25/03/2012 Scrum V

The party has lasted a all week and a feel-good factor has ignited the

pro at 12. Welsh rugby remains on a Good evening and welcome to Scrum V.

I am joined by a triple Grand Slam winner Jones. We will be looking at

the Friday night at rugby and the match against Leinster. The Ospreys

were able to call on a number of Grand Slam winners. Leinster were

That is a nice angle from Biggar. A second go at it but offside. The

crowd are hopeful of... And now they can cheer or right. That is

some picture by Fergus MacFadyen. - - Fergus MacFadyen. Madigan does

very well. Bounces friendly. James's to ring a loose job there

for the Ospreys. -- James is doing. They needed that, didn't they.

well read by Andrew Bishop. It has got to be... On its way back. No

player and, says the referee, and the support is there from George

Stowers. That is a magnificent try. Lovely link-up. Still a lot to do.

And he times the pass wealth. -- well. He has done well controlling

Leinster. Desperate stuff for the Ospreys. Again, a great difference

by the Ospreys. How long can they hold out? A nice little slip! And

this time, the players think the try might have come, and this time

the referee does go to the t M O. don't think he is complaining about

the grounding. That is a brilliant bit of defensive work by Ashley

Beck because the evidence is inconclusive and the disappointment

on the lens to faces... -- Leinster. Woo! Interesting. A penalty is

coming now. Was that a tip tackle? A card as well. Basics-point

deficit to try to close down. -- force the ball. But a slow ball for

Richard Hibbard. But he has got there! He has got to the try-line.

Has he got the ball down? It is a try. And the Ospreys have a chance

to win later on. The crowd us stunned. -- are stunned. A chance

to put the Ospreys ahead, and it is not easy. Hit the top of the post

and it is there! It hit the top of the post and it has gone in! And

the Ospreys have, incredibly, gone ahead! Congratulations on the

winning try. Just talk us through it? I thought I may as well go for

it, from a rest on the wing. I thought my parents were coming

The travellers must have fancied their chances at Murrayfield,

having won three of their games. If Dragons of three down. Tom Brown,

nosing forward. Can he get the ball down? The Dragons have to reset.

Lewis Evans is the runner. Jones, and with this kick, he is looking

for Chavhanga. And he has it down wind. A sidekick from Jones and

Chavhanga did the rest. Edinburgh will go through the phases.

Advantage being played again by Mr Lacey. The penalty is given.

Another chance for Harry Leonard. No problem for the fly half with

that, and the Dragons that lead by a point. Tom Brown on the fall-back

position, on his own on the ten- metre line. Dragon's taking it up

through the forwards again. -- the Dragons, taking it up. That was

meant for Adam Hughes and this is for Chavhanga. Another brilliant

try by the wing and that is what happens when you have the biggest

man in world rugby. And through the gap goes Scott, almost up to the 22

of the Dragons. A quick ball would be handy for Adam Brown. This will

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 43 seconds

it will be difficult for Adam Brown The result everybody is talking

about is your boys at the weekend. To go up to Edinburgh and do that?

Yes. Some stuff have been written about it, players leaving and that,

but the first game back. And the Europeans on their own patch?

It is tough. A great result. How did the Ospreys to it on Friday?

think they showed great character in their defence. I put some clips

together and at times, they were under the cosh and some of the late

defence into attack. Often on the back foot, the Ospreys, often the

line break, but central to it. A great tackle there. Under pressure,

defending, turning the ball back into the Ospreys' favour. The

Ospreys in great trouble after this. The pressure is taking off. This is

what won then the game. We see the European champions five metres from

the Ospreys' line. No chance. Paul James, great scrum. No platform to

play it off. Scrum, five metres from the try-line again. The 74th

minute. Another scrum. Then the 79th minute. The Ospreys in the

lead. The Ospreys have the dominant scrum for the most part of the

night. But at times, they got What happened there? When you

looked at the video, I don't know. You ask them, are you going to ref

this, are you going to ref that? And when you ask them certain

questions, they don't referee. But they came back in the second half

and dominated. All season we have heard about the Ospreys'

concentration on a youth policy. And that is why I guess we saw

Shane Williams on the sidelines. That result is indication that this

policy is working? Yes. I guess they have had to do it to a certain

extent with the Budget. But it is good. They are all good players. It

seems to be working and doing the right thing. The same with Wales.

