United Rugby Championship

[Wallpaperman]

Dragons lose in Connaught. Some really sloppy tries in the first half to go 19 nil down. Lots of effort from the dragons but made too many mistakes and couldn’t get quick ball. Bundle Aki is lucky not to have a card at the death for tackling a player in the air and the last interception try was caused by th dragons forcing the game but bottom line was dragons for all the effort could turn the screw, build pressure and score points.

Difficult place to go, and the Dragons had a very inexperienced front row. I only saw the last 10 minutes which were quite open but that’s obviously a poor result.

Was hoping that Wilson, the new centre, would go well. Apparently he was recommended to the Dragons by Jamie Roberts, but it doesn’t sound as though he is pulling up any trees yet.

Agree about Aki.

The Dragons have recruited well on paper, they need to start doing better.

Encouraging results elsewhere, a cracking comeback from Cardiff, a horribly ugly performance (but a win) for Ospreys, and some nice stuff from the Scarlets on Friday. Henry Thomas, Plumtree and Eddie James could all go nicely for Wales. Probably Blair Murray too.

[Son of Mathonwy]

Dragons lose in Connaught. Some really sloppy tries in the first half to go 19 nil down. Lots of effort from the dragons but made too many mistakes and couldn’t get quick ball. Bundle Aki is lucky not to have a card at the death for tackling a player in the air and the last interception try was caused by th dragons forcing the game but bottom line was dragons for all the effort could turn the screw, build pressure and score points.

Difficult place to go, and the Dragons had a very inexperienced front row. I only saw the last 10 minutes which were quite open but that’s obviously a poor result.

Was hoping that Wilson, the new centre, would go well. Apparently he was recommended to the Dragons by Jamie Roberts, but it doesn’t sound as though he is pulling up any trees yet.

Agree about Aki.

The Dragons have recruited well on paper, they need to start doing better.

Encouraging results elsewhere, a cracking comeback from Cardiff, a horribly ugly performance (but a win) for Ospreys, and some nice stuff from the Scarlets on Friday. Henry Thomas, Plumtree and Eddie James could all go nicely for Wales. Probably Blair Murray too.

Dragons had an okay second half but undone completely by the first half trying to follow the Osprey's recent tactic (and Cardiff's this week) of giving the opposition a load of tries upfront. O'Brien is good but he can't do it alone. Awful lineout.

Otherwise a great weekend for Wales. Scarlets should expect to beat Zebre but they did so with some style. Ospreys were the better team but Owen Williams did his best to keep Edinburgh in the game by !missing 8 points. Still too good for them though. Lake, Jac Morgan, Tips (most of the forwards really), Keiran Williams, Walsh all went well. Cardiff really showed some belief to come back from 0-19. Sheedy must be wondering what he needs to do.

[Son of Mathonwy]

Awful decision-making (is not kicking at goal when 2 points behind) cost the Scarlets a surprisingly winnable game at Glasgow. Cardiff were clear winners vs the Dragons (although replacement scrum half Morgan Lloyd looks like a find)

A truly pitiful, underpowered performance saw the Ospreys lose to Zebre. They just didn't have the muscle (can't afford the players - eg Deaves is an excellent 7 but at 6 he's way too small). In previous seasons their maul would have won them several tries. This time it only went forwards once in the game (which won a try). Like Wales, the Ospreys just don't have the physicality.

[Son of Mathonwy]

I enjoyed the Ospreys sneak victory against the Scarlets . They were outplayed and looked out of ideas at the start but were the better team in the second half. Some great players on show - Jac Morgan, Ellis Mee, Eddie James, even Watkins showed remarkable footwork . in the end the Ospreys muscle worked (this is only Welsh opposition).

[Son of Mathonwy]

Another exciting, tightly fought derby. Crowds should be bigger for this. Great to see Adams and Faletau getting back into the mix. Woodman, also. Sheedy needs to practice his goal-kicking. O'Brien was very good but will remain overlooked.

[Sandydragon]

Another exciting, tightly fought derby. Crowds should be bigger for this. Great to see Adams and Faletau getting back into the mix. Woodman, also. Sheedy needs to practice his goal-kicking. O'Brien was very good but will remain overlooked.

15-0 up and my wife looked at the telly and suggested things were going well. I reassured her that we would find a way to lose.

It was a decent enough game but once again we came up short. I think our replacements weren’t up to the same level.

That said, our starting halfbacks were going well.

[Sandydragon]

But fair play, Adams looked pretty sharp on his return.

[Son of Mathonwy]

Another exciting, tightly fought derby. Crowds should be bigger for this. Great to see Adams and Faletau getting back into the mix. Woodman, also. Sheedy needs to practice his goal-kicking. O'Brien was very good but will remain overlooked.

15-0 up and my wife looked at the telly and suggested things were going well. I reassured her that we would find a way to lose.

It was a decent enough game but once again we came up short. I think our replacements weren’t up to the same level.

That said, our starting halfbacks were going well.

Yeah, the Dragons needed a great start to be in this at the end. Could have gone either way but the outcome was not a surprise. Somehow Cardiff have Newport's number in a way the Ospreys don't .

[Graigwen]

... even Watkins showed remarkable footwork . in the end the Ospreys muscle worked (this is only Welsh opposition).

Yes, I was surprised as well at that flash of dainty footwork.

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[Graigwen]

But fair play, Adams looked pretty sharp on his return.

He is looking mentally and physically good.

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[Son of Mathonwy]

A really frustrating draw for the Ospreys vs Cardiff. A match where, like Wales, Ospreys were unable to turn pressure into points for large stretches of the match where we were on top. A bit hard done by for Fender's red - I'm not clear on the rules there, on what makes a croc roll worth a penalty only, or a yellow, or a red - it seemed pretty harsh to send him off. Scrubbing that great Morgan-Williams try out for a debatable TMO call on an earlier knock-on was also annoying. But our lineout and maul was so outclassed that it was amazing we were in a position to feel disappointed with a draw at the end. Beard cannot come back soon enough! Great to have Rhys Davies back.

