Owen's Rugby Rants

Back again

2006-04-27T22:32:00.000+01:00

So it's been a month and what do I have to show for it, aside from a shitload of plaster and a pair of cruches useful for whacking people with - not a hell of a lot. The incident in question occurred when some fool managed to tackle me around the bootlaces whilst another lucky opponent tried to spin me to the ground. I have large knees and no muscles to pull so the ankle thought it best to break to avoid twisting my spine around my pelvis. Great fun to say the least. With hospital behind me (and boy are they glad to see the last of my behind) I am laid up on the couch making notes on the continued oval-balled drama occurring all around me, so without further procrastination, let's get to it.

In my enforced absence the world of rugby has miraculously continued to turn, thus shattering any belief I had that it revolved around me, and whilst turning several events of note took place. Firstly Gareth Jenkins being named the new Welsh coach by the people he could absolutely never ever ever work with. Now I know this was coming and I know the flip-flop was as inevitable as a George Foreman comeback but that didn't mean it ever had to take place. Sure he's Welsh and yes he is a coach, but one would have thought the criteria would have been a little more stringent than that. Looking at the England football team for instance they have opted for an experienced, and currently employed, Brazilian coach to teach them how to kick the round ball once the World Cup is over. But apparently it doesn't matter because Gareth Jenkins was the 'popular' choice. Hmmm now not wishing to be overly disparaging to my fellow countrymen and women but although Wales is a rugby mad culture and we do watch and or play it a lot, it doesn't mean the vast majority know much about it beyond the field. Having seen some the press comments, I'm inclined to extend this comment to most rugby writers aswell. For instance one read something along the lines of 'Coach of the most successful region by far'. Perhaps my dislike of Welsh politics is too apparent here but Llanelli Scarlets possess the current Welsh No 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15 and sub full-back, they also have at least two other backs with Welsh caps and a New Zealand international. Their pack can field eight Welsh internationals alone, including present Welsh No 8 and even an Irish No 6 with 50+ caps. With that in mind the Scarlets have lost 8 out of their last 12 Heineken Cup matches, lie seventh in the Celtic League and lost in the recent Powergen Cup Final to an underpar Wasps team. Yet this is supposedly the pedigree of a Welsh coach, a man who has only ever played and coached at one club unhindered for years and who looked completely out of his depth when coaching with the Lions last summer. Gareth Jenkins wasn't the best candidate, he was the only candidate and that's disturbing.

Congratulations to the Australia U-19's (baby roos? :)) who won the U-19 World Cup in Dubai recently, beating New Zealand in the final after having lost to them in the pool stages. Wales were unlucky enough to meet NZ in their first pool match and thus paved the way for the England team, they had thrashed on the way to a Grandslam, to join France as semi-final fodder.

My respect for Justin Marshall went down several notches on hearing he had asked to be released from his contract with Leeds, and subsequently was, because he didn't fancy playing Division 1 rugby. In complete contrast to his long time half-back partner and friend Andrew Mehrtens who played D1 rugby with Harlequins last season, Marshall decided he didn't want to honour his substantial contract and instead opted for the cushy Celtic League (don't let the two Irish provinces in the Heineken Cup semi-finals fool you) with the Ospreys. Now how many different ways can this transfer be wrong?
Firstly the Ospreys already have a NZ scrum-half, secondly the kind of wages and compensation package to take Marshall away from Leeds is apparently around the £200,000+ mark. How many young players, including U-19 and U-21 Grandslam winners could that have brought on and given a future to? Is one player worth almost one-eight of a region's wage bill when he is NOT Welsh? Should the WRU who fund the regions to a large degree not be putting their foot down and asking whether the regions are basing themselves on short-term success or for the good of Welsh rugby, because that's why they were formed, to allow all the top Welsh players competitive rugby and so they can be on show for the Welsh coach to pick from. Absolutely stupid and wasteful.

Lastly, before the steam coming out my ears strips the paint off the walls, we have our Heineken Cup final. Unlike the Arsenal vs Barcelona Champions League final though we have to watch the joys of Biarritz vs Munster. Biarritz have played appalling rugby just about all tournament and had they not had two prime home ties against weak and dumb English sides (read anyone other than Wasps or Leicester) in the quarter and semi-finals, then I'm of the mind they wouldn't be in it. However they are but I have little hope of them using the embarrassment of riches stuck in their amazing backline. On the other side Munster, a team beaten twice in finals and in more semi-finals than you can shake a pint of Killians at. I don't like them. Sorry I think their support is head and shoulders the best in the competition if not the world but their spoiling tactics, forward orientated play and kicking No 10 makes the paint falling off my walls more fun to watch. The amount of catch and drive they use should be banned and Ronan O'Gara's right foot should be surgically removed with a blunt kitchen knife - one toe at a time. I don't hold hopes of this one being anything other than an 'occasion'.

Well that's all tired me out, so it's lucky there's a whole weekend of rugby to soothe my aches and pains. Expect much more regular updates, it's good to be back ... I think ;)

Apologies

2006-03-31T22:52:00.000+01:00

Apologies, broken ankles tend to thwart movement and make one stay in hospital. Normal service will resume shortly.

The End

2006-03-19T19:49:00.000Z

Well in the end there was drama, controversy, some quality rugby and a diabolical Italy vs Scotland game - who would have thought it?

"It is a game we had won and then there's an element of luck and we've lost it. We've played most of the rugby and unfortunately we've come away with nothing again."

A Wales player or coach? An Italian player or coach? Not a chance, instead the above can be attributed to one Jamie Noon who in the excitement of England scoring a try, forgot that you have to play for 80mins and that Lady Luck is a fickle bitch at best. Individual responsibility and culpability do not seem to be words used in the England dressing room, nor do they seem to realise that you have to win a game, not have it handed to you because you played well for 40mins - ask Wales. So here then is a summary of the final Six Nations games, the teams and ratings plus the few standout players.

Italy vs Scotland: I'm not going to say much about this game. It is very easily summed up as yet another referee screwing Italy over whilst a terribly biased home commentator, the appalling Andy Nichol, extols the virtues of a country who only scored one try in three games. I suspect the man-of-the-match award - Hugo Southwell the invisible fullback - was given by a blind man not at the game, or his guide dog. It wasn't enjoyable to watch after the first fifteen minutes and I will be marking my calendar for next year to make sure I avoid this fixture. I feel for Italy, not sorry because they played above and beyond what was expected of them and did themselves proud in the process, but that inconsistent referees cost them two if not three games. We could quite easily have been sitting here talking about Italy finishing third in the Six Nations, now that would have been worthwhile. I think Scotland were close to being the worst team in the Six Nations (I'll go into this more in my Six Nations roundup at the bottom) and on this performance, the southern hemisphere teams will be licking their lips for the summer tours and world cup next year.

France vs Wales: was a real heartbreaker. While I am going to dedicate a whole post to the game and Wales' performance over the Six Nations, I'd like to say that it was a really uplifting match despite the ending and a pyrrhic victory for the players. To have stuck together and played with the style of rugby they did, despite all the on and off-field nonsense proves that whichever road we walk from here, no coach will tamper with the style of play too greatly - something that previously lead us away from who we are during the late 80's/early 90's.

