Nothing to say, yet
Transcription
Welcome to the WRAP podcast, the place to catch up on all the regional and national rugby in Wales. You can find us on all the usual social media platforms and message us through there if you want, or you can email us on welshregionalrugbypod at gmail.com. With all the boring stuff out of the way, let's talk rugby. Hello and welcome to this week's edition of the WRAP podcast. I'm Jamie, I'm not Lee G. Lee is not able to join us this week, but we do have a capable replacement joining us this week. We've got Martin from the Scarlet Shriever podcast. How we doing Martin? I'm alright. I'm not quite sure about a capable replacement. I can't get my video to work. Yeah, I would say it's good to see you, but I can't see you. It's just too nice to look at things like this when, you know, when you've got to stay at the dragon season, you know what I mean? Yes, I do know exactly what you mean. But maybe you will magically reappear during this podcast. I don't know, but it's nice to have you with us anyway. And of course, I'm joined by Harley Worthy. Good evening, Harley. How are we? Good evening. I'm glad you've finally got the doctor whenever you're hosting this, because it always makes me feel a little bit sheepish. I try taking out my Twitter name and everyone keeps calling me out on it. Yeah, all good. I had a very nice long weekend without Cardiff losing, which is always nice. Yes, same here. You know, the Dragons didn't lose last week, which is great, isn't it? And same for Scarlet as well, I suppose. A good week for most of us, I think. OK, so you can find us on platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and the Sports Social Network. And if you like what we do, please subscribe, share with your mates and leave us a good review as it all helps to grow the pod. Right then, let's get into it. Let's do drink of the week first. Martin, I can't see you obviously, but do you have a drink by you? I do have a drink and it's a very posh drink. It is hand delivered by my milkman. It's a pint of full fat milk. Oh, that's nice. That sounds really nice. With a proper cream on the top as you open it. Honest to God. The Mrs found a milkman about two weeks ago that delivers the sweats. I was like, yes, give it to me. I don't know what it is. I don't know. There must be something added to the process to put it into a carton or something, but this is absolutely stunning. I only ever have milk with cereal and tea, but I've been drinking this by the pint. It's the nicest thing in the world. Okay. Pint of milk. There we are then. Harley, what's your drink of the week? What have you got for us? Sorry, I'm still chuckling to the way my mind works and thinking his wife found a milkman to deliver. Yes. Yeah, sorry. I've thrown the can away, but I've got a lovely nice looking glass and inside there is some Barry Island IPA from the Brains craft range. I can't remember if I've had it on the pod before. It's actually one of the more decent things Brains do. And as I said, I basically did a pallet last week in Morrison, so this is can number two of that batch. Oh, lovely. Good stuff. Okay. So my drink of the week, any tiny level drinkers will know this one. This is Easy Living. It's one of their classic beers. Yeah, it's just a classic. It's a 4.3%. Yeah, you can't go wrong with Easy Living. So that's what I've got this week. Shall we move on to the news desk because we have got a lot of news to talk about, mostly from Dragons and Cardiff. Nothing from the Ospreys or Scarlets, really. But yeah, let's rattle through these news as we go along. So let's start at Cardiff then, shall we? So Cardiff have signed Cardiff Met prop Joe Cowell. Cowell has made 51 appearances for Cardiff Met and was famously called into action by Cardiff against Toulouse in 2021. You remember that one, aren't you? When the first-team squad was stuck in quarantine. So that's a good pick up there and obviously building for the future. And then on the coaching side, Cardiff have brought in Johnny Goodrich. The former full-back who spent more than a decade playing his trade for Gloucester, Leeds and Bristol is taking up the position of assistant attack slash skills coach following the departure of Richie Rees. So they're getting a coaching team also today. And they've also announced two signings today. So we're recording this on Tuesday. They've announced two Lucette props. So the first one is Danny Selfworth from Exeter Chiefs. So he's a Welsh qualified Lucette prop. He's made 25 first-team appearances for Exeter. He's a converted number eight, which is quite interesting. So yeah, he's qualified for Wales from his grandparents. Do you know anything about Danny Selfworth, Arne? Quite shocking, since I live near Exeter. I don't know a huge amount. I mean, I've seen clips from