Strictly Scrum Dancing

I was quite looking forward to the Wales v Tonga game on Friday night as it would be a nice appetiser before the main course of the weekend which saw Pontypool back in league action against Bargoed.

Imagine if you were in a posh restaurant and when your starter arrived it was a drab grey colour. Well this is how I felt when Wales came out dressed in grey. I don’t think any team in history has done anything of note dressed in grey - just think back to the Confederates in the American Civil War. Why on earth did we choose grey and why did we choose one of the drabbest of the fifty shades available? As it turned out the Tongans were in white so we could have worn red anyway.

The gloom was lifted when the Tongans gave a spirited rendition of the sipi tau and Wales actually started well enough scoring two good tries as the young backs cut loose. It had all the hallmarks of an entertaining match especially when Tonga scored a decent try themselves. The second half, however, turned out to be one of the most uninspiring periods of rugby that I have ever watched. It just seemed to consist of an endless series of inconclusive scrums. In the end the forwards looked like they were in the late stages of a marathon dancing competition as they clung to each other in scrums and mauls. Fortunately for Wales, Dr Who seemed to have set up a force-field around the Tongan half and both teams were trapped inside. It would have been better if the force-field had included the Tongan dead ball line rather than stopping at the try line however.

To use a dancing analogy, this was not the high tempo quickstep that we expect from Wales but rather the slow, shambling, smoochy stuff at the end of a wedding reception. Don’t Tonga realise that they are an anagram of tango? If Craig Revel Horwood had been there he would have said, ‘It’s a disaaaster daaarling.’ Perhaps we should have sewn some sequins on those uninspiring grey shirts.

By Saturday afternoon I had managed to forget about the tedium of the previous evening and took my place on the Bank at Pontypool with an exciting local derby against Bargoed in prospect. The sun was shining and there was not even a hint of grey on view. The spooky thing was that the match turned out to be almost a carbon copy of the previous evening with Pooler unfortunately playing the part of Tonga.

The first half was quite entertaining and evenly contested although it was clear that Bargoed had the edge in the forward battle. Pontypool took an early lead with a penalty then Bargoed hit back with a try to lead 3-5. Another Bargoed try and a second Pooler penalty gave the away side 6-12 lead before Hurley scored a good try in the corner for Pontypool after excellent combined play. The conversion by Gullis from the touchline gave the home team a narrow lead at 13-12. The lead was short-lived, however, with a Bargoed penalty leaving the score 13-15 at half time. Still anyone’s game, we thought, although we would have to contend with playing up the slope in the second half.

Rather like the previous evening virtually all the play in the second half was concentrated in one half. Unfortunately it was in Pontypool’s half as the Bargoed forwards took a vice-like grip on the match. It was a turgid affair, indeed, with countless scrums as Pooler scrambled and scrapped valiantly to keep Bargoed out. Inevitably the pressure told and Bargoed eventually made the game safe with a penalty and a converted try to run out convincing 13-25 winners. Bargoed are one of the better teams in the league so losing to them was no disgrace and Pooler battled bravely to the end.

Now we don’t mind a scrum or two in Pontypool, but this weekend has been excessive. They haven’t even been good scrums - I can’t help feeling that it’s killing the game as a spectacle.

There is no Pontypool game next weekend as we must all watch Wales play Australia (yet again). Let’s hope the grey shirts have been consigned to the bin and we get a dynamic red-blooded display from Wales.

PS I can’t bring myself to comment on the debacle surrounding the Heineken Cup but piss-ups and breweries spring to mind.     

Don’t decry for me Argentina

I was there to watch Wales finally win an Autumn rugby international after lots of valiant and lots of not so valiant attempts.

‘It was only Argentina after all,’ I hear you snort. Well it was only a year ago when they stuffed us comprehensively and make no mistake this was a tough test match.  Yes Wales were always in control, but Argentina made it difficult at times and could have scored a couple of tries.

