Celtic Double Delight

Wales are the Six Nations Champions! Something we didn’t think we would be saying this year.

Last night Scotland dashed France’s hopes with a stunning victory in Paris. With a bit more luck, it could have been Scotland who were the champions after their victories in Paris and London and two really narrow defeats by Wales and Ireland. Congratulations to Scotland who are developing a powerful squad that will take some beating in the years ahead. Finishing in fourth place seems scant reward for a great campaign but at least they are above the “Auld Enemy”.

Watching the match on the TV, the tension was unbelievable at times as the French looked more than capable of gaining the twenty one point victory margin that they so desperately needed to overhaul Wales in the Championship table. For the first time, I really got to feel what it is like to be a Scotland supporter and it is even more stressful than supporting Wales and Pontypool!

When Scotland scored the first try of the match through van Der Merwe, you sensed how heartily fed up they were of being written off by all and sundry and hearing that the match was all about how many France were going to win by. Rather like at Twickenham earlier in the season, Scotland were going to do their damnedest to prove the pundits wrong. This was mighty good news for the Welsh hunched over their TV sets in their front rooms.

It was far from plain sailing as France eased their way into the match on a rainy night which certainly was not helpful to their cause. France led 13-10 at half time and had scored one of the four tries they needed. Three tries and an eighteen points margin did not look beyond them especially as Hogg had been yellow carded for the first ten minutes of the second half.

France soon had their second try on the board when Penaud scored and now led 18-10 – another step nearer to breaking Welsh hearts. That missed conversion might be vital though, I thought.

Scotland were having none of it and soon were hammering at the French line. They took a penalty to close the gap to 18-13 and showed that they were not about to go away. They continued to harry the French and as the third quarter scored their second try through hooker Cherry after the ball ricocheted into his arms close to the French line. Scotland had taken the lead at 18-20 and made France’s task all the more daunting. France had it all to do just to win the game with twenty minutes remaining. I still couldn’t make myself believe that Wales would be Champions though.

The French still believed and hit back with their third try from Rebbadj after a period of pressure on the French line. Another conversion missed but they were back in the lead at 23-20

Scotland bounced back and attacked strongly but spurned the several penalty opportunities that would have helped the Welsh cause if not their own desire not to settle for a draw. Still the clock was winding down nicely and there were only ten minutes remaining when Scotland attacked the French line through Russell.  His fend on the French fullback Dulin was deemed dangerous and he was shown a red card. Was this the glimmer of a chance that the French needed? They surely couldn’t score eighteen points in nine minutes could they?

If it was their opportunity, they squandered it with a yellow card for Serin a couple of minutes later. You sensed that the French knew that the game was up and dejection sped through their ranks. All Scotland saw was a chance of a famous victory and they were not about to let it pass.  With the clock in the red the French had a chance to kill the game and at least take the victory. They dallied with the ball and gave away a stupid penalty. This was all that Scotland needed and a couple of minutes later van Der Merwe was over for a try in the corner. The conversion was good and Scotland had snatched victory 23-27 at the death just like France had done to Wales the previous week.

When I look back on the match, France never really looked like winning by the twenty one point margin they needed to ruin my evening. It did not seem so at the time though as good old Welsh pessimism was to the fore. A combination of the weather, six day turn round after a hard match with Wales and the lack of a crowd will have all made it more difficult for France but what really made it almost insurmountable was the commitment and skill of a doughty Scottish team who were in their faces all match. 

Well done Scotland!

Wales can celebrate being Six Nation’s Champions. It is a pity that it couldn’t have happened with the team on the field in front of a full house but these are strange times. Never mind it is a brilliant achievement and I congratulate everyone involved.

Well done Wales!

France Slam the Door Shut on Wales

I must confess my disappointment with Wales not clinching the Grand Slam is still there even after sleeping on it. I cannot be critical of a Welsh team who gave everything and played their best rugby of the season in a pulsating encounter in Paris. It was a definite case of so near and yet so far as Wales lost out to a last gasp French try 32-30.

How did we get to that agonising finale?

The first half was very much a tit-for-tat affair with some scintillating rugby from both sides. They had scored two converted tries apiece in the first twenty minutes with Wales pegging France back twice despite having a try disallowed by the TMO. Taofifenua and Dupont crossed for France while Biggar and Navidi scored the tries for Wales. A penalty goal apiece left the score at 17-17 at half time with Wales, if anything, looking a shade stronger.

Wales were playing with an attacking verve a couple of levels up from their previous matches with their ball carriers thundering forward. Adams and Rees Zammit were coming in field and looking dangerous and Biggar was controlling the game expertly. The Grand Slam still looked well within their grasp.

The third quarter really belonged to Wales as they continued their good work. In the first ten minutes they built a ten point lead through a penalty and a try from Adams who capitalised on excellent work from Tipuric who put in an expertly judged kick ahead and substitute scrum half Williams who gathered the loose ball (17-27).

The French hit back with a penalty from Ntamack to close the gap to seven (20-27).

