:00:23. > :00:38.The weather did its best to scupper things in the Pro12. West Wales
:00:39. > :00:45.derbies are never tame. But Scarlets, trying to bring a name
:00:46. > :00:57.you're losing great to an end. And another colossal top-class. Here's
:00:58. > :01:03.the number one four Wales, but Rob Evans still pulls weight on the
:01:04. > :01:14.farm. After rugby, it is normality, just relaxing. Can London Welsh,
:01:15. > :01:20.become a force at Pro12? Brave new times. I think we have the potential
:01:21. > :01:30.to take the club forward, with new investment. Good evening and welcome
:01:31. > :01:35.to another programme. The Pro12 playoff picture becoming complex.
:01:36. > :01:41.All of us, help to assess. And as always, I will have the latest from
:01:42. > :01:44.the Premiership, and a mystery guest, visiting St Helens over the
:01:45. > :01:57.weekend. All of that to come, but only one place to start, the West
:01:58. > :02:06.Wales derby between Osprey and Scarlets. A number of modes watering
:02:07. > :02:22.Webb against Dvi, Webb against Davies. Scarlets coach welcomed back
:02:23. > :02:43.Evans and Ball. Webb. Away to Baldwin. Webb again. Switching
:02:44. > :02:56.direction. Matavesi can run free! Opening try. 15 minutes gone. Webb
:02:57. > :03:11.away to Matavesi. Thornton, gallop on the outside. Baker to chase.
:03:12. > :03:24.Jones runs into touch. Davies... Head back. Bit of ground. Down the
:03:25. > :03:34.blindside. Space and power! Van der Merwe looks to have got there! If
:03:35. > :03:47.that touchdown was clean... The good. Scarlets, first try. 29
:03:48. > :03:59.minutes, van der Merwe's seventh of the season. Plenty of aerial
:04:00. > :04:07.battles. Scarlets diving in. Penalty. 42 minutes. And this, to
:04:08. > :04:17.give Ospreys the lead. Davies finds the target.
:04:18. > :04:36.The advantage being played, Scarlets. Brought back, for the
:04:37. > :04:50.penalty. This, to level things up. After 45 minutes. Jones. Wales under
:04:51. > :05:00.20 fly half makes no mistake. Scarlets battering away. Close
:05:01. > :05:15.quarters. Davies tries to go over the top. Coming back, Evans to have
:05:16. > :05:19.a go. Ospreys kicked it over their own dead-ball line! Not much to
:05:20. > :05:41.smile about, for Warren Gatland. The tackle. Scarlets have got yet
:05:42. > :05:49.another turnover. So many of them was this afternoon. We wouldn't
:05:50. > :05:58.touch. Crowd, booing. Davies. -- cleared into touch.
:05:59. > :06:12.Webb, Underhill. The chance should still be on. But the interception.
:06:13. > :06:30.Parkes! Morgan tracking back. Davies to chase. Cannot gather cleanly.
:06:31. > :06:47.Davies isolated, holding on. Good defensive work. Davies, Thomas.
:06:48. > :06:57.Owens. Struggling for. Spills out loosely. Scrums have been a mess.
:06:58. > :07:11.Scarlets, turnover. But that was illegal. 66 minutes. Thomas, six
:07:12. > :07:23.point game. Finding the mark for the second time.
:07:24. > :07:34.Flying in, tackle. Ruled to be high. And it is good to be another
:07:35. > :07:39.Scarlets penalty chance. Four minutes late. There is to give
:07:40. > :07:47.Scarlets some breathing space again. And over it goes. Scarlets looking
:07:48. > :07:59.good to cement the top four place. Trying to control the Scarlets
:08:00. > :08:04.scrum. Another penalty. Fittingly, the scrum dominated game ends with a
:08:05. > :08:11.scrum penalty. A lot of backslapping. This, too surely kill
:08:12. > :08:17.off the champion cup hopes. And Scarlets, we with derby victory.
:08:18. > :08:23.That was a landmark win, only the second victory, at that ground, in
:08:24. > :08:28.the existence. It reflects the contrasting fortunes of the two
:08:29. > :08:33.sides. It is a massive result for Scarlets. They have had a lot of
:08:34. > :08:40.demons, and I think we have been waxing lyrical about how deeply.
:08:41. > :08:48.Schooling for fun. But yesterday, the pack was outstanding. Dominated
:08:49. > :08:58.Ospreys. The death -- deserved the victory. And the Scarlets eight,
:08:59. > :09:03.taking them to the cleaners. How did they do that? I did not see that
:09:04. > :09:14.coming. And as you mentioned, some good matchups, Owens, Baldwin. First
:09:15. > :09:26.scrum. Good attacking opportunity for Ospreys.
