Just what the doctor ordered...

Medical student Jamie Roberts grabbed the Heineken Man of the Match award as the 14 man heroics of the Blues silenced the Shed. A late try by replacement second row Bradley Davies means that Gloucester have to travel to Biarritz next weekend with their hopes of qualifying fading fast. The Blues, on the other hand, top the group and seem to have shed the also rans tag which has bedevilled them in the past few seasons. Now, with clever leadership from Martyn Williams, and the potent threat offered by some of the best ball carriers in the Principality (Powell, Rush, Shanklin, Roberts) Dai Young's outfit will go into next week's fixture against Calvisano secure in the knowledge that they have qualified for the next round.

Keeping up with the Powells ?

Can he indeed...
The rise and rise of the Cardiff No 8 with the rock star blonde locks has presented Gatland (and, perhaps, the Lions management) with a rugbying conundrum.
It has been solved to some extent at the Ospreys by using Jones at 6 alongside Tiatia at 8 - another player who is hard to drop, even as he moves into his late thirties. Wales may opt to do the same. Jones is not as flashy as Powell, less of a game breaker, but has the precious quality of making the right decisions at the right time. Technically, he is excellent - his retention and presentation of the ball are second to none, and he has the bravery that will be needed when the Boks start tearing in to the Lions to avenge THAT tour of '97.

Hurt Little Danny Carter ? Me ??

Figuring that, at £30,000 a game, Dan would have some loose change in his shorts, Harry decided to investigate...

Tying the Kangaroo Down

Wales 21 - Australia 18
November 29th, 2008

A palpable sense of relief washed over the exhausted Welsh team at the final whistle at the Millenium, a veritable tsunami of the stuff. More of it poured down from the packed terraces, where the crowd had nibbled fingernails down to the elbows as a dominant Welsh team managed to keep the Aussies in the game.
The first half featured some of the best attacking rugby Wales have played for some time, where the ball was recycled speedily, and Cooper fired out a good supply of ball for the attacks to build. Beautifully crafted angles, allied to real strength in the contact area, provided us with two terrific tries. Real Bread of Heaven stuff.
Australia stayed in it due to the shambolic Welsh line out, which led to us being unable to sustain periods of pressure, and gifted the Aussies a "What happened next" type score for second row Mark Chisholm.
In truth, Robbie Deans' men were well beaten by a side that has made real strides in a very busy year under The Gat and Big Shaun. What next ??

It's Not All Black...

November 22nd, 2008 at the Millenium Stadium
Wales 9 New Zealand 29

Never mind the 30 years of hurt (er...make that 42...) so bewailed by the round ball fraternity...the 55 years' spell seemed to be fading at halftime at a packed Millenuim Stadium this weekend. Ryan Jones and his merry men faced down those years of dreaming, as well as the Haka, to bring us within sniffing distance of the All Black scalp.
The tribal nature of the Haka face off will remain in the memory for all of us who witnessed it, a genuine spine tingler. Gatland must have loved it.
The final score was a tad flattering, but testament to the All Blacks sense of purpose and cohesion when put under pressure, and their enormous physical reserves of raw power. As ever, McCaw gave a masterclass at the breakdown, where Martyn Williams faded in the second half, along with the last whiffs of all that cordite from the opening expolsions.
Ah well - next year...

It’s no use getting shirty…

The Scarlets have now lost 9 straight in the Heineken Cup, and it hurts. The fact that the last two matches were to clubs who have found it difficult to decide whether they are rugby clubs or fashion houses will hurt the Dyfed Men of Steel all the more.

The new Stade shirts feature a renowned queen whose face is reproduced Warhol style. The players of Stade are well established on the nude calendar circuit, and Parisse’s buttocks no doubt adorn the walls of the Parisian metrosexual set, but the closest the Llanelli boys could get to a renowned queen would be a picture of Aled off the Chris Moyles show.

Stade were too good for about ten minutes of what was otherwise a pretty even contest. Mark Jones scored the try of the tournament thus far, finishing off a scintillating break by Morgan Stoddart.

The Ospreys were, quite simply, woeful. Even allowing for the lack of experience at half back, they allowed the Perpignan pack to disrupt the flow. Wayne Barnes and his supply of yellow cards could only do so much. Lee Byrne continues to shine under the high ball – he catches an unusually high proportion of his own kicks, in fact. Chris Latham apart, he is the best full back around, and can surely look forward to a summer on the high veldt.

Season's Greetings !

So many questions as the 08-09 season dawns.
Can the Gatland revolution keep pushing us on ? Or are we bound to fall to earth, constrained as we are by lack of cash and basic demographics ?
Can England shake off the tag of being 6 Nations underachievers in the post Woodward era ?
Can the Lievremont experiment survive the next season ?
Or will the Irish, having popped off for a nap for most of last season (which, unfortunately for them, included a World Cup), return refreshed and full of that Munster spirit ?
And what of Scotland ? What price Andy Robinson returning to International coaching there ?

And at club level - will blue collar Leicester gamble on Caucau (see the video clips next door and wonder why he's not THE superstar of 21st Century rugby.) ?
Will playboy Danny's ankle hold up to those punishing sessions in the capital's more exclusive nite spots ?
And in Wales - will Llanelli's house move throw them in to confusion (""Oi-Gareth ! Which cardboard box did you put the boots in ?") Can the post Lyn Jones coaching team handle the big names at the Liberty Stadium ? Can the Blues OVER achieve ? Can the Dragons be anything more than a distantly related Ugly Sister ?