Blues 58-0 Connacht. 26 Sept 2008

The Blues went into this game on the back of an excellent away performance at Munster. I expected the home side to win, it was just a question of whether they could score four tries to get the bonus point. The first half turned out to be one of the most one-sided games I've seen for a long time. From the moment Jamie Roberts crossed for the first try the Blues never looked like losing. Connacht were awful and the homeside played well to create a number of good tries through the backs and forwards. It got even worse for Connacht with ten minutes to go before half time when they were reduced to 14 men thanks to a sin-binning. The Blues ran roit before half time and managed to score seven tries in total in the the first half. It was actually a bit boring when the Blues ran in their seventh try.
In the second half things changed abit. The domination of possession was still with the home side but they only managed to score two tries. Connacht found the resolve to defend though failed to score themselves. A comprehensive victory. Enjoyable in parts but too one-sided for me.

My man of the match: Jamie Roberts.

Help for Heroes 29-10 International Select XV. 20 Sept 2008

Twickenham played host to the Help for Heroes charity rugby match hoping to raise £1 million for our injured Forces servicemen and women. The teams were a mixture of past legends, rising stars and current forces players. The game was quite enjoyable to watch though the second half was spoilt a bit by the constant changes of the players from the bench. Will Greenwood had a good game and was the stand-out player scoring a try and marshalling the Help for Heroes backline.
My man of the match: All the players.

Leinster 19-13 Ospreys. 19 Sept. 2008

At contest between the current Magners League champions and the Anglo-Welsh Cup champions. Two very good team line-ups and good playing conditions. The Leinster blackline looked very impressive on paper but sadly the Ospreys were missing Phillips, Henson and Shane (rested). I was expecting Leinster to win. The Ospreys were dominant in the first half and their scrum went really well. Sadly they were lacking the finishing power and failed to score a try. It was the home side that showed the way with brilliant interplay between Contepomi and Fitzgerald that enabled the winger to score the first try of the game.
The second half saw Leinster up their game and produce some well executed moves. They cashed in on some penalities and two drop kicks. The Ospreys huffed and puffed but their play lacked the precision of Leinster's and deep in injury time it looked like they were going home empty handed. All was not lost though and Nikki Walker set off on a run from his own half and proceeded to out sprint the defence. It was a quality peice of wing play and an excellent try. James Hook converted the difficult conversion and the Welsh side had a bonus point to show for their sprited peformance.
My man of the match: Contepomi. Doc Con as I like to call him.

Australia 24-28 New Zealand. 13 Sept 2008.

The Tri-Nations this year came down to a winner takes all game. Technically New Zealand could draw the game and still will the Tri-Nations though I doubt they thought much about that. Australia's last game was a massive defeat to South Africa away from home. I was not expecting a close game. I was glad to be proved wrong. It was an excellent game that first saw New Zealand take the lead. The game was really open despite the high stakes involved. The All Blacks were dominant in the first thirty with their defence proving especially strong. Australia picked it up at the end of the first half and managed to score a try to lead at half time. In the second half the home team scored early to take a surprise 17 -7 lead with the last quarter of the game to go. The key score looked like it might be the next one. Within ten minutes New Zealand scored a break away try from the half way line. Conrad Smith lost his man and passed out to Tony Woodcock (the prop) on the wing. He show a fine turn of pace to beat the covering defenders. This was a crucial score and Carter made light work of a difficult conversion. A contrast to the All Blacks ten, Gitteau missed a few kicks at goal. This would prove to be the difference between the two teams at the end.
Dan Carter put the icing on a great personal display when he score a try himself after good pressure from New Zealand. A late comeback from Australia proved to be in vain and New Zealand deserved their win and triumph in claiming the Tri-Nations again. It was an excellent match. A great advert for rugby union as they say.

Man of the match: Dan Carter. Well taken try. Exceptional place kicking.

Blues 16-15 Ulster. 12 Sept 2008

The Blues were made to work hard for their first victory of the season. Ulster put up a dogged fight, lacking in creativity but full of pride. There was a worrying moment when Martyn Williams went off with an injury. Wales cannot afford to lose him yet, there doesn't seem to be an obvious replacement for him at open-side.
Blues wing Halfpenny finished off a neat move in the Ulster 22 and the game looked to be heading Cardiff's way. Ulster then fought back through a Boss try. The Blues had to settle for a one point victory through a late Blair penalty. On this form the Blues won't make any dent in the Magners League this year.
My man of the match: Maama Molitiki

Dragons 25-27 Scarlets. 10 Sept 2008

This was your classic game of two halves. The home side were totally dominant in the first half scoring three tries. The Dragons were impressive in defense and created alot of pressure when the Scarlets had the ball. By half time it was 25-6 and I thought the game was pretty much over. How wrong I was. If any team can lose a good lead it's the Dragons and in the second half they went totally to sleep. All of the dynamism of the first half performance disappeared and the Scarlets were the team with all the possession.
The moment of the match came from Scarlets right wing Darren Daniel. He received the ball out wide and skinned his opposite number and proceeded to turn inside the covering fullback. This was all done with a tidy turn of pace and he looked to be in for a great try under the posts when Marc Strchbina brilliantly tap tackled him to end the run.
In the post-match interview Dragons coach Paul Turner summed it up very well - "It's difficult to do this interview. I'm quite numb at the moment". With that he walked off to ponder how his team had thrown the game away.

