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The WRAP podcast discusses rugby and starts with a drink of the week. Johnny McNicholl has left the Scarlets to return to New Zealand. Gareth Anscombe has been offered a one-year deal to play for Gloucester. Dragons' forwards coach Luke Narroway is leaving due to a reduced contract offer. 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 at welshregionalrugbypod at gmail.com. That's all the boring stuff out of the way, let's talk rugby. Hello and welcome to this week's edition of the WRAP podcast with me, Lee G, joining me as always is Jamie and Harley. Good evening gentlemen. Good evening. So we're missing the oyster mouth himself. James, Jamie, James. Yeah, I still can't get you two right, I tell you. Even when I'm writing it down, I still get you two confused. One's Jamie and one's James. I know. You would have thought that the amount of times that I have to write you two names down that by now I would have had it, but no, still don't. Anyway, James is doing other things this week, so he'll be back next week to join us. So let's start in traditional fashion with a drink of the week, gentlemen. Who would like to go first? Jamie, do you want to rock this one first? Yeah, I got a good beer this week. So I have got from Harbour Brewery, based in Tenby, Sea Bass. You might be familiar with them, Lee. Yeah. For our YouTube viewers. Well, that's you all, isn't it? But for the YouTube, you can see there. Look at the label, that's a picture of Sebastien Chabelle. So this is the wanky bollocks that's on the beer bottle. So Sea Bass French Pale Ale was originally created for the Six Nations Rugby Tournament in honour of the popular nickname of retired French player Sebastien Chabelle. A force on any rugby pitch and well known for his distinctive billowing mane of hair. Taste, as the style suggests, is all about the French hops. So it's a beer after Sebastien Chabelle. It's 3.9. It's a French Pale Ale and it's really, really nice. I like this one a lot. It sounds better than the brain's attempt to do a tribute for Alan Wyn Jones called Ale Wyn Jones. And the best thing I can say about it was it tastes like I imagined drinking his sweat would taste. Because it just had this weird sort of saltiness to it. It was not a good point. Well, I'm sure that Sea Bass Ale won a couple of awards a few weeks ago. It got some high reviews and there was some award. Because they do another one, which is, it was a Welsh one. I can't remember what it was, but they had the two of them up there. Very, very nice. Yeah, it wasn't in my Christmas Harbour Brewery pack, so I am missing a few. Harley, what have you got, mate? So I've got something that has piqued Jamie's interest because of the name and the stylings. But I think it's more your sort of beer, Lee. So it's the Trooper, but the IPA. So yeah, I just saw it on the shelf and thought, I haven't had Trooper since a very unfortunate night playing a gig in a pub in Bridgend. Which I don't remember very much of after getting off stage. But yeah, it's a lovely little IPA, 4.3%. The way you bottled it, mate, is just basically saying Bruce Dickinson did this with the brewer of the people they do the regular Trooper beer with. But yeah, lovely. It's a great beer. I love the Trooper. Great band, great beer. I've never had it. Lovely. Robinson's Brewery. It's a very nice, just standard ale. You would really get on with it, Lee. Well, I am coming to the end of my Christmas and birthday beers. I've got this week and next week. And then, you know, I'm going to be open about this. I'm open to offers. So if anybody wants to send me a beer to review on the pod, then I'm more than up for that. You know, drop us a line because, yeah, I'll go for that. I've run out of weird beers to taste. So this one is just the standard. It's a Gower Brewery. It's an Oxwich IPA, 5%. And the wanky bollocks are very, very simple. Sweet and balanced and more than a bit hoppy. This tasty, bold IPA is born from American hops, creating a zesty, citrusy, orangy flavour sensation. I mean, it tastes like beer, but I'm not getting the sensation of any sort from it. But it's very nice. It's all right. It's a decent beer. So, yeah. But, yeah, if anybody does want to send us some beer. I mean, I don't think any of us have got any moralistic issues with having free beer and tasting it on the pod. And saying whether it tastes nice or not. So I'd, you know, crack on. Absolutely not. If anyone wants to send us free beer and sponsor the pod, please do. I've opened a cider. I'm partial to cider. I know James wouldn't say no to gin, because he is an old maid. I'm just saying because he's not here, because I love gin as well. Well, I still like my Christmas rum. I'm desperately trying to find an excuse to go back and get some more of my Christmas rum. But, yeah, I'm running out of time. They're going to pull it soon. Anyway. Right. Let's move on to Newsdesk, James. What have we got on the Newsdesk this week, my friend? News, news, news. Right. Let's start with Scarlets-related news then. So, Johnny McNicol. He's left the Scarlets with immediate effect to return to New Zealand. The 33-year-old asked to be released from his contract early. So, McNicol made 130 appearances for the Scarlets over eight seasons. I've got to be honest. I didn't realise it was eight seasons. He'd been there for longer than I realised. Anyway, yeah, he was there for eight seasons. He scored 57 tries, including the one on his debut against Leinster in 2016. And he won 10 caps for Wales. I found this news to be a bit of a shock. I don't know about you. What was your reaction to the news? Not really, no. We were expecting him to go at the end of the season. Yeah. The rumour that kind of went around last summer was when Halfpenny was leaving and he was kind of like, well, okay, I'll be there for the World Cup. So, I'll be in the World Cup squad. So, he was going to stay. So, he committed to another 12 months. And then he did make the World Cup squad. So, he can. And then he got a bit injured. And it was a bit like right as soon as he was back from injury, he was off sort of thing. So, yeah, I mean, he's had some fantastic games for the Scarlets. He's, you know, one of the best attacking full backs. Anyway, I think he played more on the wing initially. And he's quick. He's actually genuinely lightning quick on the wing as well. So, yeah, it is what it is. This is where we are, you know. As a group of teams, we're going to lose those players back to where they came from. He won't be the last person to leave the Scarlets, possibly this month. Do you know where he's going? The rumour is... It hasn't been said yet, but he reckons Crusaders, doesn't he? Because Halfpenny... Is he following after the other Scarlets full back who went down south? Because obviously he's injured until potentially maybe the knockout. Yeah. That's the rumour, isn't it? Yeah. But he was always going to go home at the end of this season anyway. So, the whole releasing players early, I mean, there is coverage there for him. And there's young players coming through. So, yeah, bite the bullet, make a bit of space and keep more players for next season. So, yeah, it's been some fantastic memories watching him. So, yeah, good luck to him. I want to make one point just purely because some of the comments and stuff I saw are under the news. Moaning about McNeffal obviously coming over here playing for Wales on residency. He played eight seasons. How many seasons did Thomas Francis play in Wales? How many seasons has Lewis Rees-Samet played in Wales? Actually, a lot of these players were like, Oh, yeah, yeah, they're Welsh, we love them, we love them. No, they've not played here. They've done the Catherine Cedar Jones and fucked off as soon as they got a better money offer. You know, he actually came here and chose to play in Wales, you know. So, you know, he's spent eight years. It's not like he did the minimum and then, like, all right, now I'm a Welshman. The thing is that, yeah, but he made the effort, like, learning the national anthem and things like that. Yeah, exactly. And Hadley Parks was the same, I thought he... And then he went, he took a chance to go to Japan because, let's be fair, he's not going to get anywhere near as battered and bruised as he was the way he was playing for Wales in the Scarlets. He got battered left, right and centre, didn't he? You're talking about Nick Tompkins. Nick Tompkins is not a walking mummy like Hadley Parks is on the pitch, let's be fair. Hadley Parks used to go looking for it, though. He'd go, you know, there's a brick wall. Let me run at it. He'd be like Scrappy Doo. Let me at him. Let me at him, Uncle Scooby. The best way to describe Hadley Parks is probably the most South African kid I've ever known. Anyway, yeah, Jonny McNicholl's off. Yeah, so speaking of Welsh Kiwis then, Gareth Anscombe, he's been offered a one-year deal to play for Gloucester. According to Rugby Pass, Anscombe was shown around King's Home last week. No news on that yet, so we'll have to keep our ears and eyes open for that one. But that could be quite an interesting move for Anscombe, couldn't it? And a good sign in for Gloucester if he manages to stay fit. But yeah, we're keeping an eye on for that one. In other news then. So, Ali, what do you want to say about that? I was just going to say, it's reunited in international halfback combo, isn't it? With Thomas going up there. Him and Anscombe have played together for years. And I think they play really well together. Yeah, like I said, we'll have to see if that move comes off. But moving on then. So, the rugby paper, they reported on the weekend that Dragons have promoted Sam Hobbs, the forwards coach, after Luke Narroway decided to leave due to a reduced contract offer. So I did a bit of digging on this. Luke Narroway has not left yet, but he is leaving. And it appears that some of the members of the coaching team will be leaving as well. So Luke Narroway won't be alone in leaving. It sounds like the Dragons are going to restructure their coaching team, which, let's be honest, is needed. I think it's fair to say, because these guys are Dean Ryan's men, they're not Dave Flanagan's choice. So I think it's the right thing to do to restructure the coaching. But also I was thinking about this as well. Sam Hobbs must be the busiest coach in World Rugby, right? Because let me just tell you who he's coaching for at the moment. So he's part of the coaching team at Newport, for Newport RFC. He's head coach of the Dragons Academy. He's helping the Dragons out with defence. He's coaching the Wales under-20s. And now he's going to be Dragons' forwards coach. I mean, honestly, how has he got the time to do all this? He must be the busiest guy in World Rugby. But I know they do think quite highly of Sam Hobbs at the Dragons. So, yeah, best of luck to him. But he's not been a coach for that long, though, has he? No, he hasn't. So he's been doing something right to get that amount of recognition that quickly. Do you know what I mean? He must be very highly rated, because normally you've got to build up a bit of reputation. You've got to have a bit of—you've