when he's played premiership clubs and stuff. Looks pretty decent. Yeah, certainly on the highlights, he actually can scrimmage. But he's a converted number eight. He's probably got a bit more of the power game with Mason the risk-carry. Yeah, I mean, he's still only 25. So, you know, there's plenty of room for him. Not really getting a lot of game time for the Chiefs. You know, being stepped behind the likes of Scott Seahill and Alec Kepburn. So, yeah, I'm presuming he's a fairly cheap, cheap buy as well. So, you know, that's a good bit of business, especially combined with the next, as I said, compared with the other prop that he signed, Ed Byrne. So, you know, experienced Leinster in Ireland international. You know, and Ed's not really been getting a lot of game time for Leinster. You know, Murray Beck was doing his sixth Lucette props this season, which, you know, is a luxury. I'm sure we all could. Like, I don't think we can cobble six together at the moment. So, yeah, some decent sign on that front. From what I've been hearing, Joe Cowell is looking at being looked at more as a tight head as well. So that's going to be helping boost that stocks. And, you know, he's likely to be that number three jersey for the Cardinals, Rags and the EDC. So, looking like a decent profile of props. What does this mean for Donald Carpenter then, for them signing a more experienced player? I mean, is this, you know, saying we haven't got enough belief or are they thinking that he can't last the postseason? Because, no, I'd be looking at Corey as, you know, my main number one Lucette. Now the car is gone and you're bringing in someone who is vastly experienced. I mean, it's all good and well having loads of props, etc. But when the salary cap is so tight, you know, is it really worth spending that money on another Lucette when you've already got one who's supposedly capable? I mean, the same thing with the question of the Scarletts signing Alec Hepburn when we got Kenton Mathias earlier. I think you would look at that as, if, you know, Corey Jolmachowsky isn't going to be there every week. You know, I think Corey Jolmachowsky is going to be our first choice. But then you want a good, you want someone good on the backup. You know, we've basically been, you know, we've basically been dovetailing Carey and Jolmachowsky this season. You know, and when one or the other has not been available, we've had Rhys Barrett on the bench and Scarlett's been quite reluctant to use him because, you know, they don't think he's quite ready for this level. And by bringing in someone who's experienced as Ed Burton, you've got a senior international who can be there for these development players. But also then, if Corey gets in and picks up a knock or, you know, he's away with Wales, we've got someone who can step up and we're not going to have the drop in quality. So I think, you know, that's where the depth is going to be quite useful. Plus also with Ed Burton, he has captain register a few times as well, so we've got that leadership role, which is a job he's been very keen on. And, you know, in the video he announced today, he released today, you know, he was saying that, you know, part of this priority for the people he's bringing in are these more experienced players to help build the youngsters to build around. So on the face of it, yeah, you know, maybe it's not the wisest bit of money, but also as soon as you think, well, if Domichowski gets in, you're almost at the door. Presumably he goes, you know, then we're stuck at shit creek without a paddle. It's a good sign, isn't it? I think Ed Burton, you know, like I said, he brings experience and Cardiff are going to be well stocked, I wouldn't lose, because you'll have Domichowski, you'll have Rhys Barrett, you'll have Ed Burton, and you've got the other guy as well, haven't you? Yeah, you've got Steve Visconti. And we've also got Rhys Barrett's younger brother as well. His name I've forgotten, but he's just been promoted to the Senior Academy. So it's looking like we've got a lot of age profile conveyed through. Yeah. No, I think that's a, like you say, like you say, Domichowski will be away with Wales and, you know, you've got good options. It's a sensible sign in Cardiff, I think, which you can say about Cardiff. Yeah. I'm expecting to sign the ghost of Philippe de Contropomy next week, just to sort of clarify. Okay. So that's the signing news. Let's move on to some not so good news. So Matt Sherrod has confirmed that Thomas Young is going to miss the rest of the season after suffering a ruptured bicep. So, yeah, that's a big blow for Cardiff, but he should be back fit and available for the start of pre-season. So any questions about that? And available for the start of pre-season. So at least, as you were saying earlier, at least you know