In a lot of ways I found the game frustrating and wished that Wales had thrown caution to the winds a bit more often. I find the tactic of Halfpenny virtually always kicking the ball in the air after he catches it in his own half irritating - particularly in a game like this. When Wales opened up and played at pace they made big inroads into Argentina territory and could have scored a couple more tries. Still we needed a win and the George North try in the first half was a beauty and what about Mike Phillips running 80 yards to score. If he carries on like that, Pooler will make him an offer!

The question of who plays at outside half against Australia has not really been answered in my view. I guess the way our centres are getting injured we might have to play Biggar, Priestland and Hook in the same team. I wonder if Gavin is waiting for a phone call.

I watched the Ireland v Australia game in the pub and we will have our work cut out to make an impression on the Aussies who really looked sharp in attack. Their scrum seemed to be in little trouble too.

Thank goodness Pooler are playing Bargoed next Saturday, these trips to Cardiff are proving expensive. After the match we had to wait 45 minutes to get the shuttle train back to Newport. Apparently they had let a train leave just before the match finished so we had to wait for it to go to Newport and back. Great planning!

PS I think England lost but they are still definitely going to win the RWC. It says so in the papers!

No Change for Wales

I made the short journey to Cardiff on Saturday for the first of the Autumn internationals. Nobody I spoke to seemed to think that we could beat South Africa and the crowd in the stadium seemed quite resigned to another gallant failure right from the start. There was none of the nationalistic fervour that we all felt for that famous victory against England at the end of last season.

It was certainly a hard match with both sides playing with total commitment. In truth neither side looked like scoring a try as tough defence and tactical kicking were the order of the day. The strange thing is that the Springboks managed to score three tries. They took their few chances clinically whilst Wales didn’t really create a try scoring opportunity as they got no change from the Boks defence no matter how hard they tried. The first Springbok try came about when Scott Williams was lying on the ground injured. Habana saw the gap and came in from his wing and created a try. The second was from a forward drive resulting from a lineout in the Wales twenty two following a penalty. The third try was from a speculative South African kick up field when the Welsh expected the ball to bounce into touch and were embarrassed when it didn’t and suddenly the quick thinking Boks were in under the posts. An object lesson in taking your chances.

Wales were unfortunate with injuries and lost the influential Jonathon Davies who made two great attacking thrusts during his short stay on the field. Losing Liam Williams at the same time didn’t help either with Halfpenny being shifted to the wing to accommodate Hook. The reliable goal kicking of Halfpenny did keep us interested until the crushing third try but it is the same old story really. We seem to lack a cutting edge and the opposition knows exactly what we are going to do. It is a shame that Eli Walker was injured as he is the kind of player who might have done something unpredictable. 

I guess when the analysts look at possession, tackles, territory etc on their laptops they will conclude that we did all right but in the only analysis that really matters we lost to a Southern Hemisphere heavyweight - no change there then.

P.S. I still don’t understand why the Welsh Championship has no fixtures for three of the four Saturdays when the Autumn internationals take place when the Regions are still playing.

Winning in the rain

It was a wild and windy day in Blackwood as Pontypool visited to seek some revenge for the three defeats that their Gwent neighbours had inflicted on them last season. The wind was cold and blustery and frequent torrential showers fell on an already sodden pitch. It was not a day fro the faint hearted and certainly not a day for open rugby. It was a day for the forwards and for kick and chase. Thirty or so years ago this would have been meat and drink for the legendary Pontypool pack but the modern day version does not contain the gnarled warriors that so terrified the opposition. It was going to be a real test of character. Even if Blackwood had not had the best of seasons so far, we knew that they would pose a stern challenge in a local derby.

The wind slightly favoured Pontypool in the first half although it seemed to be blowing across the pitch if anything. In the opening exchanges it was soon clear that the Pooler scrum was dominant as they pushed the Blackwood pack back yards. In the conditions, there were sure to be plenty of scrums so such dominance would surely prove a match winner we thought. Indeed from a scrum, Pooler scored an early try when Organ forced his way over near the posts. The successful conversion gave the away side an early 0-7 lead. This stung Blackwood into action and their forwards proved a real handful in the loose. They carried well and forced Pooler on to the retreat and generally made it very uncomfortable for the away side at the breakdown. There were lots of penalties and lots of handling errors and few three-quarter moves.

