30/03/2014 Scrum V Sunday

we are entering the final stretch and there are precious prizes up for

grabs. Play-off places the Sun, European qualification for others.

For the rest... Just pride. Welsh the is broken and desperately needs

fixing. Those are the views of David Moffat, who is back in Wales and

hoping to become chairman of the WRU. I am here because I have an

incredible passion for Welsh rugby. We salute Smiler, diagnosed with

cancer in October, he has not only beaten it but is back on the pitch.

He is an example to us all. Good Evening and welcome to Scrum V.

Martyn Williams and Kingsley Jones are here to pick the bones out of

another intriguing weekend of Pro12 rugby. We'll begin with the Blues

who were hoping to give their beleaguered fans something to shout

about in their last home game of the season against Ulster.

Caretaker coach Dale McIntosh wielded the axe is after defeat to

the Ospreys, but by far the most significant team news was the return

of Matthew Rees, following his battle with cancer.

In the end, the Blues have not got out of jail. Jared Payne, an

exciting and elusive player from New Zealand. We haven't had a stoppage

yet. Ulster try and get it wide. That was so easy but sloppy as far

as the Blues are concerned. The fans getting behind them as well. Great

drive forward. They have won 25 metres or so. That has got the Blues

faithful going. They are still going. What a drive! Can they go all

the way? ! They have gone to ground. Can they recycle? Yes they can. Why

did they elect to kick that? The Blues increase their advantage.

Jackson under pressure. Measured to perfection, that kick. It went

loose. Copeland is clear. Copeland stretching his legs. He has gone all

the way stop out of the top drawer. That reverse pass found Robbie

Copeland and he had the strength to go over. Blues supporters trying to

lift their team. Ulster over the try-line. Luke Marshall again. The

referee is right there. He is going to have a look at it. Was it

completed, was he still moving on the floor? It is going to

inconclusive. Penalty for Paddy Jackson.

Blues giving everything into this. 2.5 minutes over the 80. Brilliant

recycling work right Ulster. Brilliant discipline as well. Chance

that old stuff. There were men out on the far side will stop Blues need

to be careful. They have regrouped. They did well to slow up possession.

But something has got to give. It is a turnover. It is a penalty. That is

the victory for the Blues. We did ourselves and the region and

injustice last week. We did a lot of soul-searching in the week to try to

make amends. I believe we did that night. An incredible result against

Ulster. Last week you said you had witnessed their worst performance of

the season against Ospreys. How do you account for the turnaround? What

a difference a week makes. They were outstanding last week. It is mindset

and attitude. Last week they were very passive in defence. Too easily

broken down. But this example, great formation. Watch the numbers flood

the breakdown area. They do win the ball back, but there is no

scrum-half. Ulster pinch it back. Josh Navidi was outstanding

yesterday, man of the match. Watch the numbers scrambling, working

back, chasing lost causes. Great tackling by Copeland. This man,

Williams. He is back. They win the turnover. It was defence. I have not

seen this from the Cardiff Blues for a while. Ulster have come in round

the inside more. Blues have come to the open side of the field. Tom

Court decides to stay off, I don't know why he decided that. When you

are in that position, Ulster, they were under the cosh. This is just

lifted the crowd. Five yards short and you can see the dispute it is

causing between the Ulster players. It is a great statement from the

players and the fans. You know Dale McIntosh very well, how would he

have coaxed that performance out of the team given it was just a week

after the defeat from Ospreys? He is very passionate, he is very astute.

They responded exactly how he would have wanted them to. It was quite an

easy game yesterday against Ulster. For those guys, the big test for

them is in two weeks against Edinburgh away. They need to be as

desperate for that game as they were yesterday. We have heard about

coaches who rant and rave, but that is not necessarily what you need to

do after a big defeat? Exactly, the boys will be walking around the

streets of Cardiff reading the newspapers and they will be very

hurt. They will be disappointed. They will have wanted to put that

right. They will have walked -- worked on the technicalities and the

attitude from the Blues is just what you would like to see. It is a great

performance, for 50 minutes, they were excellent. The crowd were

bouncing last night it was a fantastic performance. Well the

biggest cheer of the night was deservedly for Matthew Rees, making

his return to rugby after his battle with cancer.

