Wales 23-15 England. 14 Feb. 2009

Apart from the result this match will be remembered for one thing; Joe Worsley's man marking of Jamie Roberts. The England head coach had watched Jamie's awesome performance against Scotland and decided that drastic measures were needed. Joe Worsley spent the whole match shadowing and tackling Jame Roberts. There were times in the second half when Wales had an attacking scrum and the England fly half packed down at blind side with Joe playing at ten. It was a negative ploy but it worked very well and Jamie Roberts had a tough day. It was disappointing that Wales did not vary their game enough. They kept trying to barge through the middle with Roberts and Powell but Worsley and the back row were equal to the task.
England's performance was a huge step up from the previous game and they actually managed to out score Wales by two tries to one. Leigh Halfpenny scored Wales' try in the second half after indiscipline saw England reduced to 14 men. The tight five of Wales had a massive game and secured good ball throughout the game and were all over the play in defence. Wales' composure saw them control large parts of the game and with about 10 minutes to go the home side stretched their lead to 8 points to ensure the win.
A hard fought victory.

My man of the match: Joe Worlsey. Did everything the coach asked of him.

Scotland 13-26 Wales. 8 Feb 2009

Three things to remember about this game. One, Scotland players making big hits on Welsh players and coming off worse. Two, Leigh Halfpenny's first 6 Nations try. Three, solid Welsh defence in the last 15 minutes.
I was impressed with how sharply Wales started. They played some slick rugby in the first ten minutes. The first big moment of the game came when Scotland winger Simon Webster put a big tackle on Martyn Williams. The Welsh open side was stopped in his tracks and his head was whipped back nastily. Thankfully Martyn was okay and it was Webster who was feeling more groggy from the tackle. Not long after Scotland prop Geoff Cross chased an up and under and took out Lee Byrne in the air as he was catching the ball. The replay showed that Cross caught a knee in the face accidentally. He was stretchered off and given a yellow for the dangerous tackle. Wales piled on the pressure and managed to score two tries when Scotland were down to 14 men. Shanklin and Wyn-Jones crossed after good team play.
The best try of the game came early in the second half. Jamie Roberts made a good break up the middle and the ball went through the backline to Shane Williams who off loaded brilliantly to set up Halfpenny for a fall over the line. More good play saw Shane add to his Wales try count before Gatland brought on new players for the last twenty minutes. Scotland came back into the game with a try but the final result was never in doubt.
A solid start for Wales. A decent away win.

My man of the match: Jamie Roberts

Ireland 30-21 France. 7 Feb. 2009

One of the best 6 Nations games in recent years. This was an excellent game and a thrilling contest throughout. It's not often that two equally matched teams play to their potential and produce a real International Test match. At least not in Northern Hemisphere rugby. I went into this game having given up watching the England v Italy game after 60 minutes. That game in Twickenham was real bad. No structure at all to England's play and they kicked away much to much ball.
The two teams at Croke Park were playing rugby of a different standard. Their intent was to ran the ball and play an expansive game. France scored the first of the game's five tries after some cohesive play between the forwards and backs led to Harinordoquy touching down in the corner. Not to be outdone Ireland soon hit back with a great team try of their own. Line-out ball was secured in their own half and Kearny and Bowe were involved in some good back play that tore through the France defence. The ball found it's way to Jamie Heaslip and he headed towards the line and managed a sidestep to glide past the covering player for a classy try.
Early in the second half BOD announced his return to top form with a classic centre break that saw him score under the posts. France came back in determined fashioned and Medard latched onto a cross field kick to score a good wingers try. The game was in the balance at 20-18 with twenty minutes to go. The home side played a blinder in the last quarter as they controlled the game superbly. The turning point of the game was D'Arcy's third try that gave Ireland a clear lead. I was hoping for a dramatic late come back from France but Ireland held firm.
High quality rugby throughout and a very enjoybale game to watch.

My man of the match: Heaslip.

Scotland U20 18-17 Wales U20. 6 Feb. 2009

At this age group Scotland had by far the better players. Two giant and dynamic second rows, a tidy full back and in Chris Fusaro an open side flanker of real potential. It was rather surprising that Scotland didn't score any tries. They played some cohesive attacking rugby but couldn't quite get the try. It was left to Wales to show them how to finish. Kristian Phillips, the Wales winger had an excellent game scoring two solo tries that he'll long remember. His first try was a classic wingers try, taking advantage of turnover ball, he ghosted past the outside centre, checked inside the covering defender and had enough gas to finish off the move. His second try was nothing more than a consolation as Scotland already had the game in the bag. Tovey chipped a neat cross field kick that landed in Phillips' hands and he ran in to give the away side more to cheer.

