08/11/2015 Scrum V Sunday


08/11/2015

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Could the Dragons preserved their unbeaten record. Should the Scarlet

:00:26.:00:31.

's have won in Leinster? We got into a fantastic position. Disappointed.

:00:32.:00:38.

Could the world's best referee keep up with the pace? Good evening and

:00:39.:00:50.

welcome to the programme. We've reunited two-thirds of one

:00:51.:00:54.

of Wales' finest back rows in Colin Charvis and Martyn Williams,

:00:55.:00:56.

we'll get their take on round 7 of the Pro12 and the rest

:00:57.:00:59.

of the week's rugby news. Beth Clement is here with

:01:00.:01:02.

her Premiership round-up. But we'll start tonight with

:01:03.:01:04.

the Blues against Glasgow. After five consecutive defeats on

:01:05.:01:19.

the road, the Cardiff loos were looking to get their season going.

:01:20.:01:29.

They also had Sam Warburton, Gethin Jenkins and Sam Cuthbert back.

:01:30.:01:36.

Glasgow had 15 international caps in their starting line-up and more on

:01:37.:01:44.

the bench. The rug the community shared a few moments of remembrance.

:01:45.:01:59.

Thought about flicking it through his legs. Last-ditch effort from

:02:00.:02:06.

Lloyd Williams and did well to pull down his opposite number. Two metre

:02:07.:02:13.

short and Glasgow looking ominously close to the try-line. Tackle over

:02:14.:02:29.

the top. You see and go over the top one-handed. Magnificent.

:02:30.:02:46.

Little dummy run from James, who has come off his wing. Williams looks

:02:47.:02:55.

for the. Prop takes it forward. No one is rolling away. Little dummy

:02:56.:03:06.

from Lloyd Williams. An opportunity now. That is Evans. Comes off his

:03:07.:03:14.

left foot. Very good response from Cardiff Blues.

:03:15.:03:22.

Stepped back inside. On his own. So dangerous. Baskett hall style over

:03:23.:03:37.

the top. The big winger is going to go over for an easy try. Little gap.

:03:38.:03:49.

It is the replacement, Ryan Grant who has gone over from close range.

:03:50.:03:54.

Felt there was an inevitability about this Glasgow attack. Grand,

:03:55.:04:02.

looking for his second. Harley is with him. The captain. Has he been

:04:03.:04:17.

turned over? The referee will go to the TML, Gareth Simmonds.

:04:18.:04:26.

Just short of the line. Great tackle coming in. What is the call here?

:04:27.:04:42.

His hand has definitely come in. There is no opportunity for him to

:04:43.:04:48.

scoop the ball into his hands. No more than the Cardiff Blues deserve.

:04:49.:04:59.

Into the 80th minute. Evans. Cuthbert! Almost away. Last tackle

:05:00.:05:12.

from Blair. What a wonderful win this would be.

:05:13.:05:22.

Tap on the leg. It is quite fitting that Nakarawa is the man who pinched

:05:23.:05:34.

the ball. The referee blows the whistle to call full-time on this

:05:35.:05:35.

game. It was a significant improvement.

:05:36.:05:49.

But it is a sixth defeat in a row. They led for long periods, but made

:05:50.:05:54.

some careless slip-ups. Ultimately, where they are the architects of

:05:55.:05:58.

their own demise? It was a much better performance. The Blues have

:05:59.:06:04.

two big issues, one is defence. They are conceding on average, for tries

:06:05.:06:08.

again. The other is composure on game management. 17-8. One minute

:06:09.:06:16.

before half-time. Guys on their feet, they could be options, it is

:06:17.:06:21.

obvious where this ball is going. He gives the ball straight back to

:06:22.:06:30.

Glasgow. Adam Ashe, plenty of time and back to the halfway line. Lose

:06:31.:06:36.

back in control. Good defensive line, albeit in their own half.

:06:37.:06:42.