England vs Ireland: what a shame, what a tragedy. When Wales were screwed by the TMO against Italy last week (and this week) no-one outside Wales batted an eyelid. Fast forward a week and now it's an issue, now there has to be more angles, more time blah blah blah. It's very hard to care that England got screwed, they did for what it's worth, when they don't finish games off or pay any heed to circumstances involved when they win. When they win everything is good and when they lose there are mitagating factors - food poisoning when you take your own chef (what the hell is that all about by the way, a team chef to go to France?) an hour's trip across the channel last week, now a TMO conspiracy this week, next he'll be blaming the clubs - oh wait he already did. So England lost again, their record with Andy Robinson is dire and no-one seems to see it, indeed he intends to continue to the end of his contract - Yes!

Although 'tables never lie', 'the score is the only thing that matters' - pick a cliche, here are my ratings for the teams and how I think it worked:

1. France
They only lost one game, which they should have won, played only one half of rugby up to their potential - the first half against Ireland, yet still cantered to the title without key names and figures. What this means is they haven't revealed their hand for the World Cup, they have to be major contenders for the World cup and will in all likelihood (this is the French we're talking about here so no guarantees) only get better. Throw in a vociferous home crowd come the tournament, a squad with at least 30 seriously talented players and you may well be looking at the next World Cup winners.

2. Italy
In my opinion, one of the unluckiest campaigns ever seen in the Five or Six Nations. Screwed out of a victory against Ireland, screwed out of at least a draw against Scotland and should have beaten Wales. They also gave France and England very tough first 60mins and progressed as the tournament wore on. Most refreshing, though not unexpected with their new coach Berbezier, they played rugby and scored tries against all of the other five nations. They have; a solid pack, created behind through a combination of guile and pace, good leadership and stick to their gameplan. On top of which they don't give away anywhere near as many penalties as they did in previous tournaments. Italy I salute you and hope that you continue to progress in this manner, to become a genuine threat next year.

3. Ireland/Wales
How did I get Wales and Ireland? Simple. Wales showed in their last game that they do have serious potential.
They had to deal with, in no particular order:
- Ruddock leaving
- the nonsense at the WRU
- supposed player power rumours
- Johnson issue 1: Did he help Ruddock fall?
- Johnson issue 2: Will he be back?
- missing nine players from the starting XV who won the Grandslam
- Gareth Thomas issue 1: Is he ok?
- Gareth Thomas issue 2: Has the press alienated him so much he'll return?
- the Graham Thomas debacle and much much more. Is there any country who could a.) Go through all this is in a single six week period? and b.) Still almost turn over a French team going for the Six Nations? Welsh rugby is mad but ... all this has gone on 18 months before the World Cup. Thus although it wasn't the greatest Six Nations for us; we played most of the rugby in the tournament, got screwed several times by shocking refereeing decisions, blooded a lot of fresh faces, will have a better structure come the WC, will have most of our best players refreshed and ready, plus we'll have learned a helluva lot from these experiences. Hence Wales in joint third with Ireland.

Ireland because although they did the Triple Crown they have once again under-performed. With a backline that talented and a forward pack who supplies them with quality possession, they should be butchering teams who aren't at their best. Think what could be done if they played like they did in the second-half against France, yet they had to be 40 points down to open up like that. Instead they scraped wins over England, Italy and Scotland masking a deeper problem that will not be addressed as a result of their success. Yes it is important to win close games and kudos to them for that, but they have yet to produce that performance everyone knows they have in them.

4. Scotland
After much debate I decided that Scotland are better off than England, just. They did win three games, including their first away win since 2002, and did defend very well. However their defence will not win them games as was proved against Ireland. Teams with great defences will still leak points and unless it is balanced with good attacking options, is worth little. Yes they will make games hard and keep teams close, but at present they are not a threat - one try in three games tells it's own story, not to mention Andy Nichol proclaiming Hugo Southwell a great defensive fullback despite him missing every single one-on-one I saw him in. Sorry but I have no time for Andy Nichol and his ludicrous assertions. Scotland have a good start and they have a game plan but no backs. Thus the old adage "A thousand steps is of no value, if the first is in the wrong direction" applies. Will come seriously unstuck in South Africa on the summer tour.

5. England
Yes they are my least favourite rugby team. Yes I do hate them on international day, but that isn't why they are bottom. Quite simply with the player base they have, the funding and facilities, the constantly arrogant attitude of 'we should be the best' and so much talent they aren't playing well at all. The coaching is crap; there is no descernible gameplan, no leadership on or off the field, the backs look at each other like strangers, they don't have a consistent goal-kicker and the club structure is killing their game. Politics is getting in the way of the team moving forward without having the revolutionary event necessary to forge lasting change - like Wales gets every few years. Resultingly the English game is dying the slow death of strangulation, catching the players between club and country without resolution. More worrying is the fact that there is no clear solution to the various issues, a new coach and player shake-up will only gloss over the fundamental issues that English rugby faces. It will be a long 18 months for England and with Australia waiting for them down under in a potentially demoralising summer tour, the situation could soon move beyond disillusionment.

Players of the Six Nations

Italy - Bergamasco junior. A real talent more suited to centre than wing, has played some top-notch rugby on both sides of the ball, scoring tries and playing his guts out. My man of the tournament, just ahead of his captain.

Scotland - Jason White. His hits have been one of the highlights of the Six Nations. A leader by example and the centrepiece of Scotland's defence.

Ireland - David Wallace. How he was ever left out for all the other various options Ireland have tried I have no idea. Big, strong and fast, his carrying and tackling have been a major part of Ireland's success this season.

England - Charlie Hodgson. A quality running 10 in a clueless backline, what he wouldn't have given to be on the field yesterday with a wasted Abbott outside him.

France - Yachvili. Instantly likeable, he has a deadly boot and makes quality decisions. Consistently better than Elissalde, France are blessed with quality all over the field but Yachvili makes them tick. Just takes the award ahead of Fritz, who has filled Jauzion's ample boots very well.

Wales - Adam Jones/Duncan Jones. Instantly noticeable due to their crazy hair-dos, both have been tireless work horses around the field and in the set-piece. Helped a struggling backline out a lot and created a solid platform in the front five that will be highly competitive when all the injured front row players return to form. Adam deserves it for his increased fitness, such that where once he was being taken off after 30 mins, he regularly played the full 80mins during the Six Nations. Duncan was in Gethin Jenkins shadow after Jenkins' admirable performances in defeat for the Lions against NZ, however took his chance when offered and has never looked back. Awesome work rate in defence and carries the ball well. Dwayne Peel and Stephen Jones were close.

On closing I'd like to say I hope Sky gets the Six Nations next time it's put out to tender, the coverage has been appalling - lacking analysis, any time spent after matches looking at the game/showing highlights, a heavily Anglocentric approach and some of the most annoying, useless commentators in the history of rugby. At least Stuart Barnes and Dewi Morris have, debatably, played rugby at a high level. It is about the only decent sports tournament the BBC have every year, and the coverage is nowhere near the standard it should be. Maybe the Beeb are happy put out any old crap, much as they do for the whole license fee, but Sky has set a much higher standards bar and the BBC didn't come close to even seeing it.

