06/10/2013 Scrum V Sunday

at a week on the road, all for Welsh regions were at home this weekend.

-- after a week. We have all of the action from the latest trend. The

European row intensifies, we assess the potential fallout in Wales. This

is putting everybody under immense pressure. The Scarlets have been

long renowned for their running rugby, we turned the spotlight on

the grunt up front. Good evening, welcome to Scrum V, Kingsley Jones

and Martyn Williams are here to give us the latest on the latest European

rugby row, but we first started with the Dragons versus zebra. -- Zebre

the Dragons were trying to maintain a 100% record.

Jason Tovey is underneath it. That is a beautiful burst from the fly

half. All going loose. A loose ball, they have to tidy this

up a little bit. Richie Rees getting it away. Dan Evans try to get

outside. Cannot quite get through. Over two Toby Faletau, trying to get

in a few Zebre defenders. Illegally snaffled by the home forwards. 18

minutes gone. Jason Tovey to double the home lead. No problems for that

one with Jason Tovey. Leonard get it away and the Dragons are under

pressure. A beautiful tackle by Dan Evans. Great recovery work from the

full-back. Leonard put it in. That has put a Leonard in trouble. It is

flipped up to Hallam Amos, and the teenager gets the first strike --

try before half-time. Looking for support, he gets it from Jason Tovey

on the outside, and it is a second try for the young medical student,

Hallam Amos for the Dragons. Zebre moving forward. They will get a

penalty of nothing else. The advantage is being played. Brendon

Leonard points where he is going to put it. A Leonardo Sarto. A couple

of first half chances. The first point for Zebre. Richie Rees

prepares to put in. Zebre a man down. Lewis Evans has it. Can he

forced his way down? -- force. A try is given. That surely seals it for

the Dragons. For us to restrict them to seven points with a a few minutes

on the clock was positive for us. We took our opportunities when they

arose, it was efficient for us. Unfortunately we did not pick up the

bonus at the end, we have got a lot of growth to do and a lot of

learning and understanding. But we are moving in the right direction.

Another home win, unbeaten at home, the Dragons, disappointed not to

pick up the bonus point? Yes, that was a good win, but we have got a

lot of learning to do, a lot of good players there. We have got to

remember that Zebre improved. They got a bonus point against Glasgow

the week four, Beano how good Glasgow can play. They have got

Brendon Leonard in half back, they really have got a mentality that if

they are going to lose, they will lose playing. But they really play,

they keep playing, they try to collect bonus points. We have to

remain positive, the defence was excellent. They squeezed one try.

Overall, a lot of positivity to look at. Toby Faletau, phenomenal player,

looks like he has got a licence to run a bit more this season, how good

is the? He is in sensational form. He is one of those players that when

you mention Leigh Halfpenny, Adam Jones for Wales, I think he is as

important as them. I think he is head and shoulders above many of the

players. I am sure that the Welsh team are hoping he will stay fit

because he says the Seychelles player. -- he is a sensational

player. Let's look at Scarlets and Glasgow now, and first, let's take a

look behind-the-scenes. They are putting their new scrum behind

timmy-macro through their paces. -- their new scrum through their paces.

A powerful scrum determines the success of a set piece, so this is

an integral part of training. The scrum can be an important weapon

during the course of a game. Hold that shaped! So far so good. We are

coming up against better scrums each week. Spinning round at a rate of

knots. This season shows a very experienced player, Phil John, he is

sharing his experience. His technical knowledge is superb. He

has been behind a few very successful property and he has

learned a lot from them and I had been really impressed with his

leadership. We have given him a leadership role in the scrum, and he

comes back with lots of feedback from the opposition. I give the boys

a few tips. He is good to have on the squad. The younger players are

continuing to have an impact, but how do they switch off after

training? I relax? I go on the river, down to the White Springs,

catching the fish, spend some time on my own. Just relax, really. He

has been great, he has got a hunger for the scrum and he definitely has

the personality and that aggressive streak that you need. Next scrum,

please. The next scrum includes the input of match referee Matt Davis.

If you can insist they get into the gap, it will help me.

