After Wales’ heroics it was down to earth with a bump for regions
FROM the highs of a historic November for the Welsh team it was back to the bread and butter of regional and club rugby.
While some produced performances akin to the finest brioche for others it was a weekend right up there with a stale supermarket loaf.
So with the dust settling on Wales’ triumphant autumn international campaign we give you the Welsh winners and losers from a weekend that went badly wrong for three of Wales’ four regions.
WINNERS JACOB BOTICA
He’s the son of a former All Blacks star bidding to make a name for himself in the oval-ball game. But having been a key part of the recent success of RGC 1404, it’s fair to say Botica’s summer move to the Dragons hasn’t gone swimmingly, with appearances very few and far between amid some injury problems.
There’s a train of thought the outside-half probably could do as well as the current crop of players on parade for the region and the 25-year-old did his cause no harm at all with a dream debut for Cross Keys in the Premiership.
He kicked 16 points to steer them to a 26-18 victory over Llandovery and end their nine-game winless run.
Could he be the answer to the Dragons’ big problem position?
NEWPORT
Revenge is a dish best served cold and the Black & Ambers have had their record 41-7 National Cup final defeat at the hands of Merthyr at the Principality Stadium, on the back-burner for the last seven months.
Newport may not have the whip hand over the Ironmen in the cup, but on their Premiership travels to The Wern, they now have back-toback wins over the defending champions.
Their 30-28 victory on Saturday saw the lead change hands seven times, but a late converted Elliot Frewen try saw Newport prevail. “To be fair to Newport, they came up to us and really fronted up – again! Their first try was pretty special and their matchwinner was good execution,” said Merthyr head coach Dale McIntosh.
LUKE MORGAN
It’s says a lot about the 26-year-old that he can put a lacklustre Wales debut against Scotland last month behind him to get the Ospreys back to winning ways in the PRO14. The Sevens star barely got a touch against the Scots. However, he showed what a lethal finisher he is with his first 15-a-side try hat-trick as the Ospreys walloped Zebre 43-0.
It took the 5ft 9in tall and 12st 10lb winger’s tally for the region to seven in just six outings, with his first being a spectacular acrobatic finish.
Morgan said: “It wasn’t a bad game to come back to. I managed to squeeze myself past a couple of players for my first try. It was a little bit tight to score but I got there in the end.
“It was my first hat-trick at 15-a-side and hopefully there will be more to come.”
PONTYPOOL
They’re the Manchester City of Welsh rugby, albeit operating on a smaller playing budget.
Pep Guardiola’s side are hot favourites to retain their Premier League title.
Pooler in comparison are simply a volcanic bet to lift the WRU Championship crown once again and head into a play-off for a spot in the Principality Premiership. And their odds would have shortened further in the last two weeks after beating two of the chasing pack - Ystrad Rhondda and Cardiff Met - at their Pontypool Park fortress.
Narberth could well be their distant challengers if they win their game in hand with a bonus point, but it would still put the west Walians 13 in arrears.
LLANELLI
It’s already warming up at the bottom of the Principality Premiership and the winter weather has still to take a grip on the country.
Just a few weeks ago you wondered just how Llanelli would get themselves out of the bottom four and avoid automatic relegation to the Championship.
But things are moving in the right direction and their 35-3 win over Bridgend at the Parc y Scarlets on the weekend dragged another famous old club into the mire.
The encounter was effectively over by the break with Llanelli 21-3 ahead, with just the matter of bagging a bonus point in the second period.
Their five point haul leapfrogged them over the Ravens into 13th spot with a crunch match looming with Neath this week.
OWEN WILLIAMS
Gloucester fans got a potentially exciting glimpse into the future as Wales’ forgotten man from the 2017 autumn internationals linked up with an England Test maverick for the first time at Kingsholm.
And Williams and Danny Cipriani in the 12-10 axis worked a treat for the Cherry & Whites romped to a 36-16 rout of Worcester Warriors in the Gallagher Premiership.