that Thomas Young is going to be with you guys next season. So that's something, I suppose. And then let's talk about departures. So the Lane train is departing for France. That's right. So Owen Lane is going to be leaving Cardiff at the end of the season to join Valence Romance in their Pro D'Hur. 43 tries in 92 Cardiff appearances. And he's won five Oils caps, scoring two tries. Yeah, scoring two tries and winning five Wales caps. In another departure, to the surprise of many, Shane Lewis Hughes has joined the Dragons from Cardiff. So Lewis Hughes, who can play as a flanker or lark, came from Cardiff's academy and has played 68 games for the region and he's won three caps for Wales. He would have had a lot more winnings but for injuries. So I want to get your take on those departures then, Ali. Owen Lane and, in particular, Shane Lewis Hughes going to the Dragons. Yes and no. So I think if you look at the, again, it goes back to things John has just said about, he's basically said the reason they've had to let him go is budget. And it's like, well, we've got very experienced players in those positions plus some youngsters coming through and they sort of sit and fall in that middle ground of, you know, their injuries have not really played well. I think Shane Lewis Hughes is going to be a great signing for the Dragons. You called it on the Dragons' lair months ago that he'd be a great signing for the Dragons. I don't know if that was your insider knowledge of making it with David Buttress or not. But, yeah, I like to believe that you're actually making the signing decisions now. I wish. I knew a few weeks ago, actually. I sort of dropped in the nearer things. So I planted the seed. I knew he'd signed him and I just wanted to get the reaction, really, of Gavin and other people by name-dropping him. Oh, there he is! I didn't really watch. We can see you now. So you can see, it is real. It wasn't made up. For all you listeners, Martin has finally appeared on video on the Zoom call. So we were looking at a blank screen trying to sort of interact with it with a nothingness. The hair is tied back, so there's not much of a meme going on today. But I do have my pink headphones, so that's always a nice one. I saw Lloyd and said they were yours and you picked them especially. Well, no, if I turn them, you can see all the lovely things. Ah, yeah, yeah. I did put on, I've got four girls and the three younger ones have all got these headphones on. That's fair, that. Yeah, the Shane Lewis suit, I'm quite pleased about that. While I've got this signing, it's pretty low risk and it's reported that we've signed him on meagre terms. So we've actually signed him on less money than what he was getting at Cardiff. So we're picking up a Welsh international on the cheap and if it doesn't work out, that's fine, it's two years, we just say off you go. We're not paying over the odds for him and if it does work out, then great. Like I said, we're getting a Welsh international on the cheap, so I think it's a really good bit of business by the dragons, but he just needs to stay fit and we're trying to force him into playing a bit more second row because he wants Sylvain as this Josh Turnbull replacement. I think Shane really just wants to play six, so I think the dragons, that's more of an option where you've got second rows having to fill in at six, whereas we've got sixes filling in at second rows, so that does help. It does make the dragons' bad roll look quite tasty, you have Lewis, Bash and Wainwright who's a big fan, a big fan of Woodman. He looked awesome on the weekend for Newport, so you've got a good set of bad rolls coming through there, you've got a nice little stable to go for a good two seasons. And don't forget our new signer, Solomon Funaki as well from Monarch and Pacifica, the Tongan internationals, so yeah, back row is looking like a good area of strength, but I presume he's probably kind of plays that lock back row hybrid, so it's a good replacement. But yeah, like I said, it's no risk, let's just see how it goes. But yeah, I was quite happy with that signing. Right then, moving on to the dragons now, David Buttress was stepped down as dragons chairman this summer, this is due to him taking on that OVO Energy chief executive job, so it's pretty inevitable really that he's going to stand down. So he's not going far, and dragons have announced that the co-owner David Wright will be the club's new chairman from the 1st of July onwards. So yeah, I talked about this on Dragons there, what a brilliant job David has done in Welsh rugby, he stood up to the WRU, the PRB, and if it wasn't for David, Dragons wouldn't exist, because he fought for the club. Yeah, we were very, very close and he's a great asset to the Dragons and thankfully he's not going too far, he's still