Wales Leave Themselves Too Much To Do

I sat down in front of the TV with a feeling of unease to watch Wales play England at Twickenham yesterday. That unease grew exponentially as Wales made a complete hash of collecting England’s kick off. Somehow Wales extricated themselves from the home side’s early pressure only to try and run the ball from their own twenty two and concede a kickable penalty. This in a lot of ways was the story of the first half. Wales could not get anything going and were turned over and gave away penalties far too easily. In addition, they lost Liam Williams for ten minutes due to a yellow card. Thankfully the Welsh defence was strong and England butchered all their try scoring opportunities. Four penalties from Smith meant that Wales went in at half time 12-0 down and, in reality, it could have been far, far worse. The bright spot for Wales had been some excellent running from Cuthbert who was looking lively on the right wing. For England, Smith was pulling the strings and really does look the complete fly half - dangerous in attack and a nerveless goal kicker.

The second half started in a similar vein with England bossing matters. An awful Welsh lineout near their own line gifted a try to Dombrandt and the English lead was now 17-0. Things were looking desperate.

It was if someone had flicked a switch as Wales suddenly found their mojo and the momentum of the match completely switched. Wales were attacking with a verve that we hadn’t seen before in this match. A great pass from Tomos Williams put Adams over in the corner. The try went unconverted but Wales were off the mark. Wales continued to press and eventually Tompkins forced his was over and with the conversion Wales were back to 17-12. England were looking decidedly rattled. Could the comeback of all comebacks be on?

Ben Youngs came on and steadied the England ship and Wales’ hopes were all but extinguished when they conceded two more kickable penalties which Smith converted with aplomb. The gap had increased to 23-12 and England looked out of reach with time running out.

Wales had not given up and a quick tap penalty from Hardy the substitute Welsh scrum half saw him cross for a try that Biggar converted. There was just enough time left for England to kick off but Wales were in their own twenty two and at 23-19 down needed to score a try. They absolutely tried their best and managed to get into the English half before being turned over by Itoje at a breakdown. You were left wondering what might have been.

A losing bonus point and outscoring England by three tries to one at Twickenham is not to be sneezed at. This certainly did not look remotely likely at half time or when England increased their lead to 17-0. A combination of Wales throwing caution to the winds and England relaxing led to a thrilling fight back. In the end it was penalties conceded and an unreliable lineout that did for Wales.

For Wales, Faletau put in a remarkable performance considering how little rugby he has played. Once the two wings, Cuthbert and Adams, started to see more of the ball they looked dangerous with Cuthbert in particular making a lot of ground. It was a shame that Rees Zammit wasn’t on the bench as his pace might have been a real asset in the frenetic final quarter. Once Wales got on the front foot, they looked a different team the shame of is that they left it too late to snatch an unlikely victory.

Next up for Wales in a couple of weeks time is a visit from France who now look firm favourites for a Grand Slam after a comfortable win at Murrayfield. Wales will have to play like they did in the last quarter for the whole match if they are to trouble Les Bleus. As fans we have to suffer the trials and tribulations of the eight o’clock kick-off on a Friday evening which I for one don’t enjoy at all.

Even though there is no Six Nations rugby next weekend, Pontypool are not scheduled to play a match. The next match will be of Saturday 12^th March when they are at home to Trebanos. The rations of club rugby are pretty thin that is for sure.

Even More Frustration for Pooler

The recent inclement weather duly put paid to the much anticipated local derby between Bargoed and Pontypool. For me, it was a blessing in disguise as I had been laid low by a stomach bug and I was humming and hawing about whether to attend. It remains something to look forward to on a nice spring afternoon.

It was back to the couch then and Bath v Leicester. In fairness, Bath gave a good account of themselves even though it was bottom v top of the English Premiership. It was good to see Faletau easing himself back into competitive rugby in his own understated way Wales have missed him that is for sure. The game hinged on the power of the forwards on the Leicester bench with the scrums proving to be decisive with Bath conceding too many penalties. Leicester ran out bonus point victors in the end. Despite the weather and Bath’s poor season, there was still a good sized crowd in attendance.

In the evening, it was the Ospreys at Leinster with both sides shorn of their international players. Despite the poor weather, Leinster ran the ball rather than just kicking it up in the air as we might have expected. The Ospreys were on the back foot for almost the entire game but defended with tremendous commitment and not a little skill. There was only ever going to be one winner and that was the home side who eventually broke the Ospreys‘ resistance to win 29-7. This of course is exactly the same score that Ireland beat Wales by a couple of weeks ago. The similarities between the two matches were there for all to see. Comfortable victories with only dogged defence keeping the score down to reasonable proportions.

Next weekend Wales travel to Twickenham to take on England. The victory over Scotland will surely have given the squad a big lift but this is a daunting challenge at the best of times. I don’t expect too many changes perhaps Wainwright and Jon Davies to start. It will be tough but you never know!

Come on Wales!

Wales Squeeze Home

This was much better from Wales as they shrugged off the depressing result in Ireland to edge out Scotland in Cardiff. Scotland had been favoured to win by the bookies after turning over England the previous weekend. As usual in the Six Nations Championship home advantage counts for a lot and a full house in the Principality Stadium surely helped Wales to squeeze home.

The match was nip and tuck all the way through with defences ruling the roost in the main. The first half saw the only two tries of the match from Graham for Scotland and Francis for Wales as the rain hammered down through the open roof. The Wales forwards performed much better at set piece and were more competitive at the breakdown than against their Celtic cousins in Ireland who admittedly play a level up from Scotland. It was also good to see the ball being carried up with more conviction and more metres gained. The Scots always looked dangerous and at 14-14 at half time it was anyone’s game.

