A double header on the couch yesterday with Wales v
Argentina followed by the Lions v Sharks II. There was of course competition
from Wimbledon and the remote suddenly went missing and got into management’s
hands fortunately a compromise was quickly established.
In Cardiff it was clear right from the start that the tough
Argentinians were an entirely different prospect to the Canadians the previous
week. Mano a mano they looked physically stronger than their Welsh counterparts
and this was going to be hard going for a below strength Wales team. There was
little rugby played in an error strewn first half with neither side being
particularly impressive. The Pumas were on top in the scrums which were a constant source of frustration that ultimately led to a yellow card for Lewis and
Chaparro as the referee lost patience quite a while after the rest of us.
With the scores at 6-6 following a couple of penalties
each, the Welsh cause was helped by the red card for Argentinian fullback
Mallia after a high tackle on Hardy. Strangely Hardy was not required to
undergo a HIA after what looked like a considerable whack on the head. Equally strangely the numerical advantage
that the Welsh now had (14-13) did not seem to help at all as the Pumas enjoyed
their best spell of the match scoring a try either side of half time to take a deserved
6-20 lead.
Wales had to react and they did. The Puma’s defence
was uncompromising and Wales struggled to make the extra man count. The
introduction of Tomos Williams at scrum half helped to increase the tempo of the
Welsh attacking play and, ten minutes later, Wales at last scored their first
try when Rowlands ploughed over from short range (13-20). Wales continued to
attack in fits and starts and finally with ten minutes left Williams darted
over from close range and with the conversion the game was tied up at 20-20.
Could Wales go on and win it? Well both sides had
opportunities to break the deadlock with late penalty attempts but neither were
successful. I suppose a draw was a fair reflection on the game but it is fair
to say the Welsh team has plenty to work on before they face the Pumas next
weekend.
In South Africa, the Lions’ tour is becoming
disjointed to say the least with the impact of Covid disrupting both schedule
and selection. Last Wednesday the Lions had to make wholesale late changes to
the backs before their game against the Sharks due to Covid isolations. They
still won comfortably (7-54) with Adams and van der Merwe helping themselves to
a hat trick of tries each. The Bulls game scheduled for yesterday was called
off and the Lions faced the Sharks again in a hastily arranged fixture.
Both teams were much changed with the Sharks fielding
a more youthful team. The first half came a as a bit of a shock if the Lions
were expecting an easy runout. A highly motivated Sharks team seized on every
Lions mistake (and there were many of them) with glee and went toe to toe with
their more illustrious opponents. The lead changed hands several times with the
score after a breathless first half tied up at 26-26. The Sharks had troubled
the Lions in all areas and were clearly enjoying the challenge.
The Lions had to improve in the second half and they
did with the error count much reduced as they tightened up their style of play.
The sending off of Sharks scrum half Hendrikse for elbowing Liam Williams was a
turning point and the Lions quickly stamped their authority on the game to
eventually win 31-71 with a total of eleven tries scored. They did concede five
tries which will be of great concern to the coaching team.
The battle for places in the test team looks far from
being resolved in many areas with few players enhancing their chances yesterday
– Watson, George and van der Merwe being honourable exceptions. Injuries/Covid could
have a part to play no doubt but how would you like to choose between the wings
available? The scrum didn’t go particularly well in the first half or in the game
on Wednesday and selection here will be crucial if the Lions are to match the
Springboks in a key area of the game where they are so strong.
There is plenty more rugby to come with no competition from Wimbledon. The remote is safely under lock and key. Happy days!
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