got to produce a bit of stuff on the pitch first. So he must be doing something right somewhere, because, yeah, like I said, a lot of people are showing a lot of faith in him. Or somebody goes, we haven't got a coach. And he goes, me? I'll do that. I'm available. Well, that's the thing, isn't it? Because let's be honest. As I said, he is highly regarded at the Dragons. I know that. But it is also, let's be honest, a cheap option, isn't it, to promote from within. And that's what they're doing with Sam Hobbs. And like I said, he's got a few strings to his bow now. He is with the Wales under-20s. So it sounds like he's going to be a key part of the Dragons coaching team. So, yeah, best of luck to him. And we'll see what the coaching team looks like next season. But it is going to be different from what we're seeing now. Like I said, I think that's needed, to be quite honest with you. So, yeah. Moving on. Would you believe it? We've got another review in Welsh rugby. So to quote Brenda from Bristol. Another one? Yes, that's right. Another review. So, a new plan for rugby in Wales will be published in June after the completion of a full strategic review into the Welsh Rugby Union. So this review is being supported by Hortus Consulting, who are a leading global management consultancy who provide independent advice to organisations in the world of sport. On the agenda, we'll be finding a way forward for the professional game in Wales with everything on the table for consideration. It's almost like we've heard this all before, isn't it? But everything's on the table, apparently. So, Ali, I'm coming to you. Another review into Welsh Rugby. Thoughts? So what's going to happen is they're going to say they can cut down on all your benefits to member clubs and execs and fully fund the regions or get rid of the Dragons and the Ospreys because that will be the ones that they will say. Everyone will kick up a fuss and we'll lose half of the regional fan base. It's what will happen. Or worse, they'll merge two teams and both fan bases are unhappy and we'll lose all of the fan base. So it's going to be the same answers that happened in the last year and then nothing will happen. I was just checking my phone to see if the email had come through to invite us to put our ideas forward as representatives of the fans, but I can't see it in there, so maybe that email's got lost somewhere. Welsh Rugby's got 3 million collectors and 3 million chairmen and all of that kind of stuff, doesn't it? And we've all got our own ideas about what's right and what's wrong and all this. But, yeah, you do get to the point where you just think, like, another review. And the bit that pisses me off for this is that we're going to review but we're going to talk to the same people again. We're going to talk to the same people that have got the same ideas and the stuff that isn't working at the minute because these are the people that know. And if you're going to do a review, do it a bit bigger. Go and do other things and show a bit of backbone and go, actually, this is what needs to be done because it isn't about just the regions and the national team. It depends on the remit of that review. How do we make the national team successful? If that's the remit of that review, then the guys playing in St David's and Langholm are fucked. And all the kids playing in school are screwed. What's the point in playing? Because we're back to that same bit about everything's about the 23 men on that Welsh bench. So, yeah, I'd welcome that review if it is genuinely open and honest. It includes everyone and if everything is on the table, then everything is on the table. Then let's actually look at it because the worst thing you can do now is say you're going to hold a consultation and then not ask enough people for their opinions. And that's where they've always failed before. They've asked for opinions from people who haven't played the game for 25, 30-odd years and sitting in a bar and going, well, when I was playing, we used to do this and when I was playing, we used to do that. And it don't work like that. We need to get more people involved that know what they're talking about, people who are involved in the game now, people who are involved in the school game, the college game, the club game, the professional game, fans, everybody. If we're going to do it, do it fucking properly. That's the least they can do is do it properly. But how much is this going to cost as well? We've spent a lot of money on these independent reviews, haven't we? That's money that could go into the pro game. So let's just see what the outcome is. Like Ali said, I think it's just going to be the same old recommendations. Proposals to cut the team, proposals to, you know, other stuff. It would be the same stuff we've heard in the Oakwell report and the other stuff. So, yeah, we'll have to see on that one, won't we? So just to end news desk then, I want to talk about Sinead Harries for a few minutes. So she ended her 14-year career in style, scoring a try and a drop goal to help Griffion Thunder to a Welsh derby victory over Gwalior Lightning in the Celtic Challenge at Parc Ysgoledd over the weekend. The 34-year-old won 78 caps for Wales and scored 28 tries and played in four World Cups. Fantastic career, brilliant servant to Wales, and an excellent role model for women in the game. So, yeah, I just want to give a shout-out to Sinead Harries because I think she deserves that. Fantastic player, and best of luck to her in her retirement. Sinead. Sinead, yeah. Sinead. Sinead, okay. That's a good point. But nothing compares to her. No. Fucking hell, that's shit, aren't it? Well, I was going to say about the women's game, that possibly the biggest game in the Welsh women's game this season, you know, on the home turf, actually something on the table to play for and just buckle coverage. You know, again, you can go on, I think it's on Rugby Pass or whatever, and watch a very patchy feed that drops out every five minutes and all of this kind of bollocks. You know, again, we've spoken about God knows how many times about just being fair to the women's game and giving them a chance to do stuff. And, yeah, every now and again, they get an opportunity to do something and we just don't... Really, really frustrating. Really frustrating that, you know, by all accounts, really good game, really interesting game. And, yeah, fuck all. And it's starting to piss me off, just a little. Not a massive amount, but not on the level of the Connaught referee, but, yeah, it's pissing me off that we just can't put a decent set of cameras there and all that kind of stuff. Anyway, we'll be there. Just to tap on that, I mean, we've been banging this, me and Karen have been banging this drum on the kind of central pod, because, you know, similar to how Scarlet Seaver have sort of adopted and we've taken on Lightning, and everyone don't even mention it. You're lucky if they put the team sheet out, some of these rounds, and you're like... Because I've sort of got the characteristic challenge of... Because if there is something there, I do want... You know, we have been trying all we can to promote things since we went with any of the regions or with Team Wales, and it's just nothing. And you can see Glasgow are always putting stuff out. Edinburgh are always putting stuff out. I know it's a bit easier because, you know, they are in that umbrella that I did see. The other few are doing the same thing with the Clovers and the Wolfhounds. You know, it's there. They're pushing this content. And, you know, Wales are very good. When they first done their contracts and everything, it was all, ooh, look how great they are. We've given them pro contracts. And, you know, their mini documentary series have been great. But then when they're doing these... These are their development zones. These are the stars of the future. Yes, we've had lots of Charlie and Harry's, Alicia Butcher's have been in there. You know, Bristol and Thunder are base games. A lot of the Worcester kills, they didn't get a contract from their team for a bit. But, like, Islay Lightning was pretty much just all new players. And, you know, a few of them have made... have, you know, broken into the Wales squad because of it. You know, I mean, you get people like now Metcalf, who wasn't playing on the weekend because he was called up to block the main boss team. But, I mean, it worked then because the ones who are in the Premier 15s who aren't required by those teams, they've got somewhere to play. And then we've got a place for all these new people because one thing they were saying is that, yes, we've got 30 contracts, but then that's our pool of players to pick from. And it's quite small, and this gives us a chance to have a wider pool. If anything, the way it's sort of working, actually, I'd argue, is kind of what we wanted the regional model to be. And, you know, just... Obviously, with the various things that I can't be getting into... I can't be getting into 25 years' worth of history. You know, it didn't happen. It didn't happen. And if the WI are serious about turning over a new leaf and saying that they're interested in the women's game, you know, it's just a small thing to just say, you know, they did put some stuff out about the Thunder Vs Weapon Derby, but not a huge amount. Like I say, there's probably still a bit more team Wales stuff on a bi-week than actual stuff playing because they don't have their own dedicated Twitter thing because, in fairness, I understand why they haven't set up those accounts but I don't know what the format's going to be next season. Do they expand teams? I think we shouldn't. I think we stick with two. I think that's just about the right talent. And you can see it's quite clear when you look at, you know, we are in the bottom half of the Celtic challenge. Although only just. Like, we... Really, we're, you know, a good kicker away from beating Edinburgh and making it into that top three. Thunder had a little bit more of a trouble last season. Something with Kelvin. The issue is, sort of, the coaching. So I think some of the more experienced coaches were tied to Lightning to try and develop them a little bit further. And they were hoping the more senior girls would help in the Thunder. But, yeah, it's all right. I've just been ranting for about five minutes. The point is, for fuck's sake, pull your finger out. Yeah, I agree with you, mate. I agree. Anyway, anything else from the news desk, Jim? No, that is it. Cool. OK, so Harley, you've got one stat of the week for us. Go on, give us your... You didn't want to... You weren't going to put this one out there, but go on. Go on, put this... I might mention that one on the thing, but what I wanted to say is... I'm not going to mention the other bit. That's going to be part of my little review. But what I would say is Cardiff, on the weekend, had faster ruck ball than Leinster. We had 46% of our rucks in the three seconds. They only had 27. And then, if you actually look at points scored for 22 mid-entry, they got 3.6, we got 3.4. The problem was is they had twice as many entries into our 22, so no wonder we got dicked. Or did we? All