Robinson's Reign is over

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Do I feel sorry for the man? Not really,because the Welsh always feel good when England are doing badly. Not that I would wishthe current situation on our near neighbours, oh dear me, no, of course not. As Jonathan Davies said on the weekend, the Celtic nations need a strong English team to be competative in the Six Nations - and he said it with a straight face, bless him!!!

I can't cheer for them when they are winning and I do enjoy watching them lose but I'm only human, aren't I? It's nothing personal mind, some of my best friends are English, as they say.

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The weekend ahead

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What an exciting prospect - the All Backs are back in town and Henry and Hanson will probably relish the opportunity to show us what they can do when they've got 'quality' players to work with. That's not to suggest that we don't have good players in Wales but you have to hand it to New Zealand - they are awesome! There are no superlatives to describe the sort of rugby they are playing at the moment.
I know France gave them a sterner test last Saturday than the week before and even managed to keep the score down to a respectable level but there was no way Les Bleus were going to win that match, was there?
I don't think Graham Henry's selection is a slight to us. I believe him when he said it was 'horses for courses' and, let's be honest, there's no 'bad' All Blacks team at the moment so does it really matter who he picks? Don't tell me the pack will be weaker for having Oliver and Robinson in the front five. And Conrad Smith in the centre has got to be one of the most under-rated and over-looked players around. He'll slip through a gap I hadn't even noticed was there! And Carter is the best rugby playmaker on the planet so I don't think we are going to have an easy time.

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Better late than never!

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I feel so bad that I haven't congratulated the lads at Ponty for their great win last Saturday. The weather was awful, the ground underfoot slippery, the ref didn't seem to have sympathy for the game, Maesteg were a tough team (any team with 'Boobyers' in it will be) but we still won!!!! That's the main thing at this point in the season.
It would be cruel to single out any player because, from 1 to 15 (plus the subs who came on) they all did a brilliant job. The handling skills were excellent and line outs and scrums functioned really well. We even manage to put in some lovely running moves which were quite amazing considering the conditions.

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Another Busy Weekend

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The Autumn Internationals have certainly been exciting, on and off the pitch.
Welsh players have the opportunity tonight to lay down a marker in advance of the 'big' one next Saturday against New Zealand.
Who do I think will shine? Hook, probably, Henson, possibly, Shanklin, obviously, Gareth Thomas, maybe. I've only got one reservation about our back line and that's at No.15. I know Kevin is still not match sharp but I hope Gareth Jenkins is not going to drop our only specialist full back so that he can fit Alfie in the team against the All Blacks, needing to play Shane Williams and Mark Jones on the wing. I've said it before and I'll say it again - it's time for Alfie to move over and give the younger lads a chance. The World Cup is a year away and he'll be, what? 32/33 by then. I want us to look forwards not backwards and, although I still think the man would have a lot to offer a regional team next season I don't think he should be in our test team.

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A Mixed Weekend

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Wins and losses, cheers and boos - what a weekend we had.
The Welsh win was probably expected and, against a scratch side, it is difficult to rate performances although Sonny was brilliant and deserved his Man of the Match award. I know he retired because he was disillusioned with the Welsh set-up but it is a new era now and I am so glad he came back into the fold. We certainly missed him even though we have a number of first class centres in Wales at the moment.

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Ponty Business

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On the road tonight to Stradey Park - not one of our easiest trips, this. However, we've got a good team out (best that could be picked I think apart from one position) so it is now down to the boys to dig deep and get that win. I don't care how they do it although I would still prefer us to play open, attacking rugby if they can, but if we have to win 'ugly' I can live with that.
I'm not confident going into this game though and not just because it is away. There is a big 'blip' in the Ponty squad/team play this season which is partly explained by the change in personnel but a little bird tells me that it might go deeper than that. Sad if there is dissent in the ranks as we've always prided ourselves on being a family in the past. Probably only a minor squabble which will soon blow over, just like ordinary families.

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Wales v Pacific Islands

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Am I the only one excited about the team Gareth Jenkins has picked for the clash at the MIllennium Stadium on Saturday? Isn't the back line exciting? I think the back three will be well served by the centres and I'm chuffed to see one of Ponty's old boys, Sonny Parker, coming out of retirement. We have missed his class and, hopefully, if Sweeney does his bit, we should see some thrilling inter-passing and lots of tries. The pack is solid too and should give us a good platform.

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A draw was a fair result

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What a cliff-hanger!!! Yet I feel we were lucky not to lose to Australia. I haven't really had time to analyse the game in my head yet but my initial reaction is 'we got out of jail'. How? By some spectacular displays from Martyn Williams, Duane Peel and the man Nick Mullins, the commentator, called 'unspectacular' - Tom Shanklin.
My biggest disappointment? That has to be Gareth Thomas. The media made so much of him before the game and, with the number of close ups we got of him today, I think one of the cameramen must be in love with him, so I was waiting for something special. It didn't come and I'm afraid that Alfie just isn't up to the job. He admitted on Scrum V on the radio Thursday night that he's not as fast as some other wingers (you can say that again, mun, after today's display) but his overall game was shaky. He was trying to win penalties instead of getting on with the game and his tackling was ropey too. Time to let a real winger like Mark Jones have a go, Gareth. Pick the lad for the Pacific Islands game and let see how a real No.14 operates!

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