Sloppy defence. You have got to be disappointed with that as a

:06:43.:06:45.

defender. Ultimately Glasgow score. This is straight from the kick-off

:06:46.:06:49.

in the second half. Lazy defence from the Blues. Grayson Hart has had

:06:50.:07:00.

a great game. Spots the gap. The Blues under pressure again. This is

:07:01.:07:06.

the first minute of the second half. They have gone from 17-8 up, just

:07:07.:07:18.

before half-time to 17-18 down. They have scored more points than

:07:19.:07:22.

anybody, but it is the defence and composure and knowing how to win

:07:23.:07:25.

games. Is that big the behaviour of a team not used to winning? Most

:07:26.:07:31.

teams to get into a slump if you are conceding that many tries and not

:07:32.:07:34.

winning games. Even though they are scoring points. I don't want to say

:07:35.:07:40.

a crisis meeting, but they need to sit down and organise themselves,

:07:41.:07:44.

what are we trying to do here? A minute before half-time, just show

:07:45.:07:52.

some control and composure. If the ball goes into the stands, they can

:07:53.:07:56.

set a defensive line and be very organised. The defence was a bit

:07:57.:08:00.

weak around the fringes. When it comes to game management. The key

:08:01.:08:05.

figures on the pitch knowing exactly what they want to do in different

:08:06.:08:11.

areas when scale lines -- scorelines are such. A lot of scrutiny on Rhys

:08:12.:08:17.

Patchell, his potential move west to the Scarlet. A lot of focus on him

:08:18.:08:24.

and he gave us a timely reminder of what he's capable of? He has

:08:25.:08:28.

everything you want. Kick the ball a mile and he has said the gas. Great

:08:29.:08:34.

distributional. He's not the finished article, and has a lot to

:08:35.:08:40.

learn but is a huge talent. He is a Cardiff voice through and through

:08:41.:08:44.

and for him to go sends out the wrong message. It is not a done

:08:45.:08:47.

deal, but it will be a big loss for the Blues if he does decide to

:08:48.:08:49.

leave. Moving on the Ospreys now, and they

:08:50.:08:51.

too, were hoping to bring a losing run to an end when they hosted Zebre

:08:52.:08:54.

at the Liberty Stadium. With just one win in seven so far

:08:55.:09:05.

this season, The Ospreys welcomed Alun Wyn Jones back. And included

:09:06.:09:14.

Scott Baldwin, James King and Dan Baker. The confident Zebre side

:09:15.:09:19.

travel to the liberty with a convincing win over the Blues and

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Adam Boro under their belts. Lovely and quick for Leonard.

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Jonathan Spratt. That is the first try from the Ospreys. Lovely chuckle

:09:37.:09:39.

Brothers stuff between howls and Spratt. Into the 22 and it is the

:09:40.:09:54.

Roman road to the posts for Josh Matavesi. Daniel Evans. To no one in

:09:55.:10:04.

particular. Josh Matavesi has to tidy up. Dan Baker lending his

:10:05.:10:18.

weight. Hint of a gap for the full-back. Here he goes. Alun Wyn

:10:19.:10:25.

Jones, ten metres short. Daniel Berger. Acres of space on the

:10:26.:10:33.

right-hand side for Eli Walker. -- Biggar. Ospreys get a third try.

:10:34.:10:48.

Daniel Evans finding howls in a bit of space.

:10:49.:10:57.

Bigger. Good hands from Josh Matavesi. Justin Tipuric with the

:10:58.:11:19.

bonus point score for the Ospreys. Alun Wyn Jones, first receiver yet

:11:20.:11:26.

again. Electric Eli Walker for his second.

:11:27.:11:37.

This time the runner is Sam Parry. The replacement hooker is over.

:11:38.:11:50.

Sixth try for the Ospreys. We have had a couple of issues around the

:11:51.:11:56.

last couple of weeks. We have found out a lot about ourselves, it was a

:11:57.:12:02.

test of character. We said it was a test of character last year and we

:12:03.:12:06.

found our way through it. We're not where we wanted to be around the

:12:07.:12:10.

league table and it is a bit of adversity for us to come through.

:12:11.:12:13.

A very welcome bonus point victory against opposition that had beaten

:12:14.:12:15.

Edinburgh and the Blues in the previous two rounds.

:12:16.:12:18.

Does this signal a turnaround in the Ospreys' fortunes?

:12:19.:12:23.

One game isn't going to make their season. They should be happy their

:12:24.:12:28.

main players turned up on the day and they performed very well. You

:12:29.:12:32.

shouldn't be running out that many points against Zebre. In the lead up

:12:33.:12:38.

to a European campaign, you should be putting in that kind of display.

:12:39.:12:43.