We do not want to be on the edge, as long as we are in a position where

afterwards the referee will settle us, and against Glasgow, where do

you think that scrum will go? They will try and walk around slightly.

Stay square, if they break off, the referee will deal with them and we

ghostwrite through the middle. OK, good. -- and we go straight to the

middle. Unbeaten Glasgow made ten changes to

the team that beat Zebre last week. Duncan Weir returning after six

months on the sidelines with a broken leg. Sean Lamont was on the

wing for the visitors will stop former Alaska warrior John Barclay

was on the flat for the hosts. -- Glasgow Warriors.

The Scarlets are trying to reform, and Glasgow seem to be number is

wide, but they are going through the forwards for the moment. Another

thrust and drive and you're comes the try. Ryan Bland is the loose

head. He claims that. -- Ryan Grant is the loose head. Good, quick ball

again. Liam Williams needed to put that tackle in. The advantages with

Glasgow at the moment, but they are still pressing. Swinton is right

over the top. They have got number is going right, but they, left

instead. -- numbers going right. The forward will overcook it, because

the back is trying to get behind there. The forward looking for a

pass, Tim Swinson! It's looks like it could be try number two for

Glasgow for Tim Swinson. Rhys Priestland, a change of direction.

He puts in a lovely little chip as well for Gareth Mauer. There is a

spring in their step in the second half. Slow down illegally, says

Rhodri Williams. Slow down, certainly.

This was meant for Liam Williams. Confusion in the defence. It is

Jordan Williams. Liam Williams! Between them, somehow, they can try

and stop the scorer. It was great footwork initially by Jordan to

stand up, and Duncan Weir made the gap, and he could not go for it.

Jordan Williams looking for the inside ball. Coming back with a

penalty. And simplicity itself. Easy as that.

Straight between the posts. Jordan Williams puts the Scarlets back

within a kick. The last line-out. Phillips is back up on his feet and

battling for the ball. Glasgow's visits down to the Scarlet

territory had been very, very infrequent in the second half. This

gives Duncan Weir a little bit of breathing space again. Sean Lamont,

looking to set up the counter. Sean Maitland... Good hands. Good hands

from Sean Maitland, looking for runners on his shoulder, and he

finds them. Sean Lamont looking for the off-load, just ten metres short

of the line. That is great tackling by the Scarlets. One more pass, I

think they would been home. Disappointing, because we played

some good stuff at times, just about get that final pass for we missed a

couple of tackles which allowed them to get some momentum early in the

game. At home defeat for the Scarlets,

what went wrong for Simon Easterby's men? They feel freely in

the first ten minutes to get anything going, albeit against a

very well coached and very good Glasgow side, as you said. A good

throw, a good line-out at the back, not quite precise enough, and great

offence from the Glasgow tailgunner at the back. Seven Scarlets playing

that first breakdown way in front of the gain line. It allows Glasgow to

organise themselves. The same again. A few minutes later, some wider

play, some good attack from Glasgow, and to look at them in the

breakdown, again, five players from the Scarlets having to recycle the

ball. Glasgow are allowed to reorganise, they wait for the

flashback player and we see another six, seven players from the Scarlets

having to recover the ball, and eventually, saying wide with Gareth

and war and just Rhys Priestland recycles that ball, which he fails

to do. You have got a player that was around any loose player last

night. This was the difference in the first half for both teams. He

got Glasgow going forward. This tap and go, nobody laid a hand on him

for a few metres, and that led to the first try for Glasgow. There you

can see him, giving a high five. Man of the match on the night, and a

real exciting player for Glasgow as Glasgow are some sides to make ten

changes and get that win, because the Scarlets did not play that

badly, but excellent from Glasgow. This is the end of the Heineken Cup?