The referee must have had a particularly difficult job distinguishing the two teams as the only difference in strip was really a yellow stripe for Blackwood compared with a white stripe for Pontypool. As the jerseys got muddier and muddier it became almost impossible to tell the teams apart. The referee did very well in the circumstances.

Although the Pooler scrum remained dominant, Blackwood came more and more into the game and it was just reward that they scored the equalising try that was well converted from the touchline. Pooler had been reduced to fourteen men by a sin binning and failed to capitalise from several scrums close to the Blackwood line. The home side marched back up the field and pressurised Pooler and were rewarded with two successful penalty goals to lead 13-7 at the break.

Pontypool seemed to up their game in the second half and the forwards began to gain the ascendancy in the loose. This coupled with the still dominant scrum gave them a better platform to work from and, although the handling errors and turnovers continued in the slippery conditions, they gained territorial advantage. A penalty cut the deficit to 13-10 and it looked only matter of time before Pooler took the lead. Then, disaster! An interception by the home team as Pooler attacked on the home twenty two and the Blackwood version of Prince Obolensky just about managed to run the seventy odd yards to the Pontypool posts for a converted try to bring the score to 20-10. Pooler looked deflated, Blackwood were given new energy.  Pontypool regrouped and worked their way back into the Blackwood twenty two and were awarded a penalty accompanied by a yellow card for the home side. This proved decisive as the momentum swung towards Pooler. They scored an excellent try when Taylor sliced through the Blackwood defence from one of the few three-quarter moves. Although the try went unconverted it was soon followed by a converted try after a quickly taken tap penalty by Thomas. Pooler were back in the lead at 20-22 and just needed to play the rest of the game in the Blackwood half. Easier said than done, of course, and Blackwood would not lie down. A further penalty by Gullis took the score to 20-25 and gave Pooler a bit more breathing space and they held on to take the spoils.

This was a hard fought victory against a stubborn Blackwood side in truly awful conditions. Well done boys and good luck to whoever has to wash the kit.

I did watch the Dragons v Leinster Seconds on the TV on Friday evening. It was certainly a game they could have and arguably should have won. Ultimately a loss at home against much weakened opposition in a poor quality game is no cause for optimism.

England celebrated ten years without winning anything (no RWC, no Grand Slam, no Triple Crown) by narrowly beating the Aussies. I just hope that Wales can finally turn over one of the big boys this Autumn but recent history is very much against it. The strange thing is that it does not seem to matter that much when it comes to the Six Nations.

It still seems strange to me that the Welsh Championship takes a break to coincide with the Autumn Internationals. We do not lose that many players to the national squad after all. With two of the Wales kick-offs at 5.00pm, it would seem to be a good way of filling the clubhouses after watching your team playing. Maybe it’s an admission that the leagues do not have enough teams in them to fill the season.

So the next game for the Pooler is the 23rd November against Bargoed. Another tough local derby in prospect.

Parkie Prematurely Perpetrates Pooler Postponement

The parkie spoilt our fun and called off Pontypool’s home game against Cardiff Met on Friday afternoon. It seemed a strange decision to call the game off so early when you consider that the visitors didn’t have far to travel and the pitch could easily have been inspected mid morning on the Saturday. It also seems an odd decision when you consider that all the other matches in the division went ahead. Looking at the results, perhaps it was just as well that the match was off as 5 of the 6 games played in the Championship resulted in away wins!

As a result of the disappointment, I was confined to the couch on Saturday afternoon and flicked listlessly between football, English rugby and rugby league and I have to say didn’t really enjoy any of it. Watching Wales being dismantled by the Italians at the Millennium Stadium was particularly distasteful.