Next week is a very big step up again for them. We have talked in

:12:44.:12:47.

recent weeks about how they look a different team when the big guns are

:12:48.:12:53.

back and resort evidence of that yesterday, just interprets, man of

:12:54.:12:59.

the match. If rumours are to be believed, his contract runs out at

:13:00.:13:02.

the end of the season. Shane Williams thinks he will stay, what

:13:03.:13:09.

do you think? He is a machine, it doesn't matter what jersey he is

:13:10.:13:13.

wearing, he is an immense second row. He leads by example. I hope he

:13:14.:13:19.

stays. I don't think anybody could blame Alan will Jones -- Alun Wyn

:13:20.:13:28.

Jones if he is looking for pastures new. He has a young family and if he

:13:29.:13:38.

is on the market, the big clubs will come knocking. Hopefully they can

:13:39.:13:42.

put a deal together to keep him in Wales. Those two potential sources

:13:43.:13:49.

of revenue. 30 years of age. You were one region club when you move

:13:50.:13:53.

to the Blues, he has been one region man throughout his career. People

:13:54.:13:57.

will come knocking him and he may be desperate to win silverware on the

:13:58.:14:01.

European stage. I'm sure there were over chores for you from France and

:14:02.:14:05.

England and further afield, any regrets you did stay? There is a

:14:06.:14:10.

slight regret I didn't sample another club. You're lucky

:14:11.:14:14.

internationally you travel and Sample a lot. In Cardiff we had a

:14:15.:14:19.

good team and we were always getting into the latter rounds of Europe

:14:20.:14:23.

will stop if somebody hadn't missed a kick in front of the post, we

:14:24.:14:27.

could have gone into a European final. But with Alun Wyn Jones, he

:14:28.:14:38.

is 13 out and he only has a couple of years and maybe he is thinking he

:14:39.:14:42.

needs to move on to win the elusive European cup. The Osprey fans will

:14:43.:14:47.

be hoping he stays. OK, let's switch our focus to Europe

:14:48.:14:51.

for the next few minutes, because the Pro12's

:14:52.:14:54.

about to take a two week break, World Cup, done. The first seven

:14:55.:15:10.

rounds of the Pro12, done. Next up, Europe and the high-priced Champions

:15:11.:15:14.

Cup. But the Scarlet 's, it is the Pro12 champions Glasgow, racing 92

:15:15.:15:21.

and George North's Northampton. Two tough games travelling to Franklin's

:15:22.:15:27.

Gardens and then racing 92 at home and we have had some good results

:15:28.:15:30.

against Northampton at home but they did beat us there. It is very even.

:15:31.:15:37.

Racing 92 last season and two seasons ago we had a good win in

:15:38.:15:42.

Paris and a draw at home. The fear factor of going away, nothing to

:15:43.:15:46.

lose, we have to make sure we are accurate at home to get the results

:15:47.:15:50.

because the way results mean nothing if we lose at home.

:15:51.:16:01.

The Ospreys found format just the right time.

:16:02.:16:09.

Exeter have the ability to play but also put the width into that game

:16:10.:16:19.

is. They went toe to toe with Toulon. I'm sure they might try to

:16:20.:16:31.

do that against us. Claremont, they are well aware of the crowd they

:16:32.:16:40.

will have. We are leaping into the unknown because you cannot watch

:16:41.:16:46.

Ospreys playing, that will be their challenge. We will not get too

:16:47.:16:53.

carried away with what we think the Ospreys will bring. We will focus on

:16:54.:16:57.

ourselves and the type of rugby that we play in the Champions Cup. It

:16:58.:17:04.

represents the best of the best. Only the group winners are

:17:05.:17:08.

guaranteed a place in the quarterfinals. Some are more

:17:09.:17:11.

difficult than others. The fact that we got Toulon and Leinster, Wasps

:17:12.:17:17.

are on the up as well, playing really good rugby. It is going to be

:17:18.:17:26.

exciting. Toulon's roster of stars has grown. They have had some new

:17:27.:17:41.

signings. In Paris, the world's best fly-half has rolled into town. Stars

:17:42.:17:44.

from the South are flocking north. Is this good for Northern Hemisphere

:17:45.:17:50.

rugby? We should celebrate what is good about what we do rather than

:17:51.:17:57.

trying to find fault. It is great to have quality overseas players to

:17:58.:18:02.

help us, whether from Europe or the southern hemisphere. It is

:18:03.:18:11.

competitions like this that brought star names. We want them to play

:18:12.:18:23.

well for England. You can have a sprinkling of stars. These teams are

:18:24.:18:26.

full of stars. These names... This is not the

:18:27.:18:51.

fantasy 15, just a smattering of the talent available to Toulon. They

:18:52.:18:56.

have won it three times in a row. Can you see anyone standing in their

:18:57.:19:02.

way? They are very good squad. The second 15 is just as strong. They

:19:03.:19:07.

will be difficult to stop. To be in a group with them you will not back

:19:08.:19:12.

yourself because of the talent they've got, which is quite strange.