:09:27. > :09:29.scrum. Good attacking opportunity set pieces to work from. That was
:09:30. > :09:36.the images rendering him... Giving him a hard day at the office.
:09:37. > :09:44.Ospreys usually dominate, I think it was a change in the guard.
:09:45. > :09:48.Ospreys usually dominate, I think it not playing, and I think his
:09:49. > :09:55.presence makes a massive difference. That was not helping.
:09:56. > :11:38.presence makes a massive difference. down to one pivotal moment. Neither
:11:39. > :11:44.side seemed to be seizing the initiative. But we saw that from the
:11:45. > :11:48.end, that pass, changed everything? It was an arm wrestle, up until this
:11:49. > :11:55.point. This was a changing point of the game. Ospreys, getting to the
:11:56. > :12:03.22, on the front foot, you thought they were going to get a try. Back
:12:04. > :12:10.to this. Four players. Nobody in front. Just a split second faster,
:12:11. > :12:15.try time. But he has dabbled. And they have taken the ball. They do
:12:16. > :12:32.not end up scoring, but it was a massive momentum shift. Scarlett,
:12:33. > :12:36.Scarlets -- kicked on. And almost, a unanimous choice, this man, in most
:12:37. > :12:44.of the teams of the competition, he has been on before, doing his level
:12:45. > :12:48.best to poison us, at the Masterchef challenge. But this week, we went to
:12:49. > :13:04.see Rob Evans at his natural habitat. This is my uncle's farm.
:13:05. > :13:15.Basically where I grew up as a kid. It is just a little village. We had
:13:16. > :13:28.a calf born yesterday. Happy! Good calf. All the family, farmers. My
:13:29. > :13:38.old man was never good in the gym. But he has an agricultural strength.
:13:39. > :13:44.After a long day of rugby, it is just normality, going to the farm,
:13:45. > :13:50.move cattle. It is relaxing, really. Nice to come back. After the World
:13:51. > :13:56.Cup, obviously I was missing out, so I went back to Scarlets, and I kept
:13:57. > :14:02.my head down. I wanted to be involved in the Six Nations. And
:14:03. > :14:07.obviously, when you have got Jenkins, James in front of you...
:14:08. > :14:11.You do not think you are going to be playing that much. But thankfully I
:14:12. > :14:27.have got an opportunity, and I was just delighted to play. Highs and
:14:28. > :14:30.lows. With the, highs and lows. Deleted the start against Ireland,
:14:31. > :14:43.start at the Six Nations, but it was tough against England. Second row.
:14:44. > :14:51.Brown! Anthony Watson. England, in full control just after 40 minutes.
:14:52. > :15:02.I was disappointed with that. But I suppose it was good to finish on a
:15:03. > :15:10.high against Italy. The last time we filmed here, Dan Biggar. We just
:15:11. > :15:19.talk about milk price. Stuff like that. Chat about farming. It is
:15:20. > :15:27.good. Scarlets means a lot to me. I am from the region. And I just
:15:28. > :15:32.really want to win something, with Scarlets. Obviously, we have got a
:15:33. > :15:41.tough game against Blues next week, and then Dragons. But we in a good
:15:42. > :15:46.position. And the boys that have been only, we have still been doing
:15:47. > :15:53.a good job. Looking forward to the end of the season. And that is a
:15:54. > :15:58.crucial try for Scarlets. They are going to stay in the top four, in
:15:59. > :16:03.contention. We have been in the top for all of the year, would be a
:16:04. > :16:10.shame to that following. We have got some big teams coming up. The next
:16:11. > :16:17.few weeks are going to be massive. It has been an incredible 12 months
:16:18. > :16:28.for Rob Evans. We talk about the Scarlets dominance, but it his all
:16:29. > :16:31.round game. This is almost the bread-and-butter. I think he has
:16:32. > :16:41.really improved the scrummage. Outstanding. Mobile, powerful,
:16:42. > :16:46.carries well. Good ball skills. And I think this was just one of the
:16:47. > :16:56.carries. He wants to do this. 75th minute. Leading the kick chase.