right, let's... We did. Yes, you did. You were playing Leinster, mate, so of course we did. Everyone does. Let's start with the Friday night game. Let's start with Osprey's trip up to Edinburgh. I was telling Jamie before we started where the decorators were in last week, and I managed to get the television back on the wall on Friday night, just in time for kick-off, and then I watched the first 10 minutes, and then I moved the television and I bust the cable that goes from the television, the HDMI cable thing. So I watched the first 10 minutes of the Osprey's game, and then a couple of score updates on my phone, and then I managed to get the laptop to watch the last 10-15 minutes and all that kind of stuff. So this one is really down to you boys about what happened in the rest of the game in that Osprey's game, so who wants to have a first crack at it? I'll go with my viewers on it. I've argued with Yestin from the Osprey Diary podcast about this, but I thought that was an incredibly un-Toby Booth performance from the Ospreys, to quite an extent, because they were playing it in their own half, they were playing with the ball a lot in their own half, they weren't just kicking into the corners and relying on their set-piece, which, until Havans of Passion of all people came on, was utterly dominant. They were getting the letter of WP now, which just shouldn't happen. But they were turning down easy points, so I was told, you know, it's an inexperienced ten, and you're like, yeah, but they've got two British and Irish Lions in the squad, they've got Nicky Smith, who's a senior international, Sam Parry, who's an international, you know, you've got the club captain of the Cheetahs, and they're no mugs. Surely one of them should be saying, let's go for the six. And then I was told that, oh, well, Dan Evans is a young kicker, so he might not be confident. Who else isn't a kicker? Dan Edwards can kick. He's a decent enough kicker. You've got another fly-half on the pitch who's been getting clutch kicks through it, over the last two seasons. It just seemed really weird to me, like they weren't playing how the way Toby Booth teams have been winning is the offensive pressure, taking the points, and then as soon as they get a chance, you know, they take it. You know, it's basically Warren Gatland, the Warren Gatland Wales in the 2019 league. If you want to know what Warren Ball is, the Ospreys are probably the best team to show it. It's all about playing smart, a crash ball 12, and, you know, making the most of other people's mistakes. It just really confused me, and I still probably could have won. Jamie, your thoughts on the Ospreys game? Yeah, so I was watching this game on my phone. It was the Mrs. Ronemi Aridol Terry, so I didn't really properly watch it as such, but I think it's a missed opportunity by the Ospreys, actually, you know, because from what I saw, they were quite dominant, especially in the scrum, and Jarvis Sebastian, to his credit, he did have a really good game, didn't he, in the scrum? Yeah, I just couldn't understand. So they had that line-out right at the end, and you're thinking, if they just keep it simple now, are you expecting them to, you know, get the drive them all going and go over the try line? And they completely and utterly butchered it by trying to do something very clever. It just wasn't necessary. I just can't understand why they tried to do that really clever line-out at the end, but they just needed to keep it simple. But I think they will look back on this and view it as a missed opportunity. I don't actually think any of them were that good from what I watched of them, you know? You know, it was some good individual performances. Rudolf, I think, that South African they got on Low for the Cheetahs, he was very good. He was constantly getting over the game line. Boshoff was really good as well. That second row, was it Victor? I can never pronounce his name. Is that Saketi or something like that? The South African players, they stood up pretty well in fairness. I just felt it was a missed opportunity for the Ospreys. That was a game they could have and probably should have won. But, you know, losing bonus points up in Edinburgh is not what to be sad about. It is a tough place to go, but yeah, I think Ospreys will end up ruining that missed opportunity from the end of the season, you know? Because they've got tough winning games coming up now, so I think that was a game they could have and possibly should have won. I thought Alex Kessler had a decent game as well, actually, moving on from last week. He's been out injured a long time, hasn't he? Was that his first game this season? He played against Ulster, didn't he? He came on against Ulster and basically ruled up the skies in that game. Okay, cool. So, just because I know James will listen. See, he's done it again. Just because I know James will listen at some point, I'm just going to say Ospreys are shit from start to finish. Not for anybody, just so James can have an angry moan at me on WhatsApp and have a go, because otherwise he feels a little uneasy about stuff if I don't say something bad about the Ospreys. But in all honesty, yeah, I didn't see much of that game my own fault, but there we go. So, let's move on then to Saturday. Connell and Scarlett, so I missed the first half. I didn't have a very good rugby weekend at all, I'll be honest with you. I missed the first half of this game and I had Hugh and Martin on WhatsApp telling me how shit it was. And then I watched the second half and I thought, actually, it wasn't that bad. They were quite competitive, but large parts of the second half, I think we balled up about four or five opportunities that, realistically, we needed to take. I think there were three kicking opportunities that should have just gone over the posts. And so, yeah, I can see what we're trying to do. I can see now the type of game that we're trying to play, or Dwingfield wants to play. And, yeah, it's going to take time to build. And I know Scarlett's fans are absolutely irate, you know, we can't even beat Connell and all this kind of stuff, this is the worst team ever, all that kind of rubbish. But there are signs there. In the second half, I can't comment on the first half because I didn't see it and I haven't had a chance to go back and watch that first half. But whatever mistakes we made in the first half, I didn't see them in the second half. There were little errors, there were bits there that we probably should have put that game away. We shouldn't have left that game in the referee's hands. And as much as people don't want to talk about referees, then don't make stupid decisions. Like, if it comes off your hand and it goes onto the floor, it's a knock-on. And I don't care if he scores a try after and you want him to score a try. If it comes off his hand and he knocks the ball on, it's a knock-on. It's frustrating. I can see where we're trying to go. I think there's a lot of development in that side. If you look at where we were in the first games in South Africa, if you look at the type of game that we're playing now, there has been an improvement. And yeah, defensively, there was an improvement in that game, which is what I said I was looking for. I'm not as upset about it. I'm not as pissed off as some of the other Scarlet supporters. I think it's not developing as quickly as I think everybody wants it to, but it is getting there. And there are small examples of what can be done. And Wyn Jones had a good game, which I haven't been able to say that all season. So, something must have changed for Wyn Jones if we turn from someone that spends his life in reverse gear, and then going forward. Something's changed and it is working. It's just taking time, and it's having patience and supporting the boys to say, okay, it's going to take time. Because James isn't here, we can have a decent conversation about Scarlet's game. So, what did you boys think about the Scarlet's game? To be honest, I think it actually went backwards in both defence and attack. But, I do get what you mean by saying identity, because I think they're nowhere near as clinical as they've been in other games. But there's a bit more of a consistency in how they're approaching, which is positive because I suppose if you've got the systems and structure in place, then you're hoping that that last pass is going to come a bit more. And I thought defence, they were leaving a lot of soft holes. But again, if it's a new system, it's going to bed in. I agree, Ben Jones had a pretty decent game. One thing I need... I think me and Hugh basically were as close to shouting towards each other as it possibly can. It's really like, right, you're behind now, Dan Jones has a fantastic control intent, let's bring on Charlie Tickham, let's bring on Archie Hughes, let's inject pace, you know, just do something different. Didn't happen until like eight minutes ago, and he was like, what's the fucking point in giving him eight minutes off the bench when the game's lost? Do you want him to develop and become a top ten? Give him something with some pressure. If all he's doing is coming on in a lost cause, he's not going to learn anything, really. But up until that point, up until that knock-on, you know, before that knock-on, it was we were seven points behind or whatever it was. Up until that point, yeah, I can see why he kept the shape, I can see why we kept that side on. You had about 30 minutes after then. Yeah, but I can see why we were playing well, we should have been better in the execution, but that comes from sticking with those key players. Charlie Tickham will get his time. Charlie Tickham, he will get his time, and it's about being patient. You know, Costner will spend three seasons coming off the bench with 20 minutes to go. Yeah, and that's how we develop. Yeah, I know, but it's Tickham's first season, we just need to have a bit of patience with what's happening, and it will come. And Tickham will be, Tickham will force Johan Lloyd to fall back. You can mark that. I didn't watch, yeah, I was just about to say, so I didn't see the full game, I've seen extended highlights on YouTube. I still think the Scots got big problems in defence. They missed 32 tackles against Conor, that's far too high. From what I saw as well, the line-out still isn't functioning as it should be. That was at a 67 success rate. That's just not good enough, so I still think there's a lot of work to be done for the Scarlets. There were some soft tries, but it's a tough place to go, isn't it? That's the thing, it was always going to be tough for the Scots, but I still think they really need to show up in defence, and it's going to take time. I know Gerald Payne's back on defence, but they still look a little bit soft to me, the Scarlets, so there's still plenty of work to do, I'm afraid. Your thoughts on that try with the knock-on? The Bollas was a terrible decision, absolutely terrible. Unfortunately, it's what we've come to expect in the URC. There was another terrible decision in the Ulster Dragons game, which I'll talk about in a bit. That's disgraceful. I just can't understand how the TMO—we can all see it on our screens, we