Then came the turning point in the match just as the third quarter ended. Wales won a lineout near the French twenty two and what looked to be an unstoppable forward drive powered right up to the French line but was stopped illegally by Haouas. With referee, Pearce, playing the advantage, Rees Zammit seemed to have squeezed in acrobatically for a try in the right corner. This was chalked off by the TMO as the very edge of the ball had touched the touch line. We waited expectantly for what looked for all the world to be a penalty try to be awarded. What we got was a penalty and a yellow card for Haouas. Wales kicked the penalty when they might have considered going for a try and regained their ten point lead at 20-30. It felt as if Wales had been awarded the penalty try they could have had a winning lead as well as gaining the all important bonus point. Still they had a decent lead going into the final quarter with France a man short.

In the final quarter things began to change. The substitutions were made and the France seemed stung into action. Wales found it increasingly difficult to get out of their own half and started to concede penalties. France hammered away at the Welsh line and looked to have scored their third try. The TMO had spotted Willemse giving Wyn Jones a facial, however, and the try was chalked off. Not only that, but Willemse was given a red card and Wales had been given a “get out of jail” card with fifteen minutes to go.

Wales were still under pressure and were still giving away penalties as they tried to keep the French out. Referee, Pearce, lost his patience with Wales and Faletau and Liam Williams were given a yellow card in the space of two minutes. It was the fourteen men of France against thirteen men of Wales for the last five minutes or so. Could Wales hold out as France continued to press? It was almost unbearable to watch.

With three minutes to go, Ollivan crashed over for a try for France that was converted by Ntamack. It had been coming for a while and the French were now within a score at 27-30.

This was pure agony. Wales kicked off and did manage to get their hands on the ball after a French mistake. They started a series of forward drives to wind the clock down – surely, they could hold out. ‘Please don’t concede a penalty’, I shouted at the telly. Eagle eyed Pearce spotted some illegal sealing off and disaster France were awarded the penalty and a last chance to pinch the game.

The French kicked the ball into touch and from the ensuing lineout before we knew it Dulin was gleefully crossing for the all-important winning try. The conversion failed but France were home at 32-30.

Writing this has been cathartic as I realise just how strong the French were in the last quarter despite having that red card. It was really hard luck on Wales but the French effort must be commended. Wales can be justifiably proud of their efforts which so nearly gave them the Grand Slam to go with the Triple Crown. Well done Wales, it wasn’t to be, but you did us proud!

Where does that leave the Championship? Wales now have twenty points courtesy of a losing bonus point and France now have fifteen with the win and four try bonus point. Wales’ campaign is over but France have yet to play Scotland in Paris on Friday. The French now know they need to win by a twenty one point margin and score four tries to pip Wales at the post and claim the Six Nations Championship. The Scots, in the meantime, had a comfortable 52-10 victory over Italy and will certainly not be a push-over and they have the added incentive of claiming second place with a decent win.

For England, this has been a hugely disappointing campaign with yesterday’s heavy loss in Dublin against Ireland the final part of their “Triple Down”. With all the players and resources at their disposal, their failure is all the more stark. As Sergeant Williams would have said in It Ain’t Half Hot Mum, ‘Oh dear what a pity, never mind’.

That brings down the curtain on an excellent campaign for Wales where they have made huge strides forward admittedly from a low starting point. Well done to the coaching team for sticking to their guns despite all the negative publicity. The old and the new have blended together well and we can move forward with a degree of optimism. It is a great shame that we weren’t able to be there in person to cheer the lads on.

We will have an anxious eye on events in Paris on Friday as to win the Six Nations Championship to add to the Triple Crown would be a real bonus.

Well done Wales you have cheered up the nation in these trying times.

I’m Keeping Everything Crossed

The day of reckoning is upon us. Wales are in Paris hoping against hope to clinch what seemed a most unlikely grand slam only a few weeks ago. They have earned this with no little skill, excellent discipline and a little bit of luck along the way. The French were favoured by many to win the Six Nations Championship while Wales were expected to be battling for fourth or fifth place. France of course is still in position to win the Championship but their loss to England has eliminated their chances of a Grand Slam. Scotland’s narrow loss against Ireland last Sunday has meant that their outside chance of pipping Wales and France to the post has disappeared.

The table looks like this for the two main protagonists:

                        P          W        D         L          PD       Pts

Wales              4          4          0          0          63        19

France             3          2          0          1          39        10

France needs to win their last two games against Wales and Scotland with bonus points to get to 20 points. If Wales fails to get anything from today’s game then France would be champions.

A losing bonus point for Wales and a try bonus point victory for France would mean that France would need to win with a bonus point against Scotland and have a superior points difference to Wales to be champions.

Any other result would mean that Wales would be champions. A win for Wales would of course mean that Wales be the Grand Slam champions.

What are the prospects?

