Cold Turkey

After the high of last Saturday for Pontypool in Narberth, this Saturday was bound to be a low key affair. Even the Royal Wedding would struggle to compete!

I chose not to be a neutral observer at Judgement Day (it would have been Begrudgement Day for me to go I fear) and instead I opted to watch the Dragons v Scarlets game on the TV. I have to say I was mighty glad that I hadn’t made the effort to go to Cardiff as it was pretty poor fare. The Dragons were outplayed by an out of sorts Scarlets team that were clearly still trying to get over the disappointment of the drubbing that they had received from Leinster the previous week. It is just as well for the woeful Dragons that the Scarlets were not at full throttle as it could have been really embarrassing. Still there is always next year as Mr Jackman keeps telling us. I must confess to flicking over to Gloucester v Bath more and more and found it a much higher octane affair with two English teams running the ball for a change.

I only caught brief snatches of the Ospreys v Cardiff Blues games which seemed to be a bit more like it. The Blues fielded an understrength team but still pushed the Ospreys to the limit which shows how far they have progressed as a squad. The Ospreys remain a pretty muted attacking force with tries as rare as Osprey’s teeth. At least Dan Biggar managed to show everyone that he is still a force to be reckoned with.

Then there was yesterday and Finals Day at the Principality Stadium. Congratulations to Porthcawl, Brynmawr and Merthyr on their cup success. From what I saw, Brynmawr will be a force in the Championship next season if they clinch promotion. Merthyr completely overpowered Newport in the top tier final and put Pooler’s loss at Merthyr in the quarter final in perspective.

Life is hard without rugby to watch where you actually care who wins – roll on next season.