04/11/2012 Scrum V

With the autumn series just six days away, Scrum V goes behind the

scenes for an excuse to go into Wales' hard core of porridge

training camp. That was a shock to the players' system. A hell of a

wake-up call. Ice Chambers, quizzes and West a link. Not your usual

training regime. It is my -- it is like nothing I have ever seen

before. Welcome to Scrum V. My guests this evening, Martyn

Williams and Jonathan Davies, will be assessing all the weekend's

action. The Pumas have arrived. We will assess their throats dates arm.

First, the Pro12 and yesterday's With 12 players away with Wales,

the Scarlets have the chance to test the depth of their squad.

Zebre were aiming to become the first Italian side to win against

are put in one or two phases supper half full by a while. --

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Zebre 22. Getting driven off it. It locked at giving Ciaran Murphy the

chance to launch himself into the has been given. Against the run of

lets. The Zebre building kicking I'm with any execution, accuracy,

one would two and out of ten. At that, R Jim Ord 9 added ten. We did

manage the game much better in the A fairly blunt and honest

assessment. They got out of jail with that Kristian Phillips drug

but at the end of the day, not a great advert for Pro12 rugby.

summed it up. Rubbish again. These deals were Paul. -- a wish again.

The skills were poor. Four points. With conditions as they were, just

happy with the result. Martyn, 12 players missing. That is quite

disruptive in terms of new competition, new players? Yes, it

is always a precarious time of year, with the boys away at the autumn

internationals. Boys of throw in en masse with different combinations,

trying to find their feet. They did not quite clipped yesterday. They

are still second in the league. They will kick it back up in a few

weeks' time. A win at the end are but day.

How do you fancy sitting in ice chamber in just your pants and

socks? That is what the Wales team have been doing all week for their

training ahead of the autumn internationals. They are in Poland

and a cameras went along this weekend to take a peek Kwok they

are getting up to. Whether it is raining in tries all

pulling off the last minute try saying tackles, training is

important. But achieving that level of fitness and success involves

pain. A lot of pain. 6am, some zero temperatures, a typical day's fall

be Wales team in the training camp in my place. This one in with a pot

and is as different as they come. - - in the Madeira in Portland. The

Olympic centre in Athlone will prove anything interesting.

full breakfast. I am just watching back and taking charge here. You

have Adam doing moments gears. It's non-stop all the time. This is just

the first half hour. It is going to be any long though. It's a shock to

the system, the hell of a wake-up call. Distance of achievement

afterwards is great. They print the heart monitors on us and the heart

rates are going through the roof. A necessary evil. It is about

improving personal fitness levels but also proving personal points.

Out on the rugby fields it is a battle for places at the autumn

internationals and it is hotting up. But the spirit within the Welsh

squad in the Polish Lee Camp is quite special, as they all share

the pain bail going through. It is the ability of the players to focus

on themselves. Getting the players up and running. Over the last six

or seven weeks, they have come back here, four regions coming to go as

one and the banter you get from being here 24/7, there is not much

to do here so the team dynamics are so important it is the marginal

gains get from that spot. But what debts are vital percentage points

in terms of ability to perform are the but sessions spent in the

dreaded ice chambers. The players spent them to three-and-a-half

minutes in the tank, with temperatures down to an incredible

minus 160 degrees. How does it actually work? You go into an

extreme temperature. The body of weeks ago. The body wants to

protect the vital organs son the blood brushes from Williams, which

is really good for us because it is the parts that we use. The blood

moves back once we get out. The brush of endorphins, inflammation

gears, it is quite good. And with the Blair suitably dispersed, the

body is ready to take on the really serious stuff. The afternoon

session concentrates on the rugby side of things. Everything is done

at an intensity that replicates the You are like Usain Bolt. Just like

that, easy. It's it's something to do for those who cannot take start

part in training. They have to work arm back for the whole training

session. It is a really hard to keep that going for the three-

quarters of an hour. Or maybe not quite because to end what has been

a tough session, there is a repeated sprint session with

players competing not just against the clock but against other players

in the same position as than. benefits we get from it all is it

does come on the field and it does show we keep going. We have made

our bed and we have to lie in it now. I think we will be coming to

Poland a lot more in the next few years. And bear it will make

equally good use of excellent facilities in Spala. The rest of

the afternoon is spent indoors to trust strength and stamina. Beck is

even a peculiar version of strictly come wrestling. It is meant to be

working in the tackle area. It is like nothing I have ever seen

before. And after working up a real sweat, there is always a very

special way to call off. -- cool off. With some counting down the

number of freezing sessions to go, there are others who cannot wait to

get back in. They have worked incredibly hard, and if there is

any reward for effort they will get their wings in the autumn

I do not really fancy that. It is plain to see from that how it

intends it he's but what intrigues me is, what on earth do you get a

two in the evenings? Not a lot. I spent three weeks at the last year.