The Future's Bright, The Future's Red

2006-03-19T19:44:00.000Z

Apologies, for whatever reason the post I made on Thursday isn't showing up on this page, so here it is again.

The future of Welsh rugby is in safe hands. I wandered down to Aberavon tonight to watch the Welsh U-19's play the French U-19's in a Grandslam and Six Nations decider. Now I can't remember the last time I was down in Aberavon by choice, but it was damn worth it.

Wales won by thirty points and didn't concede a try. Although the French are notoriously bad travellers, it would have been difficult for the Welsh senior side to beat their younger counterparts on this night. They played with pace and width, doing the hard, unforgiving work that is necessary for any set of backs to flourish. Only three of the senior side are actually bigger than their U-19 equivalent so I was told down there, which says something about the ability and size Wales possesses in the younger age groups. With an U-19 Grandslam achieved this year and an U-21 Grandslam last year (they only lost once this year aswell) to go with the Senior side's, Wales isn't short of talent. Nor has that ever been the case. Unfortunately the continued issue has been the regions' ability to turn this potential international goldmine into gold. With the Scarlets recently buying a Scottish international lock, the question has to be: Why on earth are they not blooding these youngsters?

The excuse of this being a results orientated business simply does not wash. Only the Scarlets have a chance of winning anything this year, and that comes in a cup competition. So why don't the Scarlets give their 9 U-19 players a run out in a few games? Why doesn't Turner give his 10 U-19 players, including four of the U-19 backline who have been at times sublime during the Six Nations, a chance in a team that has massively underperformed? Same goes for the 7 Blues and the 2 Ospreys. From what was on show at Aberavon tonight, the second rows could easily play for the Wales senior side within a year or two, why not invite them to train with the squad for a week, or even take them on the summer tour of Argentina? The trouble seems to be the regions are afraid to blood players, there is this fear they will somehow become damaged or under-perform, possibly lose their confidence. Either that or it's a money thing, yet Cardiff happily shell out for Lomu, Rush and others, whilst the Ospreys bring in South Africans and a host of New Zealanders. Both reasons seem pathetic and to which I say: This is rugby. The New Zealand U-19 captain and openside in 1999 was Richie McCaw. TWO years later he made his full All Blacks debut against Ireland whilst only 20, he was man of the match that day and is now hands-down the best No 7 in the world. A lesson learned? You'd like to think so, but there is no sign that 'those in the know' have woken up to the sheer riches they have.

On other rugby matters I've been trying to think of something to say about Andy Robinson's panic button reaction in the changes he has made. First of all he hasn't really changed the personnel, secondly he's given into Charlie Hodgson's request to play a footballing inside-centre except Hodgson is injured and they've picked a tugboat of an outside half who is known for ... kicking the ball and who happens to play with Ireland's fullback, hmmm I smell a stalemate. Third and finally, I hope Andy Robinson keeps getting a vote of confidence from the ERFU because he is the real problem they have and the longer he and his useless coaching staff are in their jobs, the more likely everyone is to beat England, shame that.

The Commonwealth Games, what is up with that? How can a competition for mainly amateur athletes involve professional rugby players? How can teams be allowed to draft in international XV players just for this tournament, especially during the Six Nations when certain countries are at a distinct disadvantage? I love sevens, more the watching than the playing now, but it really isn't what these games are about to me.

Finally it seems certain the Six Nations will go out with a whimper rather than a war cry this weekend, with all three games played back-to-back it's going to be a tough day on the couch, cold beers in hand. However, ever since this end of tournament three-consecutive-game blast for TV, England have always played last - the BBC showing bias? Of course not, that's just conspiracy talk. The ideal results would of course be Wales beat France, Ireland trounce England and Italy beat Scotland, leaving Ireland top, France second and Wales third above Scotland and then England. However the head says France to win a tight game (waits for the 100 points to inevitably occur now), England to have too much for Ireland and Scotland to win their largest number of games in god knows how long. See you at the finish line (the bar for those interested ;))

State of the Six Nations

2006-03-14T01:05:00.000Z

Just want to clear up a few things right off the bat.

1.) The Italians first try was never a try and there were at least two angles that showed it. Why then did the TMO not have access to ALL the camera angles available to television? He's there to make correct decisions due to the extra time and replays on offer, not screw up like the other three officials.

2.) Neither England nor Scotland have scored a try in two consecutive games and Ireland have gone one game without scoring a try. This is why I have chosen to post about the state of the Six Nations today and not gloat over England getting thumped ... oooppsss :)

In a weekend of international rugby where there were three matches played, only half the teams managed to score one or more tries. This mediocrity was summed up by my father who said after the France vs England game:
"I can't wait for the Six Nations to finish so the Heineken Cup can restart and we'll be able to watch some quality rugby."
Now for the other countries involved in last year's Six Nations, Wales's glorious Grandslam may not have been much fun, what it wasn't short of though was good quality rugby games. From the very first match where England vs Wales went down to the last kick, to that insane comeback by Wales against France, the games were exciting. Being a Welshman obviously I attribute this to the style of play we adopted and used so successfully.

So naturally this current Six Nations was never going to be the same, with Wales' rabbit well and truly out of the hat there were going to be some changes. However I did not expect anything like the kind of backlash against the Welsh style of play we have seen. England have always been forward orientated, they can't escape that, but Tindall, Noon and Cohen doesn't say 'We want to score tries" to me, and they haven't. Scotland have found a style that wins them games at home and keeps them competitive, but it's based purely on defence and keeping the other team out. I'm glad they've had some success this season but it's a step backward for the tournament. Ireland have been a mixed bag for several seasons now and despite a world class backline there is one problem, Ronan O'Gara. Say what you want about his points tally etc but it comes down to the simple fact that with several Lions in the back division, as well as talented youngsters, they aren't performing. ROG's first instinct is to sit deep and kick behind, ask him to play off the cuff or what's in front of him at any given moment and you'll see a robot trying to bypass it's programming, It's ugly to watch.

The reason for this is that too much of the game has come down to set patterns, set plays, pods etc Very few teams or more significantly No 10s can simply play without all this conditioned structure in their heads. Stephen Larkham is the best exponent of it at present, closely followed by Dan Carter and Stephen Jones. Charlie Hodgson does it for Sale but has been 'reconfigured' for his role with England. I don't rate Dan Parks at all. Freddie Michalak is great to watch but tries too much all the time and Pez is decent enough for Italy. Contempomi is a really good player imo and South Africa don't know week-to-week who they are going to play at outside-half. Thus out of all the major rugby playing nations of the world, only five at most possess the consistent ability to score tries, which is very depressing.

As a solution to this situation I would make penalties and drop goals worth two points again. That way two tries would be worth five penalties or two converted tries be worth seven penalties. Not only does this balance the overly fussy refereeing where penalties and three points are given for the most minor of offences, but it puts the emphasis back on attacking. Maybe that is a harsh option, but something has to be done to wake up the Six Nations, because right now no Northern Hemisphere team is going to come close to winning the World Cup.

Bloody hell

2006-03-12T22:01:00.000Z

So there I am dosing away at 10am - it is Sunday after all, having this great dream about a girl I used to go to school with and my brother wakes me up.

