Try, try, try again

Yet again Wales took on New Zealand with a certain degree of optimism. “If there is a time to beat the All Blacks this is it”, “They are tired at the end of a long season”, “They are missing key players due to injuries”, “Scotland should have beaten them”, etc., etc. Those of us who have been around a long time have heard this all before of course. Still you never know, I thought.

We got to the ground ridiculously early after the debacle before the Australia game. We heeded the warning of Mr Phillips the WRU Chief Executive who told us to get in at least two hours before kick-off. It was all right for him to say that of course when he knew he would be lunching in some private dining room in the bowels of the stadium. We had to queue for maybe fifteen minutes and found ourselves in the stadium with almost two hours to go before the kick off. Lots of other people had heeded Mr Phillip’s advice and the bars were doing a roaring trade. The cynic in me wonders whether this was the real reason for us being told to be there so early. Let us hope that a more efficient way of keeping us secure can be found before the Six Nations.

So to the match. Wales gave it their all and monopolised possession for the first quarter with scant reward. You always feel that New Zealand use the old Ali “rope-a- dope” tactic and wait for the opposition to punch themselves out and then strike ruthlessly and decisively. Despite some vibrant play from Wales, the All Blacks scored two tries through Naholo before half time in response to two penalties. Just as the half was drawing to a close, Wales scored a beautifully worked try when Amos broke the defensive line and crisp passing put Williams over – wonderful. The conversion failed but Wales were well in the game at 11-12.

Wales continued to apply pressure in the second half and the New Zealanders made more errors than they normally make in a year. Then came the surgical strikes – two converted tries by the All Blacks looked decisive. The first from powerful running by Ioane who off-loaded for Lienert-Brown to cross and the second was very much self-inflicted by Wales when Biggar’s pass was intercepted by Ioane.

Wales fought back well and pounded away at the New Zealand line. A yellow card for Sam Whitelock and a try for Wales by Davies – it was a bit like the Scotland game. Wales eight points behind and the All Blacks seemingly on the ropes. Then came a moment of pure class and tells you all you need to know about the world champions. Another surgical strike from a scrum put Ioane in the clear and he simply scorched over and that was that. Final score 18-33.

More disappointment but certainly a high tempo, upbeat performance form Wales. A great performance from Navidi and Amos looked sharp again but injuries to Webb and Ball. Now Wales must face the Springboks next week without the English-based players as well as a lengthy injury list. Opportunity beckons for some I am sure but you have to wonder at the sanity of the demands of the Welsh Autumn Series.

Before the match we managed to see the Scots work the Aussies over as part of the pre-match entertainment. Scotland certainly seem to have got something going and will surely be a force in the Six Nations. It is their turn to stop the English juggernaut this time.

In marked contrast on Friday night I watched Pontypool play a Torfaen XV in a very frosty Pontypool Park. I am glad to say the Pooler players had not forgotten how to play after their lay-off and won comfortably enough - by my calculation it was 64-0. Whilst it was a decent workout for the squad, the real reason for the match was to raise money for Scott Bessant’s Fighting Fund – a worthy cause and we wish Scott well. Pooler next play at Talywain on Friday in another refresher match before getting back to the Championship the week after.

Come on Pooler!

Next Saturday it is up at the crack of dawn to get to Cardiff for the Wales v Springboks game. Breakfast in the stadium perhaps.

Come on Wales!

A Grey Day for Wales

I don’t think any sports team has given of their best when wearing grey and on the odd occasions that Wales have worn this drab colour they have produced a drab performance to match. This was certainly one of those occasions. A rather experimental Wales side took on the muscular Georgians at Cardiff and a pretty forgettable match for Welsh fans took place.

It started brightly enough for Wales with a penalty and a well-worked try by Amos giving them a 10-0 lead. Then came the moment that probably changed the game the ball was stripped from the Georgians in a maul and a few passes later Amos sped gleefully down the touchline and touched down for a try. Unfortunately the Welsh team’s joy was short-lived as play was called back by the TMO as the ball was deemed to have gone forward as it was stripped. To make matters worse the Georgians were awarded a penalty shortly afterwards to close the gap to 10-3.

The Georgian forwards began to realise that they had the edge over the youthful Welsh pack and from then on the contest became an arm wrestle with defences on top. It was pretty turgid stuff with Wales becoming more and more frantic and making far too many handling errors against a resolute defensive line.

The second half was grim with the Georgian scrum earning them penalties and stopping Wales getting good field position. As the game entered the final minutes, the score was 13-6 with the only scores in the second half a penalty apiece. Georgia were pressing hard and had a series of scrums and lineouts close to the Welsh line. Welsh replacement prop Francis was sinbinned for offside at a ruck and it looked like the Georgians would surely force a draw if they used their dominant scrum. Brown the Welsh starting tighthead should have come on to the field but suddenly developed “severe cramp” and could not return. This meant uncontested scrums so the Georgians opted for the lineout but after a series of forward drives gave away a penalty and Wales survived.

You have to feel a lot of sympathy for the Georgians as a draw would have been justice for their efforts. The young Welsh forwards will certainly know that they have been in a game this morning. It is really hard to assess what was learned from this encounter for Wales as there were no standout performances. Amos will have done his chances no harm and Webb and Priestland must be in contention at half back. The forwards looked lively until the collisions with the tough Georgian pack took their toll.