They go out and play their rugby. They don't care who they are

playing against. They just enjoy a bit of rugby. So they come through.

And you announced a few weeks ago you were staying with the Committee

for a few years. We have seen a lot of Welsh players going overseas.

What was in your decision to stay? As a young player, going out, the

support network. I hadn't won much with the Ospreys and I would like

to see it through. We have good players in these boys coming

through so I am happy there. It is my region, my team. I might go to

France in a couple of years but I would like to see it through for

the season. An interesting development this week, and we have

heard developments in the New Zealand press a couple of players

might be joining Treviso? Yes. They have done a bit in Japan. It might

be good for Treviso, generate some interest. It is great for the whole

pro 12 if you can get those sorts of names associated with the League.

It is great. Thank you for that. A week has passed until the Grand

Slam was won. We caught up with Sam Warburton to see if it was sinking

The fireworks and the music and the lads screaming their heads off. It

was one of the best feelings I have had. Sam Warburton, walking around

here. Looking at the applause and the adulation. You marry and -- ran

Slam winning captain. I am so glad that I said yes to the captaincy

otherwise I would have missed out done so many great up opportunities.

To the captain of the Welsh team, I am privileged. You were 23-year-old,

do you go to the senior guys and asked them for advice? Ryan has

been a massive help fund the. He has been a big influence on me. A

lot has been said about the younger players in the squad but the senior

players have been phenomenal and supporting them. Brian has been

playing great, Gething, Mike, Adam. They have been great. There were

many people at half-time who would have awarded you man-of-the-match.

Than was phenomenal. He has played like that in the past it has never

had recognition for it. He wasn't so much pain. He doesn't feel pain

in the game and the heart the size of the lion. Afterwards, he is

always in a mess. You mentioned in your usual humble way that you felt

Warkworth lifting the trophy because you had not played in all

the games any last Warren Gatland to lift it with you. If you look

again time, I played about two four games. There were players who

started every game and I felt they deserved to lift the trophy more

than I did. Warren Gatland told me I should do it. I asked Ryan Jones

in Gethin Jenkins and they refused. I appreciated that jester from them.

Before we go, I was hoping to give this to you. A bespoke chocolate

rugby ball! It is phenomenal. It is on fire. That is or San! It is

almost as good as winning the Grand Slam!

Job colicky maybe Betty has not eaten it all just yet. What about

an outsider's perspective on the Welsh Grand Slam. We travelled to

London and spoke to an Englishman, an Irishman, a Scotsman and another

Welshman! It was recently a in Twickenham. --

it was a sunny day. Despite an invitation to get stuck in, Scrum V

stayed on the sidelines and asked the questions. Wells played to

their strengths. They have some very big boys in the back line. --

Wales. They got through a lot of work. They were reloading with the

forwards. It they have powerful backs. It worked for them. I can't

deny them their victory. We came close to beating them but they

stuck to it. They took the victory. We are disappointed we lost to them

that fair play is a them. I think Wales played the best

attacking rugby. Some of the tries they scored and the way they guys

play it was great to watch. They are very strong. They are playing

some great rugby. They can get their backs to regroup in attack.

It is a very tight group. It is great for them as a team.

They have been developing in getting better. They have really

come on leaps and bounds and have got quality players. When we looked

at the game we knew it was going to be at a gas gannet to take a

massive effort to be done. -- hard game. We knew was that game was

lost, they had this spring in their step. They did it in style with a

grand slam. After that Ireland game, we knew we had a chance. We had two

home games. To play Scotland and after that result, Twickenham. It's

started building. Everybody makes an effort. You did not want to lose

at this level. It is the critical moments that count. The boys were

ready to put their bodies on the line for each other.