"You gotta see this!"
"No I don't gotta see anything."
"You do."
"Why?"
"Because Australia are hitting South Africa all over the park."
"Nothing new."
"Just come look you dick."

I'm not a morning person, which becomes doubly true on Sundays. Nonetheless my brother knows this and wouldn't have troubled me if this wasn't something good.
I traipse downstairs, fire up the kettle and go sit on the sofa while it boils.

Bloody hell!

Thus begins my experience of the greatest cricket game ever.

To be honest I don't know where to start. I came in just as Ponting and Hussey were starting to tear it up, so that's the best place I guess. I think Mike Hussey is a great cricketer and embodies everything I like about the game. He is honest, gutsy, hard-working, enthusiastic and seriously talented, probably why the aussies call him Mr Cricket. For lack of a better way of describing him, I'd call him a situational player, one of those guys who you can send out in any situation -- good or bad -- certain in the knowledge that he will assess what is needed for his team to win, and go about implementing that plan of action. So promoting him up the order and sending him out at 200+ for 2 meant he was only going to play one situation, hit the already beleaguered and depleted South African attack all round the ground. 81 runs off 51 balls later he'd done exactly what was asked of him by his captain. Ponting was at his World-Cup final best, stroking the ball to the boundary through the air or on the ground with consumate ease, such that he hit almost as many sixes as four (9 to 12). With a typical Symonds cameo of the two-runs-per-ball variety, we had just witnessed the highest score in one-day cricket ever and the first team to pass 400 runs. Australia 434.

Game over right? Sure enough South Africa lose an early wicket and something odd happens -- Australia relax. Not for long, just a few overs where Graeme Smith and Herschelle Gibbs get going and suddenly the momentum starts to build. Whilst Gibbs is slower off the blocks, Smith takes every chance available to rattle along. The snowfall becomes an avalanche and the required run rate starts to drop. Smith holes out in the deep but it doesn't matter, Gibbs has reached critical mass and just wades into ever bowler put in front of him. Two sixes off Symonds and he's untouchable ... until he tries one shot too many and gives up his wicket when he could quite easily have become the first international player to make a double century. This, I thought, was when Australia would close the game down, and they did. Somehow though Boucher hangs about, playing sensibly while wickets fall around him. Van der Wath plays a useful cameo, Telemachus the same. Bracken somehow finishes with figures of 5-67 whilst his teammate Mick Lewis has the ignominy of being the first bowler to go for more than a hundred runs in ten overs. Hall strikes a boundary and then chips a dolly to Michael Clarke. Ntini to the crease with SA needing 2 off 3 to complete the single most stunning and unlikely victory in any sport over the last decade, if not ever. Lee bowls wicket-to-wicket and Ntini dabs a single down to third man. It's a tie but there's one ball left. Lee charges in and everyone watching takes a breath, Boucher cooly dispatches Lee over the boundary rope and SA goes wild. After which France vs England was a major anti-climax, more on that later. South Africa 438.

Bloody hell!

What a shambles

2006-03-12T02:32:00.000Z

To reverse engineer Churchill, I'd like to begin by saying "Never have so few, disappointed so many for so long."

To say it was one of those games is to suggest that 'one of those games' happens on a regular basis. Five or six years ago you'd certainly have been justified in that suggestion, but today -- with 'new Wales', I''l be honest I never thought I'd see us in a bad game for the next couple of seasons. The 18-18 draw was in my opinion worse than the Ireland game. There at least we could pinpoint where it went wrong and what we needed to put right. Against Italy we had all the personnel we were able to play, on the field. Despite that Wales still managed to put together one of the most abject second half performances of recent memory. Where do you begin? With the countless errors? With the obvious difference not having Peel or Cooper makes to the team? On our lack of leadership? All of these are very important questions but let's begin with the forward effort.

Under Mike Ruddock Wales looked a decent pack. This isn't me forgetting what I've said previously and waving the 'Come back Mike, all is forgiven' banner. Not at all. What it is, is a statement that Ruddock is a very good forwards coach with bags of experience. Robin McBryde has only just finished his playing career and has zero coaching nouse or experience. This can only explain part of the reason why our forwards reverted to their shambolic worst. Michael Owen has to shoulder part of that blame, for a supposedly intelligent footballer with all the skills, his vision let him down today. Everybody who knows rugby knew that in the first twenty minutes the Welsh pack needed to lay down a marker, commit the Italians with lineout drives, strong carries and some serious contact at the breakdown. Allow the Italian defense to fan out and adopt their patterns, and it was always going to be a long game, which it proved to be. So what do we do? Off-the-top lineout ball (surely there was someone in the pack who saw we needed to change it up), almost no drives, forwards standing static in the backline and minimal commitment to the breakdown. Am I being harsh? No I don't think so.

The Welsh team and their style have been found out this season because we have not committed enough opposition players to the tackle or breakdown situation, close to the ball, so there is space and gaps out wide for our backs to play in unhindered. Teams have stood off us, assessed where the runners are coming from and allowed us to play in front of them. Yes we are missing Ryan Jones, Brent Cockbain and Dafydd Jones but are they the only strong ball carriers in the whole of Welsh rugby. Not by a long shot. So why then was it deemed necessary to go with a backrow of Owen, Colin Charvis and Martin Williams? A spoiler, a footballer and a bits-and-pieces man. Why didn't Popham start? Where was Gareth Delve? I understand loyalty and I understand the need to make amends for the Irish performance, but sometimes changes help and are required. Not as a punishment, but as a means of freshening things up and giving everyone involved some time to recharge. Let's be honest even before the Italy game, the Six Nations had gone. The World Cup is a year away and there aren't going to be a lot of competitve international matches for Wales between then and now, so it was ideal to give Delve a run out, give Popham a run out - they are form players who need to gel in the set-up for the World Cup should we experience the number of injuries we did post-Lions.

Talking of the Lions, Michael Owen was found out on that tour by the New Zealand sides. In the land of the long white cloud they do not tolerate shirkers or those afraid of the contact situation, Michael Owen is. How many times have you seen him in a maul/ruck turning ball over? How many Jason White style bone-jarring tackles have you seen him make? I watched the game with one eye on Michael Owen today and I'm sorry but he genuinely does not want to know. Just resting at scrum and maul time, he stands on the edge of rucks supposedly sorting out the defensive line and doesn't play both sides of the ball as the Americans like to say. When he did get involved one of the Italian prop forwards took offence and came after Owen for a 'little chat'. Michael Owen needless to say didn't want to know. Now it's all very well saying what a great footballer he is etc but the No 8 has a role to play; he should anchor the scrum, carry the ball well, sweep up behind his flankers and make big tackles. That is the bread and butter of a Number 8. Pick any great one, even true footballers like Zinzan Brooke, and that is what they do. Michael Owen doesn't. He also isn't a great captain. With the momentum of the first two games of last year behind him, he looked great deputising for Gareth Thomas. I could have captained that team successfully. However when the going isn't as comfortable, when our rugby isn't that fluid, then Michael Owen has gone into his shell. In this Italy game, he should have told his forwards to carry the ball more at the heart of the Italians. On the fringes they were weak and balls coming back on the inside were reaping some great rewards. Towards the end of the game we should have been playing for territory. The Italians live off mistakes, they are not going to run the ball 80/90 metres of their own backs very often. We should have nailed them down there and applied the pressure. At the end it was blatantly clear that Stephen Jones was the one the players were looking toward for inspiration and direction. Until Ryan Jones returns, Michael Owen's place needs to be seriously considered, especially his role as captain.

