When Will I See You Again?

Last night I had my first dose of Welsh rugby for many moons. I tuned in to watch the Dragons take on Leinster in Dublin on the S4C. I have to admit that despite the weather I would have far preferred to be on the bank at Pontypool Park watching a team I am passionate about. There does not seem to be any real prospect of the Pooler donning the red, white and black in the near future sadly so needs must.

My score prediction prior to the kick off in Dublin was the Dragons to lose by around forty points despite their recruitment drive. Sadly, my prediction almost came true as the Dragons failed to make much impression on the Leinster defensive wall despite the presence of a host of Welsh internationals in the backline. The Leinster defence seemed to be within a micron or two of being offside as they rushed up and stifled the Dragons’ attacks. The Dragons also contrived to lose a few attacking lineouts when they go close to the Leinster line which certainly didn’t help their cause.

The Leinster attack was far more productive and seized their chances with glee running in five tries. The Dragons could not be faulted for commitment and effort and made a better fist of things in the second half but were distinctly second best.

I have been watching quite a lot of English club rugby on the TV. It has been strangely unfulfilling with few games taking place where both sides fielded a full-strength team. This was obviously a result of the fixture congestion as they rushed to complete the 2019-20 season in a few weeks. From an England perspective, at least their players will be match fit ahead of the forthcoming Autumn international programme. Judging from what I saw of the Dragons their Welsh counterparts may well be off the pace. The downside of all those fixtures will be injured players with Tuilagi and Lawes both looking to be long term absentees.

English rugby is brutal with the emphasis on power rather than guile and defence rather than attack. Lots of box kicks to attack and defend and only scattered moments of inspiration which normally come from the seemingly endless band of South Sea Islanders plying their trade in the English league.

From a spectator perspective, the scrum is still the major downer and we still have to watch far too many resets as the scrum collapses. The penalty count associated with the scrummage often determines the result of a match. The scrum was important to Pooler in their glory years but it never took up so much game time.

The other area of note is the breakdown. The day of the jackal would seem to be over. The scavenger is now a much bigger beast - more like a hyena. The short squat guys have been replaced by much bigger and taller men like Curry of Sale and Willis of Wasps. The supporting of one’s own weight, once so crucial, seems to be far less important than before with these taller men using their longer reach to get a grip on the ball. It results in far more penalties and the loss of many good attacking positions.  I suppose it is early days yet but it looks like the coaches everywhere will be desperately seeking ways to get an edge in this area by fair means or foul.

The topic of money was never far from the headlines in Welsh rugby with the Regions in particular struggling to compete with their wealthier opponents. The Covid 19 pandemic has made things far worse of course and the true fallout is yet to be seen. Rugby at all levels is severely impacted and you have to wonder what the “new normal” will become.  There may well be many causalities amongst clubs in the community game. I certainly hope not but things are unlikely to return to the way they were which even then were far from rosy.

I was really saddened to hear of the passing of Pontypool stalwart Pat Shepphard. Pat was the kind of volunteer that every community club needs with her unstinting work largely unseen but extremely valuable. We shall miss her ready smile. Pontypool is all the poorer for her untimely loss.

There is much rugby available over the next few months but little chance of watching it from the stands and terraces. Wales will have it all to do win more than they lose after their rather disappointing showing in the Six Nations. We were a bit fortunate that the draw for the next Rugby World Cup seed the four semi finalists (including Wales) in the first group which means that Wales will avoid New Zealand, South Africa and England in the group stages. I guess we will end up with Australia as usual though.

Not being able to watch Pontypool has been a bind but there are lives at risk and that is of course much more important than rugby. I thank all those who have posted many fascinating Pontypool memories on social media. It is not quite the same a watching a match but it certainly helps.

In the words of the Three Degrees, “When will I see you again?”