Close Encounters

There was no Pontypool match this weekend as the Six Nations Championship sparked into life. The Sunday kick off in Dublin had put me off a visit so I was confined to the couch.

The weekend’s TV viewing started with the Wales Under 20’s against their Irish counterparts in Donnybrook on Friday evening. After a slow start, Wales won quite comfortably and it was good to see that there was some considerable talent on view. With our ever-diminishing pool of players, we are going to need to look after these lads who may needed sooner rather than later for the senior team.

Saturday afternoon’s double bill was France v Italy followed by Scotland v England. The first match was very close with the Italians giving as good as they got and they might have run out winners with a little more composure in the closing stages. The French very much played in fits and starts and surely must improve as the championship proceeds – of course with the French being the French there might be ten changes for the next match and they will have to start again.

So to Murrayfield and our hopes that the “new modest army” from England could come unstuck against the doughty Scots. It was a scrappy sort of match with lots of mistakes but in the end the English defence was too strong with the Scots being restricted to only a few chances to score. The chances they had they blew while England took theirs to run out winners 9-15. The game’s outstanding player was our old friend Billy Vunipola. I don’t think the English press will let England’s modesty continue as they must now surely be on course for a strong tilt at the championship.

Finally we got to the main event of the weekend and the Ireland v Wales match.  The match started badly for Wales who seemed shocked by the ferocity of the Irish. The Irish quickly established a useful 13-0 lead and it immediately brought that dismal afternoon I spent in the back row of the stand in the Aviva Stadium two years ago to mind. Wales had lost Biggar and Priestland had started nervously - there were few crumbs of comfort. Then the Welsh scrum gained a margin of ascendancy and Wales started to play expansively. Some half chances were created although spirited Irish defence quickly closed the door. Wales were awarded a penalty for a dangerous tackle that Priestland converted confidently enough to register some points on the board. A series of powerful Welsh scrums near the Irish line ended with Faletau powering over for a try which was converted by Priestland. Wales were back in the game and we all breathed a sigh of relief.

The second half was a frenetic affair with Wales having the upper hand for long periods. They certainly ran hard at the Irish at every opportunity but could not penetrate a committed defence. The Irish too ran the ball when they could but found the Welsh defence equally stingy. Wales were awarded two penalties to give them a lead of 13-16 but conceded the lead with a penalty almost immediately afterwards to leave the score tied at 16-16. In a feverish last few minutes, both sides were clearly not happy to settle for a draw and ran at each other as if it was the start of the match but to no avail. The match ended in deadlock which didn’t really suit either side as all talk of Triple crowns and Grand Slams went out of the window.

It was a really tough physical encounter with the standard up a notch or two from the other two matches. Wales did well to recover from their poor start but then having got into a winning position could not close it out. On the positive side, the set pieces went well and there was certainly a desire to play expansive rugby. For all our concerns, Priestland had a really good second half and kicked his goal flawlessly. I suppose the worries about our inability to score tries that follow on from the RWC continue as we patently failed to breach the Irish defence despite our best efforts. At times we were also a bit slow to clear out the rucks meaning that the attacking ball was a bit laboured.

Injuries apart, I can’t imagine that there will be too many changes for the next match against a bruised Scotland. England are now in the box seat, I fear, as they play both Wales and Ireland at Twickenham. Worse still my sweep entry has been confined to the bin with two out of the first three predictions wrong. Are the Southern Hemisphere worried by what they saw? I doubt it!

From a parochial perspective, it is pleasing to note that two of the outstanding players of the weekend have strong Pontypool connections – Vunipola and Faletau. Mind you they also have Southern Hemisphere connections!

Come on Wales!