As I mentioned at the start there were other reasons why Wales played so poorly. For starters we dropped a lot of ball, basic errors both handling and at set-piece made the game stop-start, playing straight into Italian hands. Their slower forwards got regular breaks, their defence was allowed to constantly realign and reset, plus we never managed to apply consistent pressure. There was always a release valve for them. Secondly, boy do we struggle without our first choice half-backs. Dwayne Peel left the field and our pace slowed right down. Unfortunately for Mike Phillips he is the wrong type of player for this Welsh style at the moment, he is too combative and gets sucked into the wrong places with the ball. With Peel and similarly Cooper's service, Stephen Jones seems to have more time on the ball. Another factor against Mike Phillips is that he does not boss forward packs, I counted several occasions where Colin Charvis or another forward got to the ruck and picked it up looking to pass to Stephen Jones. With Dwayne Peel they know to leave the ball, with Phillips they looked unsure and it needed him to stamp his authority on that aspect of the game. Combine these issues with no Gareth Thomas as figure head, leader and talismanic icon for the team, plus muffled performances by Mark Jones and especially Shane Williams in breaking the game open, and you get a shoddy 18-18 all draw.

I'm going to leave it at that for now as it's late, I'm sobering up and my fingers are tired but undoubtedly there will be more to say after I've seen the game again. I'm also going to try and avoid mentioning the Ireland vs Scotland game as if ever two teams needed passing lessons more urgently than Wales and Italy, it was Ireland and Scotland. Watching Jason White mash people was awesome but watching Ronan O'Gara puts me to sleep, what they wouldn't give for a Stephen Jones. Finally 'Vive le France.' Having had the Grandslam dream wiped away in the Scottish mud, it'd be nice to see some gallic flair put England's Six Nations hope to the sword.

Opinions and coaching crisis

2006-03-11T02:01:00.000Z

Everyone has them, that's part of the reason why there's so many sites like this one about, blogging and the voicing of opinions is the driving force behind a large percentage of the internet's content. However these are often ill-informed and inaccurate opinions that devolve into ranting (no names mentioned) This phenomena however is not restricted to the internet nor to people without 'power', just ask Phil Davies.

Having not been involved with Welsh rugby for the last decade, instead plying his trade relatively well in Leeds, he has chosen this time, when considered the number one candidate for the Welsh coaching job should Scott Johnson leave, to wax lyrical about the problems within Welsh rugby. Now forgive me if I've missed something, but how in the blue hell does he know? Much like when he was a player, Phil has had his head down and his arse up in Leeds for ten years. I credit him immensely for his loyalty to Leeds, for his ability to help gain the club promotion into the English Premiership. However at the highest club level in England his Leeds team have been found wanting. They have struggled at the wrong end of the table for two years, narrowly missing relegation last year through some fortunate results and great rugby. They did beat Bath in the Powergen cup final in the last year it remained a solely English competition, but one cup final does not a good coach make.

So how did Phil, pretty much known as a donkey throught his playing career, become number one choice for the Wales job if Scott Johnson declares 'no mas'? The answer is, he's the only half decent Welsh coach. Why this surprises people I don't know. My thoughts on Gareth Jenkins are pretty clear. Lyn Jones couldn't organise an explosion in a fireworks factory with the best on-paper region in Wales. Paul Turner, who has been put in a bad situation with all of Newport's problems and who isn't doing a lot to turn them around, isn't even worth considering as a candidate. Which leaves us with my greatest fear for Welsh rugby, the abomination which is Dai Young. Like Phil Davies he was never a clever player, putting it politely, and as a coach nothing has changed. Cardiff, for all Stan Thomas's investment in non-Welsh players, have been mediocre when it matters. Battered by Leeds (see my point) and Perpignan, they had an easy Heineken cup group and couldn't even qualify from that. Yet somehow the papers, radio and some pundits (they couldn't be called experts before this, now they're on the verge of cretinhood) seem to think that carthorse 1 and carthorse 2 somehow makes a stallion. Apparently this is the dream team that will be leading Wales forward. I've never seen a greater backward step in the history of Welsh rugby and that's saying something.

Obviously any advice I offer will invariably go unheeded, but for god's sake anyone with influence in the WRU and not on Cardiff's payroll reading this DON'T LET IT HAPPEN! There is time and time again, for the taking of toast and tea as T.S Eliot so correctly pointed out. Even if we have to set a temporary coach for the summer tour, get it right, do not rush and in the name of all that is holy don't feel you have to pick a Welsh coach for the job. They are over-rated, over-paid and over-the-hill. What's more they all have loose tongues and we can't be having that now can we.

Dana Reeve R.I.P

2006-03-08T13:39:00.000Z

Behind every great man is a great woman so the saying goes. It must follow then that behind a superman is a superwoman and Dana Reeve was that in spades. She lived a life of conscience, compassion and caring. She will be missed but I hope she has found peace and Christopher in whatever lies beyond. My condolences to her children and family.

Ships passing in the night

2006-03-07T19:46:00.000Z

There have been a few instances over the last few years, mostly English captains named Johnson, who have escaped punishment for dirty and illegal behaviour on the field through the citation process and disciplinary panels. It is no surprise then when an English lock is let off from such awkward issues as where they place their feet - I mean who has control over those anyway? But the recent 'not guilty' verdict against Danny Grewcock when he clearly attempted to stamp on Hercus's mini-Hercus was surely a case of the citing officer watching the video with a blindfold on. Apparently, despite the video camera under the crossbar giving LIVE television a clear view of Grewcock's inadequate cha-cha-cha, there was not sufficient evidence for him to be cited. However he was warned about 'unlawful use of the boot' based on the non-evidence. I can't surely be the only person wondering wtf is going on.

The plot thickened considerably when George Chuter WAS cited for an incident during the Powergen semi-finals so he can't be on the bench for England against France, but he can play for Leicester on the Friday because of the differing regulations between the ERFU and the Six Nations. Again say it with me - wtf? Perhaps it is time the major Rugby bodies and unions in the Six Nations came together and banged out a single set of regulations so that we can all play on a level playing field without the words 'corrupt' and 'bastards' used in the same sentence. Needless to say I won't be holding my breath.

WRU

2006-03-07T19:12:00.000Z

Well to be honest I envisaged this as one very long post but the more I thought about it, the more I believe the problems are very simple.

Since David Moffett left, for that bastion of rugby the USA no less, Welsh rugby has once again been left to it's own devices. When you consider the highly parochial nature of Welsh rugby, it's kinda obvious this isn't a wise move. There has always been significant antagonism between the various areas and teams, like England, most everybody outside of Cardiff hates Cardiff. Their history is blighted with buying or coaxing away the best players, the national stadium has always been there and they expect, and often get, special treatment. But I digress :) What it eventually took, once the game had gone professional and larger sums of money were involved, was a non-Welsh administrator to make some controversial and occasionally helpful off-field decisions to enure Welsh rugby didn't self combust and dribble down the pan. He it was who made the important decisions and held the power. Now in the power vacuum that followed his departure, several individuals with little or no experience of this level of decision-making, stepped into the void. But they didn't completely fill it.