remaining on the board, so good luck to him in his new role for OVO Energy. And then let's go on to some signing news then, so since the last part, you know, we talked about deciding Chris Harness and Solomon Fodaki, so since then we've signed a pair of Australians, so we've signed highly rated centre, the 23-year-old Harry Wilson from the Waratahs, not a surprise down under that he's gone overseas, he's left, and former Scania slot Steve Cummins, remember him Matt, Steve Cummins? Yeah, I remember him very fondly, him partying down alongside Jake Ball is a good memory. When I look at Steve Cummins now though, I look at how many games he's played over the last two seasons, I think he's played seven games in two years now, he's been 32, I mean, I'm assuming he's not going to be coming on a great deal of money, but this is probably a medium level risk for you guys signing someone like him, because he is getting on, he hasn't played a lot of rugby recently, I mean, I hope it comes off, I really do, it would be great to see you guys competing at the top level again, but you know, this seems to me the type of signing, the sort of journeyman signing that we've seen a lot of in Welsh rugby. Well, I think, you know, Dave Franklin talked about him for a while now, he's 32, but he's also 6 foot 7, so that's pretty handy if they're having 6 foot 7 lots, so I think he should be brought in, like I said, just to add a bit of muscle, a bit of experience, I don't know if he's going to be a week-in, week-out starter, but he's a good option to have on the bench, we do have a young group of players and I think he's going to be a good mentor for guys like Ben Carter who's at a real risk, I think he's been signed on a two-year deal, he's not going to cost the earth, but yeah, you know, I think he's a decent sign-in. In an ideal world, we'd all have to be signed in, but that's about it for me, I'm a world-class lot unfortunately, our budgets dictate otherwise, but I think he's a decent signing person, but keen to see how that one goes. And then off-the-field appointments, so Dragons have announced Rhys Blumberg as the Club's new Chief Executive Officer, in a four-year spell as Chief Operating Officer at Cardiff Rugby, so Blumberg has worked as General Manager, Commercial Manager, and Head of Sales and Marketing during his time with Cardiff Rugby, and I know Heidi Fordoff, he's in Welsh Rugby, he's done some really good work at Cardiff as you can probably attest to. I'd also say as well, your co-host Calvin Harris did a really good interview with Rhys Blumberg in Sporting Wales, he's really, really good, he spoke well, and I think he's going to be a very good asset to the Dragons, it's good to see a scale of off-field appointments sorted as well as the on-field, because it's just as important as any off-field stuff as well as the on-field, so pleased about that. And then finally, the big news, the news that's got Welsh Rugby talking at least, is Dragons have finally announced a new head coach, and I think it comes with a lot of experience, he's been head coach at Toyota for Blitz and Sunrose in Japan, and he spent time as a forwards coach and assistant coach for the Japan national side, he appears with the Super Rugby as well as forwards coach for Man Utd Pacifica, and he's had a spell as forwards coach with Auckland Rugby, so he's coming back to Wales with a wealth of coaching knowledge and experience, so finally, we can't go back and then we can't go through the entire season without a defence coach in the URC, because it's just pretty amateur, but finally, we've got our shoulders. Can I just say how jealous I am right now that you guys are signing players and coaches left, right and centre, and there's just nothing on the starlet front. We need one coach before next season, and there's rumours over almost everyone except for Dwayne, so I'm pretty bloody jealous of you guys right now. It's a good appointment, I'm really pleased with it, the proof is in the pudding of course, but I think we've done incredibly well. One thing I did see other people point out, and the thing is, if you look at his coaching CV, it's pretty much all forwards coach, because there can be some decent forward coaching as well, but I think that could cause you a team problem. But you were saying about having a defence coach all season, remember, you've got to have the same number of wins as the scarlets, and they've had two defence coaches this season. Yeah, that's a fair point. I don't think we've had a defence coach at all until the Munster game, based on things that we used inside the camp. There was just a lot of turmoil in the first nine months of the season, because we got a hell of a long pre-season as well. In terms of defence, Jardane has done a really good job, and what a surprise, he is a defence