UKHamlet wrote: ↑Fri Dec 26, 2025 5:00 pm
Phew. I thought Cardiff had thrown that away for a few minutes. The home team was SO dominant in the second half while not making the Dragons pay. Mason Grady had a great game. Dyer was lively.
It was an exciting finish. Better team won but it deserved to be a close game. Hopefully Hunt is ok but that looked painful. Grady was a pain going forward. Had a few mistakes in defence but if he keeps that up then he must be in the welsh squad and hopefully he gets to stay in one position.
In the first twenty, Newport looked a class apart. If they can sustain that level of ferocity, they can become a force with which to be reckoned. I like what Filo is doing. Cardiff, on the other hand, is showing signs of losing the attacking flair Jockey brought. We seem to be devolving into a one-up carry team.
I was a bit surprised by your backline. In the second half your pack had the edge and the number of turnovers conceded, and penalties, was embarrassing. But Grady aside, it never felt that you were suddenly going to cut loose on us.
Che Hope starting has really improved our backline with his service (he just needs to sort his kicking out to be really good).
paddy no 11 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 01, 2026 6:41 pm
The dregs win again, given the leinster robbery they should be further up the table
Burrows and 2 good cameos from the sub hookers there
Yep, very happy with that win. Scarlets are looking all at sea but we still needed to beat them and that was a good victory to watch.
Briefly 10th until the Ospreys won and there’s plenty of games in hand for other teams, but we’re definitely not bottom, at the moment, and that’s a nice feeling. Looking at fixtures ahead, I hope we can pick up a few more points and end up ina respectable position we can build from next season (being positive we still exist of course).
After the misery of watching Ospreys being outclassed by a somnambulist Munster team, it was useful to have two derbies against the Welsh sides we can actually beat. I'm not sure how much to read into those wins, but 10 points is 10 points. Not that any of this will save us from the cull, but at least we can try to make it as embarrassing as possible for them.
Sourdust wrote: ↑Fri Jan 02, 2026 7:03 am
After the misery of watching Ospreys being outclassed by a somnambulist Munster team, it was useful to have two derbies against the Welsh sides we can actually beat. I'm not sure how much to read into those wins, but 10 points is 10 points. Not that any of this will save us from the cull, but at least we can try to make it as embarrassing as possible for them.
Cardiff were well beaten by the Ospreys (despite scoring four tries). Up front, it was like they were playing a different game. I can't help thinking Cardiff are going off the boil - I mentioned it in my comments on the Dragons match. It almost seems like the Jockey effect is beginning to wear off, and we've stopped playing the game that suited us. Corniel van Zyl has different ideas about how the game is played, and hopefully, this is a transition rather than a collapse. I have my reservations, though, van Zyl has never impressed me.