We have got the Australians next. Do you think they can kick on from

here and sneak a serious us when series victory? They probably feel

a bit hard done by with how the World Cup ended. The group were

guys they have is encouraging. I don't know why they should not go

down there with high hopes. Wales have a mission going down there.

They are playing gun rugby and they will try to break Australia down

which will not be easy as a sliver three games. You learn so much off

each other. There is nowhere to hide any more. They need to get off

to a good start. Wales will know what they will want to do. They

have a good chance of getting a series when. It will not be easy.

It will be very, very top. northern hemisphere had definitely

in there. Wales have massive confidence going in there. England

went over their previous eight. I expect the Welsh boys to be looking

forward to going out there. One of my wife's favourite moment was a

what she knew wearing a pink Catt. I thought I would appeal to men and

women worldwide wearing that! I have taken a bit of stick for

wearing it but I thought it looked good! They are all very gracious,

the did concede Wales was the best side of the tournament. For you, it

was a milestone. You very Triple Crown Slam winner. Quite a lot had

been said about it beforehand. It is an honour. There are Rowley six

others who have done that. In terms of the tournament itself, there is

a feeling this one was a bit more unexpected than the ones in 2005

and 2008. We were on a bit of a right after the World Cup. We got

to the semi-final. And Sam was sent off after 20 minutes. The first two,

it was close. Everybody knows the quality of the squad now. We need

to continue with the performances. Equality of us what everybody has

been commenting on. People have been picking their Lions team.

Warren Gatland has been heavily tipped to close the Lions team. One

newspaper report claimed he had been offered the job and we believe

it is true. I think one of the present he is the man to lead the

team. I think the majority of the Welsh squad will be going on that

tour. There is no better person, really, to know how those boys

operate and get the best out of them. Rob Howley, Shaun Edwards

worked together really well. They have been on a Lions tour already.

Robin McBryde might be the one who misses out. I can see that being

the coaching staff. Good stuff. Let's return to the PRO12 for the

moment and the big Welsh derby yesterday at the Cardiff City

Scarlets. Alex Cuthbert and Lloyd Casey Laulala. And he looked around

for support. A good tackle by Alex Cuthbert should get there. He

has made a mess of it. Gift for Andy Fenby. Just before half-time.

The Cardiff Blues can't believe they conceded like that. Alex

Cuthbert should have gone down on that one but instead he fumbled and

a gift for Andy Fenby. Lloyd Williams gets the ball away

and missed by Alex Cuthbert. It is through again for the Scarlets.

Andy Fenby. Alex Cuthbert is back there, he has learned his lesson.

That is what he should have done up the first time. He has saved the

day for the Cardiff Blues. Does a tied up under -- just got tied up

and Andy Fenby's feet. You wonder what Jamie Roberts could have done

comes Dan Parks. What a mess by Dan Parks! Another simple try for Andy

Fenby. The Cardiff Blues will be kicking themselves. And the hen --

Andy Fenby with the heart through. Dan Parks had all the time in the

world. Thank goodness he has signed by sure Lamond. -- Sean Lamont. A

yellow card for him. No doubt at all about that one. 10 minutes to

and he is clear and a wave. Alex Cuthbert makes amends for the

earlier mistake by getting the Cardiff Blues's first points of the

evening. Nigel Davies can't believe it. Aled Thomas's past tipped off

by Alex Cuthbert. You can go one handed and still intercept without

Michael Paterson is there to recover. The Scarlets should have

had a fair try there. The break was made that the final pass was not

delivered. The Cardiff Blues get a chance to clear the decks. They

Scarlets have it. Back inside to Gareth Davies. He has gone over.

The Scarlets do have a third try. The Blues did not clear. Number for

turns it over. Lovely work by Dominic Day. The Cardiff Blues

desperately pressing forward. It is going to come back on the Blues

side. Macaulay Cook leaves his for Lloyd Williams. The head down

charge comes from Scott Andrews. A penalty coming for the Blues unless

something better comes. It is a try for Casey Laulala. If anybody is

going to create, it is going to be him. The Cardiff Blues are still in

this game. There is defend and Casey Laulala get a well deserved

George North gets the first round. He is into the 22, a superb offload.