The Georgians would be a handful for any team and they are certainly the best of the second tier of nations. They are frustrated that they cannot progress further as the 6 Nations is ring-fenced with too many vested interests keeping it that way. Does that sound familiar to the Pooler fans out there? A draw against Wales would certainly have pressed their claim and really they were seemingly undone by a bit of sharp practice. Coming up against the uncontested scrum is familiar territory to Pontypool too!

Scotland really gave the All Blacks a fright in a display full of passion and flair. They could have snatched victory at the death had Hogg not been tackled just short if the line after a scintillating break. The All Blacks will be looking mean next Saturday I am sure – so look out Wales.

England beat Australia with a rather flattering score line on a day where most of the borderline decisions went against the Aussies. On a dry day the result might well have been different as the Ausssies looked far more inventive.

The Irish did “a Wales” against Fiji with a narrow victory for their “seconds”. Meanwhile France were pipped by South Africa who had capitulated against Ireland the previous week. Sounds like Wales have a couple of tough Saturdays ahead with All Blacks and Boks in town. I had better get in the queue for next Saturday now.

Come on Wales and come on the stewards!

Encouraging Signs for Wales

We Welsh fans are not normally optimistic by nature and my feeling before the game against Australia was that we were most unlikely to win. Watching the game, you felt that everyone of a Welsh persuasion probably agreed with that sentiment and so of course did the Australians. Yes, without doubt, Wales played their hardest and did their utmost to win but Australia seemed to be able to glean points just when it mattered most.

This is the old story when the two sides meet with Australia finding a way to win and Wales finding a way to lose. This time it was not the heart-breaking last minute victory grab by the Wallabies that we have experienced so many times before. Here they managed to keep Wales at arm’s length, albeit quite a short arm, for most of the game. The final score of 21-29 reflects the Australians’ ability to take their chances.

There were positives for Wales with signs that the much touted all action running game was achievable with the group of players in the squad. The handling and offloading skills of the forwards seem to have improved significantly with Rob Evans and Alun Wyn Jones showing up well in this respect. The backs managed to finish a couple of decent moves with tries for Evans and Amos but did find the Aussie defence a tough nut to crack. Steff Evans had a tough introduction to test rugby but will be a better player for it I am sure. Let us hope that the injury to Jon Davies is not too serious as we can surely build a decent set of backs around him and Liam Williams with a bit of imagination.

Overall I enjoyed the match with plenty of attacking intent from both sides but I just wish we could sneak a win some time. What I didn’t enjoy was queuing for forty minutes or so in the pouring rain to get into the ground. I know we have to have stringent security but surely it could be better organised that that. We joined the queue an hour before kick off as we enjoy listening to the choir under the stand and the Q&A session with a Welsh squad member. Sadly we missed both this time. Let’s hope the WRU have a rethink before the All Blacks match.

Next up for Wales is a match against Georgia who will present a physical challenge but really this is a game that Wales should expect to win reasonably comfortably.

Saw a few brief highlights form England’s victory over Argentina and with wins for Scotland against Samoa and a thumping victory for Ireland against the Springboks it would seem that the Six Nations will be pretty tasty next year. By all accounts, France gave the All Blacks a few scares although not enough to beat them.

On the domestic front losses for Narberth and Trebanos in the Championship strengthened Pontypool’s position at the top of the league. Pooler entertain Trebanos in early December after the Autumn break. Only a month to go!

Come on Wales in the mean time!

Pooler Power On

Sadly I didn’t make it to Newcastle Emlyn for Pontypool’s latest game. As usual, I regretted it as soon as it was too late to jump in the car and spent match time surrounded by tablets and phones as I tried to keep up with what was going on down West. In the end it was a comfortable victory for Pooler with the final score 10-62 with nine tries scored. This leaves Pontypool firmly entrenched at the top of the Championship with an unblemished record of ten straight wins and a lead of fifteen points over nearest rivals Narberth as the first “season” ends. It will not be until December 9^th that they take the field in earnest again which is frustrating, to say the least, as they are certainly building up a head of steam.  The season 2019-20 still seems a long way off and the opportunity for Pontypool to hopefully regain Premiership status. Maintaining the current momentum will be challenging for sure.

As I kept up with the Pontypool score, I idly flicked between the Barbarians v New Zealand and Leicester v Gloucester games. The Barbarians resembled a NZ fourth team with a few added extras while the NZ team was certainly not at full strength. It was entertaining enough and it gives you an insight into the strength in depth of New Zealand rugby. There seems to be a never-ending conveyor belt of big athletic units just waiting for their opportunity to break into the first team. The Leicester v Gloucester match was in the Anglo-Welsh Cup with very much second teams taking the field. It was good to see Ross Moriarty playing again and looking fit. Hopefully he will be firing for the Six Nations. At the end of the season he will of course face the agonising decision of whether to return to Wales to play regional rugby or not be eligible to play for Wales again. Nose, face and spite spring to mind.

Next Saturday Wales take on Australia in the first match of the Autumn Series. I would expect few surprises from number one to ten with Shingler getting the nod at six rather than Lydiate. In the backs Jon Davies and Liam Williams are certainties with Steff Evans probably given his chance on the wing. I would then add Patchell at twelve and Hallam Amos on the wing moving Williams to fullback. Halfpenny and Priestland/Williams on the bench. Of course I will be hopelessly wrong but at least I had a go.

I have certainly enjoyed the first half of the Championship campaign thanks to Pontypool’s high octane rugby. Well done boys. Let’s hope it keeps going and we have a decent run in the Cup to boot.

Come on Pooler and come on Wales!