Comfortable win for the Scarlets - the match was won in the first half hour.

[Son of Mathonwy]

Wow! Performance of the season for the Ospreys. Performance of several seasons. Benetton put to the sword. A number of players Gatland should have looked more closely at. Great attack, great defence, complete performance.

[paddy no 11]

Mapimpi has had a go at gouging a Cardiff player there

[Wallpaperman]

Wow! Performance of the season for the Ospreys. Performance of several seasons. Benetton put to the sword. A number of players Gatland should have looked more closely at. Great attack, great defence, complete performance.

Agreed. Ospreys have done well in the last couple of six nations as they get to keep most of their players. It can only be a matter of time before Fender and Morse get capped. Booth did a great job, but the attacking game looks a lot more exciting under Mark Jones. Long may it continue.

Ioan Lloyd, Johnny Williams and Josh Macleod all ignored by Gatland, all played very well yesterday.

[Wallpaperman]

Mapimpi has had a go at gouging a Cardiff player there

Looked pretty bad. Bowen could be a genuine prospect, he played well. Cardiff will struggle unless Winnett and Sheedy start making tackles, they are too easy to score against.

[Sandydragon]

Wow! Performance of the season for the Ospreys. Performance of several seasons. Benetton put to the sword. A number of players Gatland should have looked more closely at. Great attack, great defence, complete performance.

Maybe they have turned a corner now Jones is in sole charge. The dual coach thing really didn’t work for them.

[Son of Mathonwy]

Wow! Performance of the season for the Ospreys. Performance of several seasons. Benetton put to the sword. A number of players Gatland should have looked more closely at. Great attack, great defence, complete performance.

Agreed. Ospreys have done well in the last couple of six nations as they get to keep most of their players. It can only be a matter of time before Fender and Morse get capped. Booth did a great job, but the attacking game looks a lot more exciting under Mark Jones. Long may it continue.

Ioan Lloyd, Johnny Williams and Josh Macleod all ignored by Gatland, all played very well yesterday.

It's ridiculous how Lloyd is being overlooked given the lack of fly halves in the Wales squad. MacLeod is a bit more understandable because we've got loads of great sevens. I guess Williams is seen as error-prone, but he's got the raw material to be our best 12.

[Son of Mathonwy]

Mapimpi has had a go at gouging a Cardiff player there

Looked pretty bad. Bowen could be a genuine prospect, he played well. Cardiff will struggle unless Winnett and Sheedy start making tackles, they are too easy to score against.

Dare I saw it, Bowen is looking a little Shane-esque?? If he keeps this up he's going to be a star. Unless Gatland thinks he's too small.

Sheedy needs to practice goal kicking or even relearn his technique. It's taking him out of contention for the Wales squad.

[Son of Mathonwy]

Wow! Performance of the season for the Ospreys. Performance of several seasons. Benetton put to the sword. A number of players Gatland should have looked more closely at. Great attack, great defence, complete performance.

Maybe they have turned a corner now Jones is in sole charge. The dual coach thing really didn’t work for them.

Hope it's not beginner's luck or new coach bounce but it's a fantastic start. And hope the players don't forget everything Booth taught them.

[pompey-zebra]

Wow! Performance of the season for the Ospreys. Performance of several seasons. Benetton put to the sword. A number of players Gatland should have looked more closely at. Great attack, great defence, complete performance.

Maybe they have turned a corner now Jones is in sole charge. The dual coach thing really didn’t work for them.

Hope it's not beginner's luck or new coach bounce but it's a fantastic start. And hope the players don't forget everything Booth taught them.

I watched a the game last night and was very impressed. The win would probably have been bigger if the weather hadn't turned and made handling difficult. It didn't look like they'd forgotten what Booth put in place; the forwards did the forward stuff very well just now with added open play.
Oh, and Ben Warren's been called up to the Wales squad in light of WGJ's head injury playing for Sale.

[paddy no 11]

Deaves seems as mad as a box of frogs but has been very good

Morris is a good player but too light for international?

Ratti not really registering here

Couple of great kicks from Williams

[paddy no 11]

Deaves motm

Shame about the kick to touch at the end

[Graigwen]

Deaves motm

Shame about the kick to touch at the end

It was the last play. I think he had to try to get a really good position - a line out 25m out would probably not have been enough. It was probably the right decision, but negated by the execution.

Slimani was very good. For a team with an outclassed scrum Ospreys did well. Deaves was very good, although probably not as superb as the adulatory commentary. He was absolutely exhausted by the end, but still kept going, so showed mental as well as physical strength.

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[paddy no 11]

Deaves motm

Shame about the kick to touch at the end

It was the last play. I think he had to try to get a really good position - a line out 25m out would probably not have been enough. It was probably the right decision, but negated by the execution.

Slimani was very good. For a team with an outclassed scrum Ospreys did well. Deaves was very good, although probably not as superb as the adulatory commentary. He was absolutely exhausted by the end, but still kept going, so showed mental as well as physical strength.

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Agreed, deaves was completely gassed from 65 minutes onwards

[Son of Mathonwy]

Frustrating to lose that, but another good performance. Leinster got away with a few forward passes. We didn't do too badly for a team with two sevens (arguably three - that would probably be Morris's best position at test level) and a fraction of Leinster's budget. Ratti was fine but not in his best position. The biggest fail was the penalty straight after the Ospreys' first try, which gave Leinster their second just before half time. Just can't give those away and waste all the hard work.