:16:57. > :17:00.Massive hit. And on the back of the Six Nations, it is so difficult to
:17:01. > :17:04.come back, after being away with the Six Nations, he really is the number
:17:05. > :17:13.one. She deserves that. I spoke to him last year, after the leak, I saw
:17:14. > :17:18.him in the car park, but he was really down about the scrummage. He
:17:19. > :17:26.has been superb, over the last eight weeks. He has almost replaced
:17:27. > :17:38.Jenkins, the most experienced of all time. How will he be feeling about
:17:39. > :17:45.that? Watching that, I think he will still be up for the fight, obviously
:17:46. > :17:49.proud guy. Still got a user to good Rugby League. But he has got to keep
:17:50. > :17:58.his feet on the ground. How does he do that? Naturally, good guy. Most
:17:59. > :18:01.of what I have been told from Scarlets, he is keen to develop.
:18:02. > :18:07.This is only the start. Still bigger things to come. If he can carry on
:18:08. > :18:13.developing, he could almost surpass what some of the other great props
:18:14. > :18:17.have done. I think he has got the main set to do that. The cover is
:18:18. > :18:27.certainly looking well stocked. And it was a top of the table class,
:18:28. > :18:38.this weekend, as Connacht hosted Leinster, but before that classical
:18:39. > :18:57.and -- Glasgow and Ulster. Pass inside. That is beautifully
:18:58. > :19:05.done. Try for Henderson. Glasgow taken it in. I was watching Ulster
:19:06. > :19:13.holding, taking this quickly. Just going for that. And Glasgow could be
:19:14. > :19:25.in trouble. That was going out of play. He has to be defending. But he
:19:26. > :19:36.has not been. McCloskey scores! What an Eos -- on earth were Glasgow
:19:37. > :19:53.thinking? Pass behind. Good take from Reid. Pass out. Hogg. Chip
:19:54. > :20:08.over. Hogg goes up and in! Great try for Glasgow! Russell. That is a
:20:09. > :20:20.brilliant run. Glasgow in! This is superb. Seymour! How about that? Two
:20:21. > :20:34.tries in two minutes. Seymour crosses! It was first versus second,
:20:35. > :20:44.the only try went to Connacht in the first half. It was miraculously
:20:45. > :20:59.chase down, by Marmion. 7-0 at half time. Madigan struck this. Setting
:21:00. > :21:12.up a grandstand finish. His side then laid seige, but Connacht held
:21:13. > :21:16.on, second win in seven matches against Leinster. Some speculation
:21:17. > :21:25.that London will shun London Scottish could be on the deal job
:21:26. > :21:29.joining Pro12, possibly a seven figure sum standing by. We travelled
:21:30. > :21:38.to London to find out if this was an imminent reality, or distant dream.
:21:39. > :21:44.If history makes a club then London Welsh's status is going to be
:21:45. > :21:50.assured. It still told the record for the more players selected for a
:21:51. > :21:58.single Lions tour. But administration, relegation,
:21:59. > :22:05.relocation, dribbling gates, and a sense they no longer belong. We are
:22:06. > :22:15.not the most favoured club. We feel like the uninvited guests. I think
:22:16. > :22:18.we felt it was not the natural home. So London Welsh find themselves
:22:19. > :22:27.having an identity crisis. No longer welcome at the Aviva Premiership,
:22:28. > :22:32.where could they seek refuge? I think it would make sound commercial
:22:33. > :22:37.sense to have London franchise, television revenues, sponsorship and
:22:38. > :22:44.commercial deals, nobody I have spoken to disagree with that common
:22:45. > :22:48.sense. 12-15 million people in this part of the world. That is the
:22:49. > :22:56.aggregate population of Ireland, Scotland and Wales. If you're going
:22:57. > :23:00.to be running a blue chip company, I do not know she would be running to
:23:01. > :23:05.back one of them, you would want be convinced that they were going to
:23:06. > :23:10.the meaning serious business. Apart from the crowd issue, and the
:23:11. > :23:19.middle-of-the-road championship team at best, they also do not not have a
:23:20. > :23:22.stadium. The traditional headquarters has neither the
:23:23. > :23:29.facilities of the capacity to be a top-flight venue. But arguably, more
:23:30. > :23:31.pressing issues to address. The regions are poorer than
:23:32. > :23:38.counterparts, and it would take some persuading to admit a fifth
:23:39. > :23:45.professional side, and it would surely provoke outrage. I cannot see
:23:46. > :23:52.Ospreys, Scarlets, Dragons... Talking about the piece of cake,
:23:53. > :24:00.it'll be smaller. Because London Welsh are coming. You have got to be
:24:01. > :24:04.joking. We see the advantage, of playing Pro12 rugby, at London,
:24:05. > :24:09.everybody wins. More revenue available, not just for London
:24:10. > :24:15.Welsh, but each of the four Welsh regions, in addition to what they
:24:16. > :24:21.are getting, and it would not alter what WRU are currently funding. So
:24:22. > :24:28.just to be clear, you would not call with a begging bowl? I did not say
:24:29. > :24:33.that. But we do not want to deprive regions of one penny. Of that
:24:34. > :24:39.investment does materialise and the two clubs in. Add the Pro12, what
:24:40. > :24:45.could they bring, in terms of crowds? We can look at the evidence.
