Musings from the Couch

I usually write this before I have read the Sunday papers. It is then interesting to see what the pundits and reporters come up with. This is certainly the case today.

I read with some degree of disappointment that club rugby in Wales would be abandoned this season. This is not unexpected and I believe the correct decision in light of the circumstances that the country finds itself in. The all-pervading Corona Virus is doing far greater damage to society than the cancellation of rugby matches could ever do. Hopefully normal service can be resumed in September and that the vast majority of clubs are able to get back to playing matches on a Saturday afternoon. No doubt there will be a shuffling of the pack in terms of the team players end up turning out for. It will be almost like starting with a blank piece of canvas. I look forward to it and hope that Pontypool will finally get the job done and win a place in the Premiership.

Meanwhile back on the couch, I have been watching European rugby on the TV. Two really exciting matches with Munster and Ospreys both fighting back from large deficits to claim away victories. Sadly though, the tournaments are rapidly becoming farcical with the awarding of bonus point victories in matches cancelled due to Corona Virus infections. It would surely be better for a virtual panel of “experts” to be convened to predict what they think might have happened rather like the old Pools Panel did in football. In many of the cases so far, a team has been on the losing end of a comprehensive defeat through no fault of their own. Meanwhile other teams are sweating blood on the field to win valuable points. I do understand that the show must go on to gain income but winning on the basis of the other team’s misfortune off the field is somewhat unsatisfactory. So far, the Welsh Regions seemed to have fared well from cancellations so lucky them.

The Six Nations Championship is just around the corner. With a worsening situation with the Corona Virus in all the countries involved, surely this must now be postponed. If it were my decision, I would postpone it until the Autumn. I would then amalgamate it with the matches in Spring 2022 and have a “Super Six Nations” where the teams will have played each other home and away to determine the champions. If the situation with the virus improves, perhaps some matches against Southern Hemisphere teams could be arranged in May or September.

The other big issue hitting the headlines is the tragedy of early onset dementia for rugby players. I don’t know enough about the medical science involved but this is really eye-opening stuff. I did once go to a lecture in Cardiff University where they explained how they were working to redesign the American football helmet to reduce the effect of head impacts. Some of the illustrations of what happens to the brain in a collision were frightening. Their proposed design modifications to the helmet were encouraging. 

I don’t suppose we will see hard helmets used in rugby but you never know. All this will, of course, end up in the law courts but you do wonder how rugby can survive in its present form. My heart goes out to the players suffering the consequences of playing the sport they love and I wish them all well.

So, it’s back to the couch for another shift.

Have a safe Xmas everyone and let’s hope for a better 2021.

Grumpy Old Fan

Rugby is the game that I have enjoyed watching and playing the most over the years but I find myself falling out of love with it. A big part of this is not being able to watch Pontypool playing in the flesh which has been my staple Saturday afternoon diet for eight months or so every year. Of course, I can still get a fix from the countless matches that are available (if you are prepared to fork out) on the TV. It is not the same though is it? It’s like drinking a rather weak shandy when you want a good, strong pint of real ale. You want to feel a bond with your team rather than just just picking an underdog to support.

For all that, I did watch a couple of games that grabbed my attention on Saturday with both providing some exhilarating rugby and demonstrating that rugby can still provide great entertainment. Bristol Bears v Clement Auvergne was a try scoring master class while Bath v The Scarlets match was nail-biting but with some excellent running rugby to boot.

Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed these games, some of the other rugby was of the turgid type of European rugby that we have come to expect. It got me to thinking about what was bugging me about rugby at the moment. When you are watching dispassionately, these things really bubble to the surface and make you start channel hopping.

My top ten irritants are:

1. Collapsing and resetting scrums. It seems that no matter how much they tinker with the setting of scrums the game is plagued with this. Even as a veteran Pontypool fan it is frustrating and takes up far too much game time.
2. The wild celebrations that follow a penalty being awarded at a scrum when most people are bemused by the decision including the front rows themselves.
3. The breakdown and the jackal - who is doing what and what is illegal. It is far too complicated and with the benefit of the inevitable zoom lens and slow motion replays you can see just how difficult it is for the referees to make a decision. I don’t think the latest law changes have helped and it looks like an area where players are bound to get injured. The spectator on the terrace has no chance of knowing what is going and howls “holding” more in hope than anything else. Was rucking any better though?
4. Incessant box kicking and the emergence of the “caterpillar”. At least before the caterpillar there was the occasional kick charged down but now the box kick seems to be the most used tool in every team’s toolbox. The attempts to catch the kick often lead to contentious penalties and cards for tackling in the air and yet more delays.
5. Box kicking has led to more and more of the use of subtle yet cynical obstruction to prevent the potential catcher of the ball being challenged. England are the masters of this.
6. Miniscule in-goal areas. A pet hate of mine is the wide deviation in the size of in-goal areas and their impact on the game. Surely, they should be standard. I understand that the increasing use of football grounds has meant smaller playing areas but, in some cases, it seems barely four metres from try line to dead-ball line in others it can be ten metres or more.
7. Linked to 6 is the substitutes running on the pitch to celebrate a try. They are using the in-goal area to warm up when really they have no business being on the pitch at all.
8. The ruffling of the opposition player’s hair when a team gives away a penalty or knock-on. This coupled with the incessant pointing and carping at the referee is not really in the spirit of the game. Fortunately there is not yet as much “diving” as there is in football and long may that continue.
9. The refereeing of the game and the TMO. The game at the professional level is becoming more and more reliant on the TMO as it seems impossible for the on-field refereeing team to spot even 90% of the indiscretions. Referees are also so worried about making the wrong decision and feels the need to call for help knowing that the TV replays will hang them if they are shown to be wrong after forensic examination by the pundits. The TMO decisions often take far too long and, yes, result in more delays. I certainly don’t envy the task of the referee but they have far too much influence on the entertainment value of a game. It is no longer possible to not notice the referee.
10. There is a lack of joy and fun in the game. Players do not seem to be enjoying playing. Yes, it is a job but surely there is room for a bit of light-heartedness now and then. The coaches are turning players into robots who are slaves to “the pattern”. We will miss the refereeing of Nigel Owens who was the master of the one-liner that brought a smile to the face of many a grizzly rugby player.  