coach. He's apparently still doing some work with his backs and attack as well. That's the reason he left Ulster, because Dan McFarlane wouldn't let him take over the attack coach. That's because that's what he wants to do. It was the same when he went to Fairmont. Fairmont, I think? I don't know. Fairmont's in my head. I know what I'm saying, but it was the exact same thing there. He had the defence there, and he moved up the head coach when their head got sacked, and they didn't want to keep him on as an attack coach. He reached out to his friend, O'Dwane, and did the job, and here we are. There we go then. Let's talk about what happened on the weekend. It was the Welsh Premiership semi-finals. Let's start with Llanddowri from Cardiff. He finished Llanddowri 34, Cardiff 13 at Churchbank. Martin, I know you watch this game. What are your thoughts on it? He finished 38-13. Oh, did I? I'm sorry. No, sorry. I'm thinking Newport now. It was 34-13, wasn't it? I was thinking Newport there with the 8. I remember it was an 8, didn't I? The game was awesome. Honestly, that first half, it was so intense. The speed at which Llanddowri played, it wouldn't be out of place in the URC. The Cardiff defence, all credit to the Rags. They were a brick wall in that first half. It didn't matter if it was a draw or a throw. They went into half-time in the lead. Not many teams get to do that at Churchbank, so that's a massive credit in itself. Same as with any team, when you defend for long periods of time, the floodgates do eventually open. I think it was about the 55-minute mark. Dover ran in a nice, well-played team try. They worked through the phases, got over. I think it was Matt Sage in the second try with that wonder run. He put four or five defenders on his own to go under. The game seemed dead for about 60 minutes. Cardiff had really over-exerted themselves defending for so long. They didn't have anything to fire back with. All in all, it was a brilliant game to watch. I'm really disappointed that it wasn't a great show when I'm attacking rugby from Newport. Talk to us about Matt Sage. There's been a lot of hype about this kid. He was doing a round on Twitter. Could you see him breaking into the Scarlets team pretty soon? Looks like he'll be one for the future, doesn't he? I've seen him at under-18 level. I've seen him in the under-20s and now this season with the Drovers. He wants to play 13. He can cover 11 through to 15. From what I've seen, he wants to play 13. That's one of the hardest jobs in the back line, especially in defence. He's still learning, same as any 19-year-old outside centre in the world. He's still learning his defensive responsibilities at that level. In attack-wise, he's brilliant on his own. One thing I've seen from him that has improved over this season is when he's facing that last man and he's got options with him, he doesn't always make the right decision. He doesn't always execute those 2-on-1s with a simple try. That is something that's improving. In terms of starting for the Scarlets, I can probably see him starting pre-season. He'll definitely be involved there. In terms of the URC, I can see it. If he does play, I would imagine he'd start more on the wing just to introduce him to the game more. I think that way, he can really cause some damage as we've seen. This isn't the first time he's scored a try like this this season. He's very excited. I'm expecting him to get a few starts on the wing for that 13 over the next few years. He's very similar to Corley Baldwin in terms of he wants to be a 13 but he's perfectly built and shaped to be a winger. He's got that top-end pace, he's got everything he needs for that. He wants to be a 13 but he's still trying to learn it all. To stick him on the wing is quite devastating. It's going to be fun for him trying to get through past Joe Roberts at Scarlets. I've made no secret for me Joe Roberts is my choice 13. Johnny Williams has been doing a job for us whether he stays with us or not, that's still up in the air. If it was the last time he had anything to say to me I would have said no. I would have said no. I would have said no. I would have said no. I would have said no. I would have said no. I would have said no. I would have said no. I would have said no. I would have said no. I would have said no. I would have said no. I would have said no. I would have said no. I would have said no. I would have said no. I would have said no. I would have said no. I would have said no. I would have said no. I would have said no. I would have said no. I would have said no. I would have said no. I would have said no. I would have said no. I would have said no. 