Hope Flickers at Twickers

I have never really liked Twickenham or “HQ” as some people would have it. I have always regarded it as a grim and inhospitable stadium to watch rugby and have often vowed never to return particularly after Wales have been on the end of a beating. So it was with a low expectations that I returned to the said venue to watch the final pool match for Wales in the RWC. Wales of course had already qualified for the quarter finals so the match against Australia was to decide on future opponents. Both sides wanted to win as that would mean a theoretically easier passage through the knock-out stages. Contrary to my rather jaundiced expectations, Twickers was transformed. Everyone was far more friendly and the mood altogether far lighter than on previous visits. I wonder why that was?

The outcome of the match is well documented with Wales losing 6-15 with the outcome decided by penalty goals. Defences were well on top and the crucial period of the match was when the Aussies put up brick wall that kept Wales out when the Welsh had numerical supremacy. It was truly frustrating but you can only admire the Australians’ resolution. Wales adopted very much a “blunt instrument” approach which did make it a bit easier to counter. Our lack of key personnel in the back field told as we did not seem to have the guile needed to outfox the Aussies. You could not help feeling that Rhys Webb or Scott Williams might have sniffed out a chance.

A chance missed then and so on to a clash with South Africa. The bad news is that Wales will be without Liam Williams – yet another body blow to the depleted back division. This will be another immensely physical encounter in this most brutal of competitions. Lord knows how we will reshuffle the pack of backs this time. This will be straight knockout, with no second chances, so I think we need to score some tries from somewhere. I really hope that we don’t decide that the best option is to be ultra-defensive and rely on goal kicking to scrape through. Surely there is a lesson to be gleaned from the Japanese approach which demonstrated that with attacking verve even the greatest of underdogs can triumph. Regarding the Japanese, it is worth remembering that, if it hadn’t been for the insanity of the match scheduling which meant that they ran out of energy in the final quarter against Scotland, we could have been facing them on Saturday.

Whilst I was away on international duty, Pooler recorded their first home win of the season with a victory over Llanharan by a 60-18 margin. This keeps the Pooler in fourth place in the Championship with a trip to Newcastle Emlyn in the offing next weekend. This will be yet another challenge but confidence must be high in the camp.  Yet more injuries though – let’s hope that they are not too serious.

Come on Wales! Come on Pooler!