Williams produced arguably his best performance since arriving from Leicester Tigers in the summer of 2017 in his first Premiership start this season.
His turnover penalty set the platform for hooker James Hanson’s try and interplay with Cipriani saw wing Charlie Sharples cross the whitewash.
And Williams’ sleight of hand with a deft reverse pass set up Ollie Thorley’s first try. Gloucester coach Johan Ackermann was delighted with the contribution of the Welshman. “We mustn’t get carried away with the win, it’s only one game of a long season, and the same when we select sides,” Ackermann told the Gloucester Citizen.
“The reality is we all are very pleased with the performance of Owen. He was good for us, he did good things.”
LOSERS BEDWAS
The Principality Premiership club didn’t get the chance to join the winners or losers column for the their on-pitch exploits.
Their clash with Neath was postponed to some time in 2019 with the Welsh All Blacks going through a well-documented crisis off the pitch.
Their scheduled trip to Bedwas on Saturday, that was called off, will know have financial repercussions for the hosts with the club admitting they could well suffer a five-figure financial hit in the pocket for the postponement.
While sympathetic with Neath’s situation, Bedwas like many other clubs in the semi-pro game are feeling the pinch.
“It was a Saturday game and we had got all of our activities in place, if it is now moved to midweek then we lose gate revenue, bar revenue and our sponsor,” chairman Mark Lewis told the South Wales Argus. “We also had our Dragons drop-ins that will now go to other clubs and we may not get them for the return match.
“There’s no thought about us. I have nothing against Neath and I am sympathetic of their position, because all of us in the Premiership are having financial issues, but this decision doesn’t help our cause.”
JONAH HOLMES
The excitement of a Welsh debut in the autumn internationals weekend certainly lost some of its pixie dust at Ashton Gate on Saturday as
Leicester Tigers were mauled 41-10 by Bristol Bears.
It was a record defeat for Holmes’ Tigers at the hands of Bristol as Harry Thacker grabbed a first half brace for the hosts against his former club.
Kyle Eastmond’s sending off after 25 minutes for the visitors would prove crucial, as they added only three points while they were down to 14 men.
DRAGONS
It was probably an understatement when Dragons skipper Richard Hibbard said his team lacked physicality and let themselves down in a crushing 59-10 home defeat by Leinster in the Pro14.
The defending champions ran in nine tries despite resting most of their current Ireland squad with more pressing games ahead in Europe. They only had one versus the Dragons - Scott Fardy.
The rest of their side was made up by second or third-choice players and a bunch of promising youngsters.
“I think we let ourselves down out there, we had the worst possible start,” said former British and Irish Lions hooker Hibbard.
“We lacked physicality and cohesion, from last week [beating Edinburgh] we were like chalk and cheese.
“The [defence] system is OK; there were individual errors, but you’re always going to have that with a new system and it will take time,” said Hibbard.
All in all, it was a humiliating weekend.
SCARLETS
It’s best new Scarlets coach Brad Mooar wasn’t casting an eye on his next coaching project at Scotstoun Stadium last weekend.
For the man named Wayne Pivac’s successor on Monday might think he’s got plenty on his plate swapping the Crusaders in Canterbury for the Scarlets in west Wales.
For Pivac was left scratching his scalp at his side’s latest underwhelming display on their travels.
The Scarlets had headed north of the border to Glasgow boasting six of Wales’ autumn Test squad in their starting line-up.
In contrast, Glasgow coach Dave Rennie opted to rest his Scotland contingent, putting his faith in youth.
But despite the Warriors being reduced to 14 men after just 18 minutes following the dismissal of prop Alex Allan for a high hit on Jake Ball, the Scarlets left Scotland empty for the second time on the road this term.
In truth, a final 29-20 scoreline flattered them.
The Welsh side’s discipline was appalling, they made a string of uncharacteristic handling errors, while the scrum also suffered against a seven-man home pack.