France have been absolutely brilliant at times and have looked unstoppable. They could/should have beaten England in a close encounter but rather ran out of steam towards the end of the match. Their campaign has been disrupted by the postponement of their match against Scotland due to Covid 19 in their camp which surely affected their performance last week. They did all look mighty dejected when they trooped off the field in defeat last week. Can they bounce back?

Wales on the other hand are riding on the crest of a wave as they have stunned everyone by putting together their winning run. Confidence in the squad is building and, although on paper the French man for man look stronger and also have home advantage, Wales will fancy their chances. The game is not played on paper and this will be about will to win and Wales should have that aplenty.

I never like making predictions. The bookies make France clear favourites to win by 6-9 points but they have been wrong before. Let us hope they are wrong again!

I shall be on the couch at 20.00hrs with a glass in my hand hoping fervently for Wales to win. Not sure whether you can cross your fingers and hold a glass but I will be trying.

Come on Wales!

Wales Complete the Italian Job

Unlike Michael Caine, Wales came home with the booty with a thumping 7-48 win in Rome against the hapless if not hopeless Italians. The game was up for the Italians after half an hour when Wales were leading 0-27 and had already secured the try four bonus point. Wales had played well and had all but blown the home side away with a mixture of power and pace coupled with strong defence. Tries from Adams, Faletau and a brace from Owens meant that we could all relax. This was exhilarating stuff and quite different to the usual struggle for sixty minutes or so in Rome.

George North added a further try just after half time to take the score to 0-34 and this was the cue for Wales to make a raft of substitutions. Of went North, Francis and Biggar closely followed by Falteau, Owens, Alun Wyn Jones and Gareth Davies and finally Wyn Jones. The spine of the team had been removed and the game became much more competitive as the substitutions from both sides bedded in.

The Italians seized their chance to get on the scoreboard when the combative Ioane score a try while all the substitutions were being made. Wales were guilty of making handling errors and giving away penalties which gave the Italians possession and territory. Wales however did slam the door on any kind of Italian comeback with a smart try from Sheedy looping round to gather a pass from Navidi.

The Italians were not about to give up and were pressing hard in the Wales twenty two when the ball went loose. Rees Zammit picked up the ball and after a swift pirouette sped off down the wing. There was only going to be one out come – Wales had their seventh try and had brought the score to 7-48 with fifteen minutes left.

The last fifteen minutes really belonged to the brave Italians as they monopolised possession as the Welsh level dropped as thoughts turned to Paris the following weekend. Try as they may the Azurri could not add to their tally and they trudged off the field suffering yet another heavy defeat. Final score Italy 7 Wales 48.

Overall Wales can return to base with a feeling of a job well done. Sure, there is still plenty to work on, but they are improving with every game and have gathered a whole lot of momentum to carry forward. They secured a comfortable victory with no obvious injury or disciplinary worries and managed to reduce the workload for most of their key players. They will head to Paris next weekend confident that they can give a good account of themselves in the final leg of a potential Grand Slam that looked a million miles away in December.

The second course to be served up was what looked to be a tasty encounter between England and France at Twickenham. Part of me wanted England to win and the other part wanted France to win so a draw would have been a good outcome.

The first half was a pulsating affair with both sides running the ball at almost every opportunity. France scored in the first couple of minutes but England quickly countered. It was end to end stuff with plenty of thrills and spills as England to a large extent cast off their normal box kicking routine. France shaded the first half going in with a narrow 13-17 lead.

The second half was far cagier with both sides guilty of errors that curtailed the continuity we had seen in the first half. The outcome was a scrappy tense affair as the substitutions were made and there was little to choose between the two sides. An exchange of penalties gave France a slender 16-20 lead as the clock ticked down to the remaining few minutes. England got good field possession and Itoje was awarded the decisive try from close range after the TMO overruled the referee’s on-field decision. France had three minutes to resurrect their Grand Salm hopes but rather squandered a decent opportunity as time ran out. The French team and management looked devastated as the final whistle blew. Final score England 23 France 20.

Well all this leaves Wales as the only contenders for the Grand Slam although France and Scotland can both still win the Championship with bonus point wins in their remaining fixtures. Who would have thought it? Scotland take on Ireland at Murrayfield today before playing Italy and then France (in the postponed fixture in Paris) and will need three good wins to remain in contention.

Next week sees Wales make the trip to Paris to take on France. There are times when the French team look fantastic. When they move the ball at pace and get their off-loading game going no one can touch them. They play a high risk, open style of rugby in attack while Sean Edwards has stiffened up their defence. They rather petered out in the fourth quarter against England as their lack of rugby and their problems with Covid 19 possibly caught up with them. Wales cannot expect this to happen next weekend but do know that their players have not had such a tough match to recover from in the next week. It promises to be gripping encounter.

Will Wales make any changes for the trip to France? I suspect changes will be kept to an absolute minimum - fitness permitting. The positions that might be looked at are: scrum half if Tomos Williams or Hardy are fit, the return of Beard at lock and inside centre where Jon Davies is still not playing as we know he can. We are looking a pretty settled side now though and the pattern of play is continuing to develop. Long may it last.

Come on Wales!