United Rugby Championship

[Son of Mathonwy]

Bit of a delayed reaction here but Saturday's Ospreys v Scarlets match was (from my entirely biased perspective) pretty fantastic. Great performances across the board for the Ospreys - the whole pack, especially Lake; Webb consistently excellent; Anscombe making a string claim for the Wales 10 shirt; Giles back to his best, also tackling brilliantly; North effective (and unscathed) on his return. Only Protheroe really had a bad game, unable to handle Conbeer.

The Scarlets, although outclassed up front did had their fair share of standout players: Lousi doing his normal thing; all half backs played well; Johnny Williams was really impressive; Conbeer unstoppable at times.

[Sandydragon]

Bit of a delayed reaction here but Saturday's Ospreys v Scarlets match was (from my entirely biased perspective) pretty fantastic. Great performances across the board for the Ospreys - the whole pack, especially Lake; Webb consistently excellent; Anscombe making a string claim for the Wales 10 shirt; Giles back to his best, also tackling brilliantly; North effective (and unscathed) on his return. Only Protheroe really had a bad game, unable to handle Conbeer.

The Scarlets, although outclassed up front did had their fair share of standout players: Lousi doing his normal thing; all half backs played well; Johnny Williams was really impressive; Conbeer unstoppable at times.

Didn’t see that one sadly (cancelled premier sport subscription). Sounds like a classic

[Numbers]

Bit of a delayed reaction here but Saturday's Ospreys v Scarlets match was (from my entirely biased perspective) pretty fantastic. Great performances across the board for the Ospreys - the whole pack, especially Lake; Webb consistently excellent; Anscombe making a string claim for the Wales 10 shirt; Giles back to his best, also tackling brilliantly; North effective (and unscathed) on his return. Only Protheroe really had a bad game, unable to handle Conbeer.

The Scarlets, although outclassed up front did had their fair share of standout players: Lousi doing his normal thing; all half backs played well; Johnny Williams was really impressive; Conbeer unstoppable at times.

I'm surprised the Scarlets didn't give Conbeer the ball more often as he looked dangerous all the tie, the game was won up front tho and a full strength Ospreys pack was too much for the Scarlets.

[Son of Mathonwy]

Almost a carbon copy of last week for the Ospreys, shaky start then forward dominance and a big win. Shame that winning bonuses have been so elusive before now. Another excellent day for the forwards, especially Lake and twins separated at birth Nicky Smith and Morgan Morris. Anscombe was good but not as immaculate as last week. North was effective throughout, Giles and Collins were dangerous, Cuthbert excellent under high ball. 51 points, and that was after taking Lake and Morris off at 60 minutes, and Webb missing most of the match. Might get a reality check from the Bulls in a couple of weeks though.

[Numbers]

Almost a carbon copy of last week for the Ospreys, shaky start then forward dominance and a big win. Shame that winning bonuses have been so elusive before now. Another excellent day for the forwards, especially Lake and twins separated at birth Nicky Smith and Morgan Morris. Anscombe was good but not as immaculate as last week. North was effective throughout, Giles and Collins were dangerous, Cuthbert excellent under high ball. 51 points, and that was after taking Lake and Morris off at 60 minutes, and Webb missing most of the match. Might get a reality check from the Bulls in a couple of weeks though.

If they could get the backs firing they could be a serious proposition tho obviously the forwards will win most games for them, the Dragons backs looked better to me, Rio Dyer is coming along nicely.

In the Cardiff game Max Llewlyn was very good.

I think the Champions league place could come down to who can get a losing bonus point against the SA teams, The Bulls and The stormers still have a requirement to win their games for play-off chances so I can't see either of the Welsh sides winning unfortunately. I can't really complain about the Scarlets form this season as they have been beset with injuries so qualifying for the Champions Cup would be a big bonus.

[Numbers]

I see the Scarlets have extended Lezana's contract, whereas I think he's a pretty good player it's not as though we are short of home grown back row players in Wales and I can't help thinking that we would be better served with one of them, if the regions do go down to 3 we need to maintain as many Welsh players within the squads as possible imo for player depth purposes.

[Son of Mathonwy]

A soul destroying one point loss for the Dragons last night. Cardiff were quite lucky to come out with the result from that close match. Will Reed is a good player, I hope he isn't too despondent about his penalty kick at the end.

[Sandydragon]

A soul destroying one point loss for the Dragons last night. Cardiff were quite lucky to come out with the result from that close match. Will Reed is a good player, I hope he isn't too despondent about his penalty kick at the end.

Not a quality game but thats par for the course at the moment. We are our own worst enemies at time with our indiscipline and until that's fixed, plus whatever mental block we have about winning, its going too be hard going.

[Numbers]

A soul destroying one point loss for the Dragons last night. Cardiff were quite lucky to come out with the result from that close match. Will Reed is a good player, I hope he isn't too despondent about his penalty kick at the end.

Barring the Dragons last try the game was like watching part timers, the lack of cohesion was worryingly poor.

[Sandydragon]

Cardiff humiliated in Italy and ospreys are up against it at home vs the Bulls. This season can’t end soon enough

[Buggaluggs]

Ospreys loose 31-38 and get 2 bonus points. Not as close as it sounds. Two very late tries for the Ospreys made it look more respectable.

[Son of Mathonwy]

Cardiff make a strong case to get their region axed.

The Ospreys looked shaky at times but came back with an acceptable result. (Got to say I thought Morgan got Hendricks' knee into touch ... but hey, great intercept from him at the end). Quite a game.

[Wallpaperman]

Was a good game, North’s opposite number filled his boots though.

Anscombe looked good again, and the Ospreys were threatening when they were able to pick up the pace, running tap penalties etc. Webb still has the skills and decision making, but doesn’t have any pace anymore. He threw two excellent dummies to break the line post breakdown but was unable to finish himself, or find support.

