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