Six Nations so far!
What an English hypocrite I am !!! Nothing changes!! I am not impressed with Ireland after a poor performance against Wales, but I am more than forgiving of the English after a shite performance against Italy!! Shocking!!
Wales seem to be disappearing at an alarming rate down the plug hole! They have the best scrum half, a very good ball carrying No 8, the best No 7, and plenty of talented backs. So why so poor? No doubt Ieuan Shadwell Evans will give us a serious and intelligent analysis soon, but for now you will have to be happy with mine!
Jones at 10 is playing far too deep, hence they are struggling to pierce any defences. Their forwards lack leadership, and are conceding ground, speed and metres at the breakdowns. The midfield lacks a cutting edge and their general play is too slow, predictable and very un Welsh at the moment. Gone is the flair, the unpredictability, the pace the nerve, the cheek that has always shown them at their best. If they are to resurrect anything from this tournament and Pickering's amazing statement pre tournament that they were on track to win the World Cup, then they have to go back to those facets of their play that makes them special. Instinctive play, daring play, courage and pace to attempt the unexpected and let their footballers make their natural decisions rather than the laboured, ineffective sham that is being delivered at the moment.
Why do I care?? Not sure!! But bizarrely I do !!!!
2 comments:
"So why so poor?"
I think it's quite simple. That's how the gods punish regicide.
The Welsh were stupid enough to get rid of a perfectly good coach in a pretty disgusting way and the gods have decreed that instead of suffering plagues of boils and locusts they will be plagued by injury and lose to the Scots.
"Why do I care??"
Because you're a sentimental, old fool.
You, like me, probably remember (and perhaps were even inspired by) the rugby gods who wore the red jersey 30 years ago. Players like Gareth Edwards, JPR Williams, Phil Bennet et al played the game with a magical artistry and intelligence which, while common currency in the Wales of the coal mine and the grammar school, is very rare in the modern game. I suspect that if you could line up modern players against those greats you would find that the modern players are bigger, faster, stronger, fitter but on the field the Edwards and Williams would still run rings round the modern players. Why? Because in those days Welsh players' brains, bodies and nervous systems were wired differently from ordinary mortals. Some strange combination of damp, coal dust, druids and eisteddfods made all the difference.
But those days are long gone. Central heating, natural gas from Russia, Old Labour and the Conservatives alike (the abolition of grammar schools) have put paid to all that, so get over it. You just have to hope that the upcoming World Cup will throw up another Dominici to confound the over-muscled Kiwis and restore some of the magic, the artistry we used to expect from the Welsh.
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