You are in the middle of nowhere. It is at a few concerts and. You

have lovely food and hotel rooms normally but Spala is going back to

the Eastern bloc. There is not a lot to do on the nights. They are

tired to do anything. It helps the boys have come together and bond

and it has certainly worked in the last 12 months. It has been evident.

Looking ahead to the autumn. Argentina First and the team has

been announced -- will be announced on Tuesday at 1pm. A few selection

dilemmas. What are the biggest headaches? I think the main point

is demanding but also it is mental toughness. With four games in the

autumn, it will be a lot of mental toughness. Argentina is a tough

first act. With the games for the World Cup to be announced in

December, there is no chopping and changing. They will have to win as

many games as they possibly can. The first two are may be the

easiest two. Selection is the key. I think we got selection slightly

wrong in Australia. I thought Wild were the best side collectively but

we picked the wrong collection of players. I thought we should have

won did one, not lost 3-0. Now the pressure is on for the autumn. If

you are picking on four, Danny Baker is the form stand-off in

Wales. He has played well for the regions but do they think he is

going to fit into the style of rugby at Wales want to play? Jamie

Roberts and Ashley becks, Sam Warburton. Selection is Deanne.

I think over the last four years, a have been very loyal and they have

a tried and tested way that has proved successful. Ultimately, they

have a game plan and they stick to it and Jamie and some have come up

a lot in the last few weeks. Sam has been named as captain so he has

to start and Jamie is the go to man. When he plays well, Wales play well.

The other boys are playing so well by adopting a lot of pressure on

him. We have been lucky so far because of the boys played well for

Wales and Wales is like a fig region now, but how long can that

contain you? You have to play yourself into form before you play

for Wales. It is difficult to turn up on the back of a training

session and heat a switch and all of us up and perform. You have to

go into some kind of form coming in to the test matches and also, how

many games, have they played four games on the backs? At this

intensity, up for a long, long time. This is going to be a massive

autumn. Argentina have just come off the back. They have Australia

and New Zealand so they are going to be very dangerous. First up. It

is one of the toughest games. Especially as they are talking

about at and George Deanne act. There is a couple of youngsters to

it unless you have a platform against Argentina and Samoa, I

think Paul James has been going exceptionally well and he has to

Back to the Pro 12 and Friday-night games. The track and struggle to

Glasgow, hoping to put his upon the behind them, and we start with the

after last week's horror show in Dublin. The withdrawal of his

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skipper before kick-off and the were looking for, from Dafydd

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way! Again, it is an mist first to tackle that has cost the Blues. --

a first tackle that was missed. Blues cannot drop their heads. They

are still in this game. And a try has come for the Blues! Payback for

Lewis Jones. It is a game of mistakes this evening. Both teams

it has happened again, the tackle has been missed and it is going to

cost the Blues Dierk again. They cannot believe it. They had come

within three minutes and it looks as though Munster have got out of

jail. Unfortunately, it was against the Blues, and I have fond memories.

But we will have a few beers with the boys now so I am sure they will

forget about it. It was contrasting fortunes on Friday. Gregor

Townsend's men were looking to extend their pro12 winning run to

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door and it is Tommy Seymour who polishes it off and a bonus point

Seymour. It is about gaining momentum, that is what rugby is. We

have lost that momentum and we have to turn up for work on Monday and

If you look at the highlights, I feel that if you come up against a

side that is better then you are you have to do the basics

exceptionally well. The three tries for the Blues were missed tackles

and they were in total control in the second half. For the Trident,

last week, three mistakes, but again, it's simple mistakes which

you have to cut out. You have to focus on doing basics well. Let us

talk about the Blues, because they have had a bad week in terms of

recovering from the monster defeat, which was a humiliation. Phil

Davies asked for commitment but they were let down by a few

defensive mistakes. It was a much better performance. You saw a young

side and before the game I thought this could be a long night but in

fairness to the young players, they fronted up. They played really well

in the second half and controlled the game. But we have picked up a

few instances and they would four key moments in the last few minutes

But they've lost it. Here, just a bit of bad luck. They are in

control in defence. It was called a knock-on and monster got a scrum.

