A View of Welsh Rugby from the Bank at Pontypool RFC: Roaming in the Gloaming

Just got back from a successful trip to Scotland. I travelled with a feeling of trepidation after the events of the previous week but the win for Wales was the icing on the haggis. Well done boys!

We travelled up on the Friday which left Saturday “at leisure”. I think the Sunday kick-off certainly detracts from the weekend but you have to make the best of it! The best of it was a long lunch in an Italian restaurant (where the England v Italy game was banned from the TV). Plenty of pasta and red wine and then we found our way to a pub for the anxious wait for the Pooler score to come through. The pub in question was the famous Café Royal which really has a magnificent bar festooned with beautiful tiled pictures of famous Victorian scientists. We were absolutely delighted to hear of the Pontypool victory but couldn’t persuade Max Boyce to give us a rendition of the Pontypool Front Row in celebration!

I have to admit to only half watching the Ireland v France match but I saw enough to make me dread Wales losing to Scotland. That would be followed by games against those two with Wales low on confidence.

From the Café Royal we stumbled the short distance to another beautiful pub called Tiles. The name probably gives away the fact that is another building with lovely tiled walls and a spectacular ceiling. No I didn’t view the ceiling from a vantage point under a table. As often happens on a trip to Scotland, a Welsh male voice choir appeared from nowhere (Cor Meibion Taf in this case) and soon we were treated to the usual repertoire of Welsh hymns and arias. Bloody lovely too and a nice way to end a pleasant day.

The weather on Sunday morning was beautiful so a gentle stroll up the Royal Mile and then down Princes Street was just the thing to set us up for our pre-match warm up. A few pints to calm the nerves and then the long trek out to Murrayfield. When you get to a certain age, a long trek and a couple pints can only mean one thing - particularly when the route is devoid of public conveniences. Yes I was absolutely bursting when I finally made it to the ground but with a sprint and side step that Shane would have been proud of I weaved my way through the crowd to the sanctuary of the gents.

Fast food was called for after expending all that energy and I can safely say that I had probably the worst hot dog that I have ever had in my life. Absolutely atrocious and there wasn’t even any mustard available to try and improve the taste.

So to the game. We were behind the posts right next to a host of plastic daffodils. Not a bad seat at all and only £50 - WRU and especially RWC take note! Wales looked pretty good for the first half with the exception of gifting Hogg a try and the last couple of minutes when the Scots were camped on our line. A six point lead at half time seemed about right. Just keep the Scots out for the first few minutes of the second half and we should be all right - especially for the period when we were without Jonathan Davies.

The second half turned out to be much the same as the first with Wales seeming pretty dominant to the impartial observer. There was the usual exchange of penalties that always seems to happen at Murrayfield but Wales deservedly kept their noses in front. We seethed at the disallowed try but then were elated when Jonathan Davies finally scored under the posts to open up a ten point gap.

Now the good sides would certainly be able to protect a decent lead with ten minutes to go. I cite the example of Australia against Wales in the autumn and that team who play in white last week. There was a time when we could have done it reasonably comfortably but not at the moment. We presented Scotland with the ball far too much and very nearly suffered the consequences. As it was, amidst some controversy, Wales only conceded seven points and that virtually on the final whistle to record a narrow victory.

I do think that Wales were deserved victors but they did make it hard for themselves. There is still plenty to work on - the lineout was far from infallible and although we applied plenty of pressure we did not manage to cross the line enough. You must credit the Scotland team who were immensely committed and defended stoutly and also had a dangerous back division with plenty of pace that was quite capable of scoring from deep. I wish them all the best for the rest of the season - especially for the trip to Twickenham!

The build up has already started for the trip to Paris. The sheep’s head is in the wash and I am anxiously monitoring the exchange rate so that I buy my euros at the right time. I feel a bit more confident that we will put up a decent show and you never know….