the landscape of club rugby

[Wynne]

Would agree with all of the above and well put. I would go further and say we have players in Wales that are playing in the Prem. and given the opportunity could go to the next level if given the opportunity. There are lads who are as good as or better than the likes of Carl Meyer, the only difference is these regional players train every day and you can see the difference in Carl's game since he has become a pro. Also the young talent in the academies are coming through so I see no reason to play any foreign players now or in the future, we should persist with what we have got and what we have coming through, with a smutter of older foreign heads just to guide and help. I think a good example is Anscombe at the Blues, he has done nothing for Welsh rugby and yet he has a dual contract, while Patchel is having to move to the Scarlets to get a better opportunity of regular rugby. The lack of an A team hinders the progress of a lot of young players as there is no in between, once you leave the under 20s there is nowhere for these lads to go until they are good enough to push for senior honours. I'm sure we could all pick an A team comfortably with the regional players that are not yet on the radar for the senior side, who would be able to compete with the likes of the Saxons and Irish A. We can but dream.

[robert rees]

Definitely agree. I have to try and keep personal opinion out of it otherwise it becomes more of a blog but id go welsh players over French blueprint any day. Keep it long term goal.

[robert rees]

And cheers on feedback and positive feedback.

[chris]

I would go further and say we have players in Wales that are playing in the Prem. and given the opportunity could go to the next level if given the opportunity.

Completely agree with you here. There are many players at Premiership level with more natural talent than many of the 'regional' players. Unfortunately it seems that scouting networks are setup to look for foreign journey-men, rather than young Welsh players on the doorstep. Something badly wrong somewhere.

[robert rees]

So much overlooked talent in wp. And then when they get to academies there r so many problems that I've been told of by lads who play at u18's. So if we utilised them properly ,long term success and development would be class.

[robert rees]

http://lastwordonsports.com/2016/01/23/ ... x-nations/

2016 6Nations Preview.

[viewfromthestand]

An excellent report Rob, my only criticism is you need to check your work prior to posting . Some typing errors which have resulted in spelling mistakes and areas that don t make sense.
I think Wales will be the team to beat. I think Ireland are a very one dimensional team who relied on stalwarts like Paul O Connell to play to their game plan of phase after phase play. They are still recovering from the retirement of Brian O Driscoll who was an all time great. I think Johnny Sexton has had one bump too many and will be injured early on in our game. They have a strong back row and this battle will be the key to Wales winning this encounter. Our 6.7 and 8 need to be quicker and wiser than the Irish back row . I think Wales need Tuperic in the back row to give us this edge. with Warburton at 6 . Lydiate to come on to shut the game down in the closing stages.
England will be the team to watch. A sleeping giant. Players all reeling after the embarrassing exit from their own world cup. Eddie Jones is a thinker and he was the mastermind behind Japan beating the Boks in the world cup . I think making Dylan Hartley captain is inspirational. He certainly wears his heart on his sleeve , sometimes, beyond the laws of the game. Because we are at Twickenham this could be a banana skin fixture. Scotland will be a tough nut to crack even though it s in Cardiff. Verne Cotter is another great coach . he certainly got his team up for the world cup , where they played some exciting rugby. The Scottish forwards will be strong I think their backs are lack lustre and that's where we will beat them. France who knows . A new coach may make a difference but I think their club sides all playing foreigners is severely affecting the national team. As for Italy, I think they are coming to the end of their automatic inclusion in this great championship and should be made to play off for their place with Romania, Georgia etc. Their club game is not functioning and it shows in their international team. If it was nt for castrogiovanni, and Parisse they would be even further down the pan.
my prediction for final six nations 2016
1 Wales
2 England
3 Ireland
4 Scotland
5 France
6 Italy.

[robert rees]

cheers for feedback, as always. I do usually spellcheck it in Microsoft word, so any spelling errors I am not sure how they fell through the net.

thanks as always, hope my next article is better again.

[robert rees]

http://lastwordonsports.com/2016/02/26/ ... h-fitness/

Do Wales Train Too Much Fitness?

Thoughts, comments and feedback welcome.

[robert rees]

Welsh Regions Financial Viability

http://lastwordonsports.com/2016/03/08/ ... viability/