Instead some of the byplay and old conflicts of the committee era finagled it's way back into Welsh rugby. The mentality of these individuals did not always run in the same direction as that of Welsh rugby, and we experienced conflict. This conflict was offset by success on the field, that seemingly glossed over some major concerns. Concerns that reared their ugly head when Mike Ruddock stepped down. These concerns were three-fold.

1.) Is there true leadership capabilities in the management and administration in the highest echelons of Welsh rugby?

2.) Has the WRU continued to be run in a manner most conducive for on-field success?

3.) Is the power structure unevenly distributed?

To only the last question can the answer Yes be forthcoming. What has become evident from the Ruddock debacle is that neither David Pickering nor Steve Lewis have the ability or plain common sense to run Welsh rugby capably. They are not pursuing the necessary goals or structure to fully utilise the resources and goodwill Welsh rugby currently has and they are not creating an environment conducive to happy coaches. They are playing their own game on large salaries and ignorant of what Welsh rugby requires. The current Red Zone gimmick tour, which is a complete waste of money, is also unlikely to quell the feeling of no confidence the nation presently has. It is time to sweep the decks and start anew, we have the team, just not the necessary supporting staff to run our game efficiently and above board.

Excuse the interruption

2006-03-05T23:04:00.000Z

Normal progress will be resumed tomorrow but for today I'm going to talk about another staple of my sporting diet, boxing. I've always loved contact sports and striking/combat sports are way up there on my list. So when you add two Welshmen to a night of boxing, it's pretty much unavoidable viewing on my part.

For those unsure, I am referring to Joe Calzaghe's super-middleweight unification title fight against Jeff 'Left-Hook' Lacy, ably supported by Enzo Maccarinelli's re-jigged WBU title defense against Mark Hobson.

Starting with Maccarinelli I think the guy has real punch power but very little technique. It almost certainly means he will be in exciting fights but not necessarily ones that will do anything helpful for him physically. Enzo doesn't seem able to box off the back foot which is a major technical flaw for a 'banger' who will invariably require rest periods at some point during a fight and will be involved in see-saw encounters throughout his career. Another serious deficiency is he hangs his chin out on the back foot. Hobson should have capitalised more during the fight on pushing Enzo back and had Hobson, not to take anything away from his performance, been a puncher of the standard of David Haye or even a Carl Thompson then Enzo would be beltless this morning. Good fight though, could have finished in the third when Enzo dropped Hobson but couldn't get the stubborn Northerner out of the there. Maccarinelli has a lot of work to do and in a somewhat forgotten division, which may be worth him stepping up to heavyweight where he certainly has the frame to add weight to, whilst maintaining a speed advantage over the ponderous giants.

So the main event, the dethroning of Calzaghe, at least according to every American pundit asked and not a small number of supposed British experts too. The bookies were taking 6/4 on for Lacy to win, and to be fair the previously labelled 'mini Mike Tyson' (I think we can drop that unwarranted moniker now Gary Shaw) seemed to believe he could do it. This isn't saying anything new, fighters have to have a natural confidence, even arrogance, about them because they are totally reliant on themselved to avoid a beating and possibly serious injury. Calzaghe though was the most relaxed I've ever seen a fighter about to go into a major fight let alone a career defining fight. His smiley, happy demeanour spoke of an inner confidence that not all of Lacy's grimacing, brooding and staring could begin to match. When I watched the fight for a second time, it was almost like Joe knew it was his time. Whatever epiphany he had, he stuck doggedly to the plan laid out for him by his father ... at least for the first round. After the first round where he bloodied and probably broke Lacy's nose, Calzaghe looked even more certain. What had appeared a tough, mean, muscular and dangerous fighter was in truth a somewhat inexperienced young man who hadn't been involved in a fight of this intensity before. From the second round onwards Joe clinically dissected his fellow world champion, giving Lacy a boxing masterclass of a hiding that I doubt he will ever recover from. Such was the disparity of the contest that the wonderful Manchester crowd were chanting 'Easy, Easy' after the second round, and Gary Shaw - Lacy's promoter and apostle -- was screaming in the final round for Lacy's corner to pull him out of the fight.

Although a somewhat ignominious end that no boxer would want to face, instead preferring to leave on their shield, the corner or the referee should have stopped the fight before the final round. With absolutely no chance of winning the fight -- Lacy was so tired and beat up there was no way he could have pulled out his trademark shot with the power necessary to stop Calzaghe -- the humane decision should have been made to pull out a young man who had rarely, if ever, been on the backfoot, let alone taking a beating from a world class opponent of this magnitude. The referee should almost certainly be questioned for his unwillingness to prevent further harm to Lacy when Calzaghe threw 15-20 unanswered shots during both the eleventh and twelfth rounds. When the final bell rang there was resignation and jubilation, humiliation and celebration. There was a glorious win for a now unquestioned world pound-for-pound class fighter and one of, if not the, greatest performance by a British boxer ever. The valleys sang in unison in the early hours of the morning to the tune 'Super, super Joe. Super, super Joe. Super Joe Calzaghe.' Let's hope he now gets the super-fights he is due, unfortunately on this showing very few names are going to want to face the Welsh Warrior. Good on you Joe.

The saga continues

2006-03-04T13:28:00.000Z

If bad things come in threes, then bad things in Welsh rugby seem to come in dozens. I had a long list of topics to broach during this past week and only got halfway through them. The WRU was next in-line but they will have to wait until Monday because I'd like to talk a little about the latest nonsense going on.

Let's start with the obvious. Dwayne Peel is contracted to the WRU during the Six Nations. The regions, who are mostly bankrolled by the WRU, signed an agreement stating that Wales will have first say on their international players during this period. Simple as that. Scott Johnson, were he so inclined, could have told Gareth Jenkins that he wasn't going to have any of his Llanelli players in; the Welsh squad, or in the first XV, or who are most vital to Wales at present. Instead he allows every Llanelli player bar Peel to play for Llanelli against Bath today in the Powergen Cup semi-finals in Cardiff. Did he do this out of sheer spite? Of course not. Wales are short of scrum-halves with Gareth Cooper injured and Mike Phillips not having had a lot of recent game time (for the record I don't agree with him playing for Cardiff last night though). In the face of this obvious issue, Gareth Jenkins throws his toys out of the pram and complains of being hamstrung blah blah blah

Will someone please clear this up fast. Everything is down in black and white, Llanelli have no prerogative to claim they can still play him and why does this keep coming up? The regions, I use the term very very loosely, receive a large amount of money from the WRU to run their clubs. If they didn't they'd go bankrupt. More than that, in the stupid political identity dance that lead to the formation of the 'regions' Cardiff stayed Cardiff, Llanelli stayed Llanelli and Newport stayed Newport. Only Swansea, Neath, Pontypridd and Bridgend actually formed genuine regions. The other four then removed the best regional team, the Celtic Warriors - the only team to beat Wasps the year they won the Heineken cup lest we forget, so they could divvy up the players amongst themselves. Did I mention we were internally cannibalistic in an earlier post? Well here was further proof. So now one of the major hotbeds of Welsh rugby doesn't have a regional team, yet Gareth Jenkins is continuously bleeting on about how badly Llanelli and himself personally are being treated. I don't care if you can't work with the WRU, you were passed over two years ago for a reason. Another year of a few decent results (including a decent one point win against Bath today) in an otherwise weak season, does not make you a good coach - especially when you have the whole Welsh backline in your region near enough. It is not up to the coach to dictate terms to the union, to say who should and shouldn't work be able to work with him.

