Who defused a powder fortunes forWelsh regions
own future in the west country as the Ashton gate outfit were relegated from the Aviva Premiership this summer and mega-rich owner Steve Lansdown embarked on compiling a squad far above Green King Championship standards.
But Williams was the star of the show as Bristol Rugby made it four wins from four with a nine-try 61-38 victory over Bedford Blues at an action-packed Goldington Road. He helped himself to three tries as Briz racked up their highest ever score at Bedford and seal a third successive bonus-point win. AARON SHINGLER, STEFF EVANS AND RHYS PATCHELL Lions coach Warren Gatland took time out from unfriending Sean O’Brien from his Facebook account to take in a trip to west Wales to take in the defending champions’ PRO14 clash with Edinburgh. The New Zealander would have witnessed a composed performance from fly-half Rhys Patchell, who kicked intelligently, passed with accuracy and sniffed out a gap for the first of the Scarlets’ four tries.
Gatland would have seen Steff Evans zip and fizz around the pitch looking for work and producing some smart off-loads. And Shingler put in his usual workmanlike display capped off with a try to put his hat in the for a back-row slot in the autumn internationals.
LOSERS
NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION TWO NORTH If anyone burying their heads in the sand about problems in the grassroots game should have made a trip up north on Saturday.
The weekly struggles of clubs turning up with a bare XV, or even less at times, and the mis-matches thrown up could not have been more graphically illustrated. Wrexham’s 106-0 win over Abergele might have been the highest hammering but Bangor went down 85-7 at home to Shotton Steel and Rhyl crashed 69-6 when hosting CR Dinbich.
In Two West their was also a one-sided encounter at Whitland as they ran out 96-0 winners against Llanbydder. THE BATH FOUR Only a quartet on this occasion with Taulupe Faletau rested for the visit of Newcastle Falcons to The Rec on Saturday.
But how they could have done with the Lions No.8 as fellow Welsh internationals Aled Brew, Luke Charteris, Rhys Preistland and Scott Andrews (albeit for the last 17 minutes) were among the matchday squad Bath’s director of rugby Todd Blackadder was ‘bl***y disappointed’ with as the west country outfit amazingly squandered a 13-point lead with 13 minutes to go in losing a thriller 33-32.
It was an incredible game, that also featured Bridgend-born Bath centre Max Clark, with Falcons going 19-0 up in no time. Bath’s scoring spree saw them lead 32-19 before the frenetic finish. THE OSPREYS Where do you start with the Ospreys?
Very few players look like they’re enjoying running onto the field these days and to make matters worse further down west PRO12 champions the Scarlets are playing with panache and confidence.
The Ospreys have the Cheetahs, Scarlets, Clermont Auvergne and Saracens to play in the coming weeks and you really fear for them if their performance at Benetton is anything to go by.
Mistakes follow mistakes and creativity seems to have taken a holiday as the former league champions struggle to arrest their downward spiral. But their inability to retain possession undermined their performance and skill levels weren’t good enough.
Their kicking game is also aimless at times and things aren’t getting any better next Friday when they play a Cheetahs side on a high at altitude in Bloemfontein following their 38-19 demolition of Leinster. BERNARD JACKMAN The Dragons coach gambled with wholesale changes for their PRO14 trip to Ulster and got the result he feared. Quite how much damage such a hiding will have done to morale remains to be seen. But Jackman reckons the best way to bring youngsters through is by exposing them and he is hopeful there will be long-term gains.
He will surely know, though, that being battered regularly as they were by a 52-25 scoreline at the Kingspan Stadium isn’t exactly guaranteed to shine up young players.
Playing Southern Kings next weekend when the big guns return will more often than not yield the bonus point win. But surely he could have achieved a closer result in Ulster and a thumping of the Kings with a mixture of youth and experience. JAMIE ROBERTS The Welsh steamroller debunked a myth at the Twickenham Stoop on Saturday even though the good doctor probably didn’t realise it. How many times when Wales play England have we heard about Roberts running down the George Ford channel when the England outside-half turns out in the No.10 jersey. More of then than not is never materialises or Ford has a burly minder next to him, in the shape of Chris Robshaw, when it is attempted.
Robshaw was there on Saturday but playing alongside the Welsh star for Harlequins against Leicester Tigers, so Roberts had a free rein to focus on Ford. It may have come late on in the game but when Roberts arrowed in on the former Bath man he was unceremoniously dumped to the ground.
To make matters worse he was pinged for not releasing allowing Tigers to draw level at 28-28 before Ford slotted over the winning three-pointer for Leicester.