:19:13.:19:16.

Because most of them are not French they can win away from home. That is

:19:17.:19:24.

the key. The players that Toulon choose our very long in the tooth,

:19:25.:19:31.

well International is that can perform. They are coming in as the

:19:32.:19:43.

finished article. What hopes for the Welsh teams. Are they the most

:19:44.:19:55.

likely to qualify? You look at both of the groups, the Scarlet have got

:19:56.:20:05.

that team... Scarlet is have got an outside chance. You would never

:20:06.:20:12.

write them off. If they can stay fit, you've got to win your home

:20:13.:20:17.

games. If you do that then you might get through because if you look at

:20:18.:20:27.

the groups they are quite tight. I think with Pro12 the regions do not

:20:28.:20:35.

have any excuse. We have got to realise, anything is a bonus. Can

:20:36.:20:47.

you see a Welsh quarterfinalist? I cannot. I think the national team is

:20:48.:20:54.

easily the strongest team in the northern hemisphere but it does not

:20:55.:21:02.

translate down. It is not consistent throughout the whole squad. There is

:21:03.:21:11.

just one or two Mac players that will would not be an international.

:21:12.:21:20.

When you look at Exeter, they are a very strong team. The Ospreys will

:21:21.:21:28.

have their hands full. The Challenge Cup will feature the Dragons like it

:21:29.:21:31.

did last year. These are the pools. It is a competition Cardiff Blues

:21:32.:21:44.

have one before. They've got to go for it. These

:21:45.:21:58.

regions need any feel-good feeling they can. You never know how this

:21:59.:22:02.

other one around the group will feel. I think for both, they have

:22:03.:22:11.

some good factors throughout the region, throughout the club when

:22:12.:22:16.

they got to the semifinals. It is doable for both teams. Both will

:22:17.:22:21.

probably relish the prospect of leaving the Pro12 behind and having

:22:22.:22:22.

a fresh focus. We will start with the

:22:23.:22:41.

Championship. It was one of the results of the season so far as

:22:42.:22:48.

Bridgend took revenge for their drubbing in Round 2. A close first

:22:49.:22:53.

half with the home side leading 8-6 before the Ravens took control with

:22:54.:22:54.

three tries in six minutes. This is Mike Powell. It is two Mac

:22:55.:23:06.

tries in two Mac minutes. It was a late consolation try but

:23:07.:23:15.

they left empty-handed. They had the chance to go top but

:23:16.:23:27.

came away with just a losing bonus point.

:23:28.:23:40.

They repeated their victory to put pressure on the top of the table.

:23:41.:23:49.

One hour down the M4 and other regional derby as Newport enjoyed a

:23:50.:23:53.

bonus point win over Ebbw Vale. There was a battle between the

:23:54.:24:09.

bottom teams. No victories for Meath. The weekend kicked off with

:24:10.:24:21.

quite a match here. Revenge over the blue and Blacks as they got five

:24:22.:24:28.

tries to Cardiff's three. That victory puts ten two second.

:24:29.:24:34.

Last weekend he refereed the Rugby World Cup final at

:24:35.:24:48.

an audience of millions - this weekend he was back home,

:24:49.:24:50.

Rick O'Shea caught up with Nigel Owens.

:24:51.:24:57.

Twickenham to this is a former mining community. It is more famous

:24:58.:25:05.

for being the home of the best referee in the world. It doesn't

:25:06.:25:09.

matter what you achieve in life. As a referee, doing the World Cup

:25:10.:25:14.

final, you should never forget where you come from. As far as I am

:25:15.:25:19.

concerned, the most important part of the game is the community and the

:25:20.:25:22.

grassroots of the game and that is where I came from. From being out

:25:23.:25:28.

here in the field, with the under 16 is every Sunday morning, that is why

:25:29.:25:34.

I think it is important that you go back when you get an opportunity.

:25:35.:25:37.