On Friday evening I watched the Ospreys v Dragons and did actually find it quite interesting until it was effectively over as a contest when Toby Faletau was carried off. I hope that he recovers quickly as he is a key member of the Welsh team and comes over as a model professional. As a Pontypool fan, you find yourself watching the people who have played for the Pooler in the past and wondering what sort of team we would have if they were all playing for us now. We would certainly have a strong back row! The star of the show, however, has not played for Pooler and it was Tuperic who in a pack of forwards that is dominant is brilliant. He must have enjoyed himself far more than the previous weekend against Northampton.

The Welsh squad for the Autumn internationals did not contain any real surprises. We will miss Cuthbert,that is for sure, as he has quickly become one of our most potent weapons. It is good to see that Mike Phillips has been filling himself with antifreeze ready for the cryogenic chamber!

Next stop for Pooler is Blackwood away - we lost there twice last season so let’s hope we can turn it around.

Pooler run out of puff

This has been a tough couple of weeks for Pontypool. The two longest away trips plus a challenging home game against the clear favourites for the league championship in quick succession has really tested their mettle. After performing well in the first two challenges, understandably they fell short at Narberth - never an easy place to get a win. The final score 24-11 to the home team was rather flattering with Pooler extremely competitive for the first 70 minutes. The last 10 minutes proved decisive with the rigours of the previous week catching up with the team. There was also the added problem of playing against the tricky wind. I don’t think we should be too disappointed as the team is still in its formative stage.

There is little respite with the next match at home against the very fit and well drilled students from Cardiff Met. Let’s hope we can bounce back with a win.

I started my rugby weekend with the All Blacks v Australia and it really was an incredible match played at tremendous speed. There was no milking of penalties but all out attacking rugby from both sides. Australia seem to have recovered their verve in time for their usual victory over Wales. The All Blacks, as we have come to expect, managed to keep their noses in front in an exhilarating encounter with some fantastic tries from both teams.

Everything that followed was like watching a different sport. The two French aristocrats from Toulon and Clermont seemed strangely off colour. Whilst Clermont were still able to account for the Harlequins, the Blues managed to upset Jonny’s boys with a try just before the final whistle. Fortunately for the Blues this put them more than a dropped goal ahead so they just about managed to survive an all-out onslaught on their try line. This was a tremendous result for the Blues after last week’s tribulations.

As for the other Welsh regions, the Ospreys were outgunned by Northampton and with two losses are effectively out of the competition. The Scarlets drew at home with Racing so are still very much in contention although the back-to-back matches with Clermont will certainly be challenging. The four Irish provinces all won as did Glasgow so overall not a bad weekend for the Celtic fringe. In the Amlin Cup the Dragons went down at Bath so have it all to do to qualify for the next stages.

I don’t really understand the British & Irish Cup but I think the Dragons’ second team aka Cross Keys won. I don’t know why the Welsh don’t go the whole hog and do as they Irish do and field a provincial/regional second team.

The Autumn internationals are just around the corner and the battle for the outside half spot for Wales is hotting up. Both Biggar and Priestland look to be playing well so it will be a tough call. If there are no injury worries the rest of the starting team virtually picks itself although the Warburton, Tuperic, Lydiate debate I’m sure will continue to rage. The selections for the bench are becoming more and more important in the professional game and we are still a bit lacking at prop and second row and there is no Olly Kohn to come to the rescue although Coombs is still about. I’m not clear who is the second choice scrum half assuming that Mike Phillips plays - is it Williams or Knoyle or someone else?

On the subject of substitutes, I find it strange that in the Welsh Championship teams are only allowed five when seven and even eight are allowed at higher levels. It has already led to forwards playing in the backs and vice versa. I suppose the Welsh Championship is a long way from international rugby.

Good luck against those pesky students Pooler!

There is still life in the land that the Welsh Rugby Union forgot

This was re-emergent Pooler’s biggest test of the season so far. A visit from their powerful neighbours Ebbw Vale was always going to be a massive challenge.

