Wales Wails

After Wales had suffered a rare home defeat to a revitalised French team, emotions ran high amongst the Welsh. There were plenty of “if onlys” and an incredulous “how could the ref only give a knock on” or two hundred as we made our way through the streets of Cardiff. Yes, Wales had lost 23-27 to France in a frantic game with its fair share of controversy.

In the cold light of a windy Sunday morning, you realise that France probably deserved to win. Their defence was strong and their kicking game actually put the Welsh players under pressure. These were the planks of their victory. In contrast, the Welsh kicking game just seemed to present the ball to the French on a plate - the occasional Dan Biggar special apart. It was difficult to discern a game plan for Wales but for France it was plain to see. It seemed that France were becoming old Wales and Wales were becoming a mixture of Scotland and old France before our very eyes. Not a pretty sight!

In truth, France did not create very much but relied on pressure to force Welsh mistakes and the home side duly obliged. A spilt ball from a high kick and an interception accounted for two of the French tries.  The French pack, as always, was strong and aggressive while for some reason Wales’ toughest and most abrasive forward Alun Wyn Jones was seen roaming out on the wing on several occasions.

Yet Wales still could have won this game as they certainly had enough possession and territory but found the French defence, a la Edwards, in their faces making things very difficult. It was all too frantic for Wales with seemingly little control. They ran the ball from their own twenty two but persisted in using countless forward drives when they got near the French line.

The major turning point in the game was probably the interception by Ntamack. It came when Wales had closed the gap to one point at 16-17 and were in the ascendancy in the third quarter. Wales were on the attack and looking dangerous and the next thing you knew Ntamack was sprinting eighty metres or so to score. Wales will also point to the moment when a French knock on denied Adams a try – was it deliberate? If so, it was a penalty try. The officials ruled it was accidental and that was that.

The game ended in disappointment after a promising last gasp attack from Wales fizzled out when Wales were penalised at a ruck. A scuffle broke out amongst the players as the final whistle went – not really what you want to see.

Wales had their share of injuries with North and Adams both needing to be replaced. North seemed to suffer yet another head injury and I wish him and Josh a speedy recovery.

I suspect we will hear the phrase " no need to panic" a few times over the next few days. Pivac and co will have to work some magic to get the team ready and competitive for the visit to Twickenham in a fortnight's time.

There was, however, some good news on a disappointing day. Pontypool had a 0-45 victory at near neighbours Pontypool United in the quarter final of the Ben Francis Cup. Next week Pooler return to league action with the visit of Ystrad Rhondda to Pontypool Park. Neath’s win over Bedwas yesterday means that the race for the Championship title probably now has only two runners: Pontypool and Bargoed. It promises to be tremendous run in from here on in.

All too many rugby clubs were affected by Storm Dennis with horrendous scenes of flooded clubhouses and grounds. I wish you all well on the road to recovery. Indeed, my good wishes goes to everyone who suffered flood damage. It has only happened to me once and I know how just how heartbreaking it is.

So it’s back to the important stuff next weekend while the Welsh team lick their wounds.

Come on Pooler!

Wales Overpowered by Green Energy

Wales travelled to Dublin off the back of a convincing home win against Italy while Ireland had rather scraped home against Scotland. This was an entirely different kettle of fish for Wales and I was mentally prepared for Wales to come down to earth with a bump. I had Ireland to win 26-12 in the sweep before the game and in blustery conditions I saw no reason to think any different on the day. It is not that I am disloyal but I had felt some concerns with the scrum and also the defence in the Italian game as I watched from behind the posts.

So to the match. Ireland proceeded to dominate the first half in terms of territory and possession and Wales had to put in an extraordinary defensive stint to restrict the Irish to just twelve points. Ireland scored two tries both through Welsh defensive lapses – the first by Tompkins allowed Larmour to slip through and the second a knock on from Williams close to the Welsh line with Furlong ploughing over from the resulting scrum. Sandwiched between the two Irish tries, Wales scored a try against the run of play through Williams after some excellent offloading. For Wales to go in at half time only 12-7 down was something of a triumph. They had, however, lost Adams their main try scoring weapon through injury but at least they were still in touch.

Wales needed to start well in the second half but failed to do so. Van der Flier was credited with a try for Ireland after a forward drive close to the Welsh line. The mystery is how the ball ended up over the line when it was clearly grounded short. Wales were now 19-7 down with it all to do.

