Ospreys win battle of mud as Dragons are ground down (From South Wales Argus)

That was dreadful.

Dont know what Kirwan was watching, i saw 15 headless chickens kicking away all the ball they had.

We were up for the challenge, just fell short again !!! Shankys & Toby Played like troopers.... On another note, the dragons are a business that needs to bring in money -- SO, why couldnt you get a beer (without queing for half the game) -- Not short of pathetic to be honest... Who had the money on offer today, the dodger & the squash club as the inept management couldnt plan to have a few tents around the place (of course when we have a low key game there is a tent serving 4 people an hour)..Sort it out RP, the old house needs fresh management from the rugby field to the income making wtaer sheds - Business, My a**e

Never looked like scoring a try,lineout ball won cleanly but mostly kicked away.Scrum once again the achilles heel and no platform to work off.Badly need a quality no. 10 who doesn't kick possession away so easily. Some good young players but who in all honesty apart from "has beens" is going to sign for this region to help bring them along.Being perpetual losers and once again not being in Heineken is bound to hamper quality recruitment.Not much to look forward for the rest of the season and more disappointment likely next season.

Lewis Robling I'm afraid is not the answer, he missed the touch kick which led to the Ospreys forst try and made a mess of three kicks trying to clear the ball. Not a real pro yet by a long way. Apart from that the Dragons never looked like breaking through the O's defensive line. The ref did quite well but where did the crooked feed come from, they are all crooked, and he missed at least two throw ins that we as straight as a cork screw. We were a bit luck on Biggers kicking as he missed two easy penalty kicks. Discipline wise both sides did fairly well, no yellows or was the ref being kind for once?

Think we missed Dan, out injured. Pity about the charge down that lead to the 2nd try. We could have claimed some kind of "Result" without it. Thought the Dragons grafted pretty well, causing a few problems upfront but still missed any kind of edge for me. Let's hope we get the promised investment /players to make a difference.

Euwan Usami wrote:
Think we missed Dan, out injured. Pity about the charge down that lead to the 2nd try. We could have claimed some kind of "Result" without it. Thought the Dragons grafted pretty well, causing a few problems upfront but still missed any kind of edge for me. Let's hope we get the promised investment /players to make a difference.

Right we didn't have enough to get the break through we badly needed. The O's kept their defence very tight so we had no real punch to break it open. The scrum and line out went quite well only lost two but Sid did well. Too much ping pong at times when ball in hand like we did in Cardiff on Boxing Day may have prised the door open. Did well overall but failed to push them in the second half. Well 2012 is done, hope for better in 2013, starting with an away win in Ireland next week.

Couldn't fault the effort and even the scrum looked pretty solid but
let's not kid ourselves, the Ospreys won that without getting out of second gear. I will end the year with my same old view which is we have some decent players who in my humble opinion are badly led. I have no doubt whatsoever that DE is a decent technical coach but we need more than that, we need a motivator, a coach who inspires the right mentality, someone who can instill a winning mentality whereby losing is painful. We do not have that.
Agree with the post about the bar service, it was a joke. One of the bar's in the argus terrace ran out of lager and guiness just after half time!!!!
Was really impressed with Adam Jones tonight, never really noticed before but his work rate around the pitch is amazing,pure quality.

Happy New Year all - it's only a game after all!!!!!

we gave our best but fell short yet again
rumer has it toby is off to bath , the end.

Doberman1 wrote:
Couldn't fault the effort and even the scrum looked pretty solid but
let's not kid ourselves, the Ospreys won that without getting out of second gear. I will end the year with my same old view which is we have some decent players who in my humble opinion are badly led. I have no doubt whatsoever that DE is a decent technical coach but we need more than that, we need a motivator, a coach who inspires the right mentality, someone who can instill a winning mentality whereby losing is painful. We do not have that.
Agree with the post about the bar service, it was a joke. One of the bar's in the argus terrace ran out of lager and guiness just after half time!!!!
Was really impressed with Adam Jones tonight, never really noticed before but his work rate around the pitch is amazing,pure quality.

Happy New Year all - it's only a game after all!!!!!

Re Adam Jones...yes you right, not many fans seem to notice the standard of play or his work rate. Yet he is rated top class among fellow locks and players around the UK, but DE and staff feel the need to keep him out of MUST WIN GAMES..WHY!!!
Happy New Year to one and all

Unfortunately still too many basic coaching/selection/p
layer errors.
Before some people crticise Lewis Robling, who in all honesty didn't have the best of games please consider the service he received.

Johnathen Evans' pass is/was very poor....certainly the worst I have seen of any team's no.9 this year.
All too often Lewis had the ball to his wrong side, too low, too high or behind him.
Added to that his kicking was poor as was his decision making and discipline.....did he really think it smart to backchat NIgel?

Why did Wayne come off early against Blues and why didn't he come on today?

Why, if you are going to kick the ball to touch from a set piece inyour 22,do you run a move before you do....resulting in scrappy, pressuried ball and a charge down?

