Winning Ways

Faced with the club v. country debate, I plumped for my country. I decided to go to Cardiff to watch Wales play Australia rather than to Trebanos to watch Pontypool. Even though there was a gap of about two and a half hours or so between the expected final whistle in Trebanos and the kick off in Cardiff, the logistics of going to both was just not going to work.

So it was off to Cardiff and to the annoyance of my companions I was fiddling with my phone as I tried to keep abreast with what was happening in Trebanos. Isn’t modern technology wonderful? The game at Trebanos was evidently a forward dominated encounter in testing conditions with yellow cards and penalty tries abounding. Despite conceding two penalty tries, I was delighted to learn that the Pooler had won though 24-29. The lead changed hands a few times with Pooler scoring five tries (Matthews, Lewis, Attwell, Thomas plus a penalty try) to the homes side’s three. A had fought bonus point win for Pooler was just what the doctor ordered and I was ready to enjoy Wales v. Australia. Could Wales sneak a win after ten years of heartbreak?

We got into the Principality Stadium in time to see the last quarter of the England v. New Zealand match on the TV. England were giving as good as they got and the people crowding around the screen seemed fairly evenly split between those who were fed up of seeing the All Blacks win all the time and those who didn’t want England to win under any circumstances. I will not reveal which camp I was in but suffice it to say that it was poetic justice for England’s probable match-winning try to be disallowed after the controversial decision that went England’s way at the end of the Springboks game last week.

Before the Wales match kicked off, there was a really poignant tribute to the fallen in the various conflicts. The bugler who played the Last Post was absolutely fantastic and the two minutes silence was impeccably observed. I am really horrified by the scenes from the First World War that have been on the TV as we mark the passing of a century since the armistice. Fantastic courage and patriotism but what a waste.

Wales v. Australia turned out to be a bruising encounter with defences decidedly on top. For Wales the biggest priority was to any sort of win after ten years of coming second best. For Australia it was to try to regroup after a lack lustre few months. Neither side wanted to give an inch.

The first half was cagey and a defensive masterclass with the only scores a penalty apiece. Perhaps the most noteworthy occurrence was that the normally reliable Halfpenny missed a couple of easy penalty attempts – if anything can be easy in a tense test match with all those people watching . The crowd gasped in amazement when he missed a real sitter which would have given Wales a narrow lead just before half time.

The second half was more of the same with, in truth, neither side creating any clear chances of scoring a try. It was 6-6 with three minutes remaining when Biggar who was on as a replacement slotted a penalty for Wales to edge into the lead 9-6. How many times had we been in that position over the last ten years only for our hopes to be dashed by some inspired Aussie play? Surely it couldn’t happen again? The nerves jangled but the Welsh defence held firm – we had won at last.

This was a gutsy display by Wales but they urgently need to find a few more ways to threaten in attack. The Australian defence was a step up from the Scottish defence and really did not give Wales any opportunities. Line breaks were few and far between – the only one that stays in the mind was a powerful thrust by Jon Davies featuring a couple of trademark hand-offs. Everybody tackled their hearts out and in the end I think Wales just about deserved to win but we need to score tries. Of the changes from the previous match, Adams showed up well in defence and attack, Beard worked hard and will surely have benefited from this outing and Francis held the scrum up well enough. It was noticeable that the scrum started to creak when Francis was replaced.

Next week Wales play Tonga and there will be a totally new starting line-up I suppose. A good chance to assess the much vaunted strength in depth that Wales have been building.  I will watch with interest from the couch as Pontypool do not have a match.

Back to Pontypool and, after reeling off nine straight victories, they have now opened up a useful six point gap at the top of the Championship. Their two nearest rivals Cardiff Met and Narberth both lost yesterday and newly promoted Ystrad Rhondda have now jumped above Narberth into third place. All yesterday’s matches in the Championship were close which reflects the competiveness of the league and underlines the fact that Pooler cannot afford to let up if they are to stay on top. The next match for Pooler will be a home fixture against second placed Cardiff Met in two weeks’ time.

Come on Wales! Come on Pooler!