can all talk about it on Twitter—why can't the TMO make that very simple decision? It was a clear knock-on. It was clear. That shouldn't have stood. Would it have made any difference to the result? Absolutely not. But that's neither here nor there. That try shouldn't have stood. It was a very poor decision. OK, let's move on to Cardiff, then. Go on, Harley, give us your stat now, then. If you ignore the first 10 minutes, we won the game. As you know, I think we still would have lost by one, to be honest, but that's by the by. As I said, it was a 10-minute thing. We let in two incredibly soft tries, just unforgivably soft. I was really worried. I predicted. I was only about a point off my prediction last week, with a 13-point loss. I thought it was going to be a lot more. I thought it was going to be more like a 31-point loss by that. And then, yeah, we seemed to flick a switch. It's annoying we didn't do that right at the start. A lot of talk's been said about Tunis De Beere, and he missed seven points off the tee. That gets us another losing bonus point, which is quite vital at the end of the league. To be honest, I think we're going to be bottom of the pack, and then you've got the very bottom at the end. But it is starting to become a problem. I think his playing game is unbelievable, but his kicking at goal is costing us. And I think we need to try something like Ben Thomas. Just have someone else kicking goals. Just let him say, you focus on what's going on between when the ball's in play. Someone else kick goals. Take it off. It's worked for a lot of players before. When Gerard was our main guy at 10, we had Adam Skipper bounce and hit goal goals. And it worked. Other than that, we're all right in defence. I said the first two tries were soft, but the last three were lengths you really have to work hard for. Mostly, this game did come up with the most peak Mike Paddington thing you'll ever see, though. So we had lengths of score to try. Everyone was like, it's clearly held up. So anyway, so conversions missed and they go back and then the TMO call in. On the contact, the whole way through, Mike Paddington said, he goes, no, Mike, it's clearly held up. So anyway, so the TMO shows up and says, well, I think he was offside and then decides Thomas was offside. And I think the only way this could be more peak Mike Paddington is instead of giving the original try and then cancelling it, he'd have a penalty throw, but he said it was just a penalty. To which eventually, about three minutes later, lengths of score were off. But it was just like, how could you see a ball down in that? You can see, when they show the replay, Thomas Jones underneath it and a ball's on his chest. Richard Harry played very well. Just go back to that for a second, because that's all three of us now, because Jamie's foot wasn't as well. But surely by now, with the size of the URC, the importance of the URC now, it's not a small league. It's not Magnus 12. We've been doing this a while by now. We should know what we're doing with referees and all that kind of stuff. I don't necessarily blame the referee all the time, because the referee can only see what the referee can see. The TMO's got 12 video angles, run at slow motion and zooming in and all of this kind of stuff. Surely TMO's should be better than this by now. Yeah. Okay, we're all agreed on that then. Okay. Richard Harry proves he's a fantastic battering ram from about 5 to 20 metres out. Is that enough for Wales? I'm not so sure. Because he was cut open quite a few times in defence. Leinster was clearly a very good man. He stands in the defensive line. You know, he's very slow to cover. I think he stands a little bit too wide and they were getting him on the inside basically every time they had a run. Fantastic. Ben Thomas, I thought, really good. Played most of that game at 15, because Beeton went off with a HIA, which yet another Cardiff player off with a HIA and it's never looked at. Not me remembering about the rest. It's just something I've noticed this season. Former Dragons player and, well, Dragons and Bath playing Max Clark. I thought he had a fantastic game actually. His first start to Cardiff. Martial very well. I mean, I thought the pack was reasonable. Line out functioned fairly well for the most part. I think it killed us when Leinster started bringing on their subs. You know, we may have gone for 6-2, you know, to try and combat the physicality but it just didn't match up. Losing Tamale early on didn't help. I mean, it's no secret we've got two ball carriers in the Cardiff pack. We've carried into Tamale. Tamale was off in 50 after like 10-15 minutes and Carragher was off after 50. After that we had Zebra go forward. You can't win a game if you're going backwards. As we have found numerous times in numerous teams so far this season, I don't understand why we can't develop big ball runners. You know, why the whole point of the game is to catch hold of the ball and to run with it. You know, and I don't understand why we suffer at the Scarlets. We just don't have a big, hefty ball runner like Jake Ball. You know, he was the last big hefty ball runner and Carl Maffone, obviously. But why can't we just develop big hefty ball runners? It's not difficult. The problem that we can is that the issue is getting them who can play consistently but can do all the other aspects of the game. Like, Leon Brown's a fantastic ball carrying prof, but he's incredibly fragile and his scrimmaging is a detriment and it can be an active disadvantage. Carragher, his scrimmaging is a lot better. People still perceive it as a weakness and therefore refs sometimes do look at it as a weakness. So if it's a 50-50, you know, the arm goes the other way. But then, as I said, he's got that weakness in defence. There's issues around his fitness. Although, I mean, he's quite regularly doing longer things. I don't know if that's because at regional level he's not being asked to do as much as he would be in the international game. But the other issue as well is when we do have someone who's a great ball carrier, they end up being the person they don't pass to and they have to clear out rucks. And then you find out, actually, they're not very good. Like, Paine Basham, a great ball carrier, absolutely stinking when it came to getting over an attacking ruck ball. The amount of times he was penalised for Wales for going off his feet. You know, and it's like, give Basham the ball, get Thomas Francis to clean, because he was one of the best breakdown cleaners we had in the squad. And they were giving him the ball so he'd make one meter and Basham would have overrun it. So he's expecting someone like him carrying. And it's... I mean, there are ways round it with tickle passes and stuff, but... I don't know, I just think not only do we not produce them, the rare times we do produce them, we don't know what to do with them, so we cock it up. All I saw on Saturday night on Twitter, or X now, was everyone going on about Rhys Carey, saying he should be in the Wales team. Look, I like Rhys Carey, but I'm just like, no, that's not the sort of bullet to Wales supporters. Would you put him ahead of Gareth Thomas? No, I wouldn't. And let's not forget, the problem with Rhys Carey, we know he's a good ball carrier, but he's been rejected now by two national coaches. And the slog is to do a conditioning. He's just not meeting the requirements that's needed from an international player. So, I just found it a little bit strange, you know, everyone sort of clamouring and jumping on the Rhys Carey-Howe trade. I just thought, no, come on. With all the players. I mean, Morgan Morris was having it again, because again, he's a good ball carrier. But also, he's not exactly, he doesn't fit in the mould of a number eight pick. He wasn't in the mould of a number eight pick at once. He wants that option as soon as he's athletic, good footwork, is comfortable in the watch house, you know, a distribution game that rivals the centre, which is what you get with Wainwright and Falafel. You know, Nicky Smith, I swear he must have pissed them on their cars or something, because I can't work out why on earth he isn't, because he's the one, you know, I'd have him in over... He's the best scrummager. He is clearly the best scrummager in upsetting Wales, but for some reason, that just doesn't make him, we know that. I don't know, again, because obviously we had the conversation last week about how Humph wants to scrummage, and Nicky Smith doesn't follow that. Nicky Smith is a, I'm going to do whatever it takes to get dominance of this scrum, whereas Humph seems to be wanting the coach of the team to play legal, which I still think is naive and stupid, frankly. You won't even get that at Minion Juniors when you first start pushing in scrums. You know, the coaches will be teaching their props how to get away with an angle or to force everyone's bind, peck on the cheek here and whatnot. It's... Yeah, I mean, I don't get it with Nicky Smith. I get the Tom Botha not being called up a lot more than I don't get Nicky Smith. We'll talk about the Wales team in a moment, so let's talk Dragons then, James, because it was replayed on S4C last night, so yeah, I didn't watch that either, because Mattel is still, well, Mattel is not, but the cable is still fucked. Yeah. Thoughts? So, when you look at the scoreline, 49 to 26, and you haven't seen the game, just think, well, it's enough of a flashing for the Dragons. Now, whilst it was a heavy defeat, there's actually a lot of nuance and context to this. So, we have to remember the Dragons got 20 players unavailable through injury and Wales call-ups, so we had to take a young team to Ulster, so you had guys like Joe Westwood, who's a centre, making his first start on the wing, and then you got young kids like Ewan Ross at full-back, Brodie Coghlan, Luke Yendell, Barney Langton-Crier, Harry Ackerman, so we took a fairly young team out there, and then you compare that to Ulster's team, who had their Irish internationals returning, so they had Tom Stewart, Tom O'Toole, Nick Timoney and Jacob Stockdale. Also, they had the likes of Mike Lowry, Stephen Kitsoff, John Cooney and Billy Burns returning from. So, this is a very strong Ulster team, and it was always going to be a tough night for the Dragons. And when Ulster got a bonus point try on 33 minutes, they're thinking, oh, here we go again, it's going to be a 60-70 pointer. And by the way, that bonus point try, Mike Lowry's second try in the night, that should not have stood, because we want to talk about poor URC decisions. That pass from Drew Possibly was clearly forward. It went to the TMO for review, you could see it was clearly forward, and even the commentators, the pro-Ulster commentators, unviably said, that looks forward. The Italian TMO gave us the try. So, yeah, I'm sorry, but decisions like that just aren't good enough. It makes no difference to the outcome, but like I said, that's not the point. I can't understand how TMOs are getting these decisions wrong when it's so obvious, when it's so clear. It's a mile forward, but it was given. So, yeah, you're thinking, here we go again, it's going to be a really tough