Both sides have reasons to be disgruntled with the WRU. Ebbw Vale have long been good enough to play in the Premiership but have been denied promotion for spurious reasons. The cynic would say that the WRU are waiting for a team that they do not like to finish at the bottom of the Premiership before they permit promotion. Pontypool, of course, are a team that the WRU don’t like and although they didn’t actually finish bottom of the Premiership were relegated on “track record”. This precipitated the well-documented Poolergate and nearly resulted in the total demise of the club. Suffice it to say that the upper Gwent valleys, a longstanding hot bed of rugby, have been left unrepresented at the higher level which certainly cannot be good for Welsh rugby.

The substantial crowd admirably demonstrated that the local punters are still more than willing to turn out to watch local derbies such as this rather than watch the Heineken Cup on the telly. It was great to see a long queue at the ticket window and the pre-match atmosphere was reminiscent of former times.

So to the match. Ebbw Vale started clear favourites and quickly demonstrated why they have been the major force in the league for several years. They set off with all guns blazing and the home side froze like rabbits caught in the headlights of a car. The away side immediately gained superiority in all aspects of the game and had registered two tries through Meyers and Cunliffe and stormed to a 0-12 lead in a twinkling of an eye. The Pooler faithful were stunned and feared a repeat of last season’s drubbings. To their eternal credit Pontypool did not fold but fought bravely against their stronger and more cohesive neighbours. Ebbw Vale started to make uncharacteristic mistakes as the Pontypool defence pressurised them and although they still held the initiative at scrum and lineout amazingly could not add to their score in the first half. From an attacking perspective, Pooler were unable to get anything going against the well organised Vale defence. They did however manage a Mills penalty to leave the score at half time a rather unlikely 3-12.

In the second half, Pooler seemed to gain inspiration from the closeness of the scores and continued to harass the away side into mistakes. Substitutions and yellow cards made the game less structured which favoured the home side and they finally began to win some decent possession from set pieces. Another Mills penalty closed the gap to 6 points and the Ebbw fans began to shuffle uneasily on the terrace. Pooler began to gain the ascendancy and were rewarded with an excellent try under the posts by Taylor after a precision piece of back play. Against all the odds, the conversion put Pooler in the lead 13-12 and a major upset seemed possible. Ebbw Vale then ably demonstrated why they have been virtually unbeatable in the Championship and put together some irresistible forward drives that resulted in what turned out to be the winning try from Kynes. The successful conversion made the score 13-19 with time running out. Ebbw Vale continued to press as they tried to make the game safe but missed two kickable penalties. For their part, Pooler continued to give everything and got themselves agonisingly close to the Ebbw Vale try line before conceding a penalty. Despite the titanic efforts of both teams, there were to be no more scores however.

Ebbw Vale had protected their unbeaten record but looked mightily relieved when the final whistle sounded. Pooler were left with a losing bonus point but more importantly took another big step forward towards building a competitive team. I think most Pontypool fans would have settled for that before the match but what might have been!

I got home just in time to catch the second half of the Harlequins v Scarlets game. You had to be impressed with the Scarlets and an away win is a great start but I fear there are tougher challenges ahead. The Blues were anything but impressive in the first half against Exeter’s furious onslaught as they conceded virtually a point a minute. Fortunately for them, Exeter could not keep the intensity up and the Blues bagged an unlikely bonus point for scoring four tries in the second half. I didn’t see the Ospreys game but I gather that they were outthought and outfought by Leinster who have clearly decided to concentrate on the Heineken Cup so that they have a strong bargaining position when the time comes. Our old friends the Dragons brushed aside Mogliano minnows so are off to a good start in the Amlin Cup. So overall a patchy start in the European competitions with the Scarlets the standout Welsh performers. I still won’t be putting any money on a Welsh winner though!

It's another long away trip for Pooler next week when we visit Narbeth. Another big challenge but I'm sure that the boys will give a good account of themselves.

The queue at the ticket office for the local derby

Fans enjoying the sunshine on the Bank