Dominic a guest the Scarlets a bonus point. What a night for them

at the Cardiff City Stadium! This is what George North does at his

best. Fantastic offload out of the tackle. That is a great win for the

It was a huge win for us, a great game of rugby, and it puts us in a

very strong position. We have four games left in the league and we

have to win this one. We have everything to play for. We know we

have errors in our game that we have to get to grips with on Monday.

The players know that themselves and we will make sure that, as we

go through the week, we will put them right. So let's ground but the

This is now the table. The Scarlets are now a solitary point from the

That was the Scarlets' third bonus point victory in a row. They are

rarely timing of their running to these play-offs well. Yeah. It is

worrying, really, because they are a team that can cause anybody

problems. We need to watch our backs. The coaches would be too

happy because there were many errors, weren't there? Yeah.

Particularly the first half. You see the start of the game, Scarlets

ball to play-off. Throws it too high, lost the game. It wasn't just

Llanelli. But it was for Scarlet, the Blues. Fantastic break there.

The Scarlets were in all sorts of trouble there. Tom James was the

first to pick up. Maybe he shouldn't have picked up. And then

the knock-on. Could break and of course, Alex Cuthbert, who has had

a great Sixsmith -- Six Nations... He is a big man and that is a soft

try. The Scarlets capitalise more on the Blues' errors. I do not know

what damn Parks was thinking here. That is such a soft try. -- Dan

Parks. We don't you want to have the ball at the moment? This man,

George North! Great offload, it has had to be said, from North. And

then a finish from Day. But I am sure both coaches will be

frustrated. The Blues more so because the Scala has capitalised

on some really silly errors. then Stephen Jones pulled out with

an illness and that was a hell of a cameo of? Yes. They would be a bit

more worried about George coming Thank you for that. Sam Warburton

doesn't require surgery on his injured shoulder so he will only be

out for six weeks. He will miss the European quarter-final against

Leinster but he should be fit for the Australian tour to lead Wales

Down Under. You are all familiar with the Brian Moore challenge. We

have a new challenge coming your way, so stay tuned. The first rule

of kick club is that you do not talk about kick club. The second

rule is that you do not talk about kit club. The third rule of kit

club is our forwards only, no backs allowed. The 4th forties, when you

are asked to kick, New kick. -- the 4th rule is. Intriguing. Stay

tuned! As well as the Cup Finals this

weekend, we also saw Neath at Pontypridd other favourite cup

holders but it is always a tough place to come. How are you? Can I

have a quick word? How are you looking forward to the game? We are

all excited. Obviously a fantastic game down at Neath. We don't get

too many wins here but we will take confidence and hopefully get a

victory and a place in the semi- finals. I can see the chief over

there. How are you? A beautiful day out there. You are the favourites.

Are you looking forward to it? Absolutely gorgeous day. A winner

favourites? I don't know about that! -- are we the favourites? It

is a matter of taking what we know out onto the pitch. Last time we

got a better result than we thought and the time before that, we could

-- Dan Godfrey. That is the first try for Pontypridd. Beautifully

worked from the scrum-half, Lewis Jones. Jones gets that little dart

in again. And it must be a score for Matthew Nuttall. Beautiful work

by then. -- by them. Chris Morgan, standing off the scrum-half. He is

up to halfway... And running to the posts for Neath's first. Lee Evans,

charging... In the shadow of the Pontypridd posts. A drop goal, and

but it was there. Congratulations to Bronte Bridge.

Here are the other quarter-finals played. -- congratulations to

We're still celebrating the Grand Slam and earlier this week, we went

to see the special schools Six Nations.

It is Thursday morning. The Six Nations finished last Saturday but

not for these kids. What do the kids get out of this? Social skills,

confidence. You haven't you got to look at their faces to see the

enjoyment. -- you have only got two. You have supported this tournament

for the last four years. Why do you keep coming back? You only have to

watch a few of the games to see people enjoying themselves and we

get so much out of it as well. The enthusiasm they show is second to

none. It is very important that as professional rugby players, we put

something back into the community. We really enjoy it. We have had the

skills session in the morning and the tournament has just started. It

is Wales against England. Let's He is a way! Look at this!