Last October, the man Nick named Smiler was told he had a severe test

in front of him. Cardiff Blues have announced Matthew Rees is to have an

enforced spell away from rugby. By December he had received his first

cycle of treatment and was far from knowing whether he would fully

recover. It has been a tough six weeks, especially with the operation

and waiting for the results of the biopsy. It has been hard, but

staying positive. Last Christmas while he was a patience, his

team-mates showed their support by raising money for the hospital with

a sponsored head shave. Just four months after being first diagnosed,

Mattie was told he could think about rugby again. You have had the all

clear, any idea when you might be back on the field? Not really, one

day at a time. I will play some part towards the end of the season.

Earlier this week it was announced he would fulfil that hope. A lot of

people would sit on their backside and do nothing, but he fought

through it. To come back from such an illness and play first-class

rugby in a short period of time is amazing. It has been a tough couple

of months, but the support I have had has been great. Overwhelming.

Matthew Rees goes past one tackle. He is an icon, an example to us

all. He came out there today and looked like he had not been away

from the game. What an inspiring story. Fantastic to see him back, I

know he is a mate of yours, how impressed have you been with the way

he dealt with it? He said when he was diagnosed, I will be back in

March. I said, get yourself right. He is carrying a few pounds at the

moment, but he will get that off when he is match fit. It is that

spirit that got him back. I remember you saying, he was talking about

making a comeback for Wales rushed to mark I tried to make him laugh as

much as possible. His goal is to be back in the Welsh award for the

World Cup. He sets unrealistic goals. It is great to see him on the

field. Who's to say we won't see him in a Wales shirt soon. Good luck to

Matthew Rees. Now for the last four games of the season. Ok, let's get

back to the action. On Friday the Ospreys had a crucial away game

against play-off contenders Glasgow. Both sides arrived knowing defeat

would deal a hammer blow to their title hopes. Ospreys were looking to

end a five match losing streak. Despite enjoying territorial

advantage in the first 40 minutes, they only have this penalty to show

for their efforts at half-time. Dunbar doing well. Pressure on the

Ospreys now. Brilliant. Off his feet when he completed it. The penalty

given away. It has taken Glasgow and Duncan Weir just nine minutes in the

second half to reduce the deficit. That could be a crucial penalty in

the context of the game and the season. Doesn't waste any time in

preparation. Superb strike. That is an excellent kick from Duncan Weir.

Short all to James King. The Ospreys need to finish this one off. They

have got a penalty. Dan Biggar draws the Ospreys back level again.

Nobody to the right to go but the drop goal. Dan Biggar! He has got

it. It is a superb strike from Dan Biggar.

That was meant that Tommy Seymour. Tommy Seymour thinks he has got the

touchdown and back could be a killer blow. Tommy Seymour has got there.

Picked up by Glasgow. That will be the killer blow. No try. The tried

is not stand. Here it comes. Do or die from Dan

Biggar and it is charged down. Matawalu, down goes Dan Biggar. It

is over the try-line. It is no try for Glasgow but they have done

enough at the end of the game to see it through. Once we dusted ourselves

off and have a look at this game. The young lads up there have put

their hand up. We have some positives, but it is raw at the

moment. We have done enough to win the game but a couple of bits of

naivete at the time and experience has cost us.

We struggled with the analysis that half-time, three - zero. They did

have some chances to win it? Yes, they will be frustrated because they

deserved to win that. They were the better side. Dan Baker was

outstanding at eight. They had to macro or three clear-cut chances

where one try was going to be the difference. It was that tight. They

have come away from their and probably blown their chances. I know

they will keep going until the end, but that is a huge loss for them.

You can never count out the Ospreys, we have seen them come from low down

in the table and make a final push. They have a 1-point question but

Glasgow have these two games in hand, three games which are against

Italian sides. Have they blown it? It will be tough for them, after the

Scarlets performance today they could be chasing that spot above the

Ospreys as well. You can't count out the Ospreys. They have quality.

