Things We Learned From the Tour – #3 Lack of Ideas
How many times have we bemoaned the lack of plan B for the Welsh rugby team? And yet it seems we are still left bereft of ideas, clueless, when our plan A is figured out. And that is no surprise as everyone knows Plan A and so simply need to devise a way of countering it.
What is Plan A? Simply soften up the midfield with Roberts, move it as close the the touchline as possible with successive …

One thing is certain – being a Welsh rugby fan is not good for your blood pressure. After yet another attempted late comeback us Wales fans were yet again disappointed. The word again is starting to take on special significance here, because it is the same thing every time.
Friends are making jokes about it. Because that is what this has become, a joke. On the one hand we have shown we have the talent to dominate periods of matches, to take the game to them. …

The Welsh team to play Australia in this years Autumn International has been named, and only one change has happened, with Dwayne Peel starting ahead of Gareth Cooper. Other than that head coach Warrent Gatland has said pretty much same again.
That means Tom Shanklin doesn’t recover in time to play, with Jon Davies staying at twelve and Jamie Roberts continuing at 13.
The bad news is that it means that Andy Powell continues at blindside flanker. God knows how, the guy hasn’t got the skills or technique to pull …

The very first international I ever got to go to was at the Arms Park, Wales vs Western Samoa in the 1991 World cup. And we know how that turned out. So from that point of view I am very glad we dodged a bullet from our bogey team.
But outside that? Not good enough.
Firstly let’s try give some positives. I still think that if it wasn’t for some over eager 20 year olds we would have won that game by 20 points. If Warburton had …

Remember total football? No not a computer game but the ideal, with players able to fill in and do all the jobs, players talented enough to do anything that was needed as and when the situation demanded it – spearheaded by a great Dutch football team.
Those of us old enough to remember that might wonder if the same thing is going to be happening with the Welsh rugby team vs the All Blacks during the 2009 Autumn Internationals. Why do I say that? Well a couple of …

Well it was the news we had all feared. Well I had anyway. Lee Byrne’s recurrence of his foot injury has ruled him out of playing for Wales in the 2009 Autumn Internationals, including games against New Zealand and Australia.
The foot injury, whilst not as serious as some were suggesting, has ruled him out for 8 weeks – 6 of which will see him in plaster. As one of the worlds best full backs and a rock at the back for both the Ospreys and Wales he …