Turnbull enjoys a night to remember as forgotten Wales ace sends reminder
IT WAS another tough weekend for Wales’ four professional sides – Cardiff, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets – who all tasted defeat in the United Rugby Championship.
The Ospreys slipped to a narrow defeat in Edinburgh, while both the Dragons and the Scarlets were comprehensively beaten in Ireland.
Cardiff performed well for large periods of the game but didn’t have enough to get one over on Leinster at the Arms Park.
Warren Gatland only released one member of his Six Nations squad with back-rower Taine Basham getting some minutes under his belt for the Dragons in Belfast.
Rugby correspondent Steffan Thomas picks his winners and losers from another difficult weekend for Welsh rugby.
WINNERS Josh Turnbull
The Cardiff captain made his 200th appearance for the Welsh club on Saturday night and his 239th in the United Rugby Championship.
Unfortunately Turnbull fell on the wrong side of the result against a powerful Leinster outfit, but the Welsh club put in a credible performance.
Turnbull was excellent throughout his time on the field, throwing everything he had at the Irish province. The 35-year-old has been a tremendous servant to Welsh rugby throughout the course of his career, playing for the Scarlets, Cardiff and Wales.
“He’s been a fantastic servant to the game in general,” said Cardiff head coach Matt Sherratt.
“He’s made 130 appearances for the Scarlets, 200 tonight, 13 Welsh caps. If there is one guy who shows fight and resilience it’s Josh Turnbull.
“When you speak to other teams and coaches he is someone they’d like on their team.
“It was really nice having his old school teacher and his family come into the changing room.
“He was really emotional but if there’s one guy who deserves it, it’s him.”
Wyn Jones
The 48-cap Wales international is the forgotten man of Welsh rugby having not played for his country in a year. Jones has been in and out of the Scarlets side this season but he was outstanding against Connacht in Galway on Saturday.
The Scarlets may have slipped to another defeat but Jones gave Connacht tighthead Jack Aungier a hiding at scrum time. He was also prominent around the park, while he won a couple of penalties for his work at the breakdown.
It looks as if Jones’ international days are behind him, but Wales could do a lot worse than give the 2021 British and Irish Lions loosehead another chance.
Ospreys and Cheetahs link-up
The Ospreys’ link-up with South African Currie Cup outfit the Cheetahs is proving to be extremely fruitful for the Welsh club.
Toby Booth’s side have benefited from a number of quality South African players who have helped boost the Ospreys squad in a season where playing budgets have plummeted.
The Ospreys may have fallen agonisingly short in Edinburgh on Friday night, but their Cheetahs contingent were a big positive. Powerful No. 8 Jeandre Rudolph was outstanding, making 16 carries, more than any other player on the park, as he constantly got over the gain-line.
Lock Victor Sekekete and outside centre Evardi Boshoff also had prominent games.
The Ospreys should be credited for this link-up which has strengthened their squad at key points of the season.
Tinus de Beer and Rhys Carre
It’s amazing to think the South African fly-half was very nearly blocked from joining Cardiff by the Welsh Rugby Union, who feared he wasn’t of a high enough quality in the summer.
De Beer has been a shrewd acquisition by the Welsh club and it’s safe to say Callum Sheedy will have to fight hard to win a place in Cardiff’s starting XV next season when he returns home from Bristol Bears.
Cardiff fell short against Irish powerhouses Leinster but de Beer was excellent. The 28-year-old brings so much energy to Cardiff’s back-line, while his crossfield kicks exposed Leinster on more than one occasion.
De Beer was also a threat with ball in hand with his 50-metre line break in the first half eventually leading to Rhys Carre’s second try.
On the subject of Carre, he had a prominent game, touching down for two tries, with his explosive ball-carrying a real point of difference.
It looks like his Wales days are over for now having been left out of the Six Nations squad and the fact he will join English champions Saracens next season. What’s frustrating is Carre has the raw minerals to be an international player of real quality, but unfortunately the Wales management are unconvinced.
Llandovery and Merthyr
Llandovery and Merthyr will face each other in the WRU National Cup final at the Principality Stadium on April 7. The Drovers put in a sensational performance as they thrashed Ebbw Vale 43-7 at the Talbot Athletic Ground on Saturday.
Euros Evans’ side are the best semiprofessional side in Wales and deservedly sit top of the Premiership. Full-back Jac Davies, who is highly rated by the Scarlets, was outstanding, crossing for two tries while Ioan Hughes, Adam Warren, Jamie Hughes and Joe Powell all scored.
In the other semi-final Merthyr edged out Swansea 23-17 in a tense encounter at the Brewery Field. Tries by Morgan Meaclem (twice) and Ellis Shipp were enough to get Merthyr over the line.
LOSERS The Scarlets defence and line-out
The Scarlets missed 32 tackles against Connacht on Saturday night which really isn’t good enough if they want to start winning games.
Dwayne Peel’s side fell off some basic tackles in midfield which gave Connacht field position and that was arguably the biggest difference between the sides.
Peel dispensed with the services of defence coach Gareth Williams, moving former Ireland international Jared Payne into his place, but there hasn’t been any noticeable improvement yet.
Another area of the game which killed the Scarlets in Galway was their line-out which operated at a 67 per cent success rate, which again isn’t good enough if you want to win games at this level.
There was a 15-minute period after the break where the Scarlets had all the momentum and had Connacht under pressure. They had two attacking line-outs five metres from the Connacht line which they made a mess of.
These are two areas which they must fix if they are to turn defeats into victories.
The standard of officiating in the URC
Referees have an extremely difficult job and it is a thankless task which most people wouldn’t be able to do.
The officials are human and mistakes happen. But some of the calls in
Connacht’s victory over the Scarlets were poor.
Make no bones about it, the Irish province deserved to win, but the Scarlets were not helped by some poor refereeing. Connacht No. 8 Sean Jansen’s second try was originally referred to the TMO who said there was no conclusive evidence the ball had been knocked on.
But the television replays clearly showed Denis Buckley had knocked the ball forward in the lead-up to the try. Referees understandably make mistakes when the game is being played, but there is no excuse for the TMO to get crucial decisions like that wrong.
Such mistakes are commonplace in the URC, and does nothing to improve the reputation of the league.
Players, coaches and supporters deserve better.
The Dragons
There was another heavy defeat for the Dragons in Belfast as they shipped 49 points and seven tries.
In their defence the Dragons were hit hard by Wales call-ups and injuries, but they have only won twice in 11 URC games this season.
Dai Flanagan and the new Dragons owners have a massive job on their hands turning around the Newportbased club. When asked in a press conference last week, Flanagan said he was confident the Dragons would win more games next season due to the fact he will finally have the squad he wants.
Let’s hope heavy defeats soon become a thing of the past, but it will be difficult especially against Irish provinces who spend significantly more than their Welsh rivals.