The regions were set up to aid Wales. Not for the various entrenched chairmen and coaches to moan constantly about how unfair life is or to test the limits of their regional edicts. It's called not biting the hand that feeds you, something we in Wales seem unable to grasp as a concept. This isn't football where the dubious collides with pure greed based on the insane amounts of money the sport makes, this is rugby. A financially immature sport without the vast number of followers required to make progressively larger profits. Rugby should always be about the game, not about the player or coach or management. Once we lose track of this fact and wallow in each individual's self-importance then we become no better than football. Which is sinking very low indeed.

Mike Ruddock

2006-02-28T22:11:00.000Z

Mike Ruddock has put Welsh rugby in a bad situation. Let's make no bones about it, his inability to find common ground regarding his supposed new contract has left Welsh rugby somewhat in the toilet. I don't doubt he is a man of honesty and integrity, or that he should be looking out for his own interests as much as those of the national game. However what does grate is that at some point, he forgot to consider the ramifications of his actions.

Much of Ruddock's role in this farcical nonsense has been underplayed in my opinion. Not so much that the WRU put him in a few outrageous positions, but that the situation was in large part caused by himself. The Welsh coach's job is high profile and stressful, no doubt and if he was unhappy about it then issues should have been raised at the appropriate time. After the Autumn internationals was one, BEFORE the Six Nations was another. So to announce that you will not be Welsh coach at the end of the Six Nations (what was going to be his original announcement and what started this in the first place), come what may, is really daft. I understand why the WRU felt it better for him to leave now, but they should never have had to make that call.

Firstly, his contract should have been sorted out much earlier. Going into a Six Nations with none of the coaching staff signed onto contracts is just stupid business. Further to allow the matter to drag on and on without setting deadlines is a sin. These are the WRU's faults. Ruddock though should have had the decency and werewithal to have made a decision prior to beginning defence of the Six Nations title. If it is true that a deal was all but arranged only for Ruddock's solicitor to demand major changes at the eleventh hour, then this is bitterly disappointing in light of what many people have gone through over secrecy and culpability. If David Pickering's assertion that they had shaken hands on a two year, £400,000 deal only for Ruddock to pull out is accurate then major questions have to be asked of the now former Welsh coach. What was his intent? Why did it take so long to make his decision? and why oh why go to the media about leaving at the end of the Six Nations during the tournament? He did himself and his players great disservice by taking such a move and although there are many 'ifs' regarding the situation, blame cannot be assigned quite so clearly as it was at the beginning of these tremulous events.

Hopefully more information will come to light that will answer many of these questions. Sadly though Ruddock has already been lessened in my eyes.

Gareth Thomas and the Beeb

2006-02-27T20:32:00.000Z

Now this is a topic that really was difficult to place in perspective until the recent Wales on Sunday 'revelations' that the players had nothing to do with Mike Ruddock's departure. Ironic given the 'Accused' frontpage the week previously in the same paper.

Firstly I'd like to say I think Alfie is awesome. If ever there was someone you'd want to go into battle with, he is that guy. Never offers excuses, gives 110% and has so much experience. To have seen how much he has grown both as a player and a leader over almost a decade is fantastic. Currently Wales's leading try scorer and with a bit of luck will join the elite 100 caps club. During the whole fiasco I honestly didn't doubt his motives or involvement; partly because there is no way the WRU would allow the players that amount of control, and also the number of shit coaches that have come and gone without player revolt would make the squad absolute idiots to dethrone such a good thing. On top of all this I don't think Gareth will ever know how to be anything other than honest and speak the truth to your face.

What was obvious though, was that Alfie isn't the greatest speaker for Welsh rugby or the players. His passion means that often, as in the interview, he gets carried away when a little calm thought would go a long way. It's not his fault (I'd rather see that hywl than some cold, bored, numbing Alistair Campbell creation) and we don't need our heroes to be nuclear physicists, especially not as rugby players. But when a few calm, prepared words would have shut down the controversy and dialled back the media madness setting, Alfie kinda stoked the fire.

I don't think it's unfair to say that, given the Graham Thomas saga, the Beeb were blatantly going to hound Alfie about; player involvement, his issues with Mike Ruddock, the Scott Johnson situation and the WRU's role in the issue. Throw in an increasingly smug Eddie Butler, a ghost writer in his own right with Austin Healey's 2001 Lions diary, and it really wasn't going to be a fun situation for anyone other than the Irish observers. With that in mind, I think Alfie -- although just returned from France -- could have been much better prepared to deal with what was flung at him. Of course they were going to indirectly accuse him of 'things', it was the guaranteed best way to get a response from him. And of course they were going to operate below the level of outright accusations, but he has been dealing with the media in general and the Welsh media specifically for a number of years. The only reason for my disappointment is because he didn't give a true accounting of himself and came across as a bit childlike with his shouting and pouting performance.

That being said, he did make some good points both intentionally and by his perspective on what he didn't know. Let's state the obvious -- Gareth Thomas nor any of the Welsh playing squad were in any of the meetings between Mike Ruddock and the WRU about his contract. None of them know the specific issues, problems and delays involved with Mike Ruddock's contract and why should they. Therefore asking Alfie questions that he clearly can't answer was a waste of time other than to frustrate him. Secondly, whether we like it or not, the WRU is running a business. In a business contracted employees do not reveal company issues and information unless there is a perfectly good reason. I'd love to have heard what went on in all the various meetings but that is not my privilege, nor do I feel cheated because Alfie was not prepared to disclose what went on in a scheduled meeting. Yes it did make him look a little guilty and like he was trying to hide something important, but the simple nature of what was being asked of him prevented him from expanding. I have no problem with this and nor should the Welsh public.

What I did gain great satisfaction from, was watching Eddie Butler squirm on the show. His constant references to 'my sources' and hints at smug insider knowledge were utterly destroyed by Alfie's somewhat boisterous exertions to 'tell us on Live Television'. Butler slid slowly down into his chair, refusing to engage in further sharing about his 'sources'. As Alfie also pointed it out, he is the captain of the Welsh team so if it was one of the players he would know. When Butler then denied it was anyone on the coaching staff, that only left the WRU. Now if ever there was an organisation with problems it would undeniably be the WRU. However I don't really see Lewis or Pickering telling everything to Eddie Butler of all people. So that leaves us with some mid-level bureaucrat (plenty of them in the WRU I'd imagine) at best, whose perspective is even more limited than Alfie's. Great.

In the end we learned little, other than the already gauche phrase 'In the Red Zone', and somewhat tarnished one of our greatest rugby players reputation. His further illness then cost us his vital presence in the team for the rest of the Six Nations. What a waste. From now on let the players play, the coaches coach and the management manage. Let there be a clearly defined structure and channels so that no-one is in any doubt about how Welsh rugby operates.

