Rain, Rain Go Away

Hands up those who made a fruitless journey to Bridgend? I was one of them. Yes we should have known better and checked whether the game was on but there we are. I can confirm that the Brewery Field was indeed waterlogged just in case you have not guessed why the match was off.

So another week passes without Pooler playing a game and the longer the gap grows the more difficult it will be to hit the ground running. Deadly rivals Bargoed managed to make hay while the sun didn’t shine by winning against Newbridge although not bagging a bonus point. This leaves Pooler in third place in the Championship 19 points ahead with Bargoed in fifth still having two games in hand. At the top of the league, Merthyr defeated Swansea 3-0 in what sounds like a war of attrition. No damage done to Pooler’s hopes of promotion I guess, but the fixture list at the end of the season will become more and more congested and will really test the squad strength of the contenders.

Because of the weather, I was restricted to watching rugby on the TV. The Ospreys won narrowly against Edinburgh while the Blues lost narrowly to Leinster and the matches were a good illustration as to why Ospreys will probably finish in the top six and the Blues will not. It comes down to a combination of nous and belief and for the Blues it seems to be lacking. Man for man there is probably little to choose between the teams but the Blues are perennial underachievers. With the setup they have the Blues should be the top region in Wales but somehow it never happens. The Dragons went down to a narrow defeat at Treviso and must also be regarded as underachievers despite the unflagging optimism of the coaching team.

Next weekend we are back to the Six Nations with Wales taking on France in the middle of Friday night. Quite a few of the Welsh squad have been involved in matches this weekend so there will be a bit of anxiety about possible injuries. This is particularly true of the Welsh players playing in England and France who have to earn their corn while the local internationals rest. I think I would be inclined to start with Dan Lydiate at six for what promises to be a tough encounter with the French if the French performance in Paris against Ireland is anything to go by. Injuries apart, there is no real reason to make any other changes.

The Friday night international means that Pontypool are scheduled to play Beddau on the Saturday afternoon. Pooler managed a narrow victory at Beddau earlier in the season so this will be a stern test after so little rugby in the last month or so. A good performance is vital to put them in good heart for the following weekend which is likely to be pivotal in deciding the promotion places with Pooler visiting RGC 1404 and Bargoed visiting Merthyr.

Come on Pooler and come on Wales! Go away rain!