French Polish Off Wales

It was never going to be an easy start for Wales in the Six Nations Championship. Short on confidence from a long losing streak, Wales were facing France in Paris with the French team packed with players from the French clubs that are looking so unstoppable in the European Champions Cup. Most people expected a comfortable French victory with the bookies giving Wales a twenty five points start to gain parity.

Well, most of the predictions came true as Wales failed to trouble the scorers in a 43-0 rout conceding seven tries. Quite simply Wales were second best in virtually all aspects of the game. While the French were innovative and full of verve Wales looked pedestrian and underpowered.

The Welsh set piece held up better than expected and indeed Wales had plenty of possession. The big difference up front was the heavyweight French ball carriers made ground consistently while Wales never really got much go forward at all. In mitigation, losing a key ball carrier in Wainwright through injury early on was a big blow to the Welsh forward effort.

Behind the scrum, with the mercurial Dupont pulling the strings, the French always looked threatening with bags of pace and guile. The Welsh backs, on the other hand, were ponderous and lacking in any sort of spark and were comfortably contained by the French defensive system.

The French discipline, up until the Ntamack red card near the end, was excellent probably because they were never really put under much pressure. Wales, who were under pressure, gave away too many penalties and were shown two yellow cards.

Wales, as you would expect, never gave up and put in plenty of effort with captain Morgan to the fore but the gulf in class between was far too wide for them to make a dent in what is a really good French team.

Where do Wales go now? The next match is away in Italy and the Italians will surely be favourites to win. There will probably be enforced changes for Wales due to injuries sustained in the French match. There is also an urgent need to introduce some zest in midfield – maybe the injury to Watkins will bring Llewellyn into the squad to press for selection. The forwards will largely remain the same, I guess, with the injury to Wainwright the main issue. If Faletau is fit then he would be the ideal replacement.

It is not a great time to be a Wales supporter that is for sure. It has to get better some time doesn’t it?

I am still in rehab after my hip replacement so will not be travelling to Carmarthen to support Pontypool in their latest cup tie. I’ll be thinking of them as I take station on the couch for Scotland v Italy and Ireland v France.

Come on Pooler!

Come on Wales!  

PS Pooler Win at Carmarthen Quins

Some good news anyway - Pooler won 29-35 at Carmarthen in the cup match and have now won two from two in their pool. Next up Ebbw Vale at home in a couple of weeks.

In the Six Nations, home wins for Scotland and Ireland against Italy and England respectively . Italy did enough to show that they will be a real handful against Wales next weekend - it is La Sgranocchio or The Crunch for Wales.

Hip, Hip, Hooray

Last Saturday as Pontypool were playing at Llandovery I was having a total hip replacement operation in hospital. One minute I was wondering how the Pooler were getting on and the next I was out for the count. When I finally came around I learned that Pooler had lost 38-27 in what was described as an exhilarating exhibition of rugby to which Pooler fully contributed. Two days later I was back home a little worse for wear but mobile with the use of crutches. It says much for the advances in medicine that this can be the case.

The following days have seen a mixture of pain and frustration as I adapt to my circumstances. I have started my rehab with the physio and feel like I am making progress. There may have been progress but nothing like enough to enable me to go to Pontypool Park to watch Pontypool play Swansea in a cup match. This of course adds to the frustration.

As always, I am thankful for the updates that we get via social media but nothing beats actually being there. My spies tell me that Pooler were not at their best and were perhaps fortunate to come away with a narrow 32-31 victory. It sounds like a real nailbiter with Pooler not actually clinching victory until the fat lady had opened up her music and was about to sing. You really do get the feeling that Pooler are strong finishers these days. Well done to all concerned and it did put a smile on my face.

I, of course, was on the couch watching rugby and I have to say I was captivated by the Gloucester v Leicester match. There was a fair sprinkling of Welsh players on view some in the squad for the Six Nations and some not. I am sure Warren Gatland was hoping that there were no injuries picked up by those likely to be on duty next weekend. The most prominent Welsh players were Tomas Williams and Max Llewellyn who played a large part in Gloucester’s victory. Anscombe and Freddie Thomas also showed up well. For the record Gloucester won 38-31 in a pulsating match. The previous evening Harlequins v Northampton was of a similar calibre even though the England squad players were missing. English club rugby seems particularly vibrant these days with much more of a will to play open rugby.

The Six Nations Championship starts next Friday with Wales away in France. I have watched Wales for sixty years or so and I have to say this is the most pessimistic I have ever felt at the start of the championship. I am not alone I am sure and it seems our best hope of a victory is in Italy on the second weekend. Just watching Benetton play it is clear that Wales will have to put in a special performance against the team who were normally the Wooden Spoon favourites if they are to pinch a win.

In France on Friday evening, it feels like damage limitation as it is hard to imagine any of the Welsh players getting into a combined Wales and France team. I well remember the match when Graham Price scored a try when Wales won an unexpected victory so the unlikely can happen. I won’t be putting any money on Wales for the Six Nations even at 66 to 1. The heavyweight clash of the weekend will be England against Ireland in Dublin which should be a close one.

Next Saturday Pontypool travel to Carmarthen Quins for another cup match. Hopefully they can avenge their defeat in the league earlier in the season.

Come on Wales!

Come on Pooler!

Too Cool for Pool

One of the advantages of artificial pitches is that they are not subjected to the foibles of the British weather. Pooler play on good old grass which I still think is the appropriate surface for rugby . It did mean that yesterday the weather won and Pooler’s match against Carmarthen Quins had to be postponed due to a frozen pitch. So it was back to the couch for me.

There was plenty of rugby to watch on the TV and I did enjoy the match between Gloucester and Sale. Gloucester set off at a great pace and quickly opened up a big lead. The more pragmatic Sale with their forward power gradually closed the gap so it became quite close at the end but Gloucester held on despite a few yellow cards. The Gloucester back division contained no fewer than four Welsh internationals and could make an excellent backbone for the Six Nations Championship. Tomas Williams, Anscombe, Llewelyn and Hathaway all played pivotal roles in the Gloucester victory. If you added Tompkins and Liam Williams from Saracens and Halfpenny from Harlequins you could end up with a complete back division that plays in England. It set me thinking about the forwards and there are some strong candidates there too. In the front row Carre, Wyn Jones, Griffin and Lewis at prop although no obvious candidate at hooker although they do say that the young Kepu Tuipulotu who was born in Pontypool is a great prospect. In the second row there are Jenkins and Freddie Thomas and in the back row Refell and Tshiunza. You could add Rowlands who is playing in France  to make up an eight with Jenkins in the back row. You can tell I was missing my Pooler fix!

The two Welsh regional derbies in midweek were a little underwhelming in terms of quality although showing the usual level of commitment. The Scarlets overcame the Dragons while Cardiff and the Ospreys fought out a low scoring draw . They are all certainly way off the standards of the matches I watched from England and France yesterday.

The next match for Pooler is two weeks away when they are away to Llandovery who are climbing up the league table rapidly after an indifferent start to the season. This is the day that I am due to have my hip replacement operation but I will be with the Pooler in spirit.

Come on Pooler!