:24:46. > :24:49.It is not that compelling. So far this season, London Welsh and London
:24:50. > :24:55.Scottish have an average of just 1000 at the English championship.
:24:56. > :25:00.Not exactly box office. If London wheels can attract a crowd, at
:25:01. > :25:04.Oxford, to see them against Harlequins, Saracens, what makes
:25:05. > :25:13.them think they are going to get more people to come and see them
:25:14. > :25:18.against Blues, Ospreys, Munster? London Wilshere 52 recent stones in
:25:19. > :25:30.the top-flight. The first was promising. But then, docked points
:25:31. > :25:37.for an ineligible player. The second was a disaster. So what makes them
:25:38. > :25:47.think life is going to be easier? I think we have sufficient confidence,
:25:48. > :25:51.for us to sign more players. We want more Welsh in London Welsh,
:25:52. > :26:03.recruiting more people, with Welsh pedigree. Could we see Welsh teams,
:26:04. > :26:15.competing in Europe? The not too distant future. It would be a brave
:26:16. > :26:23.man to predict that. If we cannot aspire to achieve that... What's the
:26:24. > :26:29.battle worth fighting? A health spoken to London Scottish, and the
:26:30. > :26:36.SFU, they have funded the appointment, of Grant, so some
:26:37. > :26:40.degree of interest, but London Scottish themselves have said that
:26:41. > :26:44.at present the ambition is just to remain competitive English
:26:45. > :26:49.championship team. The WRU have acknowledged it would be good for
:26:50. > :26:58.Welsh rugby, but have said they are not in a position to fund them. So
:26:59. > :27:08.this hot potato! London Welsh, joining Pro12, good or bad? For
:27:09. > :27:13.Welsh rugby, and you talk about Gatland, it has got to be a good
:27:14. > :27:19.thing. It just increases the number of Welsh players at a competitive
:27:20. > :27:23.level. Commercially, got to be some detail behind those thoughts. They
:27:24. > :27:30.have sat down, and put some sort of proposition together. It could be
:27:31. > :27:40.the Pro12 at some stage. I do not nobody would actually add. 12 teams
:27:41. > :27:47.now. Who misses out? Battalions? Additional team? It is a massive
:27:48. > :27:51.question. As it stands, to just bring someone in, and spread that
:27:52. > :28:04.funding, it is not going to happen. The point is that I put to them, the
:28:05. > :28:06.card and -- current crowds, about 1000, and most controversially, if
:28:07. > :28:13.they did agree to fund that, it would cause outrage.
:28:14. > :28:28.points I think Peter Jackson hit the nail on the head for me. What I will
:28:29. > :28:33.say, they would definitely make more sense to have them in the
:28:34. > :30:10.say, they would definitely make more do think there's any reason
:30:11. > :30:13.say, they would definitely make more Lets leave it there because this
:30:14. > :30:17.debate will run on and on. Let's get back to the action and remind
:30:18. > :30:31.ourselves what happened when the Blues welcomed Treviso.
:30:32. > :30:40.COMMENTATOR: Great off-load to Warburton. Gethin Jenkins trying to
:30:41. > :30:50.keep up with him. The bounce favours Jayden Hayward. What a comeback that
:30:51. > :30:58.would have been for Sam Warburton. A great take. By Josh Turnbull.
:30:59. > :31:12.Perfect position. Jenkins. All the way, the first try has gone for the
:31:13. > :31:22.Blues. Lloyd Williams. If Fernando causing problems? Surely this
:31:23. > :31:31.time... Navidi has just about got there.
:31:32. > :31:37.Turnbull. Support there from Gavin Smith. Turnbull is there to receive
:31:38. > :31:55.the ball back. Anscombe... Rey Lee-Lo! Makes it to the try
:31:56. > :32:12.line. Rey Lee-Lo gets his first try in Blues colours. Navidi turns. Just
:32:13. > :32:18.short. Lloyd Williams can't get his hands on the ball. The forwards want
:32:19. > :32:19.another crack at it. Kristian Dacey gets the try that brings the Blues
:32:20. > :32:43.the bonus point. He was off? He wants to carry on
:32:44. > :32:48.with things, Jayden Hayward. Right on the try line. Kristian Dacey's
:32:49. > :32:52.tackle keeps him away. A long ball out and it is the flanker Lazzaroni
:32:53. > :33:16.who gets a try for Treviso. Anscombe has it all to do himself
:33:17. > :33:29.and he may well do it. Great catch. I think he's lost that.
