A timely reversal of fortunes in the Magners League this weekend, with both the Scarlets and Dragons defying expectations with deserved victories over the Blues and Ospreys respectively... damn their eyes! :-)
So things are competitive in Wales again, and that's got to be healthy. Consolation for the Os came in the form of a losing bonus point, and also in the form of Gavin Henson. Finally able to boast two working ankles, a clear head, a clean disciplinary slate and a mostly, if not completely un-pregnant girlfriend, Gav ran in a casual brace just as a reminder that he's still a dab hand at that Rugby lark.
Mike Phillips was back, too. Things can only get better... right?
Monday, 22 December 2008
Friday, 7 November 2008
History Is Bunk
Just as the wave of hope was cresting, it breaks against this. Yet again, keeping 22 human bodies intact between Tuesday and Saturday, proves beyond the power of Welsh Rugby.
The loss of Henson probably has more psychological impact on the team than anything; Roberts and Shanklin are no mugs. But with Hook on the bench, the Welsh backline suddenly looks a far blunter instrument.
Which is frustrating, because I was going to echo Jerry Guscott's words about how Wales are running out of excuses. Grand Slam champions should be feared on their own turf - regardless of history, no team shoud turn up at the Millennium Stadium and be expected to win, as South Africa widely are.
Ah, but that history... One win in over a century, ten games ago - it's a record that validates all that media skepticism. The recieved wisdom is that - world-class players notwithstanding - we just don't have the bottle.
It's well past time to put that to bed, so excuses be damned. Wales may not be at full-strength tomorrow - no team shorn of the likes Henson, Mike Phillips, Jon Thomas, Huw Bennett and Mark Jones can seriously be called that - but it's no "second string" either, and the visitors have squad issues of their own (and on top of them, they've had the cheek to pick talismanic captain Jon Smit out of position, which seems rather like to picking Superman to drive the Batmobile).
It's still World Champions against European Champions, and Saturday's hosts must live up to that billing. They must prove what we, as their supporters, suspect but perhaps don't quite yet believe - that the spring was not a lonely season, and that this time, Wales are the Real Deal.
The loss of Henson probably has more psychological impact on the team than anything; Roberts and Shanklin are no mugs. But with Hook on the bench, the Welsh backline suddenly looks a far blunter instrument.
Which is frustrating, because I was going to echo Jerry Guscott's words about how Wales are running out of excuses. Grand Slam champions should be feared on their own turf - regardless of history, no team shoud turn up at the Millennium Stadium and be expected to win, as South Africa widely are.
Ah, but that history... One win in over a century, ten games ago - it's a record that validates all that media skepticism. The recieved wisdom is that - world-class players notwithstanding - we just don't have the bottle.
It's well past time to put that to bed, so excuses be damned. Wales may not be at full-strength tomorrow - no team shorn of the likes Henson, Mike Phillips, Jon Thomas, Huw Bennett and Mark Jones can seriously be called that - but it's no "second string" either, and the visitors have squad issues of their own (and on top of them, they've had the cheek to pick talismanic captain Jon Smit out of position, which seems rather like to picking Superman to drive the Batmobile).
It's still World Champions against European Champions, and Saturday's hosts must live up to that billing. They must prove what we, as their supporters, suspect but perhaps don't quite yet believe - that the spring was not a lonely season, and that this time, Wales are the Real Deal.
Sunday, 24 August 2008
Friday, 16 May 2008
A Bit Of Good Ol' Mutual Consent
So, farewell then,
Lyn Jones.
You were
A good laugh
At times.
But it hasn't
Been funny for
Quite a while.
- I.S. Gibbs (63¾)
Lyn Jones.
You were
A good laugh
At times.
But it hasn't
Been funny for
Quite a while.
- I.S. Gibbs (63¾)
Tuesday, 6 May 2008
Disincentive
Magners League to provide 24th Heineken Cup qualifier
As the league stutters to a close, this drops in. The higher-placed of Connacht and the Dragons will play in the Heineken next year, guaranteed.
The Ospreys have yet to play both teams. As a result of this move, and with the Ospreys already qualified, the clear interests of Welsh Rugby lie in the Ospreys throwing the Dragons game. This situation is not the fault of anyone at either club. If the Magners League has any sanction in place against such behaviour, it had better make it known quickly. Otherwise, Connacht will have a legitimate grievance should they miss out.
Had this announcement been delayed 24 hours, the Rodney Parade game would be done and dusted and there would be no issue. Connacht surely have the right to ask why this couldn't have been done?
As the league stutters to a close, this drops in. The higher-placed of Connacht and the Dragons will play in the Heineken next year, guaranteed.
