Catch up....

• Posted by Dan Owen at 3:56 PM | add or read comments (0)

Sorry folks for the delay in posting, been a bit of a mad one.

Firstly last saturday I went down to the racecourse to watch the under 20s action.

Scotland versus the USA was not the best, the Scots ran out very deserved winners, and in comfortable fashion too. USa put a lot into the game but just didn't have the guile to really threaten.

That was follwed by Samoa and South Africa which was edge of the seat stuff. really top quality stuff. I was looking forward to seeing the boks after hearing some very good things about them.
In truth though it was the Samoans that stole the show and only a piece of indiscipline and a really poor bnit of decision making stopped them getting a result.

Saw chunks of Wales v NZ and felt the lads put on a decent show but were always going to struggle against the All Blacks.

Seniors wise, Wales were better on Saturday from the highlights I saw but still not really in the same ball park at the world champs. this however is a particularly bright spot....enjoy. One Shane. Five Boks. One winner!

Next generation

• Posted by Rob at 4:50 PM | add or read comments (0)

In what can only be described as a 'rare' day off I had a few options yesterday with how to fill my time.
Chester races were on, while a game of golf also loomed large, but in the end the chance to watch the next breed of young rugby stars in Wrexham was just far too tempting.
The first match at Wrexham saw Samoa take on the USA in what has to be described as well not exactly a snooze-fest, but hardly a game that will see fans flock back for the next round of matches.
Samoa were too good for the Americans - as you would no doubt expect - but it took them far too long to hit anywhere near top gear and show the flare that they are so capable.
However, the second match of the night was one to savour. South Africa put 100 points on USA in their opener and threatened to so the same to Scotland. It's not that Scotland were particularly that bad, it's more that the Baby Boks were simply that good.
I hate it when people see a junior match - in any sport - and then come out with the cliche 'remember the name...he's going to be a really big star', but the Boks have a number of players who have certainly got a huge future ahead of them.
I would name them all, but I've been limited in my word count and to be honest I could actually just name the whole squad.
South Africa were simply awesome at Wrexham and it kind of fills you with a little bit of dread. The Boks proved on Saturday that the gap between the two hemispheres was as big as its ever been and now with this group of players set to step up any time in the next four years, they have a strength in depth that could see the Webb Ellis trophy remain in South African hands for a long time to come.

Bok down to earth

• Posted by Dan Owen at 1:50 PM | add or read comments (0)

Thought i'd give it a few days before venting my spleen on Saturday's display.

I made the three hour drive back from Newark in Nottinghamshire on Saturday morning so I could watch the game and frankly wish i hadn't bothered.

Littered with indiscipline, the error strewn display was hopefully as bad as it can get. All over the park they were second best to a Bok side that was missing key players and still looked like they had four gears to go through.

Poorly given away penalties gave them a cushion, over committing to a ruck gave them a walk in try and when things opened up in the second half it was almost score at will.

Going forward Wales were one dimensional - oh for Mike Phillips to have been there just to give them a bit of physical presence at breakdown time.

Every time Wales tried to break the gainline they were rebuffed - and with a fair bit of interest too.

We badly missed a bit of inventiveness in the middle of the park (come back soon Gav), and Jamie Roberts looked nervy at full back - he will come good with time though.

And then there was Shane, a bright spot on a pretty dull background. Three real touches, set up one try, scored another and denied another by a forward pass.

Must see more ball next week.

Saturday must see us compete more physically, be a little smarter and inventive in attack and cut out the soft errors and penalties.

Maybe then we can compete to a decent standard, I'm not saying we will win by any means but lets just given them a good game and be taken seriously against the best the southern hemisphere has to offer.

And it was all yellow

• Posted by Dan Owen at 1:18 PM | add or read comments (0)

Wales to play in yellow?????

After nearly spraying my tea across the room this wan't as bad as I first feared.

Initially i thought it was a plan for the new home shirt but thank goodness it is just about the change strip.

It seems the wru are in talks with new kit manufacturer Under Armour about having the lads trot out in a nice shade of yellow.

nice.

I'm not a great fan of yellow sports kits, personally I always liked the black change jersey from a few years back. White one was ok, grey was grim.

Sure yellow will brighten things up but it's not the most manly colour is it?

Yes the football team have a yellow change strip but I'm still not convinced.

Fortunately they won't have to play in it too often.

What do you think? Fill in the comment form below and we'll see what the consensus is.