From this scrum is where pit it starts to go wrong. The Blues

front-row have had a lot of stick their share but this is one scrum

where they were totally dominant. Fair play to Peter Springer, he

loved the referee into giving it to Munster. Carey misses the tackle.

And then they are penalised a winner what happened from that.

They missed the one on one tackle They missed the one on one tackle

and lose the game. Plenty of positive, though. Dan fish had an

exceptional gain. He helped the kicking game out for them. He reads

the game very well and he has a chance in the next couple of weeks.

We can talk politics now and the regions have been locked in talks

since June about the possible restructuring of the regional game.

Last month, Roger Lewis, the chief executive of the WRU, said he had

offered the regions any system of central contracts which they had

rejected. It is a system that it exists in other rugby countries

throughout the world, and has been used in Ireland since the dawn of

professional rugby. We took a trip across the Irish Sea to see how

they do things there. One of the most pressing concerns facing the

game in Wales is the access of our top stars across the French channel.

It isolates them from the national side, weakens the regions, and we

can speak Pro 12. Recent success in the Test arena has shone a

spotlight on our brightest talent but the battle to security seems

peculiarly a problem for Wales. Why to the likes of Brian O'Driscoll

and Johnny Sexton, all of whom could command huge salaries abroad,

choose to stay here in Ireland? French clubs can get anybody that

they want, really. If they come in for Johnny Sexton, they will be

able to offer him more money than we can pay, that is just the way it

is. What you hope is that your home players want to stay at home, like

staying at home, because it is far easier to live in your native

speaking language than it is in one of the French clubs. Also, I think

he probably will get longer out of your career because of the player

welfare system that is in operation here. I am not saying it is perfect

but it seemed to keep them going longer. The best 20 players in

Ireland are employed directly by the Irish rugby union, who pay

their wages, and also contribute to the salaries of 20 players in the

pan, with the provinces paint the balance. There's also a big tax

incentive for Irish players, who are entitled to a sizable rebate if

they finish the contract in Ireland. In Wales, the regions of the soul

employers. Although they are given money for their times away at

internationals, they have complained of being short changed.

It is hard to argue against it, what has happened in our country.

It suited us, it suits the national team and the provincial team. We

have serious rosewood Union about player release, player availability

and it is a healthy kind of complaint. It there is one man

place to comment on this, it is Mike Ruddock, who has worked at

regional and national level for both Wales and Ireland. He sees

contracting players as just one piece of the jigsaw. If you're

going to start investing in players don't you need to invest in the

whole structure, from top to bottom. In terms of owning the regions, if

you have got the cheque book, you dictate. At the moment, their heart

two different bodies, if you like, trying to work with the same

players. The provinces want the best, and the regions want the best

for Wales, but there are complex at times about one is his best to rest

the player and when to play a player. If it was all under one

umbrella tonight would have thought it would be much more effective.

That would mean the union taking control with the region's becoming

branches of the WRU, as the provinces are in Ireland. But the

provinces have always existed in Ireland, Wales was always club-

based. The regions were created when it was realised there was not

enough money to keep the clubs afloat. But a look at the finances

has revealed, in the words of Roger Lewis, a lot of self-inflicted

wounds. Talks are continuing to try to find a solution but with more

and more players been linked with moves abroad, and the gulf widening

between the regions and the Irish provinces, time is of the essence.

It would seem to me to have reached the stage where they need to thrash

out some sort of deal. If they are talking, I think that is great. If

anybody wants to talk to us about the pros and cons, I'm sure anybody

from the union or from one of the provinces will be more than happy

We understand there has been a bit of tension behind the scenes over

this. Our central contracts a viable solution in Wales? We listen

to the regions and we heard Mike Dawson St they need to thrash a

deal out. He also said they have seen this argument with the editor

of the Union. Why do we have to copy someone? That is the first

thing. Ireland they have got it right regionally, I think, but

Wales, England and France have been better in the Six Nations and in

the World Cup than Ireland. At the moment it is not cost-effective for

the regions to have a lot of international players. I just think

again it is a little bit of common sense and the regions and Louis

need to sit down and thrash out something sensible for Wales. At

the moment, they are like the fifth region and a lot of the players

seem to be playing a lot better for Wales and for the regions. But how

long is that going to continue? Wales needs strong regions because

if you have a strong regions, players are going to want to stay

there and if they are successful, then Wales are going to be

successful. So you are always bickering. Welsh rugby is going to

lose out. Looking at the facts, at the moment �6 million is played to

the regions by the union every year to compensate for the players in

away. As we understand it that money was going to be used for

those settled contracts. So can you understand why the regions have

denied it? Yes, it is a grey area so we do not know the in and outs

of where the money is spent but it is common sense. If the Welsh

regions have more money safe from paying international players, they

can get players in. Look at the history of the Irish players. It

strengthens the whole squad, brings the younger players through and

then you do not have to have the international players. They are not

as important for the regions because the money is used elsewhere.

