he had heard the story before but it was mine. It was told to me by someone else, but now it is mine!
Elias can be proud of this round of media duties in a week where all those involved in the tournament are becoming more serious.
But he’s not as patient with a side of his job that frustrates fans, commentators, or those in the middle of the action, which is botched lineouts.
Let’s face facts: It is never pleasant to see your team giving vital possession at set-pieces that should be well-drilled.
Elias himself has been subject to criticism on this front, and while he is open to admitting that it happens “a lot of times it is the [fault of the]Hooker is not always the best option,” he said. He also pointed out other fragile aspects.
According to the 27-year old, other things can and do go wrong, including a miscalculated jump, inconsistant support lifting, disruptions by opponents, and match officials making a poor call at a critical moment.
Elias is not ashamed of his indifference to those who he believes are misleading their audiences.
He says, “Sometimes it can get annoying watching it.”
“If there’s no commentator, you’ll see that he’s just throwing the ball under the bus. You can probably see that there was a miss-lift.
Elias believes that the constant scrutiny of those responsible for getting it right will not ease anytime soon. This factor has resulted in a gradual shift in Elias’s private reactions to his fellow hookers.
Elias states, “That’s an enormous thing – it’s so much more enjoyable, talking about it… obviously, as a hooker it is a closed skill, the throwing, and there are many moving parts, but at its core, it’s just throwing the ball into a lineout.”
“So, I think you can sometimes overthink it. “So I found it useful to have a conversation about it [a relief]This is likely to be more in the last year or two, just like Elliot. [Dee]These young boys, like Dewi [Lake]Things were at camp. We’ll talk sometimes about how we feel.
“And when the pressure gets on and [you]Accept it and difficult situations. Previously, you might have tried to ignore them and just carried on your life. However, you feel that ‘a problem shared, is a problem solved’.
In the continued injury absenceElias is a British and Irish Lion, and fellow Scarlet Ken Owens Scarlett, and has the opportunity to make a name for himself in the middle row.
He feels “a lot more settled” now than he did in his formative Wales squad years.
Elias said, “I think that the first couple campaigns, me personally, was really nervous, on edge. It was difficult to switch off.”
It’s not easy and can be stressful. You always want to do your best.
“So I felt a lot of pressure early on. But I have now played a bit and hopefully proven what I can do.
“You can get into the rhythm. Because you know how weeks are organized and what to expect, so I’ve been here for at least four years. Also, I’ve been involved in the set-up for about three campaigns per year.
“So get used to your faces and the training environments.
“I was a bit obsessed with it and played it too many times before it. This can make it exhausting over the course of the week.
“Now, it’s time to chill until Thursday/Friday. Then you can slowly ramp things up in your head.
“But yeah, I would say that I’d like to stay a lot more chilled out – it helps my mental health.”
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