Leinster at home is a huge game. Zebre awake is a massive game for

the Ospreys. They haven't got an easy running but you can't count

them out. They can get bonus points when they are on their money.

Leinster at home as you said, the Dragons for Judgement Day, Zebre

away and Connacht at -- and Connacht at home. They would fancy

themselves, with respect, to win three of those, wouldn't they? They

could potentially win four but Glasgow's running is not too

difficult and with those games in hand I think Glasgow will pip them.

We will have to wait and see, four rounds of fixtures left in the

regular season. Onto the Premiership and Lowri Morgan is here with a

round-up of all the weekend's action.

In a nail-biting game, Pontypridd led 27-6, Aberavon snatched an

unlikely victory over the lead leaners. This try by Matthew Jenkins

and Matthew -- under last-minute drop goal by Matthew Carter sealed

the win. There was another comeback win at Ridgefield, as bottom club

Swansea sped into a 70-0 lead. Lewis John had to cross for Bedwas, but it

was not until the 80th minute when a converted try completed Bedwas

fightback. Llandovery moved into second place with this comfortable

victory. The drovers haven't lost to Cardiff since November 2010. The

first of two tries scored here. In a close fought match at the Park,

Bridgend scored the try of the match through Jamie Murphy, but a penalty

try and 11 points went to Craig Evans and saw the Quins home and saw

the visitors get a losing bonus point. Cross Keys kept their

play-off hopes alive with a bonus point win at the north. The Neath

club captain was shown a red card in the last minute and Cross Keys'

captain secured a bonus point win for the visitors. The black and

Ambers were denied a rare win at Parc y Scarlets on Friday. Tom James

looked to have secured the points for the visitors with ten minutes

left. But after a period of sustained pressure, a last-minute

try by James Griffiths converted by Gareth Walters saw the home team

comeback to draw and keep them in the running for the play-offs.

Despite their last Pontypridd date, Llandovery move into second place,

Swansea and Nice are rooted to the bottom. Neuer-macro as I am sure you

are aware, David Moffett, the former chief executive of the WRU is back

in Wales and has made no secret of the fact he wants to be the next

chairman of the WRU. He has accused the current Administration of being

undemocratic and dictatorial and has called for a grassroots revolt in

order for him to implement his alternative vision.

He is the colourful character who keeps coming back. Chief executive

of the WRU from 2002-2005, David Moffett revolutionised rugby in

Wales. Creating the region's falling out with plenty of fans when one of

them, the Celtic Warriors, was disbanded. He left before the end of

his contract to return to New Zealand. But then he came back in

2008 as chief executive of Regional Rugby Wales. Representing them

against the WRU, in a High Court battle over player release. And now

he is back again. Hello, everybody. This time, he wants to be the

chairman of the WRU. On Friday he unveiled his vision for the future

of Welsh rugby. Among other things the manifesto includes proposals to

invest more money in grassroots rugby, to change the way the game is

governed and the introduction of five-year rolling franchises for the

professional sides. Before we get stuck into the detail, a lot of

cynics raised their eyebrows when you did return to Wales. Let's get

this out of the way first. How can you reassure the doubters that this

is not just a big ego trip? Well, I am never one to have an ego anyway.

I like to think that I am reasonably humble sort of guy. Why I am here is

because I have an incredible passion for Welsh rugby and hopefully that

came through today. You say you want to resurrect the community game. You

feel it is currently being kept poor. Why is that? What would you do

to change that? It is being kept poor for a number of reasons. The

first is that the union decided to play down the debt earlier than it

needed to, so it is a bit like you saying to your family, I am going to

pay down my mortgage very quickly and you guys can't eat for the next

three or four years. It is that sort of thing. They did not need to do

that. You don't buy their story that they are tied to this covenant,

which means they can't restructure? You see, that sort of an attitude is

what prevailed over Europe. They said, you know, that ERC will never

be removed and it will always be run by the unions. But that is not the

way it happened. So all those things can be negotiated with the bank.