A rights row has engulfed the competition and it could have a

major impact on rugby in Wales. It is here that in likelihood, it will

end. Last Monday's launch should've been a chance to promote the most

exciting rugby tournaments of the northern hemisphere. There was one

topic on everybody's lips. The end of rugby as we know it. As we speak,

there is a zero possibility of the European clubs participating. They

are not entering into talks. They want the autonomy to run the

tournaments about what they see as the obstructive interference. So why

is this competition hitting the skids? There are a number of

reasons. It comes down to money and power. The English and French clubs

robbery do not have enough of either. They were fed up with a

system that saw some pro 12 sides qualify automatically while there's

had to fight to get into the top six of their domestic leagues. They also

claim they were being short-changed. They say it should be split three

ways, with each league getting a third. We are not involved after

this season because we have served notice, a valid notice, as have the

French that nobody has been surprised about are challenged. - -

or challenged. It does not mean we are done with European competition.

What we have done is put a stake in the ground and said, we are moving

forward from here. We have put some concrete proposals into place. We

have announced the champions cup, we have encouraged anybody who wants to

join to join with others. Roger Lewis offered his services as a

go-between, acknowledging that maybe the emission French clubs had a

point. It is when 16 months and is a first said they were leaving. The

clock is ticking louder than ever. I remain confident that an agreement

can be achieved. I was involved seven years ago, we had similar

issues and we reached an agreement. It took as to the end of the season.

We did not reach the agreement until the final of the Heineken Cup at

Twickenham. We're absolutely united. We are prepared to accept

meritocracy. We are prepared for an equitable distribution. Nigel Davies

is a man with a unique perspective. Former international player, former

Welsh coach, his few now comes from the other side. The fact we're

trying to do with this issue now is putting everybody under immense

pressure. I am really concerned about the outcome. One thing is

Wishaw. Things will change. I cannot see any other way. - - one thing is

for sure. It is a key moment in the professional game of rugby. So that

may be eight months to run before the tournament as we know it comes

to an end, but the effects of the potential demise are being felt

already. It is a significant chunk of money. Last week, we learnt the

Blues were not able to offer Sam Warburton a new contract because of

the ongoing financial uncertainty. A number of other senior

internationals are out of contract at the end of this season as well as

Sam Warburton. £1 million has been set aside to help people in Wales,

but that would be released until certain conditions are met. One

sticking point is the signing of a new participation agreement. Scrum

five understands the regions are reluctant to put pen to paper until

they know what competitions they will be playing in next season.

Everybody has to manage their risk accordingly. Risk has been taken.

The card in Cardiff Blues have signed Gethin Jenkins. - - the

Cardiff Blues have signed Gethin Jenkins. What is a delay with the

money being given to the regions? We are waiting to hear back from the

regions. We met with them last week. We outlined our joint views on

players. They were right not between discussions. - - they were arrived

at at discussions. We agreed with the regions that the new agreement

will be signed between July this year and December this year. We now

await that. Without that, there is no certainty for the regions or

ourselves. What are the consequences if the regions don't sign this

agreement? He said the deadline is Christmas. - - you said the deadline

is Christmas. What are the consequences? This timescale was

agreed together. If one doesn't sign the agreement, there is no region.

That is a consequence of not signing. We have two thing, what is

the future. What would it mean practically? It means they would not

be playing in Europe, not receiving the money from the Welsh Rugby Union

World Cup they would not have insurance for their players, and

they would not have any referees. This is an extreme case scenario.

But it shows how damaging effect can be. The regions could find

themselves between a rock and a hard place. Sign up and potentially have

no European rugby. Break ranks and find themselves stuck as well. The

fans feel powerless in this. Political manoeuvring aside, what

they want to know is quite simply, will it survive? It has to be

compromise, give and take. With the right people, I feel we can get this

competition up and running again. We hope teams come to some consensual

position where they realise this is in their interest. We are losing

times in Wales in signing some of the Welsh stars.

So, a stark warning from Nigel Davies. On the regions being between

a rock and a hard place, one newspaper today suggested the

English clubs have given the Welsh clubs are deadline of the end of

October. To break ranks would mean to lose your bread and butter

competition. Can you realistically see that happen? Why would you

divorce yourself from the governing body? I watch the show last week.

There is big money there. We don't know how long that will be there. To

break ranks for that is nonsense. The key thing is compromise on as

Roger said. We need to get round the table and agree to stick together.

