Agony again for Rhys Williams

The increasing number of serious and career threatening injuries is one subject which is a favourite topic of conversation amongst rugby circles in which I socialise.

I have seen a few very young and promising professional careers cut short by serious or persistent injury and alarmingly, in the professional era, a lot more recently.

I refer to an article that was printed in the Western Mail on 24th January 2010. Rhys Williams, arguably one of Wales most gifted players, who’s career has been blighted by injury for 4/5 years, has had to call it a day at the age of 29. It’s a sad day for rugby when someone as likeable and talented as Rhys retires prematurely. I remember going back to 2004 watching the 6 Nations and the commentator (I can’t remember who was commentating that day) was reading the teams before the match started and referred to Rhys and Shane as the ‘Williams Twisters’! Both players were outstanding that day and whereas Shane has gone on to become a World Player of the Year and Wales record try scorer, just a year later during the Grand Slam of 2005 Rhys’ injury problems began.

It’s not just Rhys Williams that has retired through serious injury. There is of course Gwynn Jones but more recently Gareth Jones who died following an accident whilst playing for Neath.

Emyr Lewis has claimed that a big problem is that in rugby nowadays you have players attacking the rucks from 10 yards out, sprinting into them increasing the risk of injury. I have recently retired from playing rugby also at 26, I didn’t play at a high level but the persistent injuries have forced me into it. The last rugby related injury was because of myself running into a ruck to clear out a lingerer on the side when as I went to hit him he got shunted and I ended up flipping over him and landing with all my body weight on my shoulder separating it from the collar bone. It was my own fault and I accept it but if the laws prevented this then maybe I wouldn’t do it.

I was also sceptical at the law changes which allowed a collapsing of a maul. This seemed very dangerous to me but the way the laws were construed it was actually very controlled and I enjoyed this law being in place and used it to my team’s advantage, which is why I was very surprised when this law was again changed. I don’t remember there being any reports of serious injuries from the collapse of the maul being allowed.

Also increasingly props are pulling on each other into the scrum which has been outlawed but increasingly referees are getting poorer and poorer on refereeing the scrimmage area (just ask Phil Vickery) and more injuries are going to be caused this way.

I do agree that the game needs a bit more control in terms of how referees can referee a game to prevent serious injury which is very difficult given that the referee’s job in rugby is very difficult as it is.

However it is a contact sport and yes you are going to get hurt. But with the size of players today and the money involved in the sport in the professional era we do need to consider how the game can be played safer but with keeping the enjoyment, particularly at the break down.

One thing that would help this is better refereeing standards but this won’t change overnight but you would hope that following the Richard Vowles incident where the referee should not have allowed a non registered front row player to ‘give it a go’ thus causing a serious injury and paralysing a young man that the refereeing standard would have improved a long time ago!

So where did it all go wrong?

Was it the selection? Was it the game plan? Was it the early injuries to both wingers?

Not entirely!

Let’s look at the first one – Selection! Why was Dan Lydiate selected ahead of Jonathan Thomas at 6 to start? He is a young lad with not a lot of top class experience yet Gatland chose to put him up against one of the best 6’s in the world in Rocky Elsom. Had Dafydd Jones been fit then we probably wouldn’t be mentioning this but the fact of the matter is the wrong person was in position for this game. Had Gatland named Ian Gough in the squad (which I believe was a big big omission) then JT could have started at 6 and Gough could have covered the bench (saying that looking at Charteris’ contribution in this game Gough would have been a good choice to start – Charteris is improving but will never be the engine Gough is). Also when you look at the bench that was named was this really the strongest bench we have in Wales? If it is then we aren’t as strong as we hoped! I mean for all his efforts in this series Paul James struggled against a much improved scrimmaging Aussie side. The issue here is yes Paul James was playing out of position but what do you expect when there are very few Welsh tightheads playing for the regions!! Should Gatland have asked Deacon Manu to pledge his allegiance to Wales? For a natural tighthead cover I believe it would have been a worthwhile call! We lacked inventiveness and creativity in the middle of the park. If you have read my previous post you will understand and know what my views are on this – last time we played with 2 creative players in Hook and Henson at 10 and 12 we won a Grandslam in emphatic style. And now we have a midfield packed with one dimensional players. Stephen Jones is our best choice at outside half (and one of the best in the world) and brings players into the game from around him but we need that creativity in midfield to complement his game!