Fantastic! What a great trier! This is Daniel Pritchard, the

captain of Wales. How have you enjoyed beating England? Fantastic,

thank you. Who was your best player? He scored the two tries?

Yes. What did you think of the Six Nations? Be it was awesome. Good

luck in the next game. You better go and see your team.

Great stuff. Well done to all the players and the schools. We have

had our fair share of rugby dynasties and Wales over the years.

Now we have got the Williamses. will long remember those incredible

scenes from the weekend, as Wales celebrated their latest Grand Slam,

and the joy we felt as a nation, but imagine the pride he would feel

if your boy was playing for Wales last weekend. Well, Scrum V's very

own Welsh international and British Lion, Williams. His boy was playing

for Wales at the weekend, so let's It was a very special occasion. I

had to say that. How you feeling? mixed emotions, really. I was

excited and nervous but the game was over before rain you it. It has

a great feeling at the end when the ball went out of touch, it was such

relief. It was very fantastic, we are proud of him. There is a long

way to go on the lot of things to learn. But as a special moment for

our hosts or! You have got a lot to learn! I still get that! Does it

get on your nerves? When I come home we don't talk about rugby. It

is good to have that there to bounce ideas off. Do you think he

was helpful to you in the early days? I always played a lot of

football when I was younger and enjoyed that. I gradually went to

high school, and their gang of boys I got on with was the rugby boys.

Once Dad realised my heart was set on rugby he gave me the help I

needed. He is doing well but he is starting his journey. He has got

more caps than his father already! I was a Lions Test player. But you

haven't got any Lions Test caps yet! But that counts for 15 caps!

The party on Saturday night, Sunday was Mother's Day and no doubt you

were here. There was a bit of a I listen to his stories from the

World Cup. There seems to be a lot of mutual respect bellbird. They

pull together and pour out in the right direction. It is not a

coincidence, the Six Nations, it is due to what has happened on the

training field and off the field. I don't know much about his, he does

not share a lot with me! There seems to be a lot of mutual respect

between the lads and that is part of the reason why the are so

successful and hopefully they will confront the challenges ahead.

lot of the boys in the squad have done that. The average age is about

24. The boys have done a lot in a short space of time. They are hard

workers. The boys are happy playing rugby, really. There is a lot a --

a little cold hot that you call the Wolff Park. I see on message boards.

It is something that we will keep close to our chests! It all sounds

very secretive and intriguing. But you know anything about it?

haven't got a clue. They don't speak to us all the fellers! We can

confirm that Adam Jones is not in the wolf pack. Something we can

talk about is the Australia tour. It is at the end of a gruelling

season for you. Are you up for it? A yes. You get breaks throughout

the season. Funny, touring Australia is fantastic. It is going

to be extra-special because not many of us have done it. I am

looking forward to the trip. We will go out there were a bit of

confidence. You mentioned it is an old school to have. We don't often

see the summer to us now. We a three-Test series and some

provincial games. I was lucky enough to go one in 1996 to

Australia. We played seven games. The likes of the Brumbies, won a

tart, the reds all those teams. You bond together. They are tough Test

matches but it will be a great trip. Everybody will be itching to go on

it. A great place to tour and a number of Welsh players sticking

their hands up. He has had a lot of trouble with injuries. He came on

the scene and scored on his debut and things were looking up. But he

has had a lot of bangs and bumps. Knowing him personally, he is such

a strong character but he has been down quite a bet. He is good fun

and a good man to have on tour. bit of a character? Yes, yes!

stuff. This Australia tour will be very tough opponents. They're

second in the world. If anybody knows how to preach that defence it

is a man like yourself. Their game is based, they are not strong on

the set piece. Their game is based on turnovers. The error side with

one of the least possessions and the World Cup. A -- they are

Raeside. Wales and can upset them. One tis your prediction? I think