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I would have said no. I would have said no. The person who's closest to predicting gets four points. Second closest, three, two, one. So it's just basically how far out on your prediction you are. Right, let's make our predictions for the weekend. So, Friday night, Dragon Stormers. I said on Dragon's Lair my prediction was Stormers by 11 and maybe I am being a bit kind, but I like to think that because it is the last game at Ron, you play the season that the Dragons are really going to front up and give it a good go. The only problem is whenever we play the South African sides this season, we sort of stay in the fight for a little bit, but then the power eventually tells and it's no secret that we got the worst scrum in the URC. That is a statistical fact in the URC stats. We are ranked 16th in those scrums, so you know that we're going to struggle up front. But yeah, I predicted Stormers by 11. Ali, what's your prediction for Dragon Stormers? I'm being very unkind here. I've gone for Stormers by 25. I think it's full noise in this inbox. It looks like it's going to be decent weather as well, like they're going to have a field day on day 3. It's a fantastic track. And I don't think anyone will be that bothered by the crowds booing them. Looking at listening to some of the games at the big derbies in South Africa, it's loud and yeah, I just think the likes of the Bocce are going to have a field day. Yeah, it's going to be difficult, isn't it? Matt, what's your prediction then? Dragon Stormers? Well, in terms of this competition, I'm going to go Stormers by 26. Just like Thor. You've only got a small margin to win this one, Ali. Do you want to make up a score for James as well? Dragon by 30. I'm sure he'd appreciate that. Right then. I'd be brilliant, wouldn't I? Scarlets versus Ulster. Go on then, Martin. We know what you're going to say. We're going to say Scarlets. I've got Scarlets by 4. Ali? I've got Ulster by 7. I think you get a point out of it. Maybe 2. Maybe 5. Yeah, that is it. Also, I'd be spitting feathers if you finished the season more wins than us. That's exactly the same prediction I got. I wrote down Ulster by 7 as well. So, yeah, there we go. Losing bonus points there for Scarts, that would be pretty decent, I suppose. Prediction for James? Oh. What shall we say? Scarlets by 30. I was going to say Ulster by 38. I was going to say Ulster by 38. They're not going to score that many. Ulster by 50. Right. The game after, it's Lions versus Cardiff. Go on then, Ali, what's your prediction? I've gone for Lions by 20. I feel like I've been going to Cardiff on that one. 20? That much? Because we're not scoring, we're not making the most of our chances. That's all that's down to. I'm hoping, because I predicted a win against Edinburgh and we lost quite badly, I'm hoping it reverses the other way because I'd rather be wrong in my prediction. OK, fair enough. Mark, can Cardiff get anything out of this game? How do you see it going? Lions by 8. Lions by 8. OK. I've gone for Lions by 13 on that one. Like I said, I'm looking forward to watching it because I think it could be a really fun game. And then Saturday night, Leinster Ospreys. So, Ali, let's come to you then. I'd be incredibly kind of Osprey. They'll go for Leinster by 3. Just I'm hoping they drag him down into it. They take that, I think. If they take Osprey 3, I'd take that away to Leinster any day. I'll be with that, Mark. Leinster by 15. Leinster by 15. OK. I've gone for Leinster by 10. It really does depend on the team that they put out. But, I mean, if they are going to go fully loaded, it's going to be very difficult for the Ospreys, isn't it? It's always a tough place to go. But, yeah, I've gone for Leinster by 10. OK. Now, before we wrap up, Fever Pods. So, Mark, the Scarlet Fever Pod, that's out now, isn't it? Yeah. I believe so. So, what did you chat about on there? Well, we had a lovely chat about Phantom Thieves. A small matter of a semi-final win over Cardiff. And I'm looking to do a nice treble. Cup league leaders and league champions, so that'll be nice for them. And just a preview on Ulster. We've not had any real news coming out of the Scarlets, well, at all, really. So, I'm expecting a flood of news coming out of the Scarlets. So, I'm expecting a flood of news coming out of the Scarlets. So, I'm expecting a flood of news coming out of the Scarlets. So, I'm expecting a flood of news coming out of the Scarlets. So, I'm expecting a flood of news coming out of the Scarlets. So, I'm expecting a flood of news coming out of the Scarlets. So, I'm expecting a flood of news coming out of the Scarlets. So, I'm expecting a flood of news coming out of the Scarlets. So, I'm expecting a flood of news coming out of the Scarlets. So, I'm expecting a flood of news coming out of the Scarlets. So, I'm expecting a flood of news coming out of the Scarlets. 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