The second half was much cagier with a lot of kicking and neither side able to create the sustained pressure needed to score a second try. Well into the second half, there had only been an exchange of penalties to leave the score at 17-17 and the result still very much in doubt.

Biggar attempted a long-range penalty that hit the bar and Wales gathered the ball with Cuthbert almost getting over in the corner. In the course of the attack Russell was adjudged to have deliberately knocked on and was shown a yellow card. Wales went for the jugular and after hammering away at the Scotland line finally settled for a Biggar dropped goal to take a narrow lead. The crowd groaned as they would have preferred to see Wales continue to press for a try but it turned out to be a crucial decision.

Wales continued to press and were camped on the Scottish line with only a couple of minutes remaining. A penalty given to Scotland for a high tackle by Basham and the re-emergence of Russell gave the Scots a lifeline and there followed a tense few minutes as they threw everything at Wales. Wales were not about to let this slip and the defence marshalled by Jon Davies repeatedly drove the Scots back until a final turnover sent the Welsh in the crowd into raptures. Wales had squeezed home at 20-17 and the Welsh fans were off to the pubs of Cardiff with smiles on their faces.

There was a great improvement from Wales but few would argue that they are back to their best. It was a much needed win to boost confidence in the camp with tough matches against England (away) and France(home) coming up. The lineout was much improved and the scrum held firm and the forwards with Elias, Moriarty and Rowlands to the fore carried hard. As last season, Wales do find it difficult to score tries against the well-organised defences that they come up against. The backs do not possess the X factor that cracks a defence and their tactics seem rather predictable. The Welsh defence did perform well and never let the Scots play the free running game that they favour. So well done Wales.

Will there be changes for the England game? I think there might be a couple of enforced changes due to injuries but I would expect the team to remain much the same. You would expect Adams to return if fit - maybe for Rees Zammit who is looking a bit subdued and possibly carrying an injury.

We did manage to watch most of the France v Ireland match on the TV. This was up a level for sure and probably be the match that decides the destiny of the Six Nations championship. In another really close game, it was the French who took the spoils 30-24 with the Irish losing bonus point perhaps turning out to be vital by the end of the tournament.  The French looked in command at 22-7 early in the second half but Ireland came storming back to 22-21 with two quick tries before the French pulled away. Another breathless encounter with the French now looking on course for a Grand Slam.

Next weekend the Six Nations pauses so we are back to affairs closer to home and the little matter of Pooler’s trip to Bargoed. This may well be another one that tests the mettle of players and supporters alike. Looking forward to it.

Come on Pooler!

Green Energy Overpowers Wales

This was always going to be a difficult opening match for Wales in the Six Nations Championship. Ireland and its provincial teams are playing top class rugby and are brimming with confidence. Wales and the Regions on the other hand are not after a mediocre showing so far this season.

Wales duly got a drubbing as the high power and high pace of the Irish was too hot too handle. If they were to do anything Wales needed to get off to a good start but the opposite happened with a very early try to the Irish setting the tone for the match. From then on, the result was never in doubt somehow and Wales were on the rack.

It is easy to highly critical of Wales but we should not forget that this is a really good Irish side with few weaknesses. It was almost an achievement for Wales to only concede four tries as they eventually went down 29-7. Wales never gave up and tackled themselves to a standstill with Basham to the fore as the rampant Irish battered them. Wales just could not match the Irish physicality on the day.

If you add the fifty point defeat of the Welsh Under 20s by the Irish to this rout it has been a worrying weekend for Welsh rugby. This will surely raise all sorts of questions about structures etc. but we are only one game into the championship and less than a year away from nearly winning the Grand Slam so is there any need to panic? You do have to ask the question as to how the Irish seem to have got things so right at the moment and try and learn from it. Their four provinces do roughly divide the country into quarters geographically where the Welsh regions do not.

In the other game on the opening Saturday, Scotland pipped England 20-17 in a really close game that turned on a penalty try awarded to Scotland. The Scots are coming to Cardiff next Saturday and on this form will pose a major threat to the battered Welsh team. With matches against England and France to follow Wales have it all to do to get back on track.

Wales are beset by a long injury list which may well be longer after yesterday’s bruising encounter. There will be calls for wholesale changes I have no doubt, but it is quite difficult to see who Wales turn to. The forwards were second best to the Irish and are lacking in ball carriers. The backs were found wanting in defence at times and never threatened in attack admittedly with limited quality possession. The experiment of playing Josh Adams at centre was not successful although with more experience in the position it might work. Adams should return to the wing for the time being. In the forwards I think we need a better blend with a bulkier No 6 or 8 who can carry the ball more effectively. Lord knows who that is, but if Moriarty is really match fit it could be him. In my view, major changes in personnel are not the way forward and we should let the nucleus of the team have another shot at redemption.

I was saddened to hear of the sudden death of Robin Davey who reported on rugby for the South Wales Argus for many years. I knew Robin reasonably well and he was true rugby man who wrote it as he saw it. My condolences to his family.

For Pooler fans, we are two weeks away from that trip to Bargoed on the day that has a red ring drawn on it on my calendar. This should be a humdinger with two sides battling for bragging rights and possibly the Championship. I can’t wait.

Good luck to Wales against Scotland next Saturday.  Hope the fans behave and enjoy the weaker beer. The WRU can always turn to Welsh Bitter or Courage AK if the beer is still too strong or maybe even a compulsory dash of lemonade.

Come on Wales!