The Welsh Connection is a new series of weekly articles by Daniel Jenkins, focussing on rugby in Wales and covering everything from the national team through to the grassroots game. Be sure to leave your comments in the section below the article.
When I was asked to write an article for The Rugby Blog focussing on the Welsh game, a few thoughts came to mind: Llanelli’s heroic win against the All Blacks in 1972, Scott Gibbs and ‘the sidestep’ in Wembley in 1999, Martyn Williams crossing the line not once but twice against the French in 2005, and that infamous red card in 2011.
Welsh rugby may have given us its fair share of highs and lows over the years, but let’s face it, we can’t spend our days clinging on to nostalgia and the glory days; it’s time to concentrate on the here and now. With Christmas fast approaching and the season well underway let’s sit back and take stock, looking from a Welsh perspective at what the 2015/2016 season has brought us so far: thrills, spills, and a return from France for a 27 year old product of Whitland RFC…
The World Cup
Whilst this year’s Welsh campaign didn’t quite hold the promise of 2011’s rip-roaring rampage into the semi-final, it certainly brought with it a rollercoaster of emotion and some unexpected results for the national team. But wins and losses aside, the World Cup gave more to Wales than tears, laughter and heartbreak.
With Chief Executive Martyn Phillips now at the helm there has been a newfound peace between the WRU and the regions – music to the ears of any Welsh club rugby fan, and the revenue from this year’s World Cup reportedly brought something in the region of £10million to Welsh rugby. This has in turn led to a string of mouth-watering dual contracts, not least the signing of Jonathan Davies to the Scarlets and Wales meaning a return from injury, a return home, and hopefully a return to form for someone who is undoubtedly a world class centre.
There are some things, however, that money can’t buy – and news of a contract extension for George North in Northampton has quelled any rumour of his potential return to Wales.
The Regions
The Dragons are sat in ninth place having found themselves digging deep again this year, and news that Taulupe Faletau is looking for the exit door certainly suggests that they’ll be on the hunt for a new Number 8 soon. Friday’s woeful performance against Edinburgh meant that the Dragons found themselves playing almost the full 80 minutes on the back foot. Their scrum was rocked within the first quarter, their defence was showing signs of fatigue before the half time whistle, and some unforgiving decisions in the second half saw them receiving four yellow cards.
FT Edinburgh 32 – 6 Dragons.
The Ospreys have for the most part been underachieving this year and they’ve really failed to pick up any kind of momentum whatsoever. Still a team never to be written off, their Christmas fixtures are going to be huge, especially this year’s derby with the Scarlets which is set to be a real hum-dinger – no change there, then. But before that fixture comes around, they had the Blues to contend with on Saturday, who have had a rocky start to the season on all counts. Sitting eleventh in the league, it’ll be a tough task for Danny Wilson and co to reach the giddy heights of the top four this season. News that Matthew Rees picked up a seven week ban for a stamp on Nick Easter was a real blow for the team, and seven proved to be an unlucky number on Saturday when their derby against the Ospreys was a clunky affair, resulting in their seventh league loss of the season.
FT Ospreys 13 – 6 Blues.
After a year of real hit ‘n’ miss rugby, the Scarlets on the other hand have had a blistering start to their league campaign. Decimated by injuries in key positions, they’ve managed an impressive seven wins out of eight in the Pro12. Whilst they’ve been on fire against their celtic cousins, they haven’t been able to emulate these scorelines in Europe, suffering badly at the hands of Northampton and Racing 92, two powerhouses of European rugby. Sunday’s rain-drenched performance against Zebre left a lot to be desired for but the result will give them hope as they were going into that game having lost their previous three matches.
FT Scarlets 20 – 12 Zebre.
The Grassroots
Sadly, news of doping allegations has plagued the amateur game in Wales over the past few weeks. This week, however, I’m going to look at what’s happening on the pitch, focussing on the season’s new look British and Irish Cup.
Aiming to bridge the gap between semi-pro rugby and the regional sides, the Welsh representation in the competition has been made up of four ‘premiership select’ teams, bringing together the best players that the regions’ feeder teams such as Llandovery and Pontypridd have to offer. Effectively, it is a return to the A teams of old for the Welsh clubs. On paper it sounds positive, but has it worked in practice…?
This new format is giving players a real opportunity to shine. With coaching teams keeping a close eye on these elite premiership squads, those who can sometimes be overlooked have a chance to flex their rugby muscles alongside a healthy mixture of seasoned rugby footballers and up and coming young talent.
Individual skill is vital to any rugby squad, but as in any team sport, it is the chemistry that matters most. Both the Scarlets Premiership Select and the Ospreys Premiership Select have taken heavy defeats, losing two from two. The lack of cohesion within the teams has certainly shown, with the Scarlets in particular having had two very poor performances against English and Irish opposition. Cardiff started their cup campaign only marginally better, having secured one draw against Nottingham in their opening weekend, only to lose narrowly to London Welsh in their second group game. It is, however, the Newport Gwent Dragons’ Premiership Select which has set the competition alight in the Welsh marches, having managed solid wins against Connacht A and Jersey.
It’s still early in the season and indeed early days for this new style of competition, so perhaps game-time will have a positive impact on the pitch for these new look squads; only time will tell.
Tweet of the week:
Going to miss Patagonia. What a great time we've had and lots of money raised @Velindre…. https://t.co/1h3KIxUFA1 pic.twitter.com/zRAPxDERUi
— Shane Williams (@ShaneWilliams11) November 28, 2015
Moment of the week: Steff Stone finishing off a fantastic length-of-the-pitch team try for Glynneath against Merthyr in the Swalec Championship. You can view the try here.
The rumour mill: The rumour mill is turning. Whispers of Patchell to Scarlets, but nothing has been confirmed as of yet. Scott Williams is also poised to sign a dual contract apparently. Keep an eye out for Scarlets’ press releases every Tuesday in the build-up to Christmas for up to the minute news.
By Daniel Jenkins
Follow Daniel on Twitter: @DanWJenkins
Did Llanelli beat NZ once then? Odd they don’t mention it much…
(Cardiff, Swansea and Newport have also beaten NZ).
Good article, you don’t see many non-Welsh blogs giving our game this much coverage, so it is appreciated.
On the Prem Select teams – no mention of the “civil war” promised by the vocal minority Ponty fans? Add in the whole Merthyr deal (Peter Pies brother has bought Merthyr and is intent on turning them into a rival for Ponty) and there is enough bilge in that issue to fill a dozen articles. Unfortunately, despite the low brow hilarity of most of it, it does highlight a common problem in Welsh rugby – too much villagism and a lot of ill feeling still festering from the change to pro rugby. Is any of this a real problem? I don’t know – I think low crowd nums are simply due to crap rugby. The once great crowds of Munster, for example, are now wilting given their relatively lower quality output compared to previous years. The average punter won’t pay/travel to watch their team get hopelessly beaten.
The revenue of £10m from the RWC is actually less than it would have been if the AIs had been held instead – WRU will make a loss this year as a consequence.