Football, as it currently stands, couldn't handle a Nigel. In rugby the referee is IN CHARGE- PERIOD. The players know it. How often do you see rugby players defy a ref, or dispute a decision? Rarely, if ever, because they know the consequences. Football has a great deal to learn from rugby, but its head is buried so deeply in the sand,,,, It's a real joy seeing Nigel, or any other rugby official, brandish a yellow/red card and watch the player immediately leave the field, sometimes even saying sorry. There's much to admire in the way rugby is organised, and virtually nothing to admire in football.
Pitch looks terrible - the boys wanted a bonus point win, may be difficult to get 4 tries as the games goes on and the pitch cuts up more....
Forget the bonus point tonight, just get the win. No wonder Newport County's games get cancelled all the time. Dragons need to move. Can't be playing on this pitch. Local council pitches are better.
Dragons defended well, but if the pitch was dry, I suspect that the Ospreys would have run in a hat full of tries. Anyway, a win is a win. Connaght next Saturday at 13.30 at the The Liberty
The Ospreys team to play Connacht at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday 7th January 2017, KO 1.30pm, is as follows: 15 Dan Evans 14 Dafydd Howells 13 Ashley Beck 12 Josh Matavesi 11 Hanno Dirksen 10 Sam Davies 9 Tom Habberfield 1 Nicky Smith 2 Sam Parry 3 Ma’afu Fia 4 Lloyd Ashley 5 Alun Wyn Jones (Capt) 6 Olly Cracknell 7 Justin Tipuric 8 Dan Baker REPLACEMENTS 16 Scott Baldwin 17 Paul James 18 Rhodri Jones 19 Adam Beard 20 Sam Underhill 21 Brendon Leonard 22 Dan Biggar 23 Kieron Fonotia Hanno Dirksen makes his 100th Ospreys appearance
6,669 hardy souls saw the Ospreys secure the win/bonus point double over the reigning Champions and return to the top of the table - although Munster do have a game in hand. The "problem" for the Ospreys is that the squad will be severely depleted during the Six Nations - which will probably cost the Ospreys a Top 2 league finish and a home semi-final in the Play-Offs. Lyon up next on Sunday the 15th
Forwards Coach, Chris Gibbes, has confirmed that he will leave the Ospreys at the end of the season to head home to New Zealand and take up the post of Head Coach at Mitre 10 Cup side Wellington Lions.
Same old same old same old I'm afraid Taff. The Ospreys have propped up the Welsh international team ever since the game went regional, well, I say regional, here in Ospreylia at least. All the Scarlets, Blues and Dragons have done for their 'regions' is peep over the bridges they've incinerated to see, to their horror, their regions carrying on happily while being ignored. The Ospreys are undoubtedly the most successful Rugby Entity in Wales. They have consistently performed on the pitch, regularly won trophies and have supplied the majority of pieces which have built the Welsh International Rugby Machine. It is a verifiable fact that more Ospreys have worn the Welsh Jersey than any other club or pseudo region since regionalisation. I recall thirteen wearing it in one game. Imo, its about time the Llanelli Scarlets, Cardiff Blues and The Newport Gwent Dragons, or is it still Newport, be recognised as the insult to Welsh rugby they are. Each perennial **** up, looked for stand-alone status st the cost of so many Rugby Clubs. What rite have any of them to do this, Newport, stand alone is laughable when all the club of Newport has ever done is crawl on its knees. Its time to act and its time to dump these money pits, return them to semi-pro status and the premiership, because each has failed on the pitch, failed their regions, failed in their investment in and development of Welsh Rugby. None of the three have achieved a thing apart from conning Welsh rugby into funding their own existence so why continue to fund and entertain their arrogance? Compare them to the Ospreys, who's funding has been used to bolster the Welsh international team while the pseudos spent theirs on????? where's their infrastructure and future developments? where's their state-of-the-art facilities, where's their investment in their regions, where's their encourage the growth of youth players, where is their regional support? What have the Scarlets, Blues and the Gwent **** ups done for Welsh Rugby, where has all their money gone? Time to dump the leaches of welsh Rugby I say, and reinvest the money into restructuring the game to incorporate the beating heart of welsh Rugby. The comfy Cardiff model has failed. Disband the inept Dragons in favour of a true Gwent region. Merge it with the Blues. Turn the Scarlets into a development academy. Mobilise Gogledd Cymru and the Men of the North and reignite the spark at the heart of Welsh Rugby and resurrect the Warriors. Do this and Wales could be a true contender on Rugby's world stage, but I suppose we'll chose the dead weight of the current board rooms ahead of the success of Welsh rugby.
The Ospreys team to play Lyon at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday is: 15 Dan Evans 14 Keelan Giles 13 Kieron Fonotia 12 Ashley Beck 11 Hanno Dirksen 10 Dan Biggar 9 Tom Habberfield 1 Nicky Smith 2 Sam Parry 3 Ma’afu Fia 4 Rory Thornton 5 Alun Wyn Jones (Capt) 6 James King 7 Justin Tipuric 8 Dan Baker REPLACEMENTS 16 Scott Baldwin 17 Paul James 18 Rhodri Jones 19 Adam Beard 20 Sam Underhill 21 Brendon Leonard 22 Josh Matavesi 23 Sam Davies
Sorry - but it's not a dead rubber.. If Lyon beat us, they will almost definitely collect 5pts the following weekend against Grenoble, meaning that they could qualify as (most likely) a Runner-Up. We need to win to guarantee a home tie in the quarter-finals. Also, a good win would mean we could rest some of the team the following weekend against Newcastle. Don't forget that with the playing protocols of the NDC players, they can only play a certain number of matches (16) for the Ospreys. We wouldn't want to end the season at the Scarlets being unable to select the likes of Alun-Wyn
In order for us to not to win the group we would have to lose the next 2 games and Lyon would have to beat us with a bonus point win. Can't really see that happening. I agree regarding the those on dual contracts but think we can rest them on Sunday too.
We want to be seeded 1 or at worst 2 of the Group Winners. Newcastle winning 10-7 away in Grenoble at HT