We’re Off

It seems strange to be immersed in rugby again when I haven’t even had my summer holiday yet! But immersed I am as, what should be a momentous season, fast approaches. Even the grouse have until the 12^th August before the season starts.

For Pontypool, the door to the Welsh Premiership is now fully open. It will be like queuing outside a full car park and waiting for someone to come out before you can go in. The difficulty is only one space will be available. The Championship has not only expanded to fourteen clubs but also the addition of four relegated clubs from the Premiership will make it a major challenge to make sure that Pooler are at the head of the queue when the door opens.

It is vital for Pontypool to hit the ground running and so the pre-season friendlies need to be pitched at the right level. This year Pooler will take on English opposition which is sure to be a challenge as the league structure is considerably stronger in England than in Wales. On Saturday, Pontypool travelled to Bristol to take on Dings Crusaders who are a League 2 South outfit and therefore in the fourth tier of English rugby. Pooler of course are in the third tier of Welsh rugby so this would be a decent test. I couldn’t get to the game but I was delighted to hear that Pontypool overcome Dings 5-26 in a competitive encounter. A great start and next week Pontypool make the trip to Reading to take part in a 15 a side tournament organized by Rams. The English sides taking place are from the third tier of English rugby so will present a formidable challenge. I have watched Chinnor on a couple of occasions in the past and can confirm that they are very good and ambitious team. Good luck Pooler!

On Saturday morning I did watch Australia v New Zealand on the TV. Australia were worthy winners and, as always, look to be peaking just as the Rugby World Cup approaches. True the All Blacks played with fourteen men in the second half due to a red card but Australia had looked dangerous right from the outset. The Aussies have certainly moved forward from where they were last Autumn when Wales beat them. The Springboks also look to be coming to the boil and winning the Four Nations Championship will mean that they are brimming with confidence. You would of course be a fool to write off the All Blacks who will lick their wounds who will no doubt be fully prepared to defend the RWC. Argentina have been a little disappointing but there is no doubt in my mind that the Southern Hemisphere big guns will take some stopping.

New Zealand’s loss meant that Wales could actually top the World Rugby rankings if they managed to avoid losing to England at Twickenham on Sunday. That dramatic victory in the RWC four years ago apart, the Welsh record against England at Twickenham in recent years is not good. Even with all the talk of an experimental England side, I have to admit that I felt an England victory was quite likely and predicted a 22-12 score line.

Wales seemed quite taken aback by the English physicality in the early stages of the match and the English seemed to be march over the gain line at will as the Welsh struggled to get up to speed. Two converted tries were the fruits of England’s labours and Wales were well and truly on the back foot. Gradually the Welsh worked their way into the game and made England look vulnerable when the pace of the game increased. A fine individual try by Gareth Davies brought Wales back within touching distance and things looked much brighter. The turning point of the game came when a Welsh lineout close to their try line went horribly wrong and gifted England a try on the stroke of half time giving the English a commanding 21-5 lead. A gap that was to be too wide for the Welsh to close. More bad news for Wales was that Anscombe who had looked full of running had to leave the field with a knee injury

Wales dominated the early part of the second half with the introduction of Aled Davies at scum half injecting a bit more speed. Tries from North and Wyn Jones closed the gap and for a moment it was game on again. Sadly Wales gave away penalties at critical times which kept the English just out of reach. As the final substitutions were made, the English scrum started to dominate and win penalties at will and there was no way back for Wales. Three penalties from Ford and a drop goal from Daly completed the English scoring and the final score of 33-19 was probably a true reflection of their superiority.

This was a chastening experience for Wales and marks the end of their winning streak. On the positive side, Wales did manage to score three tries and they stopped England from scoring a try in the second half with the try count finishing 3-3. You could argue that they won the second half 14-12 but that would be clutching at straws.

On the negative side, England seemed to be physically dominant in all phases of the game even without some of their top players. This of course may reflect the different phases of preparation for the RWC which is obviously the ultimate goal for both teams. Wales did look a bit rusty and there were a few costly lineout malfunctions but this would be expected after the long lay-off. Perhaps the biggest worry is the injury to Anscombe. Let us hope that it is not too serious.

The crazy thing about the warm up internationals is that Wales and England face off again next Saturday in Cardiff. Not only that but Wales then play Ireland home and away. Yes, I know that Wales need to play some competitive rugby before the RWC but to play two of the World’s best teams twice in such a short period of time is high risk from an injury perspective. Clearly the WRU needs the revenue stream that comes with these crowd-pulling matches as there will be no Autumn internationals this year. I cannot help feeling that the balance has moved too much over to revenue than the wellbeing of the team. Beggars can’t be choosers I suppose.

Anyway, good luck to Wales next Saturday and good luck to Pontypool in Reading.

Come on Pooler! We go again!