Ospreys 15-9 Perpignan. 18 Oct. 2008

The Ospreys were involved in other tryless match, this time scrapping a win. James Hook was injured and Dan Biggar played. Biggar was quite impressive at 10 and controlled the game well for a young man. I acutally prefer him at 10 at the moment. James is having mixed season so far especially with his goal kicking. Lee Byrne and Tiatia played well. The Ospreys managed to control the game throughout but failed to score a try. The French time never really troubled the excellent homeside defence.
My man of the match: Byrne

Glasgow 16-22 Toulouse. 17 Oct. 2008

The homeside put in a sterling effort in the first half and had a lot of possession. The Glasgow winger Tom Evans caught the eye. He was sharp and looks one to keep an eye on for the future. It was only after the break that the French side starting playing. Kelleher scored a good try and then super centre Jauzion went over after a neat kick through from the full back. Toulouse are always exciting to watch. They can run riot at any moment and score some magical team and indiviual tries. Glasgow can be pleased with a losing bonus point.
My man of the match: Jauzion.

Yet another Lions XV

Now that the Gats and Stan have been confirmed on the Lions' coaching team it got me thinking about my starting XV for the first test. (again)

1. Gethin Jenkins
2. Jerry Flannery
3. Andrew Sheridan
4. Paul O'Connell
5. Alun Wyn-Jones
6. Ryan Jones
7. Martyn Williams
8. Denis Leamy
9. Mike Blair
10. Ronan O'Gara
11. Shane Williams
12. Gavin Henson
13. Brian O'Driscoll
14. Tommy Bowe
15. Lee Byrne

subs: Matt Stevens, Richard Hibbard, Donncha O'Callaghan , James Haskell, Mike Phillips, Danny Cipriani, Shane Horgan

I've gone for a quite a mobile pack. Most of the games will be played on dry fast pitches. Blair and O'Gara offer the best control at nine and ten. We await Phillips' return from injury but hopefully he can find a way into the starting 22. Henson is always a concern but if his form fades during the game BOD could move in to 12 with Bowe coming into 13, or Cipriani could come on with Ronan moving to 12.

I'm really undecided about captian. Can't split O'Connell and Ryan Jones at the moment.

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Originally posted at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A42646485

Leicester 12-6 Ospreys. 12 Oct. 2008

A rare game without a try. Wellford Road has always been a tough place to get a result and in hindsight a bonus point for the Ospreys was very lucky indeed. Leicester were by far the better team and in the first half they created enough chances to score half a dozen tries. The final pass seemed to let the Tigers down. It was relentless one traffic in the first half and although no tries were scored Toby Flood managed to land four excellent penalities. Shane Williams responded with a cheeky drop kick on half time and the teams went in 12 - 3. The Ospreys improved in the second half but Hook was having an off day with his place kicking. Leicester were still held at bay by a determined Ospreys defence and they didn't score a point in the second half.
The moment of the match was when Tommy Bowe chipped over the advancing defensive line and hacked on towards the posts. It was a mad dash to ground the ball and would have been a rousing finish to the game but Geordan Murphy managed to scramble back to put pressure on Bowe, and he knocked on. At the final whistle Leicester seemed very pleased to have won. In reality they should have been 20 points clear.

My man of the match: Toby Flood. Solid first half performance.

Scarlets 22-29 Harlequins. 11 Oct. 2008

The Scarlets opened the game with some free flowing rugby and scored two early tries. Morgan Stoddart was in very good attacking form. The home side played a fast game and created alot of opportunities and it was only Quins' last ditch defence that prevented more tries. The turning point of the game came late in the first half. Darren Daniel was speeding away on the wing and look set to score a good try but Mike Brown the Quins fullback produced an excellent cover tackle. This was just before half time and going in to the break the score was 19 - 3.
The second half saw a remarkable improvement from the visiting team. Led by the pack and the always busy scrum half Danny Care, Quins bounced back to score tries and take the lead. As the game wore on they never looked like losing. It was a great Quins' comeback but a worrying drop off in form for the Scarlets.

My man of the match: Danny Care.

Calvisano 20-56 Cardiff Blues. 11 Oct. 2008

The Italians can be quite tricky teams to play. Especially the club sides as they wear rugby kits crammed with sponsors logo. It's quite ridiculous the number of logos on the kit. Even the shorts aren't spared. Calvisano's kit certainly played havoc with the Blues in the first half. They recieved to yellow cards. Come the second half the Blues had settled and they were scoring much too easily. It was always going to be a win for Cardiff and the game was quite boring to watch.

My man of the match: Andy Powell. His performances so far this season should see him into Wales' Autumn tests' squad.