night for the Dragons, another painful night, but to the Dragons, they didn't let their heads roll. They stuck in there, they battled really hard, and they came away with a try bonus point, which is what they deserved. The try reward was very effective. We got a lot of joy from that. We got two tries out of it, and that's quite pleasing to see. The scrum did struggle, as you would expect. The line-up was hit and miss, but the drive and all has become a really good weapon for the Dragons this season, and it was made to good effect on Saturday night. In terms of individual performances, Dan Lidgett was excellent. I have to say, one of his best performances for the Dragons, he put in a really solid shift, very good defensively, worked his guts out for all night. I don't want to say he's returned to the old Lidgett yet, he was throwing back the years, but it was a very good performance. Tame Basham, who was released from the Wales camp, so he started at eight, he was very good. Carried well, tackled hard, he got a couple of key turnovers as well. James Benjamin was our top tackler, he put in a good shift, and the kids did alright, in fairness, like Sir Russell Westwood, as I mentioned earlier. Wales under-20s fullback Hugh Anderson came on for his debut, and he looked quite lively. This was a lot better than Glasgow, and I know the scoreline doesn't reflect that, and when you read the headlines, it's the usual cliché bollocks of Dragons slate, Dragons rash, but it doesn't give the full picture, because Dragons worked hard, unlike in Glasgow. I think that was the difference this week. You could see FG in hard work. We were determined to come away from Belfast with something. It's a very difficult place to go, the King's Palace. A Welsh team hasn't won in Belfast since 2016. It's a very tough place to go, they had a very strong team, so I thought the Dragons did incredibly well, and I was just pleased with how – I know I may sound a bit strange saying they did incredibly well when they got battered, but you could see there was fight, you could see there was spirit there, at least. And defensively, it was better. And again, it might sound strange to say, because we conceded more points than we did against Glasgow, but just to add the context to it. So, up in Glasgow, Dragons had a tackle success rate of just 79%, and they missed 39 tackles. Whilst we shipped 17 tries in Belfast, we had a tackle success rate of 94%, and we only missed 11 tackles, which is the same amount of tackles as Ulster. So, although we conceded more points, it was still better defensively, and the stats backed that up. Also, Spirit fought for Harry Taylor, because, you know, Dragons are really struggling with injuries. So, we had him on loan from Gloucester, the back-rower, because we have a back-row crisis at the moment. So, he was parachuted straight into the team, made his first start for the Dragons, and he went off injured after 19 minutes. And apparently, it is quite a serious injury. So, yeah, I just think that sums up the injury luck at the Dragons at the moment. Look, you've still got too many severe penalties, too many unforced errors, which don't help our cause. You know, some soft tries, and Ashton Hewitt was on cold coms on Friday. What I have to say, he was actually really good on cold coms. The amount of times he kept saying, we are our own worst enemies. I mean, he must have said it about four or five times. But he's right. You can say that pretty much about every Dragons game. We're still making those unforced errors, those bad decisions under pressure, you know, really sloppy errors. But, like I said, this was an improvement on Glasgow. The scoreline doesn't reflect that. If you hadn't seen the game, you'd be thinking, yeah, same old Dragons. But actually, this was an improvement. And again, a bonus point, scoring four tries and coming away with a try bonus point at Ulster, I don't think it's to be sniffed at. So, yes, some positives. That's the difference between this game and Glasgow. After the Glasgow game, I didn't have any positives whatsoever. I don't think you could take any positives from it. But with this game, you can actually take some positives. Something to build on, at least. Beaten, but much better from the Dragons, so to speak. I think that's the way all four sides need to look at it, now that there were positives to be found in every game, even if it's small things that, okay, that went well, that went well. With the Scarlets, there was a fight from a scrum, and they were trying to do something that possibly may not have been legal. And when Johns went, fuck off, son. There was three or four minutes there where the referee lost control of the game. And it's bits like that that you go, actually, yeah, there's a bit of attitude there. There's a bit of grunt that we haven't seen before. It's very easy to sit there and slag off teams because we're not beating somebody by 50-odd points and all of that kind of stuff. But, actually, none of those players that went on to the pitch over the weekend are going there to have a shit game. None of them are there just to take the money. If they were there to take the money, they'd be in England. No, I agree, but like I said, you have to look at the line-ups, mate. You look at our Dragons team. It was very young. It was an experience. You look at our Ulster team. They had all their Irish internationals back. Stephen Kitstoff, John Cooney. Yes, I know they're in a little bit of disarray at the moment, but we talked about that on the Dragons Live podcast with Ian Frisell. There is a bit of chaos at Ulster, but they're still Ulster, and they're always a tough team to beat in a game span. And, honestly, I thought it was going to be far worse than it was. I think for the Dragons to go there, score four tries and actually come away with something, I think that deserves a little more credit as well. Also, disappointing, Wales Online didn't even do a match report for this game. So they did a match report for the other three regions, didn't do one for the Dragons. Thank goodness for the South Wales Argyll, as I say, and Chris Turman, who's an excellent sports writer, did a very good column. It was always fair and balanced. It's a heavy defeat, but they were positives, which, you know, when you look at the scoreline, you probably wouldn't see that. But if you watch the game, they were positive for the Dragons. They definitely were improvements compared to the shambles up in Glasgow. Cool. So, talking of looking for improvements and desperately clinging to something that we can class as a positive, Wales versus France this weekend. I mean, France haven't been playing well so far this year. France have had a nasty scare against Italy, and I think we're going to catch the back end of that. So, what are you expecting from this weekend, Ali? Can I just say, they were supposed to have had a reaction after the Ireland game, because they got humiliated at home, and then they lucked their way through and slot the game. They then lucked a draw in the Italy game. I don't think there is a bounce-back. I think they genuinely have got something Something has really gone rotten to the core of that France team after losing that quarter-final. Coaches going around losing Untermatt and Depont. If you lose one and have the other, that seems to be able to help coast them through. And if you look back to all the Wales-France games since the 2019 World Cup quarter-final, it's usually been a moment of magic from either Untermatt or Depont that's taken them through and on to the win. I saw far more in Wales' game against Ireland than I saw from France in any of their games. I genuinely think this is a game we should actually have a good chance of winning. I don't think, especially now they've lost Shannibare, so they're probably going to give Tommy Ramos a 10, who's played a lot of 10 at club this season, but he's still prone to doing something stupid. They've lost Daunty, who is a fulcrum of any of their go-forward in the back. Mo Farah is a fantastic 12, but he's not Jonathan Daunty on either side of the ball. That's going to make things a lot easier for our midfield. I think we've actually got a decent shot. So, where are they weak then? Because I'd still look through that side, and you've got man for man, even if they're down to their third or fourth choice in some positions, we're on a level. So, I don't necessarily see where... I get what you're saying about where they're weak when they're not as all singing, all dancing as they were in the World Cup, but I still don't think that we're in a great position to carve them open with a chainsaw. Do you know what I mean? So, first of all, things that we can tell you. Their defence is, despite being a Sean Edwards defence, it seems like the message just isn't getting through. He's not able to convey it because the bionism is there, as has been with other teams. So, you know, the Blitz is a little bit softer, which means we're probably going to have a few more weaker shoulders than normally. Their wingers tend to be a little bit... both, you know, their wingers don't... Dale Berry's quite good, but he's also quite small, and he's probably going to be on a... I will get on selection now, but I was going to use prime vowels for what Mason Grady might just charge at him. Damien Perrault is showing, for all his fantastic, you know, bullshit magicness, he is an incredibly lazy defender. He's very... he's actually not, like, right under the high ball either. We don't know what fallback is going to end up coming out of him. So, I think, you know, we've got something to target there. We'll kick the pitch complete and maybe, you know, go for the dink of the top. Lukaku's trying to do the Zapont defensive tactic of shooting up, so we haven't got the sweeper, so the chip kicks are a lot more... a lot more easy to get to, along with inside balls. And, actually, I think the rough defence has been pretty soft as well, so I think we've got some fringe options. So, actually, the Gatland style pick-and-go, quick pick-and-goes to send teams backwards, I think we've got to go... We're probably not going to get dominance at scrum time, but I think we've probably got a pack who can just about hold their own until Antonio and Bay buy tyre, and then I think the reserves aren't... aren't that great, and I think our reserves are probably on a par. So that's our weakness, and their line-up's been a bit chunky as well, whereas ours has actually been... Whilst Adam Beard is on the pitch, our line-up is actually working really well, and again, it seems to be a thing with Wales teams at the moment. The driving wall's working really well for us, on pretty much all the sides. So I think we've got points there that we can attack, and I think we can build on that attack to get a lot more fluid as well, so I think... I'm not saying we're definitely going to win. I'm saying it's not as hopeless as we thought at the start of the tournament. I agree. I feel positive about this weekend. I genuinely do think, maybe that is sparse optimism, I don't know, but I think this France team are there to be beat. I really do. They've been poor this Six Nations. Italy