Wales Turn the Clock Back Early

Wales took on New Zealand in Cardiff in front of a capacity crowd – so far so good. From the moment the Haka challenge was accepted in complete silence, Wales were second best. It really was like turning the clock back as Wales were well and truly humbled by the All Blacks.

As it was in the past, Wales just about managed to hold on to the visitors’ coat tails for an hour or so before the last quarter turned into a nightmare and a 16-54 drubbing. It is a day that most Welsh people will want to forget and it certainly did not set off on the right foot when an All Blacks’ interception try in the first few minutes quietened the crowd. There was precious little for the crowd to cheer from then on. A couple of runs here and there and a try from Jonny Williams gave a few crumbs. The deliberate knock on from Beauden Barrett and the rough treatment of Moriarty did result in some harsh criticism for the referee and New Zealand alike and certainly raised passions in my vicinity. Let’s be fair, Wales were way off the pace.

What went wrong? Just about everything really. The lineout fell apart when it really mattered and the scrum creaked. Too many people took the ball standing still and were duly clattered by a ferocious All Blacks’ defence. Wales rarely ventured into the opposition twenty two and when they did they went sent scurrying back down field after a turnover. Losing Alun Wyn Jones certainly did not help as with his departure the body language of the team seemed to become more and more negative as I watched from the stand.

Was there anything to be cheerful about? I thought Wainright stood out in the forwards in a coming-of-age performance. There were some nice touches from Williams at scrum half, one good run from Lane and Adams tried hard but the back line was always under pressure.

Let us not forget that the All Blacks are a mighty fine team that can be irresistible at times. They are ruthless and poor play by their opponents is almost always punished by a try. Indeed, they scored some marvellous tries in this match. Hearty congratulations to them on their victory and to man of the match Beauden Barrett on his hundredth cap. You have to think, however, that the champions of Europe would give them a better run for their money.

There were mitigating circumstances for Wales with the unavailability of the English based players and a long injury list but would three or four players have made the difference? It is always hard to say but you have to make the best of the cards that you are dealt. Wales were very much at the beginning of the season while the All Blacks were match fit and firing on all cylinders. The Welsh warm up was just in front of where I was sitting and it seemed to lack intensity with the players looking bit heavy legged before they even started the match. Yes, Wales have a lot of work to do I fear.

I have to congratulate the WRU on how easy it was to get in and out of the ground. It was well organised with few delays despite the Covid pass checks and the new electronic ticketing system. It is a bit of a pain having to get in so early and not being able to share a beer or two with your friends in the stadium bars but we all understand the reasons why. Yes, you can have a beer in your seat but then you are subjected to blaring music and Eddie Butler flogging cars while you watch the grass grow. It becomes marginally more interesting when the teams start their warm up routines but two hours or so is a long time. Could we not have some young persons’ rugby on the pitch to watch? Even a couple of dancers from Strictly Come Dancing might help!

We have to do it all again next Saturday and this time it is the Springboks. They are of course reigning World Champions and have just vanquished the Lions as well as beating the All Blacks. They are tough and uncompromising – just what you need with a battered and bruised squad. Wales are likely to be without Alun Wyn Jones and Moriarty at the very least. We have the English based players back and maybe a couple of injured players retuning but it looks an enormous task based on what we saw yesterday. Still hope springs eternal.

Come on Wales!

The best news – it is only two weeks until the first Pooler league game!

I Can’t Get No Satisfaction

 Still three weeks to go before Pooler play a league match. In the words of the Rolling Stones “I can’t get no satisfaction” at the moment. I’ve tried and I’ve tried to watch the games on the TV but it just not the same.

The WRU decision to delay the start of the league season looks more and more curious as we see the rugby world in action all around us but still we sit around waiting. You will remember that originally we were not due to start until 2022 so at least now we are in touching distance. Can’t smell the liniment yet but it won’t be long.

Pooler did have a warm up game last weekend although we couldn’t watch. They travelled to Bristol Bears to take on the A Team. This was always going to be an extremely tough encounter. Pitting themselves against a professional outfit was a pretty steep learning curve Despite losing 68-5 I am sure that the experience will benefit the squad enormously.

The only rugby I have watched so far this weekend was Exeter Chiefs v London Irish and I have to say I enjoyed it (a little). In the Welsh psyche it is always good to see the underdog beat the big dog  - unless you happen to support the big dog. London Irish produced a tremendous display of running rugby and committed defence to win deservedly.

Next Saturday, by way of an hors d’oeuvre for the Pooler season, Wales play New Zealand. This is followed closely by a match against the World Champions South Africa. We must be gluttons for punishment. I am attending the match next Saturday and, from a rugby perspective, I am afraid I can only predict an All Blacks victory. What with e tickets and Covid passes and bag searches the other thing I can predict is absolute chaos before the match. I may be proved wrong but I can see us being instructed to try and get into the ground two hours or more before kick-off. It would have been far better if this had been trialled on a smaller scale first.

As to the Welsh team, which will be shorn of the players plying their trade in England, the management team will be facing a number of selection dilemmas. I haven’t really watched much regional rugby so I am not really in a position to judge current form. I do look at the results and overall they do not make particularly inspiring reading. I am sure whoever represents Wales will do their utmost but I do feel pessimistic

Anyway, I wish Wales all the very best and hope that I am not still grappling with my phone outside the stadium when the whistle blows for the start of the match and indeed the final whistle.

Come on Wales!  

Saturday, Schmaturday

I am like a man on a diet and it’s not going well. I long to watch some proper rugby that I can really get interested in. That means some red meat Pooler style!

The current fare that I watch on TV is not really quelling the pangs of hunger I am afraid.  I have tried to feel involved but, for instance, watching Leicester v Saracens yesterday and Scarlets v Lions the day before did not come close to satisfying my hunger. Worse still, now and then, there is a little something that grabs me and it is like the smell of bacon or freshly baked bread when you know you can’t have them to eat.

This is agony and we still have to wait until November 13^th before Pontypool take the field in earnest. The squad looks great, the ground looks terrific but wait we must. Bah!

In the meantime, there will be an international or two to supplement the diet which will help. This depends on whether I can manage to get to grips with the new app. Still no sign of the tickets and I begin to wonder whether I have done something wrong. I suppose it is progress.

First up for Wales will be the All Blacks who rather surprisingly lost to South Africa yesterday. The match is outside the international window of course so an understrength Wales is going to meet a New Zealand team smarting from a rare defeat. This I fear will not do much for Wales’ 9^th place in the current World rankings. It is difficult to see how the European champions find themselves in this position but those are statistics for you. You never know Wales may find the inspiration from somewhere to give the All Blacks a tough time – I really do hope so.

Come on Wales – let us have some Bread of Heaven for us hungry souls.