:33:30. > :33:38.Vosawai got so close to a spectacular try. Now, far more
:33:39. > :33:49.conventional. Drive towards the try line. Over the try line and this
:33:50. > :33:57.time does get his try. Evans picks out Patchell. Fish. Support by the
:33:58. > :34:04.side. It's Tom James who canters over.
:34:05. > :34:14.Lewis Jones with the quick take and go. Dan Fish looking to go all the
:34:15. > :34:23.way and Dan Fish does go all the way!
:34:24. > :34:32.Lovely little Thoreau and go by Evans. Summerhill back inside, to
:34:33. > :34:39.Patchell. That's try number eight for the Blues. We ground them down
:34:40. > :34:42.and managed to score a few extra tries at the end. The forwards have
:34:43. > :34:50.a bit to work on. I'm pleased with the result. STUDIO: The Blues now
:34:51. > :34:53.scored more points than any other side in the tournament so far. Back
:34:54. > :34:59.down to eighth after momentarily going up to seventh. Themselves in
:35:00. > :35:05.the race for a possible European qualifying spot. This notion that
:35:06. > :35:12.Danny Wilson selects a different side for playing at home because of
:35:13. > :35:16.the 3G pitch, is that a good policy for you? I think so. He's shown with
:35:17. > :35:22.Josh Turnbull playing in the middle as well. They've got a very mobile
:35:23. > :35:27.pack. This pitch is the quickest pitch, as you've just mentioned the
:35:28. > :35:31.amount of points that's been squad that it's a much more open,
:35:32. > :35:37.fast-growing game. It suits having players who are faster as opposed to
:35:38. > :35:42.may more bulky. Josh Turnbull, 50th appearance for the Blues on Friday.
:35:43. > :35:45.He was man of the match in the Wales squad but didn't get a sniff on
:35:46. > :35:51.match day squad in the Six Nations. Becoming a real store what. His
:35:52. > :35:54.become outstanding since he signed for the Blues. He's got that
:35:55. > :35:58.versatility tag which she doesn't want. You want to nail down a
:35:59. > :36:04.certain position. For me this is his future. There's so much quality, he
:36:05. > :36:12.does everything. He wins line-outs, he can carry. He is just an absolute
:36:13. > :36:17.engine. He keeps going, a nuisance to play with, a nuisance to train
:36:18. > :36:22.with and play against. He's in the middle of everything. I think he's a
:36:23. > :36:28.perfect, further Blues, they need some centre rose and he's perfect
:36:29. > :36:33.for them. They've a big game next Saturday against the Scarlets. The
:36:34. > :36:40.other big debate selection wise was fly half Rhys Patchell. Anscombe
:36:41. > :36:46.comes back, Patchell reverts to full-back. Was that the right call?
:36:47. > :36:50.They are two good tens. I think Patchell is a good 15, he's big and
:36:51. > :36:54.strong and great running ability. I think they can bind very well. Danny
:36:55. > :37:03.Wilson has used them well. More often that not that first past is to
:37:04. > :37:07.wake up Patchell. They play a much wider game. Certainly at home and
:37:08. > :37:13.certainly with these two guys playing. They are 11 macro's first
:37:14. > :37:16.thought is to look at what's in front of him and run the ball back.
:37:17. > :37:20.There's a real strength under real quality that they have.
:37:21. > :37:26.Unfortunately for the Blues, Patchell is moving on next year. He
:37:27. > :37:30.wants to play ten and have that opportunity. Matthew Morgan comes
:37:31. > :37:34.in, slightly different player at 15. Very good in open field, a great
:37:35. > :37:37.runner, a good passer, but I do know whether they would have the same
:37:38. > :37:43.ability to get the ball as wide as they have done in the last 12
:37:44. > :37:49.months. I think he's a massive loss for the Blues, Patchell and a big
:37:50. > :37:54.plus to the Scarlets. An unexpected delivery in the office this week. I
:37:55. > :37:59.arrived on Monday morning to find an enormous package waiting. I was both
:38:00. > :38:06.delighted and relieved to find this cracking mural of Welsh fly-halves.
:38:07. > :38:11.Cliff, Guy Watkins, Jonathan Davies. I think you can see what the artist
:38:12. > :38:16.is trying to do. James Hook appears to have been cut out of the picture.