You must have been aware of this massive groundswell of pride, the

:25:38.:25:43.

centre of which was this village you grew up in. What I saw on social

:25:44.:25:57.

media, it made me cry, to be honest. There is nothing better than

:25:58.:26:00.

bringing you back down-to-earth. On a Saturday night I run my dad and

:26:01.:26:07.

the first thing he said was, how do help -- how the hell did you miss

:26:08.:26:13.

that forward pass? That was the first thing he said. I'm really

:26:14.:26:20.

looking forward to it. I cannot remember the last time when I packed

:26:21.:26:30.

my kitbag at 12:15pm, and ended with a few beers at the end of the night

:26:31.:26:32.

because I never get that chance. Here we are, all aboard the fun bus.

:26:33.:26:52.

I was feeling very proud. He tells me a great story about how he rang

:26:53.:26:55.

you last Saturday night. Tell me what happened. I said, how the hell

:26:56.:27:00.

did you miss that forward pass? What is it like to be watching game

:27:01.:27:15.

to see how well the referee plays? I was watching it closely because I

:27:16.:27:20.

had ?40 on it. Nigel Owens is a great referee because he has empathy

:27:21.:27:23.

for the players but he also has a great wit. He developed a sense of

:27:24.:27:27.

humour when he used to kick a rugby ball because everybody laughed when

:27:28.:27:30.

he used to kick a rugby ball. That is why he got into refereeing. This

:27:31.:27:38.

is division one West. The biggest crowd of the season. They have all

:27:39.:27:39.

come to see the referee. I am here for one reason, to referee

:27:40.:27:54.

a game. That is all that matters. I would not be speaking to you tenets

:27:55.:27:57.

before kick-off into again last week.

:27:58.:28:22.

What does it mean to have the best referee in the world refereeing your

:28:23.:28:39.

boys? Nigel is very good, everybody knows his quirky one-liners. The

:28:40.:28:47.

time is 2:50pm. 20 minutes gone. Everybody is coming down here for

:28:48.:28:50.

him but you have not seen much of him because that is what a good

:28:51.:28:57.

referee does. Faster than last week. This is Paul James's mum! He is

:28:58.:29:06.

quite a character, isn't he? It was lovely to meet him. He is a bit of

:29:07.:29:10.

all right. Not sure you will get a look in there. I know. It is a

:29:11.:29:23.

golden moment for refereeing. We had recruitment and there was only 30

:29:24.:29:28.

people. After the final there will be 50 on it. We have 100 kids

:29:29.:29:38.

signing on to referee courses. It is the nominal what one person's

:29:39.:29:47.

involvement in the game can do. We need to work on our fitness because

:29:48.:29:51.

the game has never flowed so much. He is the world's best. Should I

:29:52.:30:02.

have? You can see they probably tripled the gate. When has a referee

:30:03.:30:06.

ever triple the gates in any club? Never.

:30:07.:30:15.

He is not using the whistle so much, you can hardly hear it. It is

:30:16.:30:23.

normally over by the time he gets to them. Was nice to have him down

:30:24.:30:30.

here, have a big crowd. I have been coming years and never had crowds

:30:31.:30:36.

like this. Nice to have it. Not much wrong with the laws of the game when

:30:37.:30:43.

teams play rugby. It is a lesson for anybody. Last week took on, this

:30:44.:30:50.

week Gowerton, next week too long. Got to love Nigel Owens and you have

:30:51.:30:51.

got to love rugby. Congratulaions to Gowerton,

:30:52.:30:55.

and to Nigel of course, Another man in demand, Jamie

:30:56.:30:57.

Roberts, he's celebrating his 28th birthday today, happy birthday to

:30:58.:31:01.

you Jamie. And, in case you missed it, the part-time medical student

:31:02.:31:04.

made his debut for Cambridge He turned out for them

:31:05.:31:06.

in their friendly against Worcester Cavaliers, though he spent most

:31:07.:31:09.

of the game defending as his team lost 29-7, but he's still hoping to

:31:10.:31:12.

help Cambridge overturn a five-year losing streak when they take

:31:13.:31:15.

on Oxford in the Varsity match Hopefully next time I will see

:31:16.:31:30.

more of the ball. We will wait and see. I enjoyed it. Enjoy playing at

:31:31.:31:36.

that level with those guys. But that to him, who I am sure is celebrating

:31:37.:31:39.

his birthday watching us. Back to the Pro12 now, and

:31:40.:31:48.

the Scarlets were defending a proud unbeaten record when they travelled

:31:49.:31:49.

to Dublin on Friday night. The captain made way that Owens.

:31:50.:32:13.