Like the interest rates, like the term, like the covenants. The

manifesto stressed the need for investment to nourish the

grassroots, but where would the extra cash come from? Moffat

believes it is already sitting in the union's accounts. There is a

reserve their off ?11 million. They have refused to answer me what it is

represented by. That is what you would -- that is where you would

start. They say the reserves do not exist. But why are they in the

annual report? As liquid reserves, or assets, which cannot be asked --

accessed. An acid is something you can get access to. Access to top

players is another pressing priority. This season we have seen

Sam Warburton become Wales' first and so far only centrally contracted

player but David Moffett has a different plan. I think central

contracts are in trouble right around the world. I came up with the

suggestion of combined player contract, where the union, the

professional team and the player are all signatories to it and the money

from it comes from both the union and the professional teams. I

believe that a combined player contract will be the way of the

future and I think Wales can be right at the forefront of actually

deciding some -- designing something that is innovative and is

successful. David Moffett's ambition to return to the helm of Welsh rugby

is clear but a number of obstacles remain, not least garnering support

from the community game that women -- that will enable him to stand for

election. We have canvassed opinion, beginning at Pontypridd, where his

legacy is a little tarnished. He did Pontypridd no favours 11 years ago

and we don't see why he would do it for is a game so I don't think we

will support his attempt to become an independent chairman of the WRU.

We were the ones to lose out with the demise of the Warriors. You want

something more fresh, and I don't know if David Moffett is the man to

do it to be honest. We took a trip to division five's Southwest, where

other grave where laying. I am sure the changes he is proposing in his

manifesto will do a world of good. We need something shaking up in

Welsh rugby at the moment. He might have the support, see how close you

can get. This will do something here because club rugby at this level is

virtually dying on its feet. He's got the interests of rugby in Wales

that his heart. Whether he sees enough to write things down on paper

where he can carry them out is another matter. So what is next for

you, David? You have launched the manifesto today. You are looking for

nomination to run for the board and then ultimately to try and take over

the chairmanship. Do you genuinely believe it can happen? Well, I would

not be verified or not. A lot of people have always underestimated me

in my life and I am happy with that because I can surprise them. If you

do become chairman, would you work alongside Roger Lewis as Chief

Executive? My view about that is very simple. The Chief Executive

actually has to work alongside the chairman, because that is the chain

of command. The chairman is the chairman of the board. The board

appoints the Chief Executive. So it is entirely up to the chief

executive to work with the chairman of the board foot and it is not the

other way around. I am here for the long-term. That needs to understood.

But if I have not been able to convince people that there is a

middle way of doing things then I will take that on the chin.

Interesting stuff and that manifesto, a thousand words, he has

put a lot of work into that, a lot of thought into it. I discussed it

on Friday night's programme, Martyn said you have to give the guy a

chance to air his views if he has put that work into it. He has worked

for regional or be before and the WH, what have you made of his return

to the fray? Whatever anybody has made of it, it is democracy, we want

to see people, he is coming back into Wales and has people talking

about things and has guys on their toes and we're not just electing Joe

down the road because we know him well and he is a good old boy. He

really is coming in with a statement and there is a long way to go to

displace a become the new chairman but it is interesting. He has put

work into it. He is an intelligent guy. You could argue the regional

debate is a massive one, but would we have won as many titles and been

successful at national level if we did not have that change back in the

day? I don't know. The Academy seems to work well. He knows his stuff.

His CV is very good. I think he is a long way from becoming the chairman.

He does have to persuade the grassroots to believe in this plan.

We had a taster of some views from some clubs in that piece, by no

means scientific. He will divide opinion, he is a controversial guy.