should have been there. As Harley said, they have failties in this team, and defensively, we don't associate a short head with defence for being frail, but they have looked quite frail in defence, and I definitely think they're there to take it. The only problem is, as Harley mentioned, can we have parity up front? We know how big and dominant that French pack is, but also, we're struggling to get over the game line, and that's been a constant theme for Wales throughout this tournament. We're really struggling with ball carriers and getting over that game line. Also, our accuracy in the red zone has been lacking, so any opportunities we do get, we are going to have to be clinical. I think this is a winnable game for Wales. I really do, and they haven't got a shiny bit. He hasn't been great this tournament anyway, and as you already mentioned, Jonathan Daunty has a big loss. They're there to take it. I genuinely believe that. So, what changes, if any, do you make to the Welsh? Do you make changes in personnel, or do you make changes in tactics to beat France this weekend, or both? So, Jamie, go on. You go first on this one. Well, we touched on it on the last part, didn't we? So, I would be thinking about bringing Mackenzie Martin now into that back row for Alex Mann, because as good as Alex Mann has been, he is looking quite lightweight at this level. So, just to add a bit of grunt, I'd ask Mackenzie Martin. Also, did you notice that he was put up for presser this weekend? So, I just wonder. I mean, it doesn't necessarily mean he's going to start, but I do wonder if he's going to have a big involvement in this game. As much as I like Adam Beard, and I know he's a big talking point on this pod and on Welsh rugby Twitter, I would drop him for Will Rowlands, because I just think we need that extra bit of grunt. Because against France, they're a big pack. We need that grunt. We need that ball-carrying option. So, those are the only options that I'd consider making, to be honest. I just think we need to beef up the forwards a little bit, and I would do that by bringing Mackenzie Martin and Will Rowlands into that pack. But in terms of tactics, we've just got to be positive. We're not going to out-muscle them. So, let's chuck the ball out. Let's try and move that big pack around the field, but also, let's be accurate and let's kick well, because our kick and chase has not been good in this tournament. So, we've got a very good kick in game, and whoever's at 10, who I expect to be Costolo, he's got to show some game management and a little bit of control at this level now. I think France are there to be beat. I really do. The issue with that is—and you've seen this in a couple of games— is, in order to create the space for Costolo to look to it, he's sitting so far back in the pocket that you're losing 10 metres if you kick him. If he's playing up flat, then he's getting the ball going backwards, so you're not running on to the ball. That's always the issue with a 10. This is where Dan Biggar was good. Dan Biggar couldn't pretty much do anything to start with, other than hoof the thing really quickly, because he had no space to deal with. He was constantly going backwards. The pack was going backwards. He could put it up the pitch, and Costolo was not that kind of player. It's a difficult one, because we said we're bringing in Will Rowland. He's the ideal person to give you go forward, but he's only one out of eight. He goes forward and gets stuck at the bottom of a ruck. Who's that next player that's coming in? That's where we need— I agree with you bringing in Mackenzie Martin. I think he's just got a bit more bulk than Alex Mann. Alex Mann was my player of the tournament, before the tournament started. I genuinely think he is— him and Mackenzie Martin are the future of the back row. I just think he's got that bit of bulk that we're going to need against France. I think they'll just slow the game down massively. Every time we've got the ball, we'll be working off four, five, six-second rucks, and we won't be able to do anything. I think we've got to try and keep everything as quick as possible. If you'd like to, what I'm saying is I don't think we have the ball carriers there to do it at the minute. Weirdly, I'm going to disagree with you, because I'm picking one card—I mean, it's weird because I've got to pick between one cardless player and another cardless player, but I'd keep Mann in. I think the way he's sizing down big ball carriers and, actually, he's not been given the opportunities to carry. I think, actually, maybe what you might want to do is— He's had two tries, yeah. When he's been given the ball, he's scored. I don't think Mackenzie Martin actually managed to impose himself on the game in Ireland as much as people wanted. That happens when you want to. I think probably, actually, just give him another go off the bench. For me, pat-wise, I'd be tempted—the problem is, I don't want to take Gareth Thomas off. I'd say Dunlop Chasey is a more abrasive carrier, but Gareth Thomas gives you more solidity, and his tackling is fantastic, and actually slows the sizing down of the game. For me, I'm going to bring in Bulk, but I'm going to bring it on the wing, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm going to drop out Josh Adams, because I was hoping that he was just a bit injured. Bloody hell! Are you OK, Harley? Are you OK? This is the thing, I've had to— Blimey, I never thought he'd say this! He's just not—he's lost his mojo, so I'd be bringing Mason Grady in on the wing. I said that. Actually, I'd be tempted— I'd be tempted to make this into 6-2, and I'd just have Hardy and Yoram Lloyd on the bench, as our backs, because Yoram Lloyd would basically cover everything, and then you can always move Grady in. And then I would have Will Rollins and Teddy Williams coming off the bench, and I'd have a full second-row replacement, just to add—if you wanted to have him as a 6, and then Mackenzie Martin on the bench. So you've got the versatility there, you can use Teddy Williams as a 6 or a second-row. The only way I'd change that round is maybe— I know it's controversial because he's a captain, but I'd be starting Will Rollins and Beard, because the thing is, our line-out goes to shit when Beard goes off. Part of that is because him and Dee seem to go off at the same time. But I think we need an attacking platform, and for us it's our line-out. I don't think we ever get the dominance or even the parity at scrum time to make a decent scrum ball there. But we've got more of a chance of off-line-outs, and actually, when we have had the line-out on our ball, it's gone better. So I'd be tempted to go that way. We'd be captain then, though. We'd be well-captain if David Chang was playing. I'd give it to Beard or Rollins. They've both been captain before, anyway. I don't think—Rollins hasn't been captain of Wales, but he's captain of the Dragons, and he's been a leadership role. And actually, when it was Peake, Beard and Rollins, Rollins ran the defensive line-out, and Adams and Adam Beard all ran the attacking line-out. It might work really well. So I think the issue is that scrum against Ireland, that first-half scrum against Ireland, found reverse gear really, really quickly. So would you know if you've been pushed that way? Come on, Porter was not driving straight on the mark. We said that right at the start, and it wasn't picked up, and all of that kind of bollocks. And there's nothing to say that that's going to be any different in France, because the pucks are going to be heavier. It's at home, not in France. Kieran, how do you count yourself against Cyril Baye in the Heineken Cup? I think it's the scrum that's going to be the issue. Because France is not like kicking the ball out, either. We've got a policy of not kicking the ball out. They've got a policy of not kicking the ball out. So it's going to be ping-pong, ping-pong, ping-pong. The chances of relying on line-outs are going to be less than a standard game. Well, then maybe we have to change the tactic, and they go all out on the defensive attack on the line-out. For me, I think you have David Jenkins. He's a bit of a wrecker in a ruck. If he knows he's on for 60-65, then he's a bit of a wrecker in a ruck. If he knows he's on for 60-65, then he's a bit of a wrecker in a ruck. If he knows he's on for 60-65, then you've got Beard coming on after that, or Rolands. I reckon Rolands would be on for the full game with Beard to come on. I think that just gives us a bit more of an edge. Gatland has subbed Walberton in the past. If he thinks it's the right call, then he will make the right call. I would do the same on the wing. The difference is I would take real Dier. I said this last week, Jim. I think Dier is a superb player, but we've got to play the players that are going to be right for that game. I will disagree with you. That's not me being biased. I don't think it's right to drop Dier. He's our best kick chaser. If you look at it, we've said that that kick game isn't working well. The kick game isn't going to work well if the forwards are going backwards. We need to establish parity up front first before you even start looking at that kick. You're losing 10 to 15 metres every game on that kick. You then have two big bulky wins. Hang on! Let me finish a f****** sentence, Matt. Are you going to f****** put George Northam in and have Tom Timmons and Tom? Make the wings really heavy and the lightest possible midfield we can pick in Wales. But he hasn't got the gas. George Northam hasn't got the gas anymore. He doesn't need to. So you then have George Northam, Mason Grady running off Costolo or running off Mann. When George North was running at forwards, he was getting more metres out of running at forwards than he was running at backs. When he gets caught in that tight rock and he happens to just pick a ball up and go head down because there's a big f****** there and he just gets going, he's actually really, really effective in attack. Having him and Mason Grady off 9 and off 10 constantly is really going to f****** up that French back row. I think the option of playing Joe Roberts at 13—Joe Roberts at 13 is the informed 13 at the minute—the issue is, who do you play at 12? You're right, if you put Joe Roberts and Tom Timmons at 12 and 13, it's a really small centre partnership. I think the issue is, we don't have a 12 that can take over from Tom Timmons and we haven't got a 6'4 inside centre who's actually playing regular rugby at the minute. I think you have to look at who we've got available and as I said, against Italy I'd have Dier back in because I don't think you need to play that kind of game against Italy. But against France, you need big heavy runners. The options aren't in the centres. If you're going to play George Norris at 13 you still need to find a way of bringing him outside 10 and that just doesn't really work. It works when you bring your wingers out and then into the 10 channel. That's how you get go forward. You don't get go forward. We aren't getting anything out of kicks. Look at where we've been doing it so far. Our forwards are going backwards and not giving us a platform so we're