Behind the scrum, Gareth Davis made his first start since returning from

:32:14.:32:18.

the World Cup while Hadleigh Parkes switch to inside centre. Leinster's

:32:19.:32:24.

strength and depth was visible to the one that the Treviso last week.

:32:25.:32:33.

Great drive on from the Scala line. Deliberate collapse from Dominic

:32:34.:32:45.

that time. He's lip just about holds him up. The me runner and Owen

:32:46.:32:54.

Garrett Davis, well covered by the Leinster defence. This is a very

:32:55.:33:01.

encouraging and confident start from the Scarlets. Gareth Davies waits.

:33:02.:33:10.

Hadleigh Parkes gets over for the try. Superbly worked by the

:33:11.:33:21.

Scarlets. James Davies, slips it onto Rob Evans, who has had a few

:33:22.:33:25.

carries this evening. Gareth Davies, again gets behind the

:33:26.:33:40.

defence and finds Berkeley in support. It is a great try by the

:33:41.:33:49.

Scarlets. The Scarlets desperate to get numbers back. The Scarlet is

:33:50.:33:59.

throwing everything into defence on their own try-line. Quickly recycled

:34:00.:34:11.

and picked up by Cian Healy. Mike Ross is there. Mike Ross gets over.

:34:12.:34:22.

Territorially and possession wise, the second half as long to Leinster.

:34:23.:34:32.

More of a defensive apple for the Scarlets. No letup yet from the home

:34:33.:34:33.

team. Has been one-way traffic in this

:34:34.:34:51.

second half. The gap opens up and the runaround from Johnny Sexton. It

:34:52.:35:00.

is as easy as that in the end. That is the one. The tribe does not

:35:01.:35:12.

count. Will the Scarlets finish with a flourish? It has been a great

:35:13.:35:22.

effort. The try-line is there, within reach. The ball is lost

:35:23.:35:33.

forward. It might be relief from the Leinster fans. The Scarlet 's gave

:35:34.:35:39.

it absolutely everything and came so close. In the end they have to do

:35:40.:35:46.

come away with a losing bonus point. My thought the boys put in a really

:35:47.:35:53.

good effort. The breakdown area, we were disappointed with the referee.

:35:54.:36:01.

Had some turnovers. Interesting point. We have covered the Scarlets

:36:02.:36:06.

a lot in recent weeks. We have spoken in glowing terms about the

:36:07.:36:11.

Scarlet 's back row, James Davies in particular and how his technique

:36:12.:36:16.

over the ball has been winning penalties. They weren't on the right

:36:17.:36:19.

side of Leighton Hodges on Friday night. Some of the decisions he was

:36:20.:36:25.

talking about, what do you think that these? It is such a fine line.

:36:26.:36:33.

It is a clear penalty to me. James Davies is over the ball and in a

:36:34.:36:36.

strong position and on another day the referee could call a penalty.

:36:37.:36:45.

What you have got to do, straight after the game emotions are high,

:36:46.:36:53.

you have got to adjust to the referee on the night. If he is

:36:54.:36:59.

penalising you constantly at the breakdown you become squeaky clean

:37:00.:37:05.

and you give him nothing to referee. I think on Friday night, maybe they

:37:06.:37:10.

should have had a bit of a debrief, 15 to 20 minutes into the game and

:37:11.:37:15.

said, we're not getting anything defensively. If James Davies has

:37:16.:37:20.

been such a defensive weapon in the weeks come by and the Scarlets are

:37:21.:37:25.

relying on him to turn over possession and win possession on the

:37:26.:37:30.

floor, they go in with the same mentality and it is not going their

:37:31.:37:36.

way, where do you go from there? He is not the only person on the pitch

:37:37.:37:37.

not getting his hands anywhere near the ball. In the first half, we have

:37:38.:37:41.

players of their feet, players coming through the scrum-half and

:37:42.:37:45.

players holding on. As a squad, you have to get a feel what the referee

:37:46.:37:52.

is giving you. More in particular, not giving you. The background want

:37:53.:37:58.

to get their hands on the ball and steal it as much as you can, but

:37:59.:38:05.

when three of four penalties have gone against you, you have got to

:38:06.:38:08.

let go and leave it for a few minutes. Regardless of are winning

:38:09.:38:11.

and your is perfect over the ball, you get your hands over the ball and

:38:12.:38:13.

you claim to the refereed attacker isn't releasing the ball on time, if

:38:14.:38:19.

