Where there’s a Will – Pivac may have found a new partner for his talisman
IT was another busy weekend in Welsh rugby, with the second round of Guinness PRO14 fixtures taking place.
There were also the Gallagher Premiership semi-finals in England, with decent Welsh representation across the four sides.
But who had a week to remember and who would sooner forget the past few days?
Here’s the winners and losers...
WINNERS WILL ROWLANDS
One of the surprise omissions from the Wales squad last Tuesday was Adam Beard.
Standing at 6ft 8in, the Ospreys lock seemingly had, as Liam Neeson would put it, a unique set of skills. Warren Gatland once remarked you can’t coach someone to be that tall.
Yet for anyone who watched Wasps sweep past Bristol on their way to the Premiership final, you’d realise that Wayne Pivac has that area of the game covered – and then some.
Because once again, Will Rowlands, himself 6ft 8in, shone for the Coventry-based side in virtually all facets of the game – disrupting mauls, quick over the ball to win turnovers, continuing his record of not missing a tackle in more than 50 attempts since rugby resumed following lockdown.
It was certainly further evidence he has the work ethic and hard edge to potentially start alongside Alun Wyn Jones this autumn.
He was picked out for praise by BT Sport commentators Lawrence Dallaglio and Austin Healey, with Healey saying: “You just see every time he touches the ball something positive happens.”
He looks a real find.
THOMAS YOUNG
Another Wasps star to impress, Young had another superlative game, wreaking havoc alongside Jack Willis.
Unfortunately for Young and Wales, he’s off limits for Test selection after extending his deal with the Premiership outfit.
Despite the back-row competition in this country, it seems a shame a player of his quality should be left to continually look in from the outside when it comes to Wales.
Regardless, he keeps on producing the goods in Coventry.
JAMIE ROBERTS
There would have been plenty of Dragons players chomping at the bit last Friday night after missing out on Wales selection.
However, it was a Welsh international who’s been out of the fold for a couple of years who really shone in the win over Zebre.
It was a trademark Jamie Roberts performance at Rodney Parade, capping off a lovely week for him personally that saw him announce he’s expecting his first child.
DWAYNE PEEL
The Ospreys may have lost, but at least one Welshman in Swansea on Saturday evening had reason to be pleased.
Ulster’s backs were sharp and incisive and, as the man in charge of them and the team’s attack, former Wales scrum-half Peel deserves credit.
The assumption is this Welsh coach over the water had a significant input in the decision to switch Jacob Stockdale from wing to fullback, and on the evidence at the Liberty, the move is proving a success.
Stockdale proved a thorn in the Ospreys’ side with his strong running from deep, making three clean breaks, beating six defenders and scoring a try.
John Cooney, Rob Lyttle, Stewart Moore and James Hume also caught the eye as the Belfast-based team showed the hosts how the attacking lark should be done. It all reflects very well on Peel.
CARDIFF BLUES’ METTLE
Finally, a word to John Mulvihill’s side.
In the past, the Blues might have imploded when Dillon Lewis was sin-binned against Connacht with the match delicately poised on Friday night. Instead, they kicked it up a gear, finishing the match strongly to notch up a bonus-point win.
LOSERS SAM LOUSI
There’s little point wasting too much time writing much about why Scarlets lock Sam Lousi is in the losers column.
His red card for a high shot on Glasgow winger Ratu Tagive was as clear as they come.
That moment of madness took the game out of the Scarlets’ reach.
OSPREYS’ LINE-OUT
Oh dear.
Eight days earlier it had been the Dragons who had a line-out in name only, when they faced Leinster. Pretty much everything that could go wrong in that area did go wrong for the East Walians in Dublin.
The Ospreys were not that much better against Ulster in Swansea, with a series of deliveries either overthrown or simply picked off by opposition jumpers.
The line-out is a collective effort, so all need to work at it, young hooker Dewi Lake included.
Fortunately for him, his coach Toby Booth is a former No. 2 himself,
so he should be able to provide the empathy and guidance the 21-yearold needs.
SCARLETS’ ATTACK
The West Walians didn’t quite make it three matches in a row without scoring a try – Samson Lee’s effort on his 150th Scarlets appearance erased any chance of that embarrassing streak.
But the attack remains a real issue for the Scarlets.
Having drawn blanks against Toulon and Munster, they struggled to get any real purchase in attack against Glasgow.
Things looked better when Rhys Patchell replaced Dan Jones in the second half, but the former links up with Wales this week. The latter has to find a way to get the attack ticking one way or another in the coming weeks.