:38:17. > :38:19.We tracked the guy down, he is a Pembrokeshire artist and we went to
:38:20. > :38:25.see him to get him to tell us what inspired him to do this painting.
:38:26. > :38:31.Born out of frustration slightly due to my deep love for the game of
:38:32. > :38:42.rugby football especially back play. Brought up watching Phil Bennett,
:38:43. > :38:46.Jonathan Davies. I just feel as if Hooky should have played more times
:38:47. > :38:50.for Wales. The reason I painted this and felt I had to voice my opinion
:38:51. > :38:58.through it was because I feel there is a demise in Welsh backplate, in
:38:59. > :39:07.particular. I just wondered what you guys in the studio might think. What
:39:08. > :39:10.do you think? A novel way to resurrect this debate and whether
:39:11. > :39:19.Wales play with enough flair and instinct? Yellow.
:39:20. > :39:29.I think sometimes you look back and the game has changed a lot. We would
:39:30. > :39:34.all love to see a little nippy scrum-half who throws dummies and
:39:35. > :39:39.things. I think we are where we are, we've got an incredibly athletic set
:39:40. > :39:44.of backs. We are highest point scorers in the Six Nations as well.
:39:45. > :39:50.I think it's a bit overboard if I'm honest. Is there a happy medium,
:39:51. > :39:57.play twister and a pattern but perhaps have a bit of instinct as
:39:58. > :40:00.and when the opportunity arises? I think it's to throw out the
:40:01. > :40:05.backline, you have to have a structure. The nature of the game
:40:06. > :40:08.allows full structure. If you go onto any playing field even if
:40:09. > :40:12.you're talking about professional level and further down and you just
:40:13. > :40:17.expect them to go and running and play as you want with a bit of free
:40:18. > :40:21.spirit you're not going to win international matches. You have to
:40:22. > :40:26.have a structure. The backline you can have more variety. You can
:40:27. > :40:29.perhaps do things a bit different. I call the imagination and creativity
:40:30. > :40:34.and you can do that on the training field, you can work out how the
:40:35. > :40:40.opposition defend. Look for a bit of spark and know-how in terms of your
:40:41. > :40:46.ability to use that. It's not what it was in the 70s, 80s and 90s. The
:40:47. > :40:51.game has changed enormously. The reality is you don't see it anywhere
:40:52. > :40:56.now. You've got to have the ability to be able to play what you see
:40:57. > :41:00.sometimes. You can have a general structure but you've got to adapt
:41:01. > :41:04.and play what you see. I think there were times in the Six Nations when
:41:05. > :41:09.you had overlapped on things and you may have taken contact and maybe not
:41:10. > :41:13.adapted quick enough to different pictures. Let's move on. The weather
:41:14. > :41:17.did its best to disrupt things over the weekend. Plenty of games went
:41:18. > :41:22.ahead including a titanic tussle in the valleys. Hurley could you tell
:41:23. > :41:27.the difference between the players because of the conditions. There was
:41:28. > :41:34.no way this quarterfinal tie was going to be called off. Nearly 5000
:41:35. > :41:38.of them came to the house of rain. For the clash billed by some as the
:41:39. > :41:46.money men against the bad boys, so many rivalries. The return of the
:41:47. > :41:48.chief. Ponty coach, championship leaders against the Premiership
:41:49. > :42:05.leaders. The valleys cup final. Now they edge to the Pontypridd
:42:06. > :42:12.line. Over they go. Can they get it down? It's a try, says the referee.
:42:13. > :42:22.It looks like Davis the flanker who is getting big congratulations. That
:42:23. > :42:29.is the 22 of Merthyr. And a penalty given to Pontypridd. This would be
:42:30. > :42:33.point bank usually for Sweeney but in the conditions, that is an
:42:34. > :42:42.excellent kick from the former Wales outside-half. Ponty getting much
:42:43. > :42:51.more of the play in this second half. That's the only tactic left
:42:52. > :43:00.really in these conditions. Ponty Forwards following up the kick. Now
:43:01. > :43:10.they've got it again. Lockyer in the scrum-half position. Lloyd Williams
:43:11. > :43:18.again at the base using his runners. Any yardage forward is a boon in
:43:19. > :43:26.these conditions. Lloyd Williams and a penalty given. Again, this would
:43:27. > :43:35.be usually straightforward for Sweeney. That takes Ponty into the
:43:36. > :43:44.lead and as we go into the final quarter how important could that be?
:43:45. > :43:49.The clock says 79 minutes. It's a penalty to Merthyr. Look at Andy
:43:50. > :44:00.Powell, he's done everything in the game, what does that mean to him?