having to take an extra 10-15 metres to give ourselves a space to kick. So straight away, Rio Dier is 10 metres behind where he could have been if we had a forward pack going forward. So in order to create something going forward you have to bring players like Grady and North and do something different because France aren't going to lie down and go, okay, we've been playing shit so far and Wales aren't playing particularly well so we'll give them a fair run. They're going to come at us and they're going to be pissed off. So we have to put big boys down that 9 and 10 channel or 10-12 channel and I don't see any other option other than Mason Grady and George Norris. That would be how I would use it. Because otherwise we're just going to be... That's not going to happen, though, is it? Let's be honest, that's not going to happen. Well, at the minute... It's not going to happen. No, and that's the problem, is we're already back into this, we have to do what Gatland always does. Do you know what? 10 years ago, that worked okay but everybody else has worked that out and we haven't worked out... Everyone has a big fuck-off Yeah, and we don't. And we're sitting there and going, well, you know, we can still play that same kind of game and it doesn't. And when we're trying to do different things, people are working us out really, really quickly. And if we don't start bringing difference to our game, nobody wins World Cups by playing the same game week on week. You have to be able to change what you're doing and adapt it to what's in front of you. And we're not doing that at the minute. We're going, this is the game that we're going to play and we're going to play that game and we're going to keep playing that game and keep it and keep playing and keep playing and keep playing and one day it's going to come good. That's not the way international rugby works now. You have to be able to play what's in front of you, you have to be able to look at that defensive structure and go, right, where are they weak and I'm going to run there. And if you haven't got big, fast boys on the pitch, then you have to find a different way around it that involves quick line-outs, quick rucks, quick cheeky little passes, funny kicks and all that kind of stuff. And we're not in that ballpark either. So, for me, two hefty runners on the wing, and like I said, I think it's harsh on Rio Dier because I don't think he's put a foot wrong, I genuinely don't, and I like him as a player on the pitch. I just think having a big, hefty boy in his place against France will actually deliver us a bit more go forward. It wouldn't necessarily be done as a winger, but it'll be done off 9-10 or in the 10-12 championship. Unsurprisingly, I disagree with you. We keep north at 13, and you just have to hope that Alex King has drilled it into them, that you're getting north standing in at 12-12, because at least that's going to pull defenders, and Costello and Thomas are both capable of making a pass that will miss 12-13. And just by holding those defenders, it's going to give Tompkins some room. The problem is, when the ball goes from Thomas to Costello to Tompkins to north, north makes metres. The problem is, a lot of teams have worked it out to swarm over Tompkins, knowing he's prodding at the ball. We haven't passed the ball across the back line at all this season. We haven't moved that ball from 9-9 out to 13, let alone 14. That ball has not come across that line once so far this year. Let's explain how Tompkins has almost as many passes as Costello and Ewan Lloyd. It's getting there. The problem is that it's getting caught too quickly. I know we quite often have Tompkins standing in at 10, and then Costello's a bit further wide. That's the problem, is we're getting caught. We haven't got anyone who's holding that defence, and that's an attacking shape there. As for kicking, you're right. Going 10, 15 metres back to Costello is wrong. That means then, do we need to start box-kicking more? Does that mean then, I'm talking about my own decision, do we then drop Thomas for Kieran Hardy, who is the best box-kicking man in that squad? Even if he has been playing crap for Scarlett most of the season. It's not been playing. It's not been playing. He's not been playing. You're not losing those 10 metres. I say he's not been playing, and that's... He's had a handful of games, and we've said this season after season, Hardy doesn't play well for the Scarletts, but he does seem to... I think he's got more tries for Wales than he has for the Scarletts. So, speaking of Scrum Halfs, speaking of Scrum Halfs, do you think we'll see Gareth Davies again this tournament? Probably not, to be honest. Do you think there's a chance he'll be involved against France, maybe? I think so. The only thing I can think of is that proper Sheeter again. Just trying to spook Lukaku. But I think this is... With a 9-10, you haven't played that often together. But this is where we need to change the way that some of the way we think about the game, where we go, right, okay, for this game, that's the best option. He's the best 9 in Wales right now, but for this game, he's the guy that we need, and they're doing what he does best. I'd say Gareth Davies would be more likely against Italy than he would against France, in all honesty. Just because of this. Scotland just doesn't seem as aware of Scrum Halfs. He has said that he sees George North's future at 13, so I don't think he's ever going to make that decision, unless we were really suffering an injury crisis and putting George North on the wing, and he just hasn't got a gasp. But also, don't forget, George North, he has good games against France. There's been a few moments in the past six days, he's had some really good performances in Cardiff and in Paris, so I'm expecting George North to have a good game. And I hope he does, I wanted to play with him, just to piss you off. I would love it if you won't play with him, just for you to say something nice about him. You would have to say something nice about him. I don't know how many times you want me to say George North is good in attack. Because every time I talk about George North, I talk about him in attack playing really well, and this is what I mean. He was good defensively against Ireland, isn't he? He was good defensively. He was. I'll go back and I'll do the, I'll show you the stuff, Jay, where he gets caught behind a rock and he doesn't know where to stand. I haven't mentioned George North in defence. I've just, I've mentioned George North in attack, and how to get the best out of George North in attack. George North at 13 is wasted. Yeah? And yet he hasn't got the gas that he needs to be an international winner. But he's got enough to go forward for 10 metres, yeah? And give us, go forward up front. He is big enough and strong enough to run a big, bulky forward in a way that most other backs aren't, yeah? Mason Grady can do it as well. And we've got to take What? Yeah, exactly. So you've got a certain set of skills within a certain set of players and you have to use them to the best that you can. I'm putting George North at 13, yeah? And I will reiterate this for you, James, yeah? Going forward with a ball in hand, yeah? He's a really strong runner, yeah? That is not my issue with him. My issue is, is putting him in a place where he gets the ball in hand more often where he can cause damage. At 13, he isn't causing damage, yeah? I'm not saying that Joe Roberts would be any better. Joe Roberts would offer a different kind of style of play. Whether that would work against France, I don't know. But what would work against France is having two big heavy wingers coming flying off 9 and 10, fucking up their back row, fucking up their scrum half and outside half and giving them something serious to think about instead of, you know, they can focus on on 12, or running the 12 channel, because that's our only real option, yeah? So, we have to take the players that we've got, with the skills that we've got, and make the use of them and I don't care if George North can't run 100 metres in 10 seconds anymore, yeah? I want him to run the first 15 metres like a beast. And that's what I talk about when you change the people or you change the tactic. If you're going to put him there, let him do what he does best, is my argument. We've done that. Okay, move it on. So, I've got James's prediction for the game. So, James's prediction is France by 8 on that. I told him he's a traitor of scum and he's gone me-wee. So, yeah. So, James has gone France by 8. So, Harley, your prediction? Oh, I was going to point you out. I reckon Wales by 6. Cool. Cool. That backs up everything you said. Yeah. James? I'd go for Wales win as well. I just got a feeling. Like I said, I think France 6 will take it. As long as we've got Palatine up front. He's just so solid. I'm a bit clueless. Yeah, but we've got to be accurate. I think we'll win by, well, I'm going to say Wales by 4. Wales by 4. Okay, cool. I'm going to go France by 1. Wales by 4, yeah. Yeah, France by 1 for me. Oh, well, shut up. You should have said Wales by 1. Oh, dear. It's in Cardiff. The roof will be closed. I'm hoping the roof will be... If they insist on the roof open, it just... Oh, I can't be asked for a roof gate again this year. Yeah, I know. They always laugh it up. It's boring. It's so fucking boring. It gives them two days worth of... We want the roof closed. They said they don't know. But, yeah, I think that kind of dictates the kind of game that you get to play. Yeah, I just think it'll be a close game. I think neither side is really firing particularly well at the minute, and it may come down to one dodgy decision, particularly if you've got an Italian TMO. It'll come down to one dodgy decision here or there that will throw the game. So it could go either way. In my honest opinion, it's one of those ones that, if it goes either way, the other side will just feel the grief that they should have won it. And it's on a Sunday as well. On Mother's Day. They're playing on Sundays. Yeah. It's quite the headlong thing being played on a Sunday for the top 14. Yeah. On Mother's Day, though. Of all the Sundays to pick, Mother's Day. I mean, I'm not watching the game, or I can tell you straight away that I'm not watching it. It'll be 23 disappointed mothers somewhere. There's going to be a lot of mothers going, he said he was just nipping out to get milk, and that was three hours ago. I wonder where he's gone. It will not surprise you to learn I've booked a table for Mother's Day at Tiny Red Bull, so I can have a Sunday lunch and watch the game. We planned this, so that's what I'll be doing on Sunday. It's got to be done, hasn't it? I've got the wife, the mother-in-law, an auntie, my niece, my sister was coming, which she's working, and my mother can't make it. Yeah. I've got other chances than me slipping away to watch a game. Looking weak, unfortunately. I'm in a weird situation, because I've got my first Mother's Day as the dad of a small child, so I'm having to organise presents in the car, who has no idea what's going on. It's just luck. But the first one is good fun. The first Mother's Day is good fun, because she'll