Rugby / Six Nations

Six Nations Blog

A Roman battle and a huge game to come!

Well, I had a fairly disappointing weekend - how was yours? Man Utd lost at home to Liverpool, Swansea lost at home to Crystal Palace, and although Wales won, it wasn't by the margin I'd hoped for. As the taxi driver said to me on the way home on Saturday night, 'I can't see them beating Ireland by more than 20 points'. After Ireland's win in Scotland, Wales not only have to beat Ireland, but beat them by about 25 points. Wales have a mountain to climb if they're going to win the Championship!!

Saturday's games

We decided to watch the Wales game in the Wharf pub, which is about 30 seconds away from the new flat, This is quite dangerous, because I've been in there almost constantly since I moved back to Cardiff!! We went to Clwb Ifor Bach (I'm there all the time too!!). I'm worried about becoming an alcoholic!! The atmosphere around Cardiff was quite quiet, maybe because everyone was expecting an easy win, but maybe also because everyone's saving their pennies for 'Grand Slam Saturday'.

Italy v Wales

The changes to the team that started definitely affected the flow of the Welsh game. It was obvious that some of the players hadn't played for a while, with James Hook, for instance, making a few mistakes early on. We didn't see the backs attacking a lot, and there was a lot of kicking when it might have been better to run the ball. At times it was like a tennis match, with the two teams kicking back and forth so often. We attacked once in the first half, and we scored, which is a real positive when you think how many points we need to score on Saturday. We'll have to take every chance we get!!

Positive signs

The most positive element of the game was the defence, which was solid throughout the game. Although I'm sure Gatland will be very unhappy with the number of penalties we conceded. They were what kept Italy in the game - we rarely saw the Italians threatening the Welsh line.

When players like Gethin Jenkins, Ryan Jones and Tom Shanklin came on, there was a lot more purpose and strength in the play, which led to the game-winning try. I'm sure we'll see a completely different team on Saturday, with Henson and Shanks re-establishing their partnership in the centre, and Stephen Jones and Mike Phillips at fly-half. Andy Powell and Lee Byrne played quite well, although Adam Jones and Gethin Jenkins' absence in the front row was obviously felt. I'm looking forward to seeing Wales' strongest team run out on Saturday.

Looking ahead

Well, it'll be the 'grand finale' then, with kick-off at 5.30pm! I hope it'll be a fantastic game to close the Six Nations Championship, as the two teams rise to the challenge at the Millennium Stadium. It might be difficult, but if Wales start well, they could take heart and go on to win easily. C'mon bois!! I'll speak to you soon, when the team has been announced!!

Rhys

• Wales v Ireland
• Saturday 21 March 17:00 on S4C

This blog has been translated from Welsh.