So after a prolonged rugby (union) drought over the summer we had our parched lips wetted with warm up games, a sample of the deluge that's coming our way in the guise of the World Cup in a couple of weeks. Forms were mixed with some bright spots and a few dark patches for the northern hemisphere teams, and none of them are likely to have cancelled the cleaning lady's summer holiday so she can give the trophy cabinet a dust in anticipation of bringing the Webb Ellis Cup home, or in the case of Scotland, go to Ikea and buy a bookshelf or something to put it on.
They can always use it to store some books instead. Like this one for example.
I watched all the Wales game, but only caught bits and bobs of the other games, so be warned this review will be Wales heavy, for a change.
The Games
The first game saw a fairly dire first half for Wales, as good tactical kicking from England kept the men in red pinned in their own half. England's advantage was helped by Wales' weak scrum thanks to the absense of Gethin Jenkins, Mathew Rees and Adam Jones, as well as the perenial problem at the lineout, which hasn't been good since forever.
This awkward first half for Wales gave way to something of a revival in the second as they outscored their English rivals, with the touted fitness improvement, a product of a tough training camp in Poland, seeming to give them the edge as the game wore on. It wasn't enough to produce a victory, but a narrow loss at Twickenham was probably better than a lot of Welsh fans were expecting.
The second game, at the lazily titled Millenium Stadium, was more fruitful for the boys in black, as Wales played in their cynically pointless black away strip used in times when they play other sides who wear red. So that's just Canada and Tonga then, neither of whom Wales are scheduled to play over the next 12 months as far as I'm aware. Oh Welsh Rugby Union, you scallywags!
Thankfully their display showed a little more dignity than the WRU marketing department. The centre pairing of Jamie Roberts and Gavin Henson was looking particularly good with their mix of flair and power. But the rugby candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long and sure enough after about half an hour ol' glass bones Henson broke his wrist and his season was ended prematurely yet again. A real shame as he was looking sharp with all that rugby talent still evident.
Aside from that unfortunate injury the team performed well, with the scrum more stable and defence in all areas rock solid again. They soaked up the pressure in the first half and ran a few tries in in the second to record a convincing 10 point win.
On the back of a narrow loss and a solid victory against England, Wales went into their final game against Argentina with some confidence, looking to take their warm-up record to 2 out of 3 and obtain that much lauded 'momentum' going into the World Cup. Personally I thought they might be a tad complacent after the England victory, and would possibly come unstuck against a ruddy team who, lest we forget, came 3rd in the 2007 World Cup. Thankfully Wales displayed a new found discipline and focus, and after a fairly turgid, error-strewn first-half, they went on to record another encouraging victory.
This awkward first half for Wales gave way to something of a revival in the second as they outscored their English rivals, with the touted fitness improvement, a product of a tough training camp in Poland, seeming to give them the edge as the game wore on. It wasn't enough to produce a victory, but a narrow loss at Twickenham was probably better than a lot of Welsh fans were expecting.
The second game, at the lazily titled Millenium Stadium, was more fruitful for the boys in black, as Wales played in their cynically pointless black away strip used in times when they play other sides who wear red. So that's just Canada and Tonga then, neither of whom Wales are scheduled to play over the next 12 months as far as I'm aware. Oh Welsh Rugby Union, you scallywags!
Again, the WRU's view of the 'average' Welsh rugby fan.
Thankfully their display showed a little more dignity than the WRU marketing department. The centre pairing of Jamie Roberts and Gavin Henson was looking particularly good with their mix of flair and power. But the rugby candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long and sure enough after about half an hour ol' glass bones Henson broke his wrist and his season was ended prematurely yet again. A real shame as he was looking sharp with all that rugby talent still evident.
"Mr Glass" from Unbreakable, based on Gavin Henson and his comic book shop.
Aside from that unfortunate injury the team performed well, with the scrum more stable and defence in all areas rock solid again. They soaked up the pressure in the first half and ran a few tries in in the second to record a convincing 10 point win.
On the back of a narrow loss and a solid victory against England, Wales went into their final game against Argentina with some confidence, looking to take their warm-up record to 2 out of 3 and obtain that much lauded 'momentum' going into the World Cup. Personally I thought they might be a tad complacent after the England victory, and would possibly come unstuck against a ruddy team who, lest we forget, came 3rd in the 2007 World Cup. Thankfully Wales displayed a new found discipline and focus, and after a fairly turgid, error-strewn first-half, they went on to record another encouraging victory.
The Verdict
From what I've seen of the home nations Wales look to be in the best shape going into the world cup. England appear to have regressed to their pre-six nations stodginess albeit with a lot of potential, Scotland still can't score tries, and Ireland, a team in which Bruce Forsyth would actually bring down the average age, seem to lack a cutting edge.
Let's not kid ourselves though, Wales are far from faultless; the front-row minus the considerable talents of Gethin Jenkins and Mathew Rees is suspect, Phillips is still well short of his world class best of a few years ago, full-backs appear to be selected according to some sort of names-out-of-a-hat process, and accuracy is to the Welsh line-out what the British government is to a summer crisis; completely absent.
From what I've seen of the home nations Wales look to be in the best shape going into the world cup. England appear to have regressed to their pre-six nations stodginess albeit with a lot of potential, Scotland still can't score tries, and Ireland, a team in which Bruce Forsyth would actually bring down the average age, seem to lack a cutting edge.
Let's not kid ourselves though, Wales are far from faultless; the front-row minus the considerable talents of Gethin Jenkins and Mathew Rees is suspect, Phillips is still well short of his world class best of a few years ago, full-backs appear to be selected according to some sort of names-out-of-a-hat process, and accuracy is to the Welsh line-out what the British government is to a summer crisis; completely absent.
Welsh line-out accuracy and UK government; missing. If found please return...
actually, if you find the government, don't bother.
actually, if you find the government, don't bother.
But there are reasons to be optimistic. The back row, flanked by Wales's two brightest young stars, Dan Lydiate and Sam Warbuton, is looking very strong, Roberts and Davies in the centre have formed a good partnership, and in Shane Williams and George North we have two contrasting wingers who score tries for fun. But the most promising development of all has been Wales' overall defensive capabilities; they conceded only 3 tries in three games, while scoring 7, a product of maximum commitment to tackles, an ability to absorb punishment and pressure, and supreme fitness enabling them to sustain this level of competitiveness for 80 minutes. Couple this with a back line which looks to have regained its familiarity with the try line and Welsh fans can feel a warm ray of hope coming from a new horizon.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Wales are in one of the toughest groups in the tournament, facing South Africa, a team they have beaten only once in over a century of competition, Fiji and Samoa, Pacific Island teams who seem to have a knack of unstitching whatever game plan Wales have, and Namibia... Namibia.... Exactly! They'll still do well to get out of the group, but this time, we can be a little more hopeful.