My man of the match: Fusaro

Scarlets 40-24 Barbarians. 31 Jan. 2009

The Scarlets became the first Welsh region to play the Barbarians and both teams entertained the full ground to some open rugby. The home side took an early 21 points lead. Morgan Stoddart was once again showcasing his silky running skills scoring a smart solo effort from his own half. In my opinion Halfpenny is a better overall fullback. Stoddart dropped off a tackle in the second half to allow fullback Ben Blair to score a try. As the Six Nations was just round the corner the Barbarians fielded one of their weakest sides in recent years. Their stand out player was Ben Blair.


My man of the match: Jonathan Davies. The Scarlets centre was all over the place and had a fine game in attack and defence.

Ospreys 15-9 Leicester. 24 Jan. 2009

The Ospreys needed to win by 8 or more to finish top of their group. Leicester managed to get a losing bonus point and in the end both teams went through to the quarter finals.
It was a forgettable game of rugby. I was disappointed the Ospreys couldn't find much cutting edge though credit must go to Leicester to their defence and resolve. No tries were scored and on this form neither of these teams will win the Cup.

My man of the match: Geordan Murphy

Sale 26-17 Clermont. 24 January 2009

The French team played some fine counter attack rugby in the first half. Their full back Floch was running some good lines and gaining alot of yards. Clermont scored a fine try through their jumbo winger Nalaga. He's not quite as big as Matt Banahan but still a very large winger. Sale had selected McAllister at ten and this gave the team more momentum in attack. The New Zealander is a dynamic runner and has a great skill set. His control at ten inspired Sale to come back into the game in the second half. Dwyane Peel scored a good solo in typical scrum half fashion as he sniped around the blind side and had enough pace to beat the covering defence.

My man of the match: McAllister

Blues 62-22 Calvisano. 23 January 2009

The Blues needed a bonus point win to finish as top seed going into the Heineken Cup quarter finals. This was managed with ease as they put the Italian to the sword, especially in the second half. Halfpenny was sharp as usual. The stand out try for me was an individual effort from Molitika. He latched on to the ball from a Calvisano lineout on the half way line and proceeded to outsprint the covering defence. On the tv replay you could see one of the Italian wingers give up the chase much too early. Still a good solo effort though.

My man of the match: Molitika

Gloucester 12-16 Blues. 18 Jan 2009

The Blues secured qualification for the Heineken Cup quarter finals in dramatic fashion with a memorable away win. The tie turned on its' head when Tom James was red carded on 28 mins for lashing out against a Gloucester prop. For the reminder of the game the Blues played with 14 men. Strangely this did not diminish their attacking play and they tested Gloucester throughout the second half , even having a try disallowed. The heavy conditions underfoot did not suit the home side as they failed to unlock the magnificent Blues defence. Jamie Roberts and Leigh Halfpenny were excellent in the back line. In fact the whole 14 men of the Blues put in a fantastic amount of hard work to keep Gloucester at bay. With 15 minutes to go Xavier Rush come on to give the Blues a fresh forward thrust, and with five minutes to go Bradley Davies scored a try after some superb team play. It was welcome reward for a great overall second half performance.
Gloucester were nowhere near their best but all the plaudits will go to the 14 men of the Blues. Great stuff.

My man of the match: Jamie Roberts. Closely followed by the rest of the Blues team.

Perpignan 17-15 Ospreys. 17 Jan. 2009

One of the most frustrating games of rugby I've seen for a long time. The Ospreys went out with the intention of trying to force the game from the very first minute and play perfect attacking rugby. It worked for about five minutes and then the home side woke up. The Ospreys are their own worst enemy, they often try to run before they can walk. They were hoping to break down the Perpignan defence off first phase attack and score tries. This was never going to happen and errors soon crept into their game. Lee Byrne took a fall and went off with an ankle injury. The home side racked up the penalties and early in the second half scored a try to extend the lead to 17-0. At that stage of the game a losing bonus looked well out of the Ospreys grasp. Somehow a fightback was forged and Mike Phillips got the side going forward enabling tries for Shane Williams and Vaughton. It was a spirited comeback but only served to highlight the way the Ospreys should have been playing in the first half.

My man of the match: Holah