This leads us into the next argument – Game Plan! How many times in this series have we threatened the line? The tries we scored against the Pumas were opportunist tries and apart from that we don’t seem to have the confidence to cross the whitewash! Where is our plan B, other than lump it up the middle and stretch the defence? We saw small glimpses of the off the cuff play that was so successful for Wales in 2005 and 2008 – one thing you should never do to a player is coach our flair. This is what has seemed to have happened. This needs addressing urgently otherwise we are really going to struggle in the 6 nations!

Injuries to both wingers – yes this did have an effect but then again Jamie Roberts has played wing before and no doubt at some point Jonathan Davies has. However had Shanklin been in the match day squad he has also spent time on the wing as well as in the centre and his experience could have made a huge difference. I can understand if Gatland wanted to try Jonathan Davies and Roberts but to leave Shanklin out entirely who is rated very highly and quietly goes about his business is an atrocious decision!

This Welsh team needs to improve vastly in the next 2/3 months. We are carrying injuries but we also need to find a spark to help us score tries otherwise the most talented group of players we have had in 20 years won’t achieve anything further than they have and nowhere near as much as they should! Gatland needs to talk to the likes of Henson and the Ospreys to get him playing again and also to look at the players we have at the regions and try to develop people in critical positions, such as tighthead prop, fullback (although I believe that we have enough talent here) and inside centre. Let’s bring in stricter rules on foreigners in the Welsh game at Welsh regions! And let’s play the Welsh way, not banging it up the centre but using our initiative and running at gaps and around people!

Hi all

Sorry it’s been a few weeks since my last post but lack of access to a PC after my charger broke has seriously hindered my typing and online time!

Anyway let’s cut to the chase about the Autumn series so far!!

How do we rate the Welsh performances that we have seen up until now and how will they fare against Australia?

Let’s first look at the All Blacks game!! 10 out of 10 for spirit but sadly 3 out of 10 for ingenuity! On paper we were the better side and this was definitely our best chance in years to defeat the All Blacks but we couldn’t do it!! I do not believe in this aura that stops us from defeating them at all! For all the possession we had we could not threaten their line. What that game showed us is that having a centre partnership of Jamie Roberts and Tom Shanklin is too one dimensional. They are both very similar players and Shanks, for all his good work over the years and his try scoring record (and believe you me I am a big fan) just couldn’t seem to pass the gain line to create the space for the wingers. We need that creative Centre either at Inside or Outside Centre to add a little spice and creativity to balance that we are blessed with strong big runners in the back line as well as smaller, quick wingers! We have no Henson or no Byrne running into the back line so we ‘had to’ play Hook at 15. Yes Hook has been very good at 15 but is it his best position or is he the best person to fill this position? I say no on both counts! Unlike a natural fullback he does not run into the line enough to add that extra man in attack plus why couldn’t we call a natural fullback like Morgan Stoddart or Barry Davies into the fold and play Hook in centre because he is quite adept at both 12 and 13. Some may argue we need to give him one position to concentrate on but that is an argument for another time! The other option of course was playing Halfpenny at 15 (which he can do) and calling on Tom James. This may have been an easier option had Mark Jones been fit of course.

So for the Kiwi game, the selection policy has to be questioned as does the backs inability to properly threaten the All Black try line!

On to the Samoans.

The most pleasing thing about this performance was that Alun Wyn Jones put in the first big hit! IT looked to be a good game. Then the next 79 minutes and 50 seconds happened. Again we looked unable to threaten the Samoan line.

