The Grey Legion

I have just returned from a weekend in Rome centred around the Italy v. Wales match. The first thing that you notice is that the average age of the travelling Welsh supporters is much higher than for any of the other Six Nations away trips. It is clearly much favoured by "mature" couples who like to be able to combine the cultural experience that Rome has to offer with the rugby and of course the liquid and solid refreshments. Since I am firmly ensconced in the grey hair brigade (although having immature tendencies) it makes for a pleasant experience. For our part, we took in the Vatican on a comprehensive if rather exhausting three hour tour. It was really interesting and took us away from the six euro a pint temptation of the local bars for a while. Yes this can be a pretty expensive trip and particularly so with the current exchange rate. This probably goes a long way to explain why the demography is as it is.

This made me think about the average age of the regular supporters of Welsh club rugby and, although I have no facts, my observation would also be that the grey hair brigade are in the majority. This certainly seems to be the case at Pontypool where the same faces are recognisable year in and year out. If this is the case then this is a worrying trend as time will surely catch up with this stalwart band. This year I celebrate 50 years of watching the Pooler but I certainly hope to watch them for a while longer! The conundrum is how to attract a younger audience. Having a kids' rugby match as a curtain raiser for league games is a good initialtive.

So back to Rome and the match. The Italians to their credit had tried hard, and to a large extent, succeeded in generating a lively pre-match atmosphere in the area outside the stadium. There was a band and lots of food and drink outlets which was just as well as the stadium is some way out of the city. It is a pleasant way to while away an hour or so before the match - at least until the rain came.

Inside the stadium is was clear that ticket sales had not gone well with it only looking half full. This is a real shame as the Italian crowd can certainly generate plenty of noise. It probably doesn’t help when they have two home games in a week with the Irish on their way next weekend.

I am sure I don’t need to give you a match report but in summary the Italians were competitive in the first half when Wales continued to play the toothless rugby of the autumn. After the interval, the rain cleared and the Welsh thinking became less clouded and they ran out comfortable winners. They just fell agonisingly short of the bonus point at the death. Nevertheless an away win and we were able to tuck into our pasta in the evening with a smile on our faces.

I think everyone is clear that the Welsh will need to up their game several notches if they are to threaten England next Saturday. It is certainly a big ask and I don’t think that I will be investing what little of my money is left on a bet on a Welsh victory. I sincerely hope that Wales can pull something out of the hat and really set up a close Six Nations Championship.

I was absolutely delighted that Pontypool continued their brilliant winning run with a 17-40 victory at Skewen on Saturday. This maintained their commanding lead at the top of the Welsh Championship. Well done boys!

The Cup Draw has paired Pontypool with a familiar foe in Cardiff RFC which rekindles memories of some epic battles in the past. Of course Pooler will have the new experience of playing on a plastic pitch which will make things interesting. Over the years, Llanelli and Cardiff proved to be our Nemesis in the Cup and it would be absolutely fantastic if we could beat them both in one season! Certainly a major challenge but why not!

Come on Pooler!

Come on Wales!