just go, oh, give it to me, I'm a mother, and you'll go, fine, I'm all for you, I'm over watching the game, let me know when you're done, and I'll be great, I'll be fine. You'll love it, mate. It's a good one. For the record, there's no Italian TMOs. So we've got Luke Pearce in the middle. Luke Pearce. Andrew Brace. I call it Schneider. I've not actually seen what UAR is. Which union is that? Is that Argentinian rugby? UAR? Yeah. It's Ian Tempest, or Tempo, as you've always heard him called, if you're a TNT sports listener. He's going to be the TMO. So yeah, I don't think we worry too much about Jacqueline, because Luke Pearce is very, very pro-attack, I'm sorry, but he's consistent, you know what you're going to get, so... Pontypool's finest, Luke Pearce, from Pontypool. I was going to say, it's because it's a world reference. It's the same as Andrew Brace, he grew up in Cardiff, and clearly he hated his sign language, because he really hates Cardiff. Yes, I agree. I think it's brilliant. Right, okay. I did mention something, I don't know if you want to put it, it wasn't on news desk, because it's not really Welsh-related, but the whole idea of TNT sports potentially yipping the odds of internationals. I think if it's just the England international, fine, we can fuck off. But we need clarity, don't we? That article, when you read it, it reads as though it's England, mixtures only. Just ask what Sky had a few years ago, isn't it? They had the rights to England or to internationals only. But I just want a little bit more detail. Is it for all the home nations, or is it just England? That's what I'd like to know. I'd be quite happy if the world games were on it, because then it's more stuff condensed into one TV package I'm already paying for. It's like I'm not watching Super Rugby, because I can't afford to buy yet another subscription. People tell me how wonderful Sky Sports is, and you watch this, that, and the other. I literally only watch rugby. That's my sport. That's the only one I watch. I don't give a shit about football. I don't care about golf. There's now a Sky Sports tennis, apparently. Great if you like Wimbledon and shit like that. I don't. I think it works if, and I've said this consistently, you just need everything in one place. Don't care where it is, just get all the rugby. That'd be great. A dedicated rugby channel that showed all the tournaments. You'd have to have several channels, but it comes under one channel. That's the idea. There are two ways it can go. You can have Super Sports, which apparently is great, or you can have Flow Rugby, which David Lawrence from Scrum of the Earth has banned himself from talking about how crap it is on his own show, because he got fed up as they hit week in week out. In the UK, if you had a dedicated rugby channel, where even if all of the URC games, for example, were on a Sunday. Week to week they were on a Sunday. It would take a bit of adjustment, but you'd get to it. Or all games were on a Friday night, or you had two games on a Friday night, two games on a Monday night. Do you know what I mean? If it was consistent, you'd adjust to it, and you'd be able to watch all games from all leagues, and it would be fine. It wouldn't be a big issue. The issue is, like you say, having to have TNT or BT, and then you've got to have Amazon for the Autumn Internationals for the Welsh games, and then BBC, assuming they say BBC or ITV for international games, and then ViaPlay for the URC, which is just a pain in the arse. There's too many broadcasters, and it is confusing, isn't it? I guess with Amazon, the only benefit is it is cheaper than TNT, and it is more accessible. Also, as well, I know this is slightly different, but with the URC TV deal that you mentioned in the group today, it's going to come to an end. We need to be careful what we wish for, because as much as we moan about ViaPlay, at least we get to see every single game live, and if we move to TNT, that might not be the case. We might not see our team play every single game live, so be careful what you wish for as well. With the Premiership, it's because they play so many games. During COVID, BT played everything, but before and after, well, before you had to go on Premier Rugby TV, and then you'd have to, you could stream it for free, usually an hour late, you know, basically a quarter of an hour delay, or you had to wait an hour until after it finished. Then they started charging for it, and we've seen the same thing with the Challenge Cup, where it used to be a free stream, but now you've got to pay. You end up spending, was it £5, £7? I spent £7 watching Seabirth V Dragons, and yeah, was it worth it? Absolutely not. This is where we've got to be careful. It's quite nice, so I do recommend everyone who listens, if you haven't already, download Rugby Pass TV, even if none of the domestic games are necessarily on here, but like all of the Celtic Challenge, the women's game was on there. Any game that doesn't have a TV deal but is being broadcast, so if it's not got a TV deal in the UK, Rugby Pass are trying to buy up all the rights to them, so they basically cover the, and others, so you end up with quite a lot of extra rugby, so I think the HSBC Sims is on there at the moment, because TNT Sport got the one game, they saw Dupont for a bit, and that was it, that was their hype gone. Okay. Maybe we'll talk about that a bit more next week, because I've got a feeling that that one's going to start, as soon as a couple of people get hold of it and go, ooh, this means that the British League is coming, the Anglo-Welsh League is coming, and all of this kind of bollocks, I've got a feeling then that one's going to explode over the next couple of days. So, yeah, I just wanted to finish off tonight with a couple of things. So we said last week about doing a charity auction thing for Christmas, so we put a couple of posts up on social media, and that went down quite well, so yeah, thank you for everyone that replied on that, that's definitely something that we're going to look at now. And then I start looking at the planning of it, go, oh, fucking hell, I should have stayed quiet. So, but yeah, hopefully we can get something up and running for that. So, finishing off tonight then, so we'll be back as normal next week. So, here's what happens when I do a pod. So I'll do this pod, then I'll do the Scarlet's pod, then I'll usually have a bit of tea while those two pods download, and then I'll process them, and as soon as they're ready, if you're really quick and you're really good and you're really up for it, they'll be released on a Monday night. So the Scarlet's pod will be after, usually just before midnight to be fair, but the Rat pod usually gets released at some point on a Monday night. So if you're stuck with us and you're still listening this far, then well done, but most pods are released at some point on a Monday night. So if you want to be really cheeky and you want to get one step ahead of everyone else, that's the way to do it. You can get it on a Monday night, usually on YouTube, or if it's late on YouTube, it's because I've had to do some editing because we fucked up something in the middle. That's usually what, because YouTube just takes forever to render if you do an edit. So yeah, catches on YouTube and all the usual places on Apple, on Spotify, or on our web service and all that kind of stuff, but yes, that will be available. I just wanted to give a quick nudge to everyone that's lasted this far. Go on, Harley, you were going to say something, mate. I just want to say, so the YouTube's currently up to 176 subscribers, so Lee threatens that if we get to 200 subscribers, he will put up a video of him dancing to Beyonce, and I made the promise then on Cardiff Central Pods that if we get to 250, he'll take it back then. We don't have to keep looking at it. So if you can subscribe as quickly as you can, and then I've just made a little bit of advertisement for the Cardiff Central Pods. Let me explain Beyonce first, right, because so the Beyonce thing is my wife has shown me how to do this dance, and you know I do salsa dancing on Tuesday, so is that right? And okay, yeah, we'll do this and we'll record it and all that. So I haven't quite got it yet, but I will get it, and it's one of those TikTok dances and all of that kind of stuff, yeah. So I said it as a joke to the Scarletts boys last year. Yeah, yeah, we're going with that, right, okay. So I'll put it out there. When we get to 200, the goal is to get to 500. When you get to 500, you need to get to 1,000, and then you get advertising money and all that kind of stuff. So I figured if we did something on every 100 subscribers, then it'd be a goal to aim for. So the first one is me dancing to Texas something by Beyonce. I'm figuring if I've got to do it at 200, you boys are going to have to. We're going to have to do a group one for 300, just to kind of, you know, we've got to commit to this one. I will share the link for a project my mate did for his media studies project for Mud Beer, which is around about the time of the World Cup from that year, and it's basically me jogging along a parking gate absolutely smashed by a big lad, which is hilarious, and I will really share that, and maybe an updated one with a couple of the boys from down the club. Because this is a face you want to see smashed in a tackle, let's be honest. I want to see that face in a cowboy hat singing in the St. Texas. Anyway, you were going to advertise your Cardiff pod, what were you going to say? So obviously we've had, you know, various success with Lance Bradley, David Buttress, I've even read my pod before, so there's been a lot of issues about the Cardiff people, so we have got something in line. I'm going to warn you now, it's not Vicky Holland, it's not Alan, you know, they're two-pronged, but we do have someone who sits on the Cardiff rugby board, hopefully coming in the next couple of weeks. So if you want to start getting your questions out, please message the Cardiff Central pod. Yeah, don't message RAP. Don't message us on RAP, because I'll just go... Because I don't read it. Yeah, and we'll just go, fucking hell, Harleen! Please, so yeah, on that it's at Cardiff Central or me on Twitter or Blue Sky or on the Cardiff Central Facebook page. And yeah, so just let us know. But please remember, it's at Cardiff Central, not Cardiff Central pod. That's the old account that doesn't work anymore, because we lost the password. We forgot the passwords. And the password to the email address. Yeah. We've got nowhere. Somebody's looking at an account, going, why do I keep getting all these Twitter things asking me to log in? Anyway, gents, we're all done for tonight. We'll be back again next week, where we will be discussing the Wales-France game. I am back into... No, no, are we doing two weeks? We've got Italy... Two weeks. Yeah, so a review of France, a discussion of Italy. Might get my friend Francois back. And we'll see where we go from there. So, all the best, gents. Have a good weekend. Enjoy your rugby. I'll talk to you then. Toodle-peps. Bye-bye. Take care. Bye. Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music
