The dust has settled from another European weekend, with two Welsh teams still standing in the EPCR Challenge Cup as the Welsh women continued their successful start to the Six Nations.
Cardiff reached their eighth European final with an impressive performance against Sale Sharks, while Scarlets secured their place with a victory over Briv.
The Ospreys led in the third quarter of the Champions Cup against the Saracens, only for the English side to finish strong and take honors 35-20 at Barnet.
And the Dragons were completely disappointed after adding 73 points to Glasgow.
Here are the rugby winners and losers of the weekend:
WINNERS
Priestland Rhys
Let’s start with possibly the Welsh Player of the Weekend.
There were plenty of men in Cardiff who could well have filled their places in line for the man of the match award in their EPCR Challenge Cup clash with Sale.
Taulupe Faletau wasted no time on defense and consistently put his team ahead with the ball in hand, starting powerhouses Corey Domaczowski and Keiron Assiratti pummeling their direct opponents, Mason Grady running rogue and Josh Adams threatening whenever he had the ball. form. Sale also had no idea what the wonderfully unpredictable Jarrod Evans would do next.
But perhaps Rhys Priestland should be chosen. He’s blowing out 37 candles on his upcoming birthday cake, but obviously age doesn’t mean much to him because he’s playing as well as ever. He had a game to play against Sale, his free kicks put Cardiff in good positions and his ability to spot holes in the defense and tackle them was often impressive.
It often looked like Salé’s defenders should have hit him, but more often than not they couldn’t. He seemed to be protected by some invisible force field.
Perhaps it was his experience and keen intelligence in rugby that helped him gain a fraction of a second of time and an extra meter of space. Be that as it may, the veteran led Cardiff to a memorable victory.
Homage to Cardiff
When Cardiff lost the EDF Energy Cup semi-final to the Ospreys and Peter Thomas entered the mixed zone of the then Millennium Stadium, only one or two journalists remained. It was 2007 and the Arms Park team were under external pressure.
“Is Dai Yang’s position secure?” someone asked Tomas.
The then Cardiff president found it hard to believe he had been asked such a question and composed himself before replying: “Dye’s position is 100% bomb, 100% nuclear.
“I know this man. I know what he invests and gives to this region. He is experienced and works tirelessly.
“In rugby, we want to avoid a culture that puts all the blame on the coach when things don’t go our way. Nobody is happier when we win than Dai, but when we lose, nobody is more disappointed.”
What manager wouldn’t want to work with someone like Thomas, who knows rugby, appreciates hard work, is friendly and downright fair?
His death last week caused a blackout in Welsh rugby. But the club made him proud with their pre-match tribute and their players’ performance during the match. He was appropriate in every way.
Cecilia Tuipulotu
A hard accessory that is charged 20 times in one game is a rare specimen. Someone trying to dial is even harder to find. But the women of Wales have such a player in their ranks: Cecilia Tuipulota.
The 19-year-old tried and hit a dozen shots on Saturday, according to one of his preliminary stats. They were also consistently yard-heavy, with a renewed second rank leading Wales behind the back-up line.
The Welsh Rugby Union website lists her as 5’9″ and 17 pounds. Opponents struggle to stop her due to her relatively low center of gravity, and she has won back-to-back player awards in the game. She is the new star of Wales.
(Image: Gareth Everett/Huw Evans Agency)
Mind you, she wasn’t the only one to play for Wales in their 34-22 win over Scotland in Edinburgh.
Second prop Gwenlian Pearce also crossed twice, charging 15 times and winning, while hooker Kelsey Jones covered 42 yards with the ball in hand as the five defenders got to their feet and Alex Callender led the way.
In defence, midfielders Kiera Bevan and Elinor Snowsill have always caused problems for the Edinburgh home defence.
England’s next game in Cardiff on 15 April will be a much tougher test, but for now Wales can enjoy their unbeaten Six Nations run with a triumph in the Scottish capital following victory over Ireland. .
“I was jumping up and down like everyone else in the crowd last week. It was a fantastic performance and a fantastic start for them,” said Welsh Rugby Union Acting Chief Executive Nigel Walker.
Happy days then.
Unknown importer and Gatland player who was overlooked in the Six Nations
The names and works of former osprey foreign imports continue to resonate long after their departure from the Llandarcy region, including Philo Thiatia, Marty Holach, Gerry Collins, Stéphane Terblanche and Justin Marshall.
When Ethan Roots arrived in 2021, he did so without much fanfare.
But he had an excellent season and against the Saracens at Barnet on Sunday, the full-back turned in a performance that Thyatia, Collins and Holach would be happy to agree with. Roots made four interceptions on possession, took the field as the ball carrier and knocked down everything that moved on the black, and some of his 17 tackles knocked down Saracen players and were put out once.