Munster 19-17 Montauban. 10 Oct. 2008

Defending champions played host to a French side making their first appearance in the Heineken Cup. On paper it looked like an easy win for the Irish team. The reality was a whole lot different. Munster tried to play a fast off-loading game but their execution was lacking. They missed a few opportunites for tries in the first half. The French team's dogged defence was admirable and they hung on till the last part of the first half when Munster eventually scored a try.
After the half time break things got better for Montauban when they crossed the white wash. Strong defence from the French saw the ball come off a defending player's head and the winger chased on to put the visitors ahead. The game looked to be going Montauban's way when they were awarded a penality with five minutes to go. The kicked was slotted and they led 16 - 17. This was short lived as after the kick off Munster forced a penalty and O'Gara kicked the winning points. A bit hard on Montauban. It would have been a great victory for the underdog.

My man of the match: Scrum half Mitu. Ran the show for Montauban in the second half.

Ospreys 24-23 Harlequins. 5 Oct. 2008

A second string Quins team turned up to face a strong Ospreys team. It was another classic game of two halves. In the first half the home side were totally dominant although they failed to capitalise on their possession. They managed to score an exellent try after Alun Wyn-Jones hit a brilliant angle for a run. He passed on to Henson who fed Shane Williams to dot the try down.
The game was set-up for the Ospreys to run away with it in the second half but Quins scrum half Gomarsall had other ideas. He played a stormer in the second half urging his forwards on and gaining terrority with some probing kicks. Quins pulled back two tries from De Wet Barry and Fuga and made the Ospreys look a shadow of the team from the first half.
The game looked over but the last play of the game saw Bowe score a try in the corner and Hook kicked a difficult conversion. A real escape for the Welsh side.

My man of the match: Gomarsall.

Dragons 25-14 Newcastle. 3 Oct 2008

First round EDF Cup group game. Both teams put up weakened sides. They were essentially b sides. The Dragons opened the scoring from a Marc Stcherbina try after a chase from a kick up field. Newcastle came back into the game and Ringer recieved a yellow card for aggressive rucking. Jamie Ringer does tend to play right on the edge and he's usually a good bet to get a yellow card. The Falcons managed to get a penalty try for a collapsed scrum from the Dragons.
In the second half player coach Colin Charvis came on to provide fresh legs. He was dynamic in the loose and created the turning point of the match. Going into a ruck he secured turnover ball and proceeded to dash out and flick on a pass to the the supporting winger Tom Isaacs. He showed a quick turn of acceleration and darted over the line.
The Dragons added one more try through Tovey and the win was settled.

My man of the match: Colin Charvis. Great flanker play.

Worcester 23-30 Harlequins. 2 Oct 2008

A Thursday night Guinness Premiership game at Sixways. The commentators informed us that the new £8 million pound stand was being used for the first time this season. That's a lot of money for one side of a stadium. Worcester must have some big investors. The game started at a frenetic pace and Worcester opened the scoring with a neat drop kick from Matthew Jones after some exciting counter attacking. This seemed to spark Harlequins into life and in a breathless five minutes they scored 3 tries. Worcester couldn't cope with the quick ruck ball Quins were generating. The visitors ran amok with Danny Care feeding the sharp back line and strong support on hand to finish off the moves. The game was only 12 minutes gone and Quins were up 17 - 3. The homeside eventually managed to steady the ship and scored a well worked try from the base of the scrum. Quins then hit back with a classic turnover try from their own half. The ball was passed out to the centre and a long kick was put in for the winger Monye to chase. Latham made a valiant effort to cut the try off but Monye had too much pace and control and managed to touch down for an excellent try. Half time score 13 - 27.

The homeside made a good effort to come back into the game the second half with an early try. There was plenty of endeavour from both sides but no more tries were scored. Chris Malone missed a few kicks and in the last ten minutes Worcester earned a penalty that secured a losing bonus point. This was nothing more than the home side deserved. An enjoyable game throughout.

My man of the match: Ugo Monye

Ospreys 43-0 Ulster. 27 Sept 2008

The Ospreys shuffled their backline for this home tie against the league's bottom team. Dan Biggar came into the ten shirt and Hook and Tommy Bowe played in the centre. An interesting move. Personally I would always play Bowe on the wing. He's an out-and-out winger and has an excellent skill set. Shane Williams played and Marty Hollah started for the first time this season. The home side were competent and wore down the girtty Ulster defenece. Lee Byrne was solid as usual at fullback and if he has a good 6 Nations tournament must surely be worthy of place in the Lions squad. In the second half the game went off the boil a bit. Gavin Henson returned from a few months out with injury though the ball never seem to find him and it was difficult to assess his form. A comfortable win for the Ospreys.

My man of the match: Lee Byrne