For all that, I will still be watching rugby and I can’t wait to get back to watching club rugby with Pontypool. Fortunately, a lot of my grouses above are not quite as apparent in the community game. We should, however, spare a thought for the referees who really are heroes at this level and, although we all moan and groan, there would be no rugby without them.

Come on everybody let’s be sensible and try and kick Covid 19 into touch. Let’s get back to watching the game we love in the place that we love.

The Old Guard See Wales Through

 The last game of the Autumn Series for Wales was a home match against Italy to determine who finishes fifth. It was a chance for Wales to shrug off a string of lack lustre performances and rekindle the fire in the rather cool relationship that had developed with the Welsh public. The match was again played in an empty Parc Y Scarlets so there was to be no help to be had from a fervent Welsh crowd.

The game startled well enough with a much-changed Wales on the rampage and playing with pace scoring two good converted tries. We sat back sipping our light refreshments expecting more of the same but that was not to be. The malaise that had affected Wales returned with the loss of lineouts and a string of penalties conceded at the breakdown. Wales quickly surrendered control of the match and were soon very much on the back foot as the Italians strutted their stuff. A fourteen point Welsh lead had shrunk to one by the interval and the light refreshments needed to be replaced by something much stronger. “This is the end for Pivac,” we muttered.

Liam Williams had gone off with an injury and the substitute Lloyd was looking out of his depth at full back. Despite some sterling work from Faletau and Tipuric, Wales looked vulnerable and an Italian victory seemed entirely possible. There was no mentoring from Sean Edwards available at half time either. Aargh!

It started reasonably well in the second half with a penalty from Sheedy taking the score to 17-13 but Wales kept giving away penalties. Then, disaster, a defensive mix up between North, Rees Zammit and Lloyd led to a try by Italian flanker Mayer. Italy had taken the lead albeit by only one point at 17-18.

Wales had to do something and they sent on the cavalry with a raft of substitutions. The most significant of these was the introduction of Gareth Davies at scrum half. Faletau was becoming more and more prominent as the match progressed. He was superb once he was freed from the duty of tackling juggernaut forwards all match. It was his break that changed the course of the match and, as of old, he found Gareth Davies in support who needed no second invitation to sprint to the line.

Italian resistance began to crumble and Wales began to gain the upper hand. Confidence grew and a good try by North after the three-quarters took full advantage of a turnover won in midfield put them well clear. Fittingly, the final flourish was a try from Tipuric after another powerful break from Faletau. Wales running out convincing winners in the end 38-18.

It was great to see Wales winning again and in some style but this was against opposition who we expect to beat reasonably comfortably. Even then, Wales lost their way in the second and third quarters of the match as lineouts and breakdowns continue to give problems. Having to use Tipuric, one of our better breakdown exponents, as a lineout jumper did not help.

The thing that stands out most in this game is the renaissance of Faletau. Whilst he is more than willing to take on a heavy tackling load it is with ball in hand that he is most effective. With Tipuric and Gareth Davies in support the Welsh attack become far more potent.

What have we learned from the Autumn Series? I guess we might have expected to beat Georgia and Italy and lose to England and Ireland so no surprises there. Add to that the loss to Scotland in the belated Six Nations fixture and to France in the warm-up game, however, and it becomes a sorry tale. The manner of our defeats where we were generally overpowered is a cause for concern. Fixing this has to be the priority before we can hope to compete at the highest level. We have to have a scrummaging front row, a solid lineout and ball carriers to give us some go forward.

On the plus side, Wales have tried out plenty of new players and new combinations. Some have worked some have not but the management team must surely have a good idea of their strongest team by now. All of this chopping and changing has not helped in the short term and we will wait with bated breath to see the team-sheet for the first game in the Six Nations Championship which is just a couple of months away.

I did watch the other two matches. The Fijians looked mighty impressive when they got hold of the ball as they defeated the plucky Georgians who have perhaps gained most from the Autumn Series. Given time together, the Fijians have shown that they can be a match for the best sides in the world.

Ireland beat Scotland in Dublin in a fairly typical Northern Hemisphere international match with neither side really setting the world alight. So, Ireland clinch third spot and it is left to England and France to decide on the winners of what has turned out to be a rather pale imitation of the Six Nations. France are fielding what looks to be a much-weakened team so we can expect to hear much gloating from Eddie Jones on Sunday evening. Oh joy!

It is not all doom and gloom for Wales and a win is always welcome. We are now firmly out of the Gatland era but we can surely be competitive again when we settle on the best combination of players and tactics. The talent is there for all to see.

Pob lwc Mr. Pivac.