Welcome and Ireland

2006-02-26T18:19:00.000Z

In light of recent events in Welsh rugby I couldn't help but feel I wanted a say. Perhaps this is a telling indictment on the goldfish bowl that is Welsh rugby; everyone seems to want a say, nonetheless at least I'm not using it to influence the actual set-up .... unless of course they ask me.

So where do I start: with Ruddockgate? With Johnsongate? or how about Lewisgate?
To be honest I'd prefer to start with what happened on the pitch and just off it.

I understand that the Welsh team don't like Graham Thomas, my father has been calling him some less than flattering names for some time now, and that maybe he hasn't done anything legally wrong, but did the Beeb really have to bring him back for the Ireland game? Apart from being about as unrepentant as Casanova after yet another conquest, Thomas also comes across as insufferably smug. Perhaps it's merely my interpretation (god knows there's enough of those on the pitch let alone off it) but he seemed very keen to clearly enunciate Scott Johnson as 'Caretaker Welsh coach' and also declare, with what can only be deemed a smug grin, that Johnson's reign had begun with a loss.

Two things spring immediately to mind.
The first, that he is more than happy to chew the bones over a Welsh loss in such absymal style (more on that later) but secondly, it somehow gave a two-fingered salute to the players themselves. Personally I don't believe in commentators who have zero rugby experience even at club level, being able to adequately understand what an international rugby match feels like. I also hate this 'smarter than thou' attitude from the media. It seems we really are a cannibalistic people willing to eat our own at the smallest of persuasions. There is always a 'but' in Welsh rugby, some reason to not fully back the team and set-up. Partly this is the management's fault for not staying in the background and creating ideal conditions for the team, but mainly we just don't give our players a rest. Alfie is a prime example. They love him in France, where he plays at their joint biggest club (Stade or Toulouse is a toss-up to me) yet within a few hours of entering Wales he has a breakdown (I will be covering this issue in a coming post)

So with that off my chest, the Ireland game. Could we have started any better without putting more points on the scoreboard? The rugby was fluid, we made several deep, scything incisions through the Irish defence, mostly off the back of Stephen Jones. Had we had the wind in our favour, we may have been 12-15 points clear. Instead disaster struck, hopefully Jones's dead leg will recover quicker than Shane William's has, and Wales's lack of depth in such a crucial position had been exposed. On at least two occasions Stephen Jones got in behind Ronan O'Gara's shoddy defence, and we looked at the races. Without Stephen Jones we were lost. For all those who view Gavin Henson as a future Wales No10, sorry but he doesn't fit the position. I'm not referring to the lunancy to give him a place in the Wales squad after five games rugby all season, or on the basis of one match in ten weeks (which was poor anyway) but he simply does not have a rugby brain for decisions. His ability to play the game is governed by someone else putting the ball in his hands and saying Gav, go play your game. Not him receiving the ball from the scrum-half and being asked, in a split second, to make a potentially game-changing decision. In all fairness to the lad he wasn't the brightest in school and his headless-chicken displays at 10 are evidence of this. (Incidentally if ten years down the line he is remembered as the greatest Welsh outside-half of all time (that will take some doing) I will hold my hand-up and say maybe I was a little wrong)

If not Stephen Jones, if not Henson, then who? For a country who has produced some of the greatest magicians of all time, we are in dire need of some new talent to come rolling off the No10 production line. Ceri Sweeney is a decent utility back whose progress has been rapid in it's backward movement. Matthew Jones is too small, even for a Welsh 10, and lacks that initial acceleration so vital for the international game and to the way Wales play. That leaves us with exactly nobody. The boy Hook playing for the Under-21s looks very good but Wales is a graveyard for youth players who have promised much but never made it onto the big stage. Assuming he does get into the senior set-up AND turns out to be international class, then we will still be short a back up for him. It's not a great scenario to say the least and I think the WRU needs to take it's remit of youth development even more seriously. All credit to them and the coaching staff for the way the youth teams are playing, Under-21 Grandslam last year to go with the senior side's and looks like being an Under-19 one this year, but it needs to be stepped up. Two of the options that will likely not be countenanced in this process, for monetary reasons, are the revival of a Wales 'A' team or creating a fifth region, purely so all these great young players will have somewhere to go, other than one of the four region's benches, once they are considered senior players. It's sad that this cannot be done because with the current Welsh structure, young players are still being lost. No-one can have had more of a change in fortunes than Chris Czekaj over the last eight months. Then there are Under-21 players like James Merriman languishing on Gloucester's bench if he's lucky. At some point we will lose senior players, this season is a prime example, and new blood must be given a chance to play, in order to create competition for those open places.

Got a little, necessarily, sidetracked there. What has disappointed me most about the Six Nations to date is the refereeing. Now I understand refs cop way more flak than is right. I also understand that refs are human. What I don't understand is why a paid international referee, with a precise and exacting structure behind him, can get away with making so many mistakes. Take any Six Nations game this season and you'll see some absolute howlers. More annoyingly though, is the use of Southern Hemisphere referees. All I can say (not really) is why? Why did the Scotland vs England match have an Irish ref, the France vs Italy match have an English ref and the Ireland vs Wales game have a South African ref? I don't understand. In the first game when Wales played England there was a New Zealand ref who missed so many vital errors/decisions that it was hard to credit. Fast forward a week to the Scotland game and Wales have another New Zealand ref, Steve Walsh, who the commentators down under call 'Elvis' because he always has to be in the spotlight (see his Super 14 performance this week if you don't believe me) had a mare. Mostly some terrible decisions given against Scotland.

So OK, fair enough they tried to quicken the games up with Southern Hemisphere referees at the start of the tournament and it didn't work, so why keep only one for the third week? It doesn't make sense that you have refs like Alan Roland who speaks fluent French, is familiar with all the French players through the Heineken cup and refs all the big French-English Heineken cup encounters, not having a game because southern hemisphere refs are supposed to be better. All the games in the last three weeks have been fractured encounters purely because of poor decisions and an unfamiliarity with the competition and it's players. I'm amazed none of the Six Nations have complained about the appointments because this would not happen down under. After all it's not exactly been an issue in the last hundred years of Northern Hemisphere rugby. There have been some good games and some decent rugby in the tournament to date, but oh for an invisible whistle blower.

Another factor is that there are just too many rules against positive, fluid play. It's too technical a game now. A player runs accidentally into his own man and then gets tackled anyway - do we really need to stop the game, have a scrum or penalty given to the opposition for that? Or a player jumping for a ball he's not going to get - is that a yellow card? A lot of the refs in the international game have not played first class rugby and so don't have what I'd call a 'feel' for the game. They use every possible law when it suits them, if it was consistent there wouldn't be a problem, but they aren't. players are being frustrated by the varying treatment during a game with the same ref and with different refs over the course of a season. Yes you play to the ref, but when the ref isn't being consistent then it becomes impossible to do that at international levels where the margins are so small. Consistency in interpretation is all that is being asked.

Which just about concludes my opening rant :) Over the coming days and weeks I will be expounding my views on rugby, for what they're worth, and I make no apology if they focus on Welsh rugby in particular. It is after all the reason I started this. Keep on rucking