We underestimated the Samoans, considering that they were based purely on spirit and passion but what we have to remember now is that apart from being massive men with shoulders bigger than my sizeable gut they are also very very good and mature rugby players with 60% of them now playing in Europe for top teams and the rest in the Southern Hemisphere. So Gatland used the “this is a very strong team we are putting out” line when he included a lot of fringe players. Yes I agree we need to blood them and give them game time but we also need to get some continuity going because after next weekend it is only a few months to the 6 nations. IT looked to be good when Biggar put in a cross field kick to his old mate Halfpenny to score in the first half but apart from that Wales looked flat and inept of any spark which isn’t surprising because we started the game with the same centre pairing as we did against the All Blacks. Saying that though Jonathan Davies did show some good work when he came on but I wonder how much of that was down to the fact that the Samoans were somewhat tired and he was a fresh pair of legs and a lump of a boy! The most astounding thing about the whole performance was that the Samoans nearly won the game thanks to an interception pass from Biggar. I appreciate that for the whole game the Samoans were very good at creeping into offside positions but we were seeing this a few years ago with Hook. It’s a basic skill in rugby that you look before you pass! You wouldn’t cross the road without first checking there was no danger would you? He wasn’t taken off in case it dented his confidence and ruined his career!! Well let’s all wrap him in cotton wool and tell him he’s a good player whop throws interception passes in international rugby! What we need to do is get a plan B to the Welsh game. Dan Biggar was playing the game he had been told to play, the same game Wales have now played for the last 2 seasons! No change of game plan when the game could so easily have been lost. I don’t mean to sound harsh to the Welsh squad but it is the best Welsh Squad we have had in so many years that unlike 10 – 12 years ago we expect to win!

So we move on from the Samoans and onto the Argies who have ‘the best scrum in the world’. Well to be fair to our boys we proved they did not even though we did not have our strongest scrum out!! Paul James has shown during these internationals that he is a very capable replacement for Adam Jones on the tighthead! What we did show was that we could score opportunistic tries with Shane Williams scoring two of them but with his usual spark of magic in both, that little bit of ‘off the cuff play’ with the way he ducked under a double tackle for his first and his great acceleration for his second. Well done Wales, the score line was very respectable against a very good Argentina side, who, in the next 5 years will only improve even more thanks to them finally being allowed to play in a seasonal International Tournament from 2012 onwards. Jonathan Davies looked a little out of sorts in this game but he is young and will improve I’m sure, but again with him at 12 and Roberts at 13 we were very one dimensional. Come on Gatland get some creativity in there!!

So where does that leave us for the Australia game???

Looking at the Aussies they certainly have problems with continuity and stringing results together. They won against England then lost against Scotland, who, in all fairness, defended for 80 minutes! However the Scots still won and no doubt the Aussies will be looking to give Wales a whipping to prove a point.

The good news for Wales is of course that the Aussies have struggled against us over the last few years, last year we showed them how back play should be with a great team try finished off by the then newly crowned IRB world player of the year Shane Williams! So what do we need to beat them?

Their scrum has drastically improved and had the better of the Scottish scrum, who are no mugs in that department, so we need to make sure we are strong in the dark arts again! They have potential match winners and one especially in Giteau. The nugget is going to have to hunt him down all day long, stop him getting the ball you stop his numerous drop goals and stop him the potent Aussie backline.

We also need some creativity in the centre of the park to release the centres and wingers and to force a full back into the game which is why either move Halfpenny to the fullback slot and bring in Tom James or even call Barry Davies up to the squad, the form fullback in Wales at the moment so that we can play Hook in the centre! So good has our form been against the men from down under in recent years that it would be a disappointment to lose this!! The backs have to start running the lines they were a few years ago when we had Hook or Henson in the centre, otherwise it will be a forward dominated and penalty kicking dominated game! Let’s play our natural game. Let’s beat them in the open spaces. And if Mr Gatland is reading this is the starting 15 I would pick.

1. Gethin ‘the best prop in the world’ Jenkins
2. Matthew ‘my throwing could be straighter but I’m strong as an ox’ Rees
3. Paul ‘still learning but doing the job’ James
4. Alun Wyn ‘warrior’ Jones
5. Luke ‘much improved’ Charteris
6. Jonathan ‘better than Andy Powell in every position’ Thomas
7. Martyn ‘the legend’ Williams
8. Ryan ‘should have been a lion’ Jones
9. Dwayne ‘let me play’ Peel
10. Stephen ‘see what playing in France can do’ Jones
11. Shane ‘Habana Who?’ Williams
12. James ‘please let me play 10’ Hook
13. Jamie ‘muscle and bustle’ Roberts
14. Leigh ‘never lets you down’ Halfpenny
15. Barry ‘finally another chance’ Davies.