As we hoped, at last Wales rolled up their sleeves and went to work. It was their turn to dominate territory and possession and they hammered away at the Irish line for ten minutes or more. Parkes got over the line but was adjudged to have lost the ball as he touched it down. Then came the moment that sealed the Welsh fate. They opted for a scrum from a penalty under the Irish posts and were penalised for collapsing the scrum. As momentum changers go, this was as big as it gets. The Irish were elated and the Welsh deflated and there was no way back for Wales. A rejuvenated Ireland marched back down the field and minutes later Conway was crossing for a try in the corner to make it 24-7.

The Irish relaxed with the bonus point secured. Stander was shown a rather belated yellow card for an offence at the ruck. With the last play of the game, Wales salvaged some pride when Tipuric touched down for a try from a forward drive that was converted by Halfpenny. The final score at 24-14 slightly flattered Wales.

This match was much more reminiscent of an Irish Province playing a Welsh Region than the recent internationals. Aside from about ten minutes or so in the second half and the occasional flash here and there, the Irish put a stranglehold on Wales and fully deserved their bonus point win. The Welsh coaching team will have some thinking to do before the next match against the resurgent French in a couple of weeks.

Terrible conditions at Murrayfield led to an awful spectacle as England just managed to beat the Scots 6-13. If ever there was an advertisement for the benefits of a stadium with a roof this was it. France play Italy in Paris today and it is difficult to envisage anything other than a resounding French victory.

Next week we are back to the important stuff! Pontypool travel to Trebanos as they continue their quest to secure promotion to the Premiership. With ten games left and Bargoed hot on their heels they cannot afford to slip up.

Come on Pooler!

Wales Back in the Swim

A great start for Wales with a resounding 42-0 win over the hapless Italians. The Italians were hugely disappointing and made life easy for Wales under their new coaching regime. This makes it really hard to judge where Wales are in terms of preparation for the much tougher games to come.

From my seat at the end of the ground, the Welsh defence did not seem quite so watertight as when Sean Edwards was in charge but, nevertheless, they didn’t concede a single point which speaks for itself.

In attack, Josh Adams continues to collect tries whenever there is a sniff of a chance. New boy Tompkins showed some nice touches and Halfpenny hurried and scurried as he ran the ball back at every opportunity. There were still periods of the game when the attack looked a bit toothless but five tries scored, again, speaks for itself.

The most worrying part of the game was the scrummage which creaked and conceded penalties. This is probably the only area where the Italians gave Wales any trouble. The other teams in the Six Nations would certainly exploit this so perhaps we need to consider a larger tight head prop.

So, all in all, an encouraging start but there will be much sterner tests to come.

I only saw flashes of the Ireland v Scotland across a crowded room but the Scots seemed to be a little unlucky to lose 19-12. Their cause wasn’t helped by Hogg making a pig’s breakfast of touching the ball down over the line with a crucial try up for grabs.

France v. England on Sunday was a full-blooded affair with the French dominating the first half and just about managing to hold out the English in the second half. The French defence was much improved and Sean Edwards has surely had a major part to play in that. The French took their chances to score while a rather cumbersome English attack on the whole did not as the aggressive French defence knocked them back. That England got anywhere close was due to two pieces of individual brilliance from Jonny May.

The first round of matches sees Wales on top having had a far easier ride than the other the other teams. With a quick turnaround before the next matches this should surely be an advantage. On the evidence of the first round, France now look to be favourites and should brush Italy aside next week. Scotland will be really up for it against England at Murrayfield and will be hoping to send the English home to think again. Of course, my focus will be on Dublin where the Welsh will have it all to do. This will be the first real test for Wayne Pivac and wales will need to go up a couple of levels if they are to get anything out of their visit to the Irish capital.

Come on Wales!

Pooler Squeeze Home

A Friday night fixture under floodlights at Pontypool Park is normally something to look forward especially when it is first playing third in the league. Pontypool were entertaining Gwent rivals Bedwas but the weather had misbehaved. Rain was being swept down the pitch by a strong gusting wind. You could tell how bad it was as I took no persuading to make a rare visit to the stand. There were still some hardy souls stationed on the Bank  - they must have had good waterproofs!