The Premier Rugby chief executive said today he is willing to meet

Roger Lewis, who has offered to be the peacemaker. This is a row

between rival TV companies, neither of whom will want to budge. Can you

see a compromise? I really don't know how. The clubs have signed a

deal with Beattie and the unions won with sky. - - one with Sky. It is

also a battle, Martin, about the soul of the game. They have accused

the unions of not maximising the commercial benefit of the existing

competition. Is the Gulf to wide? It seems to be at the moment. People

are being stubborn and not trying to move the game forward. Everybody

seems to be in agreement that you need to be in a top six. Ultimately,

it is about the power. I think the Celtic nations need those more than

they need us. If the Welsh regions go without rugby for a year, they

would probably go bankrupt. On the back of our lives, as Nigel

mentioned, it is a bad time for recruitment. People are being

poached by the French clubs. You feel sorry for the regions. That is

a related issue, isn't it? The uncertainty. How are we in this

situation where six are out of contract? It is a business. A player

is not going to turn himself - - tie himself up before a Lions tour. It

is a professional game now. That is just a game. Five or six of the big

players will not want to stay in Wales. Because of all that has gone

on, nothing can be done at the moment. The union won the regions to

sign this participation agreement before Christmas. - - want the

regions. We think there are some strings attached. Do you think that

million pounds that has been mentioned is a significant amount of

money? Is it enough? I understand it is between the regions.

Realistically, if we sign a play on 250,000, and we have four of those

players, are we going to share that to supplement the wage? Will that

make a difference? I don't think it will. It is a gesture. I do not

think it is enough. How many games? The Blues are probably thinking they

need extra money to replace a player of that quality. That is how I saw

it in the English game. It goes back to the old argument, is

it better to spend the money on three players that will be there all

season, rather than one player that will be there half the season? ! We

have said this, you pay them more money for the player you see the

less, which makes no sense. People need to realise that just because

you sign somebody with only half the pay, but is not the answer to all

the questions. We miss out on the level that the overseas players

get, the quality they get, they are the bedrock in the size, they are

now going to France or to England, so the strength in the regional

squads, yes, maybe they will not be going to the big French teams, but

to sustain it out the year in the competition, it is still a long way

off. We saw with Ulster and Munster, they signed some quality players.

They play for the regional art. Now that the champ Richard have changed

a bit, the players are away. -- out that the Championships have changed.

We believe the Heineken Cup, stay with us because there is more online

which follows after the programme. Get in touch with us on text and on

Twitter. Now, we look at the Premiership.

Queen's continued their superb started the boasting an unbeaten

winner of five wins from five following their clash with

Crosskeys. It is now three wins in a row for Cardiff. They won their game

inside ten minutes and the blues and blacks went 14 point player. Richard

Smith scored one of the three tries. It still wasn't enough for the

victory. Newport got their season back on track with a bonus point

victory over Swansea in an entertaining encounter at Rodney

Parade that saw them scoring six tries. Their last was a super

interception try. Bridgend ravens won their first game of the season

cruising to victory at the Brewery Field. The home side looked more

likely to win, but it took two late tries to secure a much-needed

victory for the ravens. A hugely competitive battle ending in

rheumatic fashion with this one. -- dramatic fashion. A draw in injury

time. Today, there was this match as the bridge field for a late

kick-off. -- at the Bridgefield. Back to the pro 12, we go back to

Cardiff Arms Park this afternoon, but firstly, the ospreys versus

Ulster. Ulster arrived at the Liberty

Stadium eager to bring the host's unbeaten home run to an end. Alun

Wyn Jones making his 150th appearance. One of the five from the

Lions tour in a double pack. Pulls down illegally. That was the

first real line-out we saw this evening. Some dirty play coming up.

You cannot go up around the neck in the maul. Be very careful. This

would be the final kick of the first half. It is struck. A great kick.

