URC Week 2 Round Up - Welsh Shield
Once again, only one Welsh side came away with the win last round. But for a change, it was the Dragons that were celebrating. Let’s take a closer look at the fortunes, or more accurately, misfortunes of the Welsh shield competitors after last weekend.
Glasgow Warriors 52-24 Cardiff Rugby
After the jubilant highs of round one, it must have been a sobering and painful bump back to earth for Cardiff out in Glasgow.
It’s a shame, as the blue and blacks looked like they were shaping up to be a potent force with their new signings shining brightly in their opening win over Munster. However, despite a hopeful start to the game, with centre Max Llewellyn making early inroads and outside half Jarrod Evans linking up well with winger Josh Adams for the opening score, it didn’t last long.
In fact, things went catastrophically wrong for the visitors. Openside flanker Thomas Young was shown a yellow card after Glasgow made a break for the line, and the hosts went on to score three tries in seven minutes and bagged their bonus point try just before half time.
Although Dai Young’s men did land a few blows of their own through hookers Kristian Dacey and Liam Belcher, the Warriors scored four more tries in the second half and never looked like letting their lead slip.
One positive to be taken from the game is the readiness of the young guns to get their hands dirty and muck in, with the likes of Llewellyn, fellow centre Mason Grady, and back rowers James Botham and James Ratti all knuckling down.
In hindsight, it seemed baffling to rest last week’s player of the match after one game, but if anything it shows the depth Cardiff now possess in the back row. It’s still early days, of course, and there’s plenty of time for the capital city side to recover and kick on. They’ll be desperate to one-up their Swansea rivals and make sure they put the Lions down when they visit the Arms Park this weekend.
Scarlets 39-55 Ulster
Scarlets fans, players, and coaching staff might have been left scratching their heads after this game. Arguably one of the games of the weekend, the hosts ran in five tries and 39 points against Ulster, but still lost by more than two scores, being denied the losing bonus point.
The pendulum of momentum continued to swing back and forth all game, with 11 tries being scored in total and the Scarlets never really looking like they were out of it, with just six points separating them with under ten minutes to go.
Scarlets have a notorious habit of starting games slowly, and against better sides they concede tries in the early exchanges. It happened against the Ospreys, going 0-10 down after just 7 minutes, and after 15 minutes against Ulster, they found themselves 0-14 down. They’ll need to hit the ground running against Benetton lest they begin chasing the game against a side who have proven to be more than capable of putting sides away at home.
On the upside, Scarlets’ second row signing Vaea Fifita has proven to be an excellent one, sharing the workload of Sam Lousi and Sione Kalamafoni, meaning they can maintain their work rate for even longer.
And it would appear Johnny Williams and Jonathan Davies have rediscovered their groove, with another potent showing in midfield against the Ulstermen.
Ospreys 27-28 Emirates Lions
Toby Booth’s men did everything but win the game against the Lions from Johannesburg last weekend.
Jack Walsh showed some excellent attacking flair to set the back line going, which resulted in a brace for winger Keelan Giles who looks back to his sharpest self. However, despite his heroic goalkicking against the Scarlets the week previous to deny the hosts the win, the young Australian will be frustrated with his accuracy against the Lions. If just one of his four missed shots at goal had split the posts, the Ospreys would welcome Glasgow off the back of a win.
A calamitous mishandling of the ball between flanker Morgan Morris and scrumhalf Rhys Webb resulted in an opportunistic try for the visitors, which compounded the errors that allowed the Emirates Lions back into the game and to ultimately win it. Otherwise, their defence looked solid across the park and their big name players stood up when things got tough.
Ospreys fans looking for positives from that game will no doubt point to the four-try bonus point, something that the Ospreys only managed 4 times last season. With a draw last weekend, things aren’t as bleak as they could be for Ospreys, with 4 points claimed in total. But this challenge from Glasgow Warriors could set the tone for rest of the season for the Ospreys. A win and they’re back on track to becoming a formidable side to beat at home. A loss and they face the daunting trip to face Ulster, who have looked fantastic so far this season.
Dragons RFC 23-17 Munster
With no disrespect to the Gwent side, but I don’t think many outside of the playing group would have put the Dragons down for victory over Munster, especially having been ragged about by Edinburgh the week previous, and the off field chaos that’s currently shrouding the team. This is the Dragons’ first win at Rodney Parade since October 2020; and you could see how much it meant to the players and supporters after the final whistle.
They looked a different team under the leadership of Dai Flanagan and they did a job on Munster at Rodney Parade. The forwards held their own against the notoriously robust Munster pack and the backs were playing with a smile on their face, in particular speedster Rio Dyer who was fabulous on the wing.
Newly acquired outside half JJ Hanrahan has made a real difference to Dragons’ composure too, controlling the game with a cool head and has partnered well with Rhodri Williams, who has been consistently fantastic in the scrumhalf role.
Much will be asked of the Dragons this weekend as they welcome the Cell C Sharks to Newport. Here’s hoping they have the answers, because a Dragons side that can compete is nothing but a boost for both the URC and Welsh rugby in general.
