Well if
Wales weren’t warmed up after their trip to Qatar they must certainly feel
pretty hot now. The match between Ireland and Wales yesterday turned out to be
as fiercely contested as if the Six Nations title was on the line. It had those
of us who are worried about the lack of depth in the Welsh squad wincing as the
two teams thundered into each other.
Ireland
have recently made the Aviva Stadium something of a fortress in recent times
and have climbed to number two in the world rankings on the back of it. They
were not about to surrender this record so this was a real test for was
probably a full strength Welsh team when injuries are considered.
Wales gave
as good as they got and looked powerful both as individuals and as a team and
pretty soon the memories of the previous encounter in Cardiff melted away. This
was more like it and sent a clear message to the “group of death”. They
dominated the first thirty nine minutes and looked to be going in at half time
with a 3-10 lead. A poor scrum near the Welsh line with seconds to go gifted
the Irish a sniff of the line and they gratefully accepted to go in at 10-10.
The Irish
were obviously severely mentored at half time and for the first twenty minutes
of the second half dominated possession and territory but the Welsh defence was
awesome and they weathered the storm reasonably comfortably. Gradually Wales started
to see more of the ball and started to give the home side something to worry
about. Two penalties from Halfpenny opened up a 10-16 lead which proved
decisive. Despite a typical last ditch effort from the Irish in the last few
minutes, Wales held out for a hard earned victory.
This was a
great team effort but you have to single out Justin Tipuric who was simply
outstanding for Wales. The rest of the pack looked strong with the veteran Gethin
Jenkins still mightily effective and, at the other end of the experience
spectrum, Francis at tight head looking a good prospect. Bradley Davies and
Alun Wyn Jones formed an abrasive second row partnership and Owens, Lydiate and
Faletau went about their business effectively. The backs were strong in defence
and showed some sparks of creativity but I like to think they were keeping
their powder dry for future encounters. I guess we still have to consider how
we fit Liam Williams into the team which was exactly how we left the debate at
the end of last season.
Warren
Gatland and his coaching team can have few problems picking the final squad of
thirty one for the RWC and all the players who took part in this match must
surely be included.
So to
Pontypool who are approaching the start of what could be a momentous season.
They have a golden opportunity to get back into the top flight of Welsh club
rugby with the expansion of the Premiership in 2016-17. There are four
promotion places up for grabs and these are only available to clubs with the A
Licence. This means Pooler are probably one of a maximum of six clubs that
could be promoted and it could well be fewer than that. There is certainly no
room for ay complacency however, and I hope that Pooler go hell for leather to
win the Championship as you never know what the fickle WRU may dream up with in
the mean time.
I have not
been at any of Pontypool’s pre-season friendly matches but on paper the results
do not look too encouraging with heavy defeats to Ebbw Vale and Ampthill and a
narrow victory over Blaenavon. “Reliable sources” tell me not to read too much
into them as we have been giving the whole training squad a chance to show what
they have got before it is whittled down to the final playing squad. There is
plenty of talent available and we should certainly be stronger than last
season.
Pontypool certainly
need to hit the ground running as the fixtures in September are pretty demanding
with the first match a tough challenge at Narberth and matches against last
season’s top two - Swansea and Bargoed following closely behind.
It’s a
mouth-watering prospect although I must confess to feeling some pre-season
nerves as I write this.
Come on
Pooler!
Come on
Wales!
