Pontypool magic, Welsh rugby tragic

Just about everyone who was at the Memorial Ground on Saturday must be wondering how Pontypool managed to conjure up a victory against Glamorgan Wanderers. The Wanderers looked superior in every aspect of the game in the first half on a beautiful Spring day in Ely. They enjoyed the lion's share of possession and their half backs directed the game skilfully to ensure the game was played in the Pontypool half most of the time. It was only due to a combination of poor finishing and Pooler's scrambling defence that they only had one unconverted try and two penalties to show for their clear superiority. Wanderers blew clear try scoring opportunities on at least three occasions and if they had scored thirty points it would have been a fairer reflection on the half. To make matters worse for the home side, Pontypool grabbed a converted try on a rare incursion into their 22. This gave a rather unlikely score-line of 11-7 at half-time and we were still in with a shout.

Wanderers started the second half purposefully and quickly extended their lead to 14-7 with another penalty. Pontypool gradually dragged themselves back into the game and the turning point came when Sam Mills scored a try following a charged down kick. The successful conversion brought the score to 14-14. The home side lost their composure as Pooler’s confidence grew and the match was far more evenly contested from then on. The Wanderers were reduced to 14 men by a yellow card and Pooler pressed hard. Their reward came in the form of a penalty and a slender 14-17 lead. From then on the game became even more frenetic and error strewn as both sides strove for what would surely be the winning try. Pooler were also reduced to 14 men by a yellow card and when the home side were back to full strength it seemed inevitable that they would score. Neither side, however, seemed to be able to hang on to the ball and there was a glut of turnovers. The minutes ticked away and we felt that an unlikely win was surely possible. Then the last play of the match resulted in a penalty to the Wanderers in an eminently kickable position. We were consoling ourselves with the thought that a draw wasn’t a bad outcome when the kick sailed wide of the uprights and yes Pooler had won.

This makes three wins in a row for Pooler and I’m sure they wouldn't have won this match if they hadn’t won the previous two. There is more belief and confidence and they are playing as a team at last. I don’t think anyone should get carried away as there is still a long way to go before they are competitive against the better sides in what is, after all, a quite low quality league. Nevertheless it is something to celebrate so well done boys.

Talking of wanderers you have to wonder what path Welsh rugby is going to follow. This week has been, quite frankly, embarrassing for Welsh rugby with the rather childish posturing of the “big 8” from the regions and disappearance from sight of the Welsh Rugby Union representatives. You feel like locking them all in a room and telling them that they can’t come out until they have put a plan together. What are they waiting for?

I can’t pretend I know what the answer is but then I’m not paid an enormous salary to run Welsh rugby. The Welsh Rugby Union seemed to be progrssively alienating everyone in Wales. They started by treating the fans with disdain as television money was clearly more important than their preferences. Weird and wonderful kick-off times and rising ticket prices became the norm. Next to receive the treatment were the clubs who were starved of cash, subjected to totally unnecessary ground requirements and asked to play in a constantly changing league structure with fewer matches and large gaps in the fixture list in the autumn. Now it is the regions that are being ignored. You wonder who is next - I guess it has to be the international team players.

We are indeed fortunate that the Welsh team is playing well in the 6 Nations Championship. It seems that having a small group of elite players that are given everything they need and can pick and choose when the play regional rugby works at international level. Do you know I think I’m describing a central contract system. The problem is that this won’t win a Heineken Cup for a region as there are probably only 30 or so Welsh players of the required quality. I am not even sure if the full Wales team could win the Heineken Cup!  So unless you can bolster your team with top class rugby mercenaries from around the world which costs a lot of money, I can’t see a Welsh region succeeding in the current format.

What would I do?  I think I’d have just two “regional” teams and populate them with centrally contracted Welsh players. In the perfect world, these teams would play in the English Premiership like Swansea City and hopefully Cardiff City in football. I guess they would be roughly divided into East and West Wales. They could play their home matches in more than one location to try and stir up interest. This would allow the league beneath to be significantly strengthened and re-engage the Welsh valleys. This would in turn strengthen the other layers of the pyramid.

I don’t suppose I am an average fan, but here are my thoughts on what I want from my rugby:

Likes

·        Matches that kick off at 14.30 on a Saturday afternoon.

·        To be able to travel to away games in a reasonable amount of time

·        A meaningful competition/league that doesn’t change every season

·        A competitive team to support through thick and thin

·        Watching Wales home and away

Dislikes

·        Loud discordant music and bawling announcers at matches

·        Egotistical committee men with their own agendas

·        Soulless stadia with paltry crowds

·        Excessive ticket prices

·        The people who watch rugby internationals are not the people who watch rugby week in week out

Yes I guess I’m a dinosaur!