you get penalised for other offences, the referee will build up

:38:20.:38:25.

an accumulative impression and penalise you regardless of what you

:38:26.:38:31.

are doing? The referee is the judge. You have got to adjust on the pitch

:38:32.:38:35.

and that is what the best teams in the world do. They play to the

:38:36.:38:40.

referee. It is a fine margin. People talk about the scrum and it being a

:38:41.:38:47.

complicated and difficult area to referee. So is the breakdown as

:38:48.:38:51.

well. They might be proud of themselves on Friday night, they

:38:52.:38:55.

gave everything and pushed a good Leinster side all the way. I think

:38:56.:39:01.

they should be second, third in the league. They have done fantastically

:39:02.:39:07.

well. An insight into the art of the breakdown.

:39:08.:39:12.

They welcomed Ulster to Rodney Parade earlier this afternoon.

:39:13.:39:21.

Jones made five changes to the side that lost to the Scala 's last week

:39:22.:39:28.

handing the first row 12 start to Ollie Griffiths on the openside

:39:29.:39:34.

flanker. Karl Maier was at full-back and was joined by Pretorius. Stephen

:39:35.:39:46.

Mulholland made his first start for the province.

:39:47.:40:05.

One-handed flick. Interplay between the officials. Jones, certainly the

:40:06.:40:22.

most difficult of chances. One stab, great strike. Very, very good strike

:40:23.:40:27.

in deed. That will take the Dragons 9-0.

:40:28.:40:37.

Advantage being played. That is not a coincidence. You can see his knee

:40:38.:40:55.

coming underneath the ball. I think it is very, very good defensive

:40:56.:40:57.

play. Look out. That is a big call. That

:40:58.:41:25.

is the prop, McCall. That is what you expect from scrum-half. We have

:41:26.:41:36.

seen it from Pretorius. Opened and it was the scrum-half who took

:41:37.:41:43.

advantage. Davies. Griffiths there again. Taking more and more

:41:44.:41:53.

responsibility, the youngster. Evans spins round of the tackle from

:41:54.:41:59.

Stevenson. The captain is going himself. Can he spent over? I think

:42:00.:42:05.

he is just held up. Hands go up from Rhys Buckley. A man outside, has the

:42:06.:42:12.

captain got over the line? No, I don't think he has got that now.

:42:13.:42:18.

When you look at the work the players put in, it is a big

:42:19.:42:21.

improvement. Hammered away. Didn't get the try. I thought we deserved a

:42:22.:42:27.

draw. Big games like that, you need a couple of decisions to go your way

:42:28.:42:30.

and I feel a couple of them didn't. That was the difference in the two

:42:31.:42:37.

teams. After seven rounds, this is how the table stands, three points

:42:38.:42:39.

separate the top three. Talking of the Dragons, they needed

:42:40.:43:06.

25 points to beat Ulster. They are not scoring very many tries, but

:43:07.:43:11.

there were playing expansive league last season but that has deserted

:43:12.:43:15.

them. But their opportunities, they didn't convert any of them? This is

:43:16.:43:23.

at the end of the game. This is a difficult one. The difference to me

:43:24.:43:30.

was in the two teams, Ulster went down to 14 men twice and the Dragons

:43:31.:43:36.

couldn't get over the try-line. The Dragons lose a player just before

:43:37.:43:39.

half-time. That has been their Achilles heel, nine tries in seven

:43:40.:43:49.

games. You need to score. Top teams scoring 26, 27 tries. Last season,

:43:50.:43:55.

even in defeat they were chipping the ball around and scoring some

:43:56.:44:01.

attract tries? One of the things in this game, Ulster are passive at the

:44:02.:44:06.

breakdown at times. One or two guys come in and hit you hard and then

:44:07.:44:10.

they back off. Even with zero Ulster players competing at the breakdown,

:44:11.:44:16.

you still see the Dragons, parking over the ball. If you throw the ball

:44:17.:44:21.

around, throw it quickly. That pause, I think was just enough that

:44:22.:44:26.

the Ulster defence had time to reorganise. Although we saw the

:44:27.:44:29.

Dragons full of endeavour, it was a fraction too slow. Europe will be a

:44:30.:44:35.

welcome diversion for them as it proved last season when they reach

:44:36.:44:38.

the semifinals. But is it from us this evening. We will see you in

:44:39.:44:46.

three weeks when the Pro12 returns. Good night.

:44:47.:44:51.

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