Struck straight down the middle by Dan Biggar. That is a real bonus for

the ospreys in such a great game. Very little to choose in starts

between the two teams in the first half. Mike Allen was told clearly

not to follow that Kate. -- kick. Three from three so far this

evening. Never looks like missing. A testing time. This will be a testing

time for the referee, I have to say. Because if it goes down, it is going

to be a difficult decision. He has stepped over to see what is

happening between Tom caught and Adam Jones. Team-mates for a short

while on the Lions tour. -- between Tom caught -- Tom Court. No problem

at all, the first point of the evening for Paddy Jackson and for

Ulster. Three wins and a draw. What would they give now for a draw at

home to Ulster? And this will suit Ulster even more. Plus the fact that

there will be a yellow card. The Ospreys will finish with 14 men as

Aaron Jarvis is sent to the sin bin. Not so much pressure on Jackson this

time as there was last time. But the result is exactly the same. It is

six from six for Paddy Jackson and it looks like he has guided Ulster

home. Here comes the drive from the Ospreys! They can sense read the

ball is! Offside anyway, even though Michael Heaney was there!

Disappointed with the results, not the performance we wanted, but we

will go back to the drawing board and try and get that sorted.

Both sides arrived at the Arms park with just one win apiece this

season. Edinburgh captain Greig Laidlaw returned with some

experience, whilst Gethin Jenkins brought back some experience from

Toulon. Harry Robinson, back inside to

Williams! Robinson! Williams still going! A great tackle from Dougie

Fife! Straighten up! Cory Allen! Cuthbert on the outside, and

Cuthbert finishes that as we all know he can! A superb counterattack

from the Cardiff Blues, and despite the best efforts defensively by

Edinburgh, Alex Cuthbert gets another to his tally. David Denton

driving on and laying it back again. Still, they cannot get over that try

line. They have got white line fever. He has tackled. He is on the

floor. If he is on the floor, he is out of the game. That cannot be a

try. That is no scorer. Straighten up, straighten up. Back inside.

Leigh Halfpenny. A great try. A lovely pass by Warburton, to Alex

Cuthbert, a second bite cup Bert. That should be a matchwinner. What a

way to win a match. A great still eight, it is cut

breath again. -- cup Bert again. A great still very. -- it is Alex cut

breath again, a great if we do is show second have

patience more fun, then get over the try line, then we will be a handful

for anybody. -- second have patience.

In the few military have got left, let's have a look at Europe, the

first round of the Heineken Cup. -- the few minutes we have got left.

Ospreys and Leinster, harlequins and Scarlets, and Exeter and the blues,

which is the best representation of victory for the Welsh side? The

harlequins, they lost yesterday, London Irish have been struggling.

If I could pick one or two, I would think Ospreys at home against

Leinster. It gives the extra edge to Ospreys. They will be hurting over

that. I would not like to be the next team at the Liberty Stadium,

they want to but that record straight, so that will help them to

the win. Sometimes the defeat gives you the kick up the backside that

you need, I guess? Yes, they will be heard, they were 12-0 up on Saturday

night, and they were against Leinster, so I think the Cardiff

Blues, they got confidence from today, not an outstanding

performance, but a great last 30 minutes. Going to Exeter, a

difficult side, but that game can be won. Also, Tom James and Ceri

Sweeney down there? Yes, they did a great job down there, Baxter has

done a great job, players that other sides did not want, he has

galvanised them, so they will be difficult to beat in Exeter. Exeter

is a tough place to go. How important is a victory out of that

first block of pro 12 fixtures to going to Europe? It is all about the

mental, Ospreys had a defeat going into it. They had a blip in this

season. It is important, important for the Cardiff Blues, a lot of

pressure building. Today, it is good for them to have Edinburgh, it could

be a better team, it could've been tougher, but good luck to them, it

could have been a better win. That is it from us, log onto our website

straight out of the programme for more. Now, the five tries of the

month chosen by Kingsley Jones. Going for the corner! That is

absolutely brilliant! Insights to the replacement. Look at

this! Here is Leonard! He is over. It is a third try!

Samson Lee, really getting into the pace. That is a brilliant run from

Gareth Davies! All the way! What a try! Superb!

Great gas by Alex Cuthbert. Still going, Alex Cuthbert! What a try by

Alex Cuthbert! What a strike by the Blues!

They're here is! All the way here, surely! Will he be called? Know he

will not! That seals it off in style!