Again, we always began argue that we have to look at the bigger

picture. It is best for the players, best for the region and best for

Wales that is important. One of the reasons central contracts has been

bandied about is to try to stop this flood of our best players to

France. Do you think having central contracts with do that? If you are

getting offered a three or four times your weight over in France,

it is difficult to turn it down. -- your wage. You will still lose some

players because of different personal circumstances but I think

it would definitely help. It is not as badly as it used to be. Players

are torn between the region or the Union. What the union will do as

well is get all the infrastructure in place. That is why Wales is so

successful. Behind the scenes. Bumping in so much money to help

the players. That is probably one area where the region's really

could benefit. Ireland do it as well. Thank you. We know this will

go on for some time. On to the Premiership and are featured game

this week is planned average versus match losing streak and Jenkins

pounced on a neat grubber kick. The visitors fought back strongly after

being down. Bridgend held off Aberavon for back-to-back victories.

The home side claimed his boils. The atrocious weather conditions

play their part in this low-scoring affair. This try by Harris, his

fourth in two days, was the only one of the match. Newport have

enjoyed a revival recently while Swansea continued to struggle at

the foot of the tables. Adam France and eventually forced his way over

for just before half time. After the break, Swansea scored two quick

fire tries to give them some hope. Rhys Williams touching down here

but the home side came back strongly to claim a bonus point

against their class. It has not been a bad one for the drovers,

still unbeaten at the top of the table. With the rain bouncing down,

there was this penalty by Rhys Jones, son of former Wales captain

recently. The game then developed into a real slugfest, with much

more slug manifest. PoW made it 3-3 the Rovers' player almost

capitalising on a defensive move. Judge for yourself again on the

replay. After that, the second half was a mirror image of the first but

a little bit wetter and a little bit worse. Powell showed why he was

the season's Premiership scorer. That was that as far as the scoring

went but medals all round for the players and two reasonably

It was two very committed sides out there today. Conditions had an

effect on how the game was play but ultimately the defences from all

sides were tight. We are ten games into the season and we have not

lost yet. We are pleased we have maintained our unbeaten record. We

would have liked to have won that we cannot complain about where we

are at the moment. With an Laulala and Pontypridd not playing, Bedwas

And can get relations to this month's principality player of the

month, openside flanker Sean miles. The 24-year-old has been crucial in

the drovers' rise to the top of this season after a summer pre-

season with the Scarlets. He lists his most admired player as Martyn

Williams. Back to the break off and the Ospreys were in action this

afternoon against European work depleted by international

call-outs. The Ospreys and Leinster supplied ten players each to Wales

confident that the try has been scored. Bishop could not have that

after the charge down. Has it gone forward? You may award the try.

either side. Fussell chipped we create up. Walker was there on

hand to finish. -- Fussell created it. Now they are within range, the

Ospreys. Morgan is back in the from Morgan. That is possibly the

score that secures victory for the Let's round up the weekend's other

start to the season with their win over Edinburgh. Ulster remain on

top with a game in hand. Scarlets stay in second. The Ospreys are now

fifth after that victory over Leinster on. The Dragons are still

struggling in the basement with A fantastic game for the Ospreys

this afternoon. Yes, a tough game. Eli Walker had a great try. A bit

of game management by Matthew Morgan dropping the goal and

killing the game. Early-season woes when they lost their first free now

far behind them. Yes. What is key to end his they still have the

likes of Duncan Jones, Jonathan Thomas around to bring the

youngsters through. That is probably the difference between

them winning today's game and losing. Six days until the autumn

internationals begin. We have talked briefly against opponents

Argentina but we have the likes of New Zealand and somehow afterwards.

What would be a good game for Wales this autumn? They have to look for

three wins. Australia, Samoa and Argentina. New Zealand head and

shoulders above everyone else at the moment but by then, injuries

and form will have worked themselves out. But I think again

we are at the level where we have to play well, I think. If we play

well we will win three from a four. If we do not play well we will not

have a platform. Martyn? Yes, the first two are all about... We were

slow starters in the autumn. It's about getting those first two rings.

We have from New Zealand close a few times at home. I think this

side will be looking now to win at least three out of the four. Next

week is based huge game against Argentina. We have run out of time.