Peace for our time!

There was something vaguely reminiscent of Neville Chamberlain as he returned from Munich in 1938 and proclaimed “Peace for our time” when Roger Lewis proudly announced that the WRU and Welsh Regional Rugby had finally reached an agreement. Mr Chamberlain was proved very wrong not long afterwards so let’s hope that Mr Lewis is more fortunate.

On the face of it, it is great news for Welsh rugby but, why oh why, has it taken so long? The final outcome seems to me exactly what was being proposed a year or more ago. In the mean time, a bevy of our best talent has decamped to France and England. Maybe the delaying tactics were all a cunning plan to let someone else pick up the tab for our most valuable players. We then have just enough money to make up the wages for the next tranche. ‘Gatland’s Law” has suddenly re-emerged after being seemingly forgotten when it suited the WRU but it still seems it may not be implemented in special cases.

I guess it is likely that we can expect the Welsh squad to be made up of three factions: the big wage earners playing in France and England, the players with their pay topped up by the WRU and the rest. Let us hope that this does not prove too divisive. I wonder if the door is open for those players who have gone to play abroad to return and get a WRU contract or have they burned their boats?  I also thought that the WRU funded players would be more evenly spread amongst the regions than the split suggested by the media.

I really hope that this is a lasting peace and we can move forward but this is Welsh rugby remember.

My worry now is that the WRU will turn their attention back to disorganising club rugby yet again.

Pooler warm up Carmarthen Quins

Pontypool Park looked at its best in the evening sun on Friday evening. The grass was green and luxuriant and the trees stood tall and proud under an azure sky. But I wasn’t here to see the vegetation I was here to watch Pontypool take on Carmarthen Quins from the Premiership as part of their warm up for the rapidly approaching season. There was an air of optimism with changes to management and playing staff and some encouraging victories against less vaunted opposition already in the bag. This of course would be the acid test to see if the optimism was justified.

Carmarthen played down the slope in the first half with a breeze at their backs and it was soon pretty apparent that they meant business. Pooler were penned in their own half for virtually all of the first forty minutes. The visitors were on top in pretty well all aspects of the game and it is testimony to the tenacity and organisation of the home defence that they didn’t open the scoring until twenty minutes into the half. The whole Pooler team put their all into a sterling defensive display but in the end their line was inevitably breached. Once Carmarthen had scored their first try it was quite quickly followed by two more as they built up a 0-17 lead and a morale busting heavy defeat looked on the cards. Pooler somehow managed to keep the score at this until half time. It was a half where the home side had little possession and were thus completely impotent as an attacking force.

The second half heralded the inevitable changes to both teams and Pooler looked an entirely different prospect playing down the slope. The scrum managed to gain a degree of dominance and they started to win turnover ball in the loose. Carmarthen always had the edge in pace with some dangerous runners in their backs but Pooler more than matched them in the other aspects of the game. After a long scoreless period which was littered with mistakes by both teams the home side scored a try under the posts after concerted pressure and closed the gap to 7-17. Pooler attacked purposefully and looked more than capable of closing the gap further but a breakaway try by the Quins opened up the gap to 7-22. The home side finished strongly and crossed for their well deserved second try with the last play of the game. The successful conversion left the final score at 14-22 with Pooler “winning” the second half.

This match was hard fought and not a typical warm up game. Carmarthen Quins certainly did not take it easy so Pontypool can be proud of their second half effort and their fitness levels. They were still going strong at the end of an energy sapping match. Yes there is till a lot of work to do to improve the cohesion in attack but the signs for the new season are encouraging.

I don’t want to waste any more time railing about the WRU and the Regions but I was glad to see that Adam Jones has signed for the Blues.  

The Silence is Deafening

It has been five weeks since my last post “Rugby Roulette Welsh Style” where I lamented the lack of progress in sorting out the running sore that is the argument between the Welsh Rugby Union and the Welsh Regions. Has any progress been made I wonder? I am certainly not aware of any movements but then communication is not the WRU’s strong point.

I did hear that two of the better Welsh players; Sam Warburton and Adam Jones are not featuring for the Welsh Regions. This cannot be right. Both have been great servants to Welsh rugby and are now pawns in the stalemate. The season is only a couple of weeks away now and we seem to have got absolutely nowhere. Can all those involved please get off their high horses and sort it out before irreparable damage is done to the game so many of us love.

On a more positive note, Pontypool’s preparations for the new season seem to be going well. It is pleasing to see the excellent level of communication between the club and the fans. WRU take note! The friendly against Carmarthen Quins on Friday will be a good yardstick to judge the team’s readiness to take on all comers in the Championship.