Sunday 22 February 2015

Scarlet Sahara

I was confined to barracks on Saturday afternoon as Pontypool did not have a fixture. I hunkered down on the couch and watched two matches on the TV. In fact they were two pretty good matches: Scarlets v Munster and Bath v Northampton. There was not a lot to choose between the quality of rugby and the intensity of play with both matches going right down to the wire. The big contrast, however, was in the atmosphere in the grounds. The Rec was full to bursting while Parc Y Scarlets had vast expanses of empty seats. The official attendance figure at Llanelli was over 6000 but it was hard to believe that this was the case from the pictures on the TV. When the home side really needed the crowd to get behind them as they struggled to withstand a late Munster onslaught the response seemed pretty muted and confined to booing the referee.
How come they seem to be able to fill the grounds in England and Ireland while in Wales the support is so half-hearted? I sat next to a Bath supporter on the plane back from Scotland and he told me that they get 5000+ watching the Bath second team’s home games. We are a million miles away from this in Wales which is much touted as a rugby country. There surely must be some lessons in marketing that we can learn from our English counterparts.
When I reflect on it, I suppose the four professional teams have become glorified city/town teams based in large centres of population and if you went back to the great days of Welsh club rugby these were the kind of crowds that Cardiff, Swansea. Newport and Llanelli used to get. So why would you expect more people to come? Perhaps the strategists thought that by downgrading the resources of the other rugby clubs the fans would gravitate to their regional centre to watch higher quality rugby. This clearly hasn’t happened and the total numbers watching rugby must have plummeted alarmingly.
“But we still get a huge crowd watching Wales at the Millennium Stadium,” I hear you say. Well it seems to a large proportion of the crowd that watching an international match is like going to a night club. The WRU have certainly reinforced this idea by playing excessively loud music and using flashing lights as well as selling alcohol all through the match. I know a lot of dyed-in-the-wool rugby supporters who have stopped going to matches as they can’t stand the constant stream of revellers going back and forth to the bar and toilet. I can understand where they are coming from.
I am sounding like a grumpy old man this morning so I’d better stop but I do care about Welsh rugby. Too many potential fans “don’t give a damn” and if we are not careful Welsh rugby will be “gone with the wind”.

I wish I had the answers. 

Tuesday 17 February 2015

Roaming in the Gloaming

Just got back from a successful trip to Scotland. I travelled with a feeling of trepidation after the events of the previous week but the win for Wales was the icing on the haggis. Well done boys!
We travelled up on the Friday which left Saturday “at leisure”. I think the Sunday kick-off certainly detracts from the weekend but you have to make the best of it! The best of it was a long lunch in an Italian restaurant (where the England v Italy game was banned from the TV). Plenty of pasta and red wine and then we found our way to a pub for the anxious wait for the Pooler score to come through. The pub in question was the famous Café Royal which really has a magnificent bar festooned with beautiful tiled pictures of famous Victorian scientists. We were absolutely delighted to hear of the Pontypool victory but couldn’t persuade Max Boyce to give us a rendition of the Pontypool Front Row in celebration!
I have to admit to only half watching the Ireland v France match but I saw enough to make me dread Wales losing to Scotland. That would be followed by games against those two with Wales low on confidence.
From the Café Royal we stumbled the short distance to another beautiful pub called Tiles. The name probably gives away the fact that is another building with lovely tiled walls and a spectacular ceiling. No I didn’t view the ceiling from a vantage point under a table. As often happens on a trip to Scotland, a Welsh male voice choir appeared from nowhere (Cor Meibion Taf in this case) and soon we were treated to the usual repertoire of Welsh hymns and arias. Bloody lovely too and a nice way to end a pleasant day.
The weather on Sunday morning was beautiful so a gentle stroll up the Royal Mile and then down Princes Street was just the thing to set us up for our pre-match warm up. A few pints to calm the nerves and then the long trek out to Murrayfield. When you get to a certain age, a long trek and a couple pints can only mean one thing - particularly when the route is devoid of public conveniences. Yes I was absolutely bursting when I finally made it to the ground but with a sprint and side step that Shane would have been proud of I weaved my way through the crowd to the sanctuary of the gents.
Fast food was called for after expending all that energy and I can safely say that I had probably the worst hot dog that I have ever had in my life. Absolutely atrocious and there wasn’t even any mustard available to try and improve the taste.
So to the game. We were behind the posts right next to a host of plastic daffodils. Not a bad seat at all and only £50 - WRU and especially RWC take note! Wales looked pretty good for the first half with the exception of gifting Hogg a try and the last couple of minutes when the Scots were camped on our line. A six point lead at half time seemed about right. Just keep the Scots out for the first few minutes of the second half and we should be all right - especially for the period when we were without Jonathan Davies.
The second half turned out to be much the same as the first with Wales seeming pretty dominant to the impartial observer. There was the usual exchange of penalties that always seems to happen at Murrayfield but Wales deservedly kept their noses in front. We seethed at the disallowed try but then were elated when Jonathan Davies finally scored under the posts to open up a ten point gap.
Now the good sides would certainly be able to protect a decent lead with ten minutes to go. I cite the example of Australia against Wales in the autumn and that team who play in white last week. There was a time when we could have done it reasonably comfortably but not at the moment. We presented Scotland with the ball far too much and very nearly suffered the consequences. As it was, amidst some controversy, Wales only conceded seven points and that virtually on the final whistle to record a narrow victory.
I do think that Wales were deserved victors but they did make it hard for themselves. There is still plenty to work on - the lineout was far from infallible and although we applied plenty of pressure we did not manage to cross the line enough. You must credit the Scotland team who were immensely committed and defended stoutly and also had a dangerous back division with plenty of pace that was quite capable of scoring from deep. I wish them all the best for the rest of the season - especially for the trip to Twickenham!
The build up has already started for the trip to Paris. The sheep’s head is in the wash and I am anxiously monitoring the exchange rate so that I buy my euros at the right time. I feel a bit more confident that we will put up a decent show and you never know….


