Welsh Woe

What an awful week for Welsh rugby! First we had the Welsh team threatening not to take the field against England as the unedifying running sore about professional players contracts came to a head. The arguments between the WRU and the players continued until almost the last minute when Nigel Walker and Ken Owens emerged from the depths of the Vale Hotel to declare “peace in our time”. Judging by the body language, this seemed the most uneasy of truces as both sides realised pragmatically that the match against England had better proceed as losing the money made would be like cutting off the supply of oxygen.

Of the three demands made by the players, only one had been fully met which was the players having a representative on the Professional Rugby Board. A second demand was that the rule which prevented Welsh players based outside Wales from playing for Wales unless they had sixty caps should be scrapped.  This was changed to twenty five caps but this smacked of compromise with no real logic why twenty five was chosen. The third demand about players’ contracts being in place and without the performance element seemed very much like “trust us, the cheque is in the post”. I can’t help feeling that there is more milage in that one.

Of course, there is still the vexed question of finance and the overall structure of Welsh professional rugby. Should we have four regions that are uncompetitive or three or fewer that have a better chance of success? This debate is far from resolved with many opinions voiced by cleverer people than I.

I am one of those dinosaurs who has not been enamoured by regional rugby but prefers to watch my rugby come rain or shine at the so-called community level. I have supported Pontypool for fifty five years and do not propose to change now. I like my rugby to be at 2.30pm on a Saturday afternoon with local rivalries very much the order of the day. The life blood of league rugby is promotion and relegation and when jeopardy is removed by ringfencing there is a negative effect. The idea of a ten club, ringfenced Premiership that has been suggested is therefore an anathema to me. Jeopardy aside, how does a team survive on nine home games a season? How satisfied is someone playing the game he loves with eighteen games in an eight month season? Of course, you will think I am a Pontypool fan and I would say that. Pooler are an ambitious club and there is nothing wrong with that. Too long they have been denied their opportunity to play in the Premiership. Please do not take that away again - there must be room for ambition surely.

Throughout the current controversy I have heard little reference to the rugby fans and what they want. Remember no paying customers no professional game.

It is in this context that Wales had to take the field against England in the Principality Stadium. The game was also second on the afternoon’s bill behind a cracking game between Italy and Ireland. On paper this should have been a comfortable victory for world number one Ireland but the resurgent Italians were having none of it. Italy are playing great, entertaining rugby at the moment. They move the ball at every opportunity and play a high-risk high-speed game that is fantastic to watch. Naturally it does go wrong at times and against a pragmatic, well-drilled side like Ireland they can come to grief. Italy pushed Ireland all the way but in the end the Irish took the spoils.

In contrast, the match between Wales and England was a turgid affair with loads and loads of kicking. The problem for Wales was that their kicking was not as good as England’s. Virtually every Welsh kick seemed to find its way into the welcoming arms of Steward the English fullback who barely had to move to receive the ball. Wales seemed to be banging their head against a brick wall and were unaware of the damage it was doing to their prospects.

England prospered on the back of Welsh mistakes and there were plenty of them. With a bit more ambition, England would surely have scored more than eight points in a one-sided first half. An interception try by Rees Zammit even gave a very temporary 10-8 lead to Wales early in the second half. The England response was swift and they regained the lead through a try from Sinckler. From then on, they never looked like losing it as their powerful defence stifled all of what Wales could muster.

Wales did stay in touch at 10-15 for most of the second half but a try from Lawrence near the end put the game beyond doubt at 10-20. Fortunately for Wales, Farrell had an off day with his kicking or the margin of defeat would have been greater. Apart from a few young players gaining valuable experience, I find it hard to find much positive about the Welsh performance. Compared to the Italians it is like watching the game played in slow motion.

This leaves Wales with nul points and sitting alone at the bottom of the table. With away games against France and Italy to come, you would not bet against the wooden spoon. It is not a great time to be a Welsh fan that is for sure. Very much a week to try and forget.

Next Saturday Pooler are back in action and are playing at Trebanos and know that they must not take their opponents lightly. Although Pooler top the Championship table, they cannot afford any slip-ups with Neath and Bargoed still lurking just behind them.

Come on Pooler!

Nil desperandum Wales – it can only get better can’t it?