Has there ever been a more misleading statistic in rugby?
Yes the Welsh rugby regions all won in the EDF cup against English opponents this weekend, always a good thing. BUT it hardly tells the whole story, or in this case it barely even tells a third of it.
Each of the regions were facing 2nd string opposition and, with the exception of the Newport Gwent Dragons, put out full strength sides. And in almost every case they struggled for a win.
The main blame for this is pointed at the Blues and the Ospreys (I haven’t seen anything of the Scarlets game). In both games the teams severely misfired, with little penetration and even less intensity. What worried me most was the Ospreys performance… not because I am a fan (though I am) but because of what it means to the Welsh team.
The biggest problem for them was the lack of go forward from the forwards. The likes of Ryan Jones, Ian Gough et all should be big ball carriers, smashing the opposition back into contact. Instead the forwards were going into contact from a standing start and with no support. Worse, whilst Welsh rugby captain Ryan Jones did a great job of spoiling opposition ball but where was his leadership? He should have been kicking his pack up the arse and forcing them forward, leading from the front himself. Instead he was missing whenever the opportunity to step it up a gear presented itself.
AWJ had a decent game (and not just for the try) and Hibbard did well when he came on but right now the Welsh pack couldn’t even knock a 2nd string Queens pack backwards, what hope have we got against the Southern hemisphere giants in the autumn internationals?
Lets hope the teams can fire on all cylinders in the Heineken cup
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