Princes Street in the sunshine
A host of plastic daffodils
Yours truly in full voice

Saturday 7 February 2015

The Bare Necessities

The contrast could not have been much greater. At Pontypool Park on Saturday rugby fans had gathered to watch the game that they love rather than have a drunken orgy - well most people anyway. There was no light show and no fireworks and the music that played over the public address system did not make you reach for the ear plugs.
Yes we had come to watch a game of rugby and there didn’t seem to be the need to have our faces painted or wear a daffodil head. We took our places on the Bank and we didn’t constantly have to move to let people go and buy a pint of beer or have a pee. In the main people understood the game and the inane comments were kept to a minimum. You could rest easy and enjoy the game and not worry about how you were going to get home.
Yes we were back in our comfort zone and the picturesque surroundings of Pontypool Park and the angst of the previous evening gently drifted away.
Pontypool have been going through a patchy period of patch form of late and had been heavily defeated earlier in the week in a rearranged cup tie at Bedwas so they really needed to get back on track and put up a decent performance against the visitors from Glynneath.
Playing down the slope in the first half Pooler quickly established control with the forwards getting on top in the scrum  and loose and allowing the backs to get some good clean possession in the Glynneath half. It took a while to break down the visitors’ defence but tries started to come at regular intervals as the backs began to fire. The lively Hurley probed intelligently and scored the first try himself before combining with the equally influential Davies to put Quick in for a well-worked try. Brooks showed his dazzling footwork and pace to score a fine individual try from a tap penalty. All three tries were converted to give Pooler a commanding 21-0 lead. A bout of handbags resulted in Brooks and Party from Glynneath being yellow carded which knocked Pontypool out of their stride for a few minutes  before a great pass from Mills allowed Davies to burst through and run around forty metres to score. The try was unconverted but at 26-0 Pooler had secured a bonus point and looked to have built up an unassailable lead at half time.
Glynneath had obviously been treated to a few wise words during the interval and presented a much stiffer challenge playing down the slope. Their backs ran the ball at every opportunity and the match became far more evenly contested. Both sides brought on replacements and as always it disrupted the flow of the game as they got up to speed. It was Pontypool who finally broke the second half deadlock when Norton latched on to a kick ahead at pace and crossed near the posts to bring the score to 33-0.
Pontypool seemed to relax and were also reduced to fourteen men by a yellow card for Laing and the Glynneath backs seized the opportunity to show what they could do. They ran in three tries in the last ten minutes of the match to bring the final score to 33-17.
So a good win for Pooler in a very enjoyable and open game of rugby. This should put them in good heart for the visit to Cardiff Met next week. This match up has been blighted by bouts of fisticuffs in the past and Pooler need to keep their discipline this time.
For my part, I am making the trip to Edinburgh to watch Wales. Both the Scots and the French looked quite impressive in their match yesterday. With the match against Scotland being followed by a trip to Paris, Wales will need to be on their mettle or they could find themselves with three straight losses. The Welsh team suffered a number of head injuries against England and this could significantly weaken their scarce resources. It certainly underlines what a tough and physical game it is at the highest level as concussion type injuries happen all too frequently.