(Image: David Rogers/Getty Images)
Unfortunately for the Ospreys, it was announced on Monday afternoon that he would be leaving to join Exeter Chiefs at the end of the season.
If he was the most effective player in the Heineken Champions Cup defeat, Morgan Morris and Sam Parry up front and Kieran Williams in defense were not far behind, while Nicky Smith excelled on the field.
How good was Williams? The pivot helped set up the first down with two line breaks and scored on the second. There were also tackles, hard physical returns and powerful ball work. Here is a player messaging Warren Gatland with bells ringing.
Just because he didn’t appear in the Six Nations doesn’t mean he should be overlooked in World Cup qualifying. Now he looks as exciting a fullback as he did in Welsh rugby.
Osprey Supporters
They traveled far and were heard and seen, their black flags fluttering in the spring breeze. In fact, they couldn’t have done more to help their side. However, it did not go to Toby Booth’s side that day.
But as the players left the field and the fans returned home, thoughts returned to why so many across the River Severn would want to see the creation of an Anglo-Welsh league.
It’s not that the United Rugby Championship lacks quality. Obviously not, with Leinster and the South Africans among the competing teams. For the avoidance of doubt, these are some of the best non-international teams in the world.
But the lack of away fans is a perennial problem and the situation will not improve in the next decade.
scarlet
The weather was poor and it was difficult for the Scarlets to show their usual ability, but they rolled up their sleeves and got the job done in their EPCR Challenge Cup Round of 16 match against Brive. Even in the rain, their efforts were admirable.
A resurgent Gareth Davies looked sharp and alert, while Tom Rodgers, Steff Evans, Ryan Conbeer and Jonny Williams all had their moments at centre-back. There were also great performances from Sam Luzi, Sion Calamafoni and Josh McLeod and a well deserved man of the match for Vaea Fifita, with the great striker capping off his efforts with a long-range finish for what we must call the signature effort that I’ve seen so many times. , often as he scores so.
Knockout rugby is all about finding a way and the Scarlets did just that against stubborn opposition. A home game against Clermont-Auvergne this weekend will be even tougher, but the Scarlets have grit and confidence.
FAULTS
dragons
On one occasion, the Manchester Evening News, a pink sports paper ‘on a Saturday, reacted to Manchester United’s 7-3 defeat with a headline telling its readers: ‘Reds in 10-goal thriller’.
Dragons on the weekend? Unfortunately for them, nobody was writing about a 106-point game when the Gwent side visited Glasgow at the weekend and went the wrong way 73-33.
The lack of discipline again let them down as the Newport team saw a player sent off for the third consecutive game. When Aki Seiuli collided head-on with Peter Horne during a clearance attempt, there didn’t appear to be any malicious intent, but he was still careless, picked up a red card and trailed teammates Sio Tomkinson and Matthew Screech in disciplinary matters.
Glasgow began to accumulate pressure in the scrum even before Seiuli left the field and boasted of a vertiginous blow that caused a series of problems on the Welsh side when hooker Jonny Matthews helped himself to five attempts, many of this aspect about the game.
The Dragons also missed 30 tackles in 103 attempts, numbers that will frustrate their coaches.
Even with the injuries, they will know they can perform better. Much better.
Nika Amashukeli
The Georgian referee has scored 21 penalties in the Saracens’ game against Ospreys, 15 of them against the visitors.
Everyone knows umpires have a tough job, but many of the calls on the line seemed to go against Toby Booth’s team. Booth is not known for targeting umpires and, in the end, the Saracens were too strong for their Welsh opponents, but the Osprey chief can be forgiven for feeling more than a twinge of disappointment.
osprey insects
If the Ospreys were to win at Barnet, they needed to minimize mistakes and take advantage of any opportunities offered.
They did just that for much of the first half, looking impressively clinical as they ruthlessly converted two chances in the first 23 minutes.
But just after they had taken a third chance on the kickoff, and then a big swing when a Dewey Lake lineout was picked, the Saracens ran downfield and punted the ball, only for Rhys Webb to select a quick shot that from somehow ended up in the hands of home plate backup Duncan Taylor and was undefeated.
Fair play, Webb later took responsibility, saying, “It was all up to me. I thought she raised her hand for that. Instinct. That’s how it is.”
But Booth obviously believes the Ospreys win as a team and lose as a team and Coach refuses to play the blame game. “When you play Saracens, you have to get them out of rhythm. You have to push a little,” he said. “We knew we had to do it our way. A lot of those things worked well for us. In this case, it doesn’t. But we don’t regret anything.”
The right words, probably. And his team did a lot of good things in 80 minutes, but not enough.
Source: Wales Online
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