The Ospreys have yet to play both teams. As a result of this move, and with the Ospreys already qualified, the clear interests of Welsh Rugby lie in the Ospreys throwing the Dragons game. This situation is not the fault of anyone at either club. If the Magners League has any sanction in place against such behaviour, it had better make it known quickly. Otherwise, Connacht will have a legitimate grievance should they miss out.
Had this announcement been delayed 24 hours, the Rodney Parade game would be done and dusted and there would be no issue. Connacht surely have the right to ask why this couldn't have been done?
Sunday, 13 April 2008
No More Ifs...
Where was I?Ah well - disaster & triumph for the Ospreys, and it's still a tall order to treat those two impostors both the same. After burying Saracens in the EDF Cup semi, they contrived to fall meekly to the same opponents in the European quarter-finals. Inconsistency incarnate. Bah!
But as consolation prizes go, the EDF Cup isn't bad - and to take the trophy from the Leicester Tigers, at Twickenham, would be any Welsh team's dream. Some meaningful silverware in the Liberty Stadium cabinet - not to mention a healthy portion of sweet revenge - at long last.
Meanwhile, the Blues & Scarlets managed to serve up an eight-try thriller at the Arms Park, to give a welcome boost to the credibility of the Magners League. A corking match, made so more by attacking skills than defensive weaknesses, for a change. More, please!
Monday, 17 March 2008
As Grand as It Gets...
Never in doubt, was it?
Mark Jones' impromptu rendition of "Rockin' All Over The World" on Corner Flag stole the after-match show, as might his late run have crowned the match had he made it another yard. So leave it to the Williams boys, then; one for the show-stopper, the other for the encore.
Shane not only became Wales' highest-ever tryscorer; his last two efforts have completed a full-house of top-flight victims. Surely even Ben Cohen must be impressed by now? As for the ageless "Nugget", well, I pondered for a while but couldn't beat this from The Telegraph's Martin Johnson:
Mark Jones' impromptu rendition of "Rockin' All Over The World" on Corner Flag stole the after-match show, as might his late run have crowned the match had he made it another yard. So leave it to the Williams boys, then; one for the show-stopper, the other for the encore.
Shane not only became Wales' highest-ever tryscorer; his last two efforts have completed a full-house of top-flight victims. Surely even Ben Cohen must be impressed by now? As for the ageless "Nugget", well, I pondered for a while but couldn't beat this from The Telegraph's Martin Johnson:
"Williams is one of those players who appears to have powdered Duracell, rather than blood, flowing through his veins, and his work in those dark areas beneath piles of steaming bodies puts you in mind of a ferret plunging down rabbit holes. The French back row will doubtless spend the next few weeks checking underneath their beds, just to make sure he's not there."
The Cardiff rain pinged off the stadium roof, but records still fell from the sky; Shane's Top Gun, half the previous record for tries conceded in a 6N (2 to England's 4 in 2003), 10/10 wins from 6N starts for Gavin Henson... and almost lost in there, Wales' biggest win over the French since... well, Agincourt, probably.
Neutrals will deride the quality of the game, and fairly so. But it is probably the greatest signifier of Wales' renaissance that they can now win games like this, and win them comfortably. Croke Park last week was an even less gaudy spectacle than this game, but Wales' performance there was a rough diamond of high carat. This was even better. A full-strength French XV never looked like scoring a try, and the scrum they lost under the Welsh posts perfectly symbolized their inferiority. That incident alone should earn the match video an 18 rating in France, while forwards coaches elsewhere will be busy making screensavers out of it.
England ambushed; Scotland dismissed; Italy humbled; Ireland outmuscled; France nullified. Where next for this Welsh side? A two-match series in South Africa, no less. It doesn't get any easier, does it?
Yet you sense that this Wales outfit wouldn't have it any other way...
Neutrals will deride the quality of the game, and fairly so. But it is probably the greatest signifier of Wales' renaissance that they can now win games like this, and win them comfortably. Croke Park last week was an even less gaudy spectacle than this game, but Wales' performance there was a rough diamond of high carat. This was even better. A full-strength French XV never looked like scoring a try, and the scrum they lost under the Welsh posts perfectly symbolized their inferiority. That incident alone should earn the match video an 18 rating in France, while forwards coaches elsewhere will be busy making screensavers out of it.England ambushed; Scotland dismissed; Italy humbled; Ireland outmuscled; France nullified. Where next for this Welsh side? A two-match series in South Africa, no less. It doesn't get any easier, does it?
Yet you sense that this Wales outfit wouldn't have it any other way...
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