I guess the only headache I am likely to have next weekend will be caused by too many pints of heavy! Come on Wales and come on Pooler

White Friday

Well against my better judgement I almost started to believe all the hype in the Welsh Media that was telling us how we were going to beat England comfortably. England seemed reticent to take the field at the start although I don’t really blame them as they were going to be greeted by a weird fusion between a 70’s disco and a scene from Star Wars (what were the WRU thinking of?). This was followed by Wales scoring 10 points in as many minutes. What could go wrong?
The answer is plenty. In that first scrum Wales were pushed back yards and it was really only down to some expert play from Faletau that they scored a try rather than ended up conceding a penalty. From then on England got stronger and stronger and slowly but surely took a stranglehold on the game. The Welsh set-piece creaked and groaned and Wales never looked like scoring a try as the England defence snuffed out all their attacking intentions. The only bright spot in the remainder of the first half was a well-taken drop goal by Biggar that opened up a useful 8 point lead for the home side at 16-8 on the stroke of half time.
We felt confident that the Welsh coaching team would put things right at half time and Wales would come out firing. Instead a poor clearance kick from Webb instantly gave England an excellent attacking position and they never looked back. It was not a matter of if but rather when the away side would reel in the Welsh lead. We didn’t have to wait long as poor tackling let in Joseph for a try and with the conversion England were back within a point.
Wales seemed to lack energy and ideas while England were abrasive and purposeful. Two more penalties from England and they were home and dry at 16-21. If the winning margin had been twice that it would not have been flattering as Wales floundered.
As the game slipped inexorably away, you have to wonder why our two flair players Liam Williams and Justin Tuperic remained on the bench. Surely it was worth trying to change something.
I am sure I read somewhere that the season was all about preparing for the World Cup for Wales and the players were being worked excessively hard to build up their stamina for the autumn. I have to say that the Six Nations does matter to some of us who have stumped our hard earned cash to watch Wales play England. Losing to England upsets me for weeks. I don’t dare to open the sports section of the newspaper now as it will be full of how England will win the World Cup on the back of a Grand Slam.
At this stage I have to make a confession. Not that I am superstitious but Wales have never won when I have bought Warburton’s bread on match day. It was a genuine mistake honest - I had forgotten my glasses. Sorry boys!

The one good thing about the Friday kick off is that Pooler are playing on the Saturday. Let’s hope that they can account for Glynneath to start the healing process before the long trek to Edinburgh next weekend.

Sunday 1 February 2015

Disappointment and Anticipation

Unfortunately I was unable to make the trip to Narberth to watch Pontypool. I was on tenterhooks as the tweets came streaming through. It was enough to turn a man to drink when the injury time penalty by Narberth put paid to our hopes by the narrowest of margins (8-7). In fact it did turn me to drink but I still felt disappointed even after a generous quota of Doombar.
The Six Nations is just around the corner now and I will be travelling to both Edinburgh and Paris to support Wales. First off, however, is the little matter of playing England next weekend. The Friday evening kick-off is all very well for those tucked up in their lounges or in the local pub but for those who go to the game the travel arrangements really take the edge off the occasion. Never mind at least we will be able to pick up Saturday’s papers on the way home.
What are our chances of beating England? I guess it must be fifty fifty. I don’t buy all this stuff about England’s injury toll making Wales favourites. You have to remember England have fifty times more players to choose from than Wales and their seventh team would not be much weaker than whatever they consider to be their first team. The Welsh advantage is that we have a settled side with a well established game plan that has been shown to work when the players are on the top of their game. The down side is that everyone knows what we are going to try and do and can plan accordingly. I still have nightmares about our game in Dublin last year when we were humiliated.
The Welsh squad seems to have few injury problems at the moment but that will surely change as the tournament progresses. Things might get a little problematical if Samson Lee is injured and you can’t help feeling that it we good to have the solid and reassuring figure of Adam Jones still around.
The overall outcome of the Six Nations is really difficult to predict this year and home advantage in the key games coupled with injury toll often decides it. All the teams apart from Italy and possibly Scotland can make a plausible case for being champions although Scotland certainly look more than capable of upsetting anyone on their day. This sounds like fence-sitting and indeed it is. I will not be venturing any of my hard earned cash on the outcome. I note that the bookies have Ireland as narrow favourites with England just behind.

But if Wales can only sneak home against England….