Man of the match: Marc Strchbina

Ospreys 32-10 Blues. 9 Sept 2008

The Ospreys lost Justin Marshall and their coach Lyn Jones during the off-season. New arrival Tommy Bowe from Ulster looks to be a shrewd signing giving the stellar back-line even more strength in depth. It didn't take long for the home side to find their form. After three minutes the ball found its way to Lee Byrne on the right wing inside the Blues' 22. Byrne deftly handed off to Shane Williams who coasted in for a simple run-in by his standards. Who else could score the first home try of the season. Shane has had an incredible year and I never tire of watching the mercurial little winger. Though after his try he had a quiet game even managed a few dropped catches under the high ball. Despite the Ospreys dominance in the first half it was only 5 - 3 at half time. The real fireworks did eventually come in the second half. Lee Byrne had a good run from inside his own half to set-up James Hook on a sublime support line to score under the post. Tommy Bowe opened his Ospreys try account with a clever bit of wing play, running onto a kick from Hook he deftly kick ahead himself and got a kind bounce for an easy run in. Nikki Walker came on in the second half for Andrew Bishop. This meant the Ospreys were playing with three international wingers from three different countries. Not bad. The home side were not even at full strength, players such as Henson, Phillips and Jonathan Thomas were absent, but still they made the Blues look very ordinary. A quality second half performace from the Ospreys and a good game to boot.

My man of the match: Lee Byrne

Northampton 21-13 Worcester. 7 Sept 2008

Northampton Saints returned to the Premiership after a season in Division One. They have made a number of good forward signings, lock Fernando Lobbe and three Ulster men, Paul Shields, Neil Best and Roger Wilson. Neil Best is a great signing for me. He's a real dog of a blindside. A hard working, no nonsense player. Destructive going forward and a beast in defense. On top form Best is a real animal, someone who you'd rather play with than against.

The first half was fairly scrappy though Carlos Spencer did his best to liven up the game with some crafty play. In the second half Northampton found more control and put together some good passages of play. The move of the game came from a clean line-out take from Best on the half way line. The ball was driven up the the backs and forwards for half a dozen phases to finally create an overlap for the centre Clarke to score on the right. An excellent team try. Worcester scored a consolation try late on to round off a fairly entertaining game.
My man of the match: Neil Best.

Blues 16-16 Leinster. 6 Sept 2008

The first thing noticeable about the Blues is the lack of new players. They’ve signed Ceri Sweeney from the Dragons and that's it. Hardly the most exciting player to bring in, though it does at least offer cover in the no.10 shirt for which they were lacking last season.
The Blues will look back on this game as one they should have won. They controlled most of the game and managed to play more free flowing rugby than Leinster. Jamie Roberts played at 12 for the Blues and he was effective on the crash ball. The experiment of playing him at inside centre should run for a few months at least.
Leinster never really looked like creating a try. They scored a lucky try in the second half when a high kick rebounded off a Blues wing to enable Leinster's full back an easy run in.

My man of the match: Andy Powell. Had an excellent game for the Blues at number 8. Covering for the injured Rush, he was energetic and helped the Blues establish a forward dominance.

Dragons 6-12 Glasgow. 5 Sept. 2008

The first televised game of the Magners league season is played in monsoon conditions. The rain did not relent. Most unseasonal for early September. The Dragons were led by their new captain Tom Willis, a hooker from New Zealand. Their other main new signing was no.10 James Arlidge, another New Zealand player from the Japan leagues.
It was a very forgettable game. No tries were scored and it turned into a battle for territory through the fly-halves. The Glasgow ten Dan Parks began to dominate the tactical kicking in the second half. The game was effectively over when the Dragons full back Shaun Connor was sin-binned for a professional foul with twenty minutes to go. Fussell and Bearman had solid games for the home side.
My man of the match: Dan Parks

Domestic rugby ahoy!

The domestic rugby season starts this weekend. Hasn't the summer gone quickly? When I say summer, in Britain it was just a few weeks in May. The kids had a very poor summer for their school holidays.

It's a Lions season this year and players will be busting a gut to try and get noticed for the squad selection. I expect to a see a great season of domestic rugby. It will be an interesting season for Wales' two big exports to the Guinness Premiership, Dwayne Peel and Michael Owen. Sale have snapped up the services of Dwayne and his increased exposure to an English audience will enhance his claims for Lions selection. If he has a good season I think he will be in with the mix for selection along with Mike Phillips, Mike Blair, Danny Care and Harry Elllis.

Michael Owen's move to Saracens was a surprise when it was announced last year. As a former Newport Dragons player Michael has been one of my favourite Welsh players for many years. For a forward he has great handling abilities and is a prominent player when the game is open and loose. His biggest failing, and it's a very big failing for a forward, is that he is too soft. He's one of the least aggressive forwards I've ever seen. For a man of size, approx 6ft 4ins, he's way too soft. He doesn't hit rucks and mauls with enough power and when carrying the ball he's not dynamic enough. Compare him with someone like James Haskell of Wasps and you can see the difference.

The Guinness Premeirship is more brutal than the Magners league and it will be interesting to see how Michael copes with the increased intensity. I've noticed Saracens have given him his debut this Saturday at number 8. I would have used him as a lock.
Good luck Dwayne and Michael.