Posted by Rewind a month and I was very buoyant about rugby; Cardiff had just completed a successful opening block with victory over Ulster, the Rags top of Super Rygbi Cymru, there were a slate of intriguing Autumn tests and Cymru had selected an exciting squad for the three upcoming internationals.
Slowly that enthusiasm has been drained over the course of November. Too long without the Blue & Blacks, some disappointments across the headline fixtures of the Autumn Nations Series, and overarching all of that has been the hard slog that is seeing Warren Gatland’s side toil against Fiji, Australia and South Africa in successive weeks.
The culmination of that against the Springboks on Saturday was somewhat predictable. An odd fixture to schedule in the first place, bringing the world champions to Cardiff to face a young and evolving Welsh side was a recipe for disaster, and after the performances across the opening two weeks it was a foregone conclusion that a comfortable away win would follow.
As noted in last week’s View, this isn’t due to any lack of want or desire from the players. Their never ending engines, particularly defensively where the scramble continued right to the dying minutes, were admirable when the easy option would have been to pack it in. There is no question that the test match mentality is present among this group.
Ultimately though they are never coached or prepared adequately to take on the opposition they are facing. Alex Bywater in the D*ily M*il last week wrote of a player in the squad being concerned about the lack of detail given to the squad by the management, and that is somewhat evident in the product we see on the Principality Stadium pitch.
From the faltering lineout, to the disorganised kick chase, unimaginative starter plays and the lack of any point of difference in attack other than trying and failing to win the gain line through one-up carriers, it’s formulaic and outdated rugby from the mind of a coaching ticket that has seen the game pass them by.
Cymru were never going to match the Springboks in the physical battle, but rather than accept that and look to fire shots via alternative methods of tip-offs, aggressive attacking kicks, multiple options off 9 or kicking long to create counter attacking opportunities, we simply took two-to-three phases bashing the ball into a brick wall before kicking to compete against a superb aerial defence.
Only twice did we seemingly go off-script; once when Dewi Lake attempted a chip and chase in a moment of apparent frustration with the game plan getting nowhere, and when Ellis Bevan acted after a blown starter play in midfield to throw a 25-metre pass to Rio Dyer for the winger to burn Jordan Hendrikse and score a wonderful try.
With a 50% hit rate, perhaps the players should be encouraged to back their skillsets and play what is in front of them more often. Better than the 0% hit rate of the alternative idea.
To try and bring the Autumn to a close in a somewhat positive fashion though, there are some encouraging signs in the form of certain individuals that will give Cymru supporters cause for optimism whether the coaching situation alters or not ahead of the Six Nations.
In Dewi Lake and Jac Morgan we have two genuine top level talents. The hooker is only 25 with the flanker a year younger at 24, and both are well on the way to achieving world class status, as well as eyeing a spot on the plane to Australia with the British & Irish Lions. Brave, physical, skilful and intelligent, they are both born leaders and are two players to build a team around.
Despite withdrawing through illness on the weekend, prop Gareth Thomas also emerges from the Autumn with plenty of credit having been the incumbent in the number one jersey. Jamie Roberts suggested during the test window that the Ospreys man could be a Lions bolter, and while competition for the loosehead spots is strong, he’s not wrong that the 31-year-old would not look out of place.
The breakout star of the series was undoubtedly James Botham. An odd thing to say of someone with 16 caps who made their test debut a full four years ago, but in a similar fashion to his predecessor in the surprisingly-powerful-and-always-consistent-versatile-back-rower stakes, Josh Navidi, the Cardiff man earned plenty of plaudits for his all-court game.
And for the slightly more mid-term future there is Archie Griffin and Christ Tshiunza. Tighthead Griffin had a torrid time against the Springboks, but if Cymru are to drop every prop who struggles against South Africa then we would not have a side. The Bath man was dominant against Australia’s Angus Bell the week prior though and at 23 has a huge future ahead of him.
Tshiunza meanwhile continues to draw flak from those who conflate analysis with simply taking an alternate view on young players that arrive with some hype around them (see also – Mason Grady), but watching him on Saturday go toe-to-toe with the Boks there were encouraging signs that he will make a very impactful test second row. Good at the lineout, turnovers in contact and big numbers on the tackle and breakdown arrival front, the makings of a top lock are there for all to see.
Unfortunately they all need a Head Coach with a grasp of modern rugby and an element of innovation to their coaching to take them to the next level on an individual and team basis, and so now we wait for the Welsh Rugby Union to hold the review of all their previous reviews and review the review outcomes in order to review the way forward to the next review.
In the meantime Cardiff are finally back in action this weekend with the visit of local rivals Dragons to the Arms Park and I, for one, cannot wait.
Cardiff Rugby Life 