Also, again re:basic coaching....if the o/h is going to kick to the right hand touchline with his right foot why doesn't he face towards it and why doesn't the s/h pass it to his RIGHT side... don't they work through different match scenarios?

This is basic stuff any coach worth his salt would run through.

There are many other instances of poor coaching and or selection errors evident in every match, how are players ever going to improve if they are never shown what they should do in game situations and are allowed to keep making the same mistakes?
I feel sorry for the players because again they gave 100% effort.
Even with such poor service you are never going to offer much behind apart from crash ball with Tuillagi in the centre....when does he ever offer anything else...like a pass or off-load!

Finally totally agree about Adam Jones ....did you see how the Ospreys scrum folded after he left the field....both they and Wales cannot afford to lose him!

speakoutnow wrote:
Unfortunately still too many basic coaching/selection/p

layer errors.
Before some people crticise Lewis Robling, who in all honesty didn't have the best of games please consider the service he received.

Johnathen Evans' pass is/was very poor....certainly the worst I have seen of any team's no.9 this year.
All too often Lewis had the ball to his wrong side, too low, too high or behind him.
Added to that his kicking was poor as was his decision making and discipline.....did he really think it smart to backchat NIgel?

Why did Wayne come off early against Blues and why didn't he come on today?

Why, if you are going to kick the ball to touch from a set piece inyour 22,do you run a move before you do....resulting in scrappy, pressuried ball and a charge down?

Also, again re:basic coaching....if the o/h is going to kick to the right hand touchline with his right foot why doesn't he face towards it and why doesn't the s/h pass it to his RIGHT side... don't they work through different match scenarios?

This is basic stuff any coach worth his salt would run through.

There are many other instances of poor coaching and or selection errors evident in every match, how are players ever going to improve if they are never shown what they should do in game situations and are allowed to keep making the same mistakes?
I feel sorry for the players because again they gave 100% effort.
Even with such poor service you are never going to offer much behind apart from crash ball with Tuillagi in the centre....when does he ever offer anything else...like a pass or off-load!

Finally totally agree about Adam Jones ....did you see how the Ospreys scrum folded after he left the field....both they and Wales cannot afford to lose him!

It's true Jon Evans didn't have his best game but I have always thought he was twice the 9 Wayne is. Suprised to see the opposite view tbh. Let's hope the likes of Dean Ryan helps to outline the failings but I think the absence of Dan Evans was a more telling factor. We were never going to beat the Ospreys with the current side but came close to a losing bonus point. As you say we couldn't have asked any more of the players for sure.

Hugely disappointing that the Ospreys won so comfortably. We went down without a whimper. No control from outside half and players incapable of breaking the gain line bar Toby and Tuilagi. That's on the field.
Off it.
Massive queues under the Hazell Stand for beer. Amazingly, the bars were 50% shut down on New Year's Eve - incredible. Who is running things? Completely rudderless! The man on the tannoy invited us to the club/Bisley lounge afterwards. No chance if you can't even get the service right in the ground. Just a shambles!

East Newport Dave wrote:
Hugely disappointing that the Ospreys won so comfortably. We went down without a whimper. No control from outside half and players incapable of breaking the gain line bar Toby and Tuilagi. That's on the field.
Off it.
Massive queues under the Hazell Stand for beer. Amazingly, the bars were 50% shut down on New Year's Eve - incredible. Who is running things? Completely rudderless! The man on the tannoy invited us to the club/Bisley lounge afterwards. No chance if you can't even get the service right in the ground. Just a shambles!

By New Years Eve most people have plans in place so the lack of beer sales means nothing to the big picture so stop moaning because you couldn't get another pint in. The facts are we were outplayed in the second half, they controlled almost every aspect of the game therefore stopped the Dragons gaining ground. We never broke the line in the second half and struggled to keep possession, Lewis Robblin made a bad decision when he tried to. Kick clear, but he was the sat man defending so not much blame for the charge down. We lst because of pour defending in the first 4 minutes, and a charge down in the last ten otherwise we competed well but to no availe I'm afraid. Good effort but wrong result. New year so lets just hope for better.

East Newport Dave wrote:
Hugely disappointing that the Ospreys won so comfortably. We went down without a whimper. No control from outside half and players incapable of breaking the gain line bar Toby and Tuilagi. That's on the field.
Off it.
Massive queues under the Hazell Stand for beer. Amazingly, the bars were 50% shut down on New Year's Eve - incredible. Who is running things? Completely rudderless! The man on the tannoy invited us to the club/Bisley lounge afterwards. No chance if you can't even get the service right in the ground. Just a shambles!

There were ridiculously long queues in the Bisley for beer too. Alot of people missed the first 5 mins. The Ospreys fans missed their try. (Ah well ay?).
The attendance figures were known in advance, so unless their is a technical failure then you have to put it down to bad organisation presumably? Just pre-pour a shed load a la milenium stadium surely? They were pouring 4 pints at a time whole people waited in line. It's a concern on a few levels for sure.

surprised at how well they competed. Still lacking on the skills front in some areas and with the usual suicidally inept kicking game they will still find it hard to compete as effectively as they might. But , they're not a million miles from being a half decent team. Still Amlin level rather than Heineken but if they can start to compete there it will be a step forward. Fingers crossed for 2013.