:44:01. > :44:09.And to win it Merthyr, he's wide but... It went forward on the line.
:44:10. > :44:17.Ponty will have a final scrum. Merthyr with one final chance. Using
:44:18. > :44:22.that blindside. They need it quick. It's a bit slovenly coming back and
:44:23. > :44:34.Ponty are almost able to burgle it back. It went forward and that is
:44:35. > :44:37.it. Pontypridd by a point. A classic cup game, plenty of passing. It's
:44:38. > :44:43.great to see so many people down here. Nice to come through with one
:44:44. > :44:46.point to spare. Difficult conditions didn't help to play rugby but I
:44:47. > :44:54.think in the second half we made some errors. We are quite
:44:55. > :45:00.disappointed. STUDIO: Pretty testing conditions to say the least. It
:45:01. > :45:05.looked quite dangerous. It's a shame, we knew the weather was the
:45:06. > :45:10.wave it was. A bit of a lottery. A fantastic crowd there. What about
:45:11. > :45:15.the significance of this game when you consider the two clubs, two of
:45:16. > :45:20.the most ambitious playing each other? This is what everyone in the
:45:21. > :45:27.valleys was talking about. Two ambitious clubs. Sam Thomas has
:45:28. > :45:32.thrown a lot of money at Merthyr. They've come in and stirred the pot
:45:33. > :45:40.a bit and Ponty have factory act. A real old school Derby. -- have had
:45:41. > :45:44.to react. Ponty go through. You mentioned the crowd a couple of
:45:45. > :45:53.times, 4800, quite remarkable when you take into account 5000 at the
:45:54. > :45:59.Blues Treviso game as well. It just shows it caught the imagination of
:46:00. > :46:04.everybody. It's been building up. Good luck to Ponty. Let's take the
:46:05. > :46:12.attention to the principality Premiership next. Three matches did
:46:13. > :46:25.go ahead including two huge Gwent Derbys. In terrible conditions Ebbw
:46:26. > :46:37.Vale extended their lead to a club record nine. Ebbw Vale What a red
:46:38. > :46:44.carded for a tackle later on. How big a loss will that be in the title
:46:45. > :46:51.race? Newport stole a march on Cross Keys. 0-0 at half-time before Adam
:46:52. > :46:54.Brown crossed for their first try. Keys came back into the game
:46:55. > :47:02.courtesy of a try by James Leadbetter. Made even sweeter by
:47:03. > :47:06.being against his old club. As the game wore on Newport gradually got
:47:07. > :47:07.being against his old club. As the on top and Alex Jeffries popped up
:47:08. > :49:35.the blindside Despite a late try Wales held out
:49:36. > :49:39.for a narrow 31-30 win. It was great. Couldn't have asked for more.
:49:40. > :49:42.I've said since I was a kid I wanted to play for Wales, I hope I did
:49:43. > :49:47.enough to get picked for the next game. His hearts been set on playing
:49:48. > :49:53.for Wales since he could speak. He was born in Cardiff, he's had a lot
:49:54. > :49:57.of approaches from other teams but he wanted to play for Cardiff, the
:49:58. > :50:02.Blues and he wanted to play for Wales. All round he will be
:50:03. > :50:06.delighted. If he leads the singing he's just about completed it.
:50:07. > :50:11.Congratulations to Wales who next face Italy on Tuesday before heading
:50:12. > :50:18.back to Helens on April the 6th of face England. Great to see Ian
:50:19. > :50:22.Botham on the programme. Onto the final Pro12 game and the Dragons
:50:23. > :50:42.entertained Edinburgh. COMMENTATOR: Solid enough. Hewitt
:50:43. > :50:49.comes to the openside. An opportunity here. The touch judges
:50:50. > :51:06.flag goes up. Despite the cheer from the crowd. Lovely angle from Lewis
:51:07. > :51:22.Evans. An out from the referee. Flat ball now. There's an opportunity. A
:51:23. > :51:28.little bit of pace from the winger. This looks under control. Julius
:51:29. > :51:39.Wright in the middle of that. Extra weight is added by Brown. They are
:51:40. > :51:44.over the line and eventually they do go down. I think it is Alex Toolis
:51:45. > :51:57.in the second row. It's not at all, it's Hamish Watson. Pretorius just
:51:58. > :52:05.about scrambles it to Screech. Jones goes wide...