Let's talk about the specifics in the manifesto, one of which make the

headlines. The notion of combined contracts. We have talked about

central contracts and he mentioned he thinks they are a thing of the

past globally. It makes sense to have a dual contracts between the

union and the regions? It is total sense and to hear him say he thinks

central contracts are dying globally, I thought that was the way

forward and the dual contract is the way forward because speaking to the

coaches and the administrators at the regions, a huge part of their

budget goes on Welsh players and they don't see them for a handful of

games. It makes sense for both parties to work together, to keep

the best players in Wales. We have missed the boat in many ways because

so many of the great players have gone but I think going forward if

they could come to an agreement together and have a dual contract

player, that is definitely the way forward. The coach's perspective? I

agree, they need to work together. It makes sense. The regions can't

keep picking up if a player decides he has an opportunity in France, the

regions pick up the salary and they still get the same amount of time

out of that player. It is only right that they work together and it is

the way forward. Briefly, another thing mentioned was the ideal of

rolling franchises for the professional teams, five-year

rolling franchises. A team that is not currently having professional

status can aspire to that and perhaps it would raise standards. If

a failing franchise is not living up to its name it has the threat of

being taken away. If it is failing in terms of the infrastructure and

not delivering on a number of things, fine, but in terms of the

team not performing well, I don't understand how for example in Super

League there is already teams existing as a franchise, already to

going there as a business already prospering butter... With the

stadium, With academies, making the tradition, they have a competition

to play in. What would happen if one of the regions,

will wait what happens with interest. Let's round up more action

from the Dragons and Scarlets. We'll begin with the Dragons who were away

to Zebre. interest. Let's round up more action

from the Dragons and Defeat last week saw the Dragon slipped to

ninth. Talent for latter was making his first start since the Six

Nations. Brendon Leonard was waiting for it.

I think it has been judged to be pulled down. Off goes Taulupe

Faletau. There is the first try. It had to come from that Zebre

pressure. Ashley Smith. Gets a miracle ball into Patrick Leech. It

must be a try. Lovely dummy at the end.

Should be just a take and give. Ashley Smith scores a try in the

corner that the Newport Gwent Dragons. Zebre to the ten metre

line. Penalty given. No problem for the fly-half. Zebre back in front.

Zebre on the rampage. Leonard again. This is looking dangerous. Just

didn't get the bounce. All hands to the pump again for the Dragons.

Penalty given. Referee just playing the advantage. Now he gives it. This

could take Zebre a converted try to the good. Three minutes to go, what

have the Dragons got? Driving up to the Zebre 22. Wayne Evans, poised.

Jeb and Groves, all the way. A tryout of nothing for the Dragons.

Levelled it up. The Scarlet 's were confident having

not lost at home to, act for more than a decade. John Davies gets them

on the scoreboard immediately. What have the Scala 's got coming

this time? It is on the Gareth Davies to poach yet another try.

Won't quite go for him. Delicious. Delicious. Break out why Phillips.

Turnbull. Josh Turnbull is going all the way. A spectacular Scarlet try.

The ball is stolen. Quickly taken. He has gone over.

They are back defending again. It is easy. That was very nice. Griffin.

Great ball to Michael Swift. Swift transferred to Henshaw. Henshaw has

gone over in the corner. Phillips, two metres short of the try-line.

Scala 's go again. Yes! A try will give them two bonus points. They

have done it. That is brilliant work by Connacht. Underneath the post. A

fourth try for them. Real thriller in West Wales. No change in the top

four after the weekend. 25 each out in Zebre, not what you

were looking for? We take every game as it comes. But Scala 's, with that

win today made a big statement. It is so tight. We will do everything

we can. So pleased with the boys in Zebre. But disappointed with the

results, we would like to have one. But the result against Connacht. We

have Zebre. We will be fighting till the end. It makes it very

interesting in the bottom half of the league. Every match means

something right now. Victory was vital for the Scala 's to stay in

the top six but they did get to bonus points out of that one? We

have preconceived ideas. Connacht are a tough side to beat as the

Dragons found out last week. Scala 's will be disappointed they

conceded four tries, but they will be dangerous for the rest of the

season. I think top four is probably a bit too far off, but top six. OK,

thanks for your company tonight. But all we have time for on Scrum V, but

it will begin online as soon as the credits started to roll. Happy

Mother's Day to all of you out there. Goodbye for now.