That Bulls pack was absolutely immense - where do they get these blokes ??

[Wallpaperman]

Absolutely shocking from Cardiff. They put in some really good performances a few weeks ago, beating Leinster (mainly second string, but still) and Glasgow, but some of the recent performances, eg Friday and at home to the Scarlets were terrible. Not sure if it is coaching or personnel but it’s not acceptable.

Went to the game v Dragons a couple of weeks ago, not a stunning game of rugby, but at least they put the effort in then.

[Sandydragon]

Cardiff make a strong case to get their region axed.

The Ospreys looked shaky at times but came back with an acceptable result. (Got to say I thought Morgan got Hendricks' knee into touch ... but hey, great intercept from him at the end). Quite a game.

I did too. The commentators were going on about yellow boots but I though Hendricks knee hit the ground just before the ball did.

[Son of Mathonwy]

An all-South African URC final. Maybe even the Irish will start regretting letting them in. At least I hope it focusses minds on the possible consequences if SA were to be allowed into the 6N.

Grim stuff though, for Wales, if we can't even get one team into the top half of the table. Not a great way to build audiences.

[Sandydragon]

An all-South African URC final. Maybe even the Irish will start regretting letting them in. At least I hope it focusses minds on the possible consequences if SA were to be allowed into the 6N.

Grim stuff though, for Wales, if we can't even get one team into the top half of the table. Not a great way to build audiences.

So Leinster have come up short twice this season, that’s a big shock. But probably a good thing for both competitions.

[Son of Mathonwy]

Great performance from the Ospreys to crush Glasgow (although I'm trying to forget seeing their 29 point lead in the 80th minute slipping to 15 points by the end). Hopefully Giles will get a call up after 4 tries in 2 matches. Hope Anscombe is okay.

[Sandydragon]

Fair play, Giles is in very good form. Deserves an opportunity, even if against Georgia. Ospreys pack is looking tidy and the backline seems to remember now how to use a rugby ball. Still not sure Webb is the right scrum half and theres a worrying tendency to lose focus. But At least on the right path.

[Son of Mathonwy]

This weekend the regions go to SA minus their best players. Why am I going to watch this? It isn't going to be pretty.

[Son of Mathonwy]

Having said that, the Scarlets look pretty strong:

Scarlets: Johnny McNicholl; Tom Rogers, Jonathan Davies (capt), Scott Williams, Ryan Conbeer; Dan Jones, Gareth Davies; Steff Thomas, Daf Hughes, Harri O'Connor, Sam Lousi, Tom Price, Aaron Shingler, Dan Davis, Sione Kalamafoni.

Replacements: Taylor Davies, Kemsley Mathias, WillGriff John, Blade Thomson, Tomás Lezana, Archie Hughes, Rhys Patchell, Steff Evans.

Wales's loss is the Scarlets' gain, as they have McNicholl, Foxy, Scott Williams, Conbeer, Gareth Davies and Patchell available.

[Sandydragon]

This weekend the regions go to SA minus their best players. Why am I going to watch this? It isn't going to be pretty.

Yeah, this could sting. Its a big ask even with a strong squad.

Dragons team is:

Obrien
Richards
Hughes
Dixon
Tomlinson
S Davies
L Jones
Seoul
Benjamin
Fairbrother
J Davies
Lonsdale
Wainwright
Fry
Moriarty

Replacements:
Shipp, Reynolds, Coleman, Screech, Taylor, Hope, Hanrahan, J Williams.

A few changes there caused by call ups and injury. Back row is decent but I'm expecting the front 5 to struggle.

[Son of Mathonwy]

This weekend the regions go to SA minus their best players. Why am I going to watch this? It isn't going to be pretty.

Yeah, this could sting. Its a big ask even with a strong squad.

Dragons team is:

Obrien
Richards
Hughes
Dixon
Tomlinson
S Davies
L Jones
Seoul
Benjamin
Fairbrother
J Davies
Lonsdale
Wainwright
Fry
Moriarty

Replacements:
Shipp, Reynolds, Coleman, Screech, Taylor, Hope, Hanrahan, J Williams.

A few changes there caused by call ups and injury. Back row is decent but I'm expecting the front 5 to struggle.

They're going to struggle. They have some quality - Wainwright, Moriarty and O'Brien - but not enough of it.

[Son of Mathonwy]

The Ospreys have a fair smattering of talent but too many are with Wales:

Ospreys: Max Nagy; Luke Morgan, Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler, Keiran Williams, Keelan Giles; Jack Walsh, Rhys Webb (capt); Garyn Phillips, Scott Baldwin, Tom Botha, Bradley Davies, Huw Sutton, Ethan Roots, Will Hickey, Morgan Morris.

Replacements: Sam Parry, Rhys Henry, Ben Warren, James Fender, Jack Regan, Reuben Morgan-Williams, Luke Scully, Cai Evans.

[Numbers]

Having said that, the Scarlets look pretty strong:

Scarlets: Johnny McNicholl; Tom Rogers, Jonathan Davies (capt), Scott Williams, Ryan Conbeer; Dan Jones, Gareth Davies; Steff Thomas, Daf Hughes, Harri O'Connor, Sam Lousi, Tom Price, Aaron Shingler, Dan Davis, Sione Kalamafoni.

Replacements: Taylor Davies, Kemsley Mathias, WillGriff John, Blade Thomson, Tomás Lezana, Archie Hughes, Rhys Patchell, Steff Evans.

Wales's loss is the Scarlets' gain, as they have McNicholl, Foxy, Scott Williams, Conbeer, Gareth Davies and Patchell available.

Other than them having no second row cover on the bench, they'll do well to get anything out of this match tbh.