Pontypool lost the toss in this vitally important league match and kicked off playing with the elements in the first half. This was one of those games where you really wanted to get a decent lead in the first half and then try and protect it in the second half.  Pontypool needed a good start and, whether it was a consequence of the quick turn around after last Saturday’s titanic struggle against Carmarthen Quins or the absence of a few wise words from absent coach Leighton Jones, they had completely the opposite. The first fifteen minutes or so was a catalogue of errors from the home side. Lineouts went awry, penalties were given away at the scrum and breakdown, the ball was knocked on as Pooler struggled to get to grips with a lively Bedwas outfit. Bedwas looked the more likely to score as they fed off Pooler’s mistakes. This was going to be a tough night for Pontypool as the rain continued to fall.

Pontypool started to play a bit better in the second quarter and worked their way into promising field positions but the crucial pass always seemed to go astray as the awful conditions made any sort of back play high risk. To make matters worse, Pooler lock Gregory received a yellow card on the half hour for an offence at a maul. This was certainly not the first half that the Pontypool faithful wanted and there were plenty of concerned looks as Bedwas continued to play exactly the right tactics against the elements.

As the half drew to a close, strong running Bedwas wing Rees was sin-binned for a high tackle. Powell kicking the ensuing penalty and at least Pooler had some points on the board (3-0). Powell had a chance to double Pooler’s lead with a penalty in injury time but missed narrowly. The narrow half time lead looked very vulnerable with Bedwas playing down the slope with the wind behind them in the second half. This was going to take something special from Pontypool.

The early exchanges in the second half saw Bedwas on the attack but, rather like Pontypool in the first half, they found it difficult to capitalise on good field position. Pontypool brought Leonard on at scrum half and this seemed to inject some energy into their game.  A powerful surge from Coundley in midfield ignited Pontypool’s best passage of play of the night. Good support play and multiple phases resulted in No 8 Ieuan Jones squeezing in for a try in the left corner. The conversion failed but Pontypool were two scores ahead at 8-0.

Both sides made substitutions to bring on fresh legs on this energy-sapping night. Pontypool could be grateful that conditions improved with far less rain as we entered the third quarter. Pontypool seemed to be gaining the ascendancy but conceded two penalties in succession which transformed a promising attacking position into desperate defence. Bedwas were not to be denied and after a series of forward drives flanker Jones crossed for a try under the posts. McIntosh converted and Pooler’s lead had all but disappeared at 8-7.  

The tension mounted as the next score would be vital. Bedwas kicked the ball field using the following wind to gain field position. Pontypool tried to run the ball back at them which often led to errors and much angst in the crowd. Pooler fullback fielded such a kick from Bedwas and put up an up and under. The chase was good and Bedwas knocked on. Substitute home wing Nove grabbed the loose ball and burst clear and sprinted from almost halfway to score near the posts. Powell converted and Pooler had re-established their eight point cushion as we entered the last ten minutes (15-7).

There was a long break in play as Pontypool hooker Ball received treatment. I am pleased to say that he that he managed to walk off the field. When play resumed, the home side looked a little subdued and Bedwas seized the opportunity to attack. Their initial thrusts were repulsed but finally Bedwas wing, Rees, who had been a thorn in Pooler’s side all night, scored a great individual try from a well-judged kick ahead. The conversion failed but Bedwas were back within touching distance at 15-12.

There were a few anxious moments as the game drew to a close but Pooler managed to see them out and we were all delighted to hear the final whistle. Final score: Pontypool 15 Bedwas 12.

This was a gutsy performance from Pontypool who were far from their best at times against a streetwise Bedwas side. The conditions played a big part in the high level of errors but the penalty count against Pontypool remains a cause for concern. Pontypool had to dig deep especially when the after effects of last week’s cup match are considered. Well done boys - a truly hard-earned victory.

Pontypool’s lead over Bargoed is now ten points with Bargoed having a game in hand. It is tight at the top and Pooler’s tough away games at Bedwas and Bargoed will surely decide who wins promotion. The league programme during the Six Nations Championship is nothing like as intensive and Pontypool will be able to recover their mojo in time for the crucial fixtures to come.

Speaking of the Six Nations, I am just about to set off for Cardiff to see what Wales can do against Italy. The first big decision is it brunch or lunch?

Come on Wales!

Come on Pooler!