The subs Mr Gatland are up to you.

Has done a decent job and kept a natural Tighthead in Craig Mitchell out of sight.

Welcome to THE DUNGEON!! The new section of the Welsh Rugby Blog where another opinion can be expressed and explored thoroughly by all those that read the blog on a daily basis!! The difficult aspect of initiating something such as this is how to start it off. So I have decided to open the Dungeon with a subject that all Welsh Rugby fans wish to know!

How do you solve a problem like Henson?????

The man who Mike Ruddock and Warren Gatland have publicly stated on many occasions can make a real difference to the team is still currently on unpaid leave from the Ospreys and therefore not playing any form of rugby and ineligible for selection for the Autumn Internationals and, if the situation is not resolved soon, for the 6 Nations. We are already faced with the prospect of not having Mike Phillips fully fit for the start of the 6 Nations and the question therefore needs to be asked if he will be fit enough to take part in any 6 Nations games, let’s hope so because a lot of Gatland’s Forward play is based on having a scrum half such as Mike Phillips on the park!!

We are also unsure as to when Lee Byrne is going to be back to full fitness or if he will be fit for the 6 Nations also, he seems to be picking up a lot of knocks at the moment which is worrying. So we could be 2 key backline players down before the tournament starts and whilst we have a plethora of talent and options from 10 to 13 and even including 15 but can any of them have the same effect that Henson can have on the game? Let’s examine it.

The option Gatland has said he wants to try is having Henson at 12 with Roberts playing 13. This certainly is a mouth-watering prospect, a bit of creativity from Henson followed by the direct, hard hitting running of Roberts to help stretch the opposition Defence creating a gap for either a winger or the Fullback to run through. But will we ever see this happen?

It is a shame to think that Barry John retired from rugby at the age of 27 having won 2 Grand Slams with Wales and was regarded a legend yet Henson, is of the same age and has won 2 Grand Slams with Wales, and is regarded by some circles (which I will state I do not agree with) as a constant thorn in the side. When Barry John retired he was receiving a lot of media attention. We, as a nation cannot let this happen again and the WRU and the Ospreys need to work together to make sure that the IRB Young Player of the Year 2001 does not end his career prematurely!

There is More in France Then Just Wine

Perhaps the best way to achieve this would be to arrange a season long loan deal to a club in France, where players seem to be reviving their careers. The Welsh Nation have already seen the different qualities playing in France brought to the games of both Alfie and Stephen Jones.

Stephen Jones is still improving to this day and has added a new dimension to his running game, which I believe is also attributable to his time in France. After an injury-plagued career, another great player in the form of Johnny Wilkinson is enjoying a new lease of life with Toulon. He looks sharp and eager again which (dare I say it) is exciting because he is a very very good player who didn’t deserve all the injuries he suffered. And let us not forget that Steve Thompson, who was told that he would never play again, did in fact pick up a rugby ball for Brive after initially signing on as a coach and has been recalled by Martin Johnson for the forthcoming Internationals.

So why is France making such a difference to the fortunes of these players? It cannot be the league that is better, if you look at the records from 2005 onwards Wales have won 2 Grand Slams and Ireland have won 1. An Irish side have also won 3 out of the last 4 Heineken Cup competitions which supports that the Magners League is a good development place for players.

It could be for a number of different reasons, the lifestyle, the approach to the game, perhaps the conditioning is better out there, but more importantly it’s the media spotlight is not on the players as much as it is in this country. Rugby is not their first sport and they leave the players alone and don’t question their every move. Yes Gavin is with a Welsh Celebrity and yes he is a very talented Rugby Player but does this give us the right to hound him and push the spotlight directly on him? It does not, and certainly not when it is affecting his game.

So we plead with the Ospreys and the WRU, nurture our Gav, give him guidance, strike a deal that will take him away from the rugby hotbed of Wales for a season or so in the hope that he will again find his love for the game and exhibit his breathtaking talent in a Welsh shirt at a World Cup! Let’s not let him fall into obscurity because whether people like it or not, he can make a difference! We can only pray that this situation will sort itself out soon!

Here comes Damo, trust me, you will regret reading it.

But it is about Welsh rugby.  Most of the time.  Some of the time.  I hope.

God save us all!