Southern hustle, northern muscle

I found myself watching Super 15 Rugby from the Southern Hemisphere on the TV over the weekend. It is high octane stuff with teams playing at pace with attacking intent to the fore. The contrast between that and the Heineken Cup quarter finals the previous Sunday (zero tries) could not be more marked. You will say, "look at the conditions in the south - nice weather, dry firm pitches". I think there is more to it than that. The biggest difference is in the attacking rather than the defensive attitude that has been instilled in the players. Yes the defences are tough, but the first thought after a turnover or a deep kick is, "let's run it". The fact that they are playing in a league with no promotion or relegation to worry about may also be a large factor. It's still pretty serious stuff though with national pride at stake. Did you ever meet a New Zealander or South African that did not want to win? The Heineken Cup is characterised by a "win ugly" philosophy where teams with huge packs grind out wins through penalties. We are also blighted with a collection of rather pedantic referees who appear to be on a bonus related to the number of penalties that they award.There does not seem to be any thought of entertaining the punters as if the "good day out" in the next round will be sufficient reward. 

So do we need to change things? Would a European league be a goer?The attendances at matches seem to point to the Heineken Cup being a success story but are we converting fans from other sports? - the jury is out I guess. It is irrelevant anyway, as to change even the slightest anything in European Rugby is virtually impossible or at best a lifetime's work.

Cue Welsh Rugby - sounds like they have finally decided to have a meeting between the WRU and the regions. The bad news is that it is a meeting to decide whether they can have a meeting to discuss the key issues. Don't hold your breath!

But what of Pontypool? Yet another win - that's 4 in a row including 3 consecutive away wins! The late season surge has been a feature of the last few seasons. If only we could start the season like that....

The hard-fought win at Whitland at the weekend in awful conditions (8-10) shows the burgeoning confidence and spirit in the team. Shame there are only a few games left this season.