:52:06. > :52:15.He doesn't need the support. Amos goes over for the Dragons second and
:52:16. > :52:23.more importantly for his second try. Some good performances out there
:52:24. > :52:26.today. I thought a scrum was good. Edinburgh scored tries from their
:52:27. > :52:32.counterattacking game, lots and lots of positives. We've just got to
:52:33. > :52:39.learn not to give three pointers and silly little bad decisions on the
:52:40. > :52:42.ball at times. That victory for Edinburgh saw them climb above the
:52:43. > :52:51.Blues into seventh place. The any change to the top four is Munster.
:52:52. > :52:57.Connacht and Leinster remained first and second, Scarlets still in the
:52:58. > :53:03.hunt. The race for the play-offs is set to go right down to the wire. We
:53:04. > :53:07.talked about pivotal moments in games and we talked about the
:53:08. > :53:11.pivotal one in Scarlets Ospreys, there was one in that one right at
:53:12. > :53:15.the end. The Dragons had a chance to kick a penalty and win it and they
:53:16. > :53:24.didn't. The complete moment of madness. I thought maybe he was
:53:25. > :53:27.trying to get an extra ten metres. But you could at least have a go
:53:28. > :53:38.from there. Then I was thinking they didn't want the Ospreys or the Blues
:53:39. > :53:43.anywhere near the top sets. LAUGHTER One big shining positive is the form
:53:44. > :53:47.of Hallam Amos. He's been back in that Dragons side not one after his
:53:48. > :53:54.injury in the World Cup and could have scored a third try. He did look
:53:55. > :53:58.sharp. Obviously there's a vacant position, a position up for grabs in
:53:59. > :54:04.the Welsh side at the moment. Amos has been given an opportunity.
:54:05. > :54:08.Perhaps he hasn't taken the opportunity for Wales as yet but he
:54:09. > :54:12.needs to consistently put in performances like this at club
:54:13. > :54:19.level. He's very sharp. He knows where the try line is. Just his
:54:20. > :54:24.general ability out wide to get to the line is excellent. Again,
:54:25. > :54:32.there's talk about whether he's a better full-back or batter on the
:54:33. > :54:36.wing. I think he's good enough on the wing to deserve a chance. You
:54:37. > :54:39.might have that one game and things don't work out and perhaps it didn't
:54:40. > :54:46.for Wales this year but if he's given a run of and more opportunity
:54:47. > :54:49.then he can grow in confidence and become a better international
:54:50. > :54:53.player. He started in that Italy game, ironically that was when Wales
:54:54. > :55:02.had a shed load of points but he didn't manage to get into the game
:55:03. > :55:05.and he'll be frustrated by that. He still really young, Hallam Amos.
:55:06. > :55:11.He's still learning the game and he's got a huge future in front of
:55:12. > :55:18.him with the Dragons. A tasty derby this weekend, two Derbys to look
:55:19. > :55:22.forward to. The one on Friday night is the Dragons against the Ospreys
:55:23. > :55:25.at Rodney Parade. Can you see the Dragons piling more misery on the
:55:26. > :55:30.Ospreys or we'll go get the backlash? I think it'll be a tight
:55:31. > :55:35.game. It's a Rodney Parade. The Dragons are hard to beat there. It's
:55:36. > :55:40.never been a nice play to go and play rugby. I would expect a good
:55:41. > :55:45.tussle. I think it will be a real tussle. I think the Ospreys will
:55:46. > :55:50.come out on top. I think they will bounce back after the disappointment
:55:51. > :55:52.of yesterday. And then it Scarlets Blues. Please won the corresponding
:55:53. > :55:58.fixture over the Christmas period but the Scarlets know they have got
:55:59. > :56:02.a home semifinal in sites. Bill be bouncing after yesterday's win.
:56:03. > :56:08.Please had a good run against Treviso but Scarlets looked like a
:56:09. > :56:16.complete team. They get a week off after that so that Ospreys win will
:56:17. > :56:21.mean nothing unless they beat the Blues. Looking forward to that one.
:56:22. > :56:24.We talked about this on Friday night, they are sneaking up that
:56:25. > :56:27.table and there is an outside chance of European qualification for the
:56:28. > :56:34.Blues. Realistically they would have to win the best of their games. The
:56:35. > :56:37.Dragons didn't do the Blues any favours today by losing to
:56:38. > :56:41.Edinburgh. I think they will just come up short but they've definitely
:56:42. > :56:46.improved. It's been a step in the right direction. Thank you for
:56:47. > :56:50.coming tonight. That's all we have time for. This weekend the weather
:56:51. > :56:53.more than played its part in proceedings. We thought we would
:56:54. > :57:00.enter night with a selection of the best pictures from the weekend as
:57:01. > :57:05.sent in by the viewers. See you on Friday, good night.