by Dylan James

THERE was a mixed bag of results once again for the Welsh regional sides, with the East Walian teams failing to grind out a victory. 

BENETTON 3-10 SCARLETS – Friday

Despite Morgan Jones’ dismissal after a high tackle, Glenn Delaney’s men were able to grind out quite an ugly victory, their first of the season. However, with an injury-ridden list that only seems to be growing, and the international boys away with Wales, it was always expected that the game would be a tough one. 

Liam Williams looked sharp, his confidence under the high ball as prevalent as ever, which will fill Wayne Pivac with confidence going into this weekend’s Six Nations clash between Wales and Scotland, in which Williams will undoubtedly be called back for. 

The Scarlets were unable to enjoy much possession, with only 35% to their name when the final whistle blew. On the other hand, these are the kind of victories that must be appreciated, the dogged, hard-fought and frustrating games that you’re just satisfied to come out of with four points!

OSPREYS 23-15 GLASGOW – Saturday

The next statistic has spread like wildfire on social media, the Ospreys have now won the same amount of games they did last season, having only played three games, which is pretty crazy! I’m sure the Ospreys faithful will see this as a massive positive, especially seeing as their key players are away on international duty. 

Veteran Stephen Myler was on form and spurred Toby Booth’s men on to victory despite being 12-3 down at half time, which shows some real resilience and determination. 

Adam Beard’s man of the match performance will have no doubt convinced Ospreys fans that they can cope without star man and Wales legend Alun Wyn Jones. 

JOE’S VERDICT

“Glasgow will rue their missed opportunities from their visit to South Wales. They were ahead early on after scoring the two opening tries of the game. The Ospreys showed grit to stay in contention and eventually win. The early defensive frailties will be a worry for Toby Booth as the Scottish attack were able to waltz through with ease.”

ULSTER 40-17 DRAGONS – Sunday

The boys seemed to have their predictions right for this one, as Ulster did indeed win comfortably. It was always going to be difficult for Dragons, without their key players and making the difficult trip to Ireland. 

Despite two excellent tries from Jamie Roberts and Ashton Hewitt, Dragons were unable to claw back the deficit as Munster ran away with the victory

For Ulster, that’s three wins out of three and a brilliant start to their campaign. After crossing over five times in the first 40 minutes, it has become evident that Ulster will be going for glory this season. 

BEN’S VERDICT:

“This went pretty much how everyone expected it to go. The Irish side were clear favourites and flexed their muscles as they extended their unbeaten run at the Kingspan. The Dragons rallied late on to get two tries but were convincingly beaten in the end in Belfast.”

MUNSTER 38-27 CARDIFF BLUES – Monday

Easily the most entertaining tie this weekend, the Blues ensured there was a brilliant contest in Ireland, as they were unable to break their curse of failing to win at Thomond Park. 

The Blues were looking very strong, notably Jarrod Evans and Aled Summerhill linking up in fine fashion as they crossed over for their second try. 

Cardiff should have arguably come away with a better result, as despite Willis Halaholo scoring a quite magnificent try, he was given a yellow, which blunted the knife of the Blues’ attack. 

Munster joined their Irish compatriots Ulster and Leinster in securing a third successive win of the campaign. 

DODD’S VERDICT

“The Blues were left empty handed against Munster in Limerick. Plenty of positives were seen, especially in attack with the likes of Rey Lee-Lo and Willis Halaholo at centre.”

PHOTO CREDIT – Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

By James Dodd

Over the next couple of weeks, the Blues, Ospreys, Dragons and Scarlets will all play each other across the festive period. With the conclusion of the 4th round of the European Champions and Challenge Cup last week, the return of several internationals and the historic intensity these matches have, we are set to have an enthralling six matches. Here Tee & Eggs previews Ospreys v Blues and Dragons v Scarlets, as well as giving our predictions on the matches.

Dragons v Scarlets – Saturday 21st December, 17:15 – Rodney Parade

After securing the bragging rights in the last league match between the sides, the Dragons will be hoping to back up that 34-32 thriller at the Principality Stadium when the sides meet in Newport. The home side also got the best of the side from West Wales when they met in a preseason game in September.

The return of Ross Moriarty and Taine Basham will certainly see the back-row strengthened. With the likes of other internationals like Cory Hill, Elliot Dee and Leon Brown; there is definitely experience in the forwards.

However, the Scarlets have also brought in some big names for this clash. Leigh Halfpenny, Johnny McNicholl, Gareth Davies and Wyn Jones all start, as well as Ken Owens and Hadleigh Parkes, who both make an appearance for the region since the world cup in Japan.

The Dragons currently sit 5th in conference A, six points behind Glasgow Warriors and two points ahead of Ospreys. Despite their last home league game being a 39-12 drubbing to Zebre, they can take some confidence in their double header against Worcester Warriors, which saw one win each.

The Llanelli Scarlets have only lost two matches in the Guinness Pro14 this year and sit 4th in conference B, five points behind leaders Munster. Two wins against Bayonne have definitely put them in good stead, and they will feel their experience and quality back line will take them over the line.

Predictions –

James – Scarlets by 5 Jack – Scarlets by 20 Dylan – Scarlets by 12 Ben – Scarlets by 14

 

Ospreys v Blues – Saturday 21st December, 19:35 – Liberty Stadium

The Ospreys have had an absolutely dreadful start to the season, with the Swansea side winning just one game out of their opening 11. The Blues’ record away at the Liberty Stadium can be described as exactly the same.

The capital region’s last victory there came in 2005, with their last win at all being in Judgement Day 2017. The Ospreys have clearly been the dominant side in recent years.

With Josh Adams making his debut in the league, he is joined by threatening Welsh stars Owen Lane and Tomos Williams in the backs. In total, Cardiff have made two changes, these being Brad Thyer and James Ratti.

The Ospreys start international Justin Tipuric for the first time in the 2019/20 season, and bring other internationals Scott Williams, Aled Davies and former Blues player Bradley Davies.

With both sides not looking too pretty in their respective conference – Ospreys sit 6th in conference A and Blues sit 5th in conference B – there is a huge opportunity to start climbing the table.

However, with the attacking threat the Blues hold as well as the momentum they have created in the last month, you would struggle to bet against them if their pack goes well and doesn’t succumb to the Ospreys in the scrum.

Predictions –

James: Blues by 3 Jack: Blues by 7 Dylan: Blues by 10 Ben: Blues by 6