Surprised by some commenters optimism to be honest, they were poor against an average ospreys team who were nowhere near their best, DE has ot got a clue, neither has Beale unforunately with a lot of you happy with what is total mediocrityit will takeforever for DEand his band of hangerons to get the message, lets not forget we have failed to beat probably the worst Bues side to ever represent the region, if we cant be competitive tis season we never will be, in the name of rugby please sack the hapless DE now.

Robert Shillabeer wrote:

East Newport Dave wrote:
Hugely disappointing that the Ospreys won so comfortably. We went down without a whimper. No control from outside half and players incapable of breaking the gain line bar Toby and Tuilagi. That's on the field.
Off it.
Massive queues under the Hazell Stand for beer. Amazingly, the bars were 50% shut down on New Year's Eve - incredible. Who is running things? Completely rudderless! The man on the tannoy invited us to the club/Bisley lounge afterwards. No chance if you can't even get the service right in the ground. Just a shambles!

By New Years Eve most people have plans in place so the lack of beer sales means nothing to the big picture so stop moaning because you couldn't get another pint in. The facts are we were outplayed in the second half, they controlled almost every aspect of the game therefore stopped the Dragons gaining ground. We never broke the line in the second half and struggled to keep possession, Lewis Robblin made a bad decision when he tried to. Kick clear, but he was the sat man defending so not much blame for the charge down. We lst because of pour defending in the first 4 minutes, and a charge down in the last ten otherwise we competed well but to no availe I'm afraid. Good effort but wrong result. New year so lets just hope for better.

Robert, get a grip. I didn't bother to buy a drink because the queues were too long. At half time my son queued for 25 mins and missed part of the 2nd half. It is the first time he has been to a Dragons game for a few years and not only did the team perform poorly but he had trouble getting a beer! They can't even get the easy bit right.
What business gives its staff the night off on the busiest day of the year. I don't give a **** about it being New Year and the bar staff wanting to go out. Having to pay them enhanced rates is irrelevant because the amount of money they could have taken completely eclipses the staffing cost. The region is complaining about being short of cash and when they have a chance of making some money and building some business they blew it on all fronts. Players, staff, management - the lot of them. Very frustrating for paying supporters to see the shambles before their very eyes.

The best thing the dragons team can do is to ignore the coach and play what they see on the pitch.

Play open rugby, just because every other team wants to play kick chase, we don't have to.

They are over coached robots, they need to play off the cuff.

Well said east Newport Dave, Your comments are spot on... We need money as a region to be able to invest in players and improve yet are so blarza when it comes to making revenue easily -- people drink beer, we make profit,,,, no beer no profit -- simples

The sooner DE realises games are played on the field and not in his macbook, the sooner he will get results, i just think he is not good enough in coaching tatcs, stats or inspiation, for gds sake move over and let someone head this region with a bit of rugby nous.

if this was the best region v the worst region.wales should just pack in it and stick to singing.hope yo enjoyed your free rugby shirts east newport dave.i wouldnt get out of bed to watch this drivvle.even if it was free

East Newport Dave wrote:

Robert Shillabeer wrote:

East Newport Dave wrote:
Hugely disappointing that the Ospreys won so comfortably. We went down without a whimper. No control from outside half and players incapable of breaking the gain line bar Toby and Tuilagi. That's on the field.
Off it.
Massive queues under the Hazell Stand for beer. Amazingly, the bars were 50% shut down on New Year's Eve - incredible. Who is running things? Completely rudderless! The man on the tannoy invited us to the club/Bisley lounge afterwards. No chance if you can't even get the service right in the ground. Just a shambles!

By New Years Eve most people have plans in place so the lack of beer sales means nothing to the big picture so stop moaning because you couldn't get another pint in. The facts are we were outplayed in the second half, they controlled almost every aspect of the game therefore stopped the Dragons gaining ground. We never broke the line in the second half and struggled to keep possession, Lewis Robblin made a bad decision when he tried to. Kick clear, but he was the sat man defending so not much blame for the charge down. We lst because of pour defending in the first 4 minutes, and a charge down in the last ten otherwise we competed well but to no availe I'm afraid. Good effort but wrong result. New year so lets just hope for better.

Robert, get a grip. I didn't bother to buy a drink because the queues were too long. At half time my son queued for 25 mins and missed part of the 2nd half. It is the first time he has been to a Dragons game for a few years and not only did the team perform poorly but he had trouble getting a beer! They can't even get the easy bit right.
What business gives its staff the night off on the busiest day of the year. I don't give a **** about it being New Year and the bar staff wanting to go out. Having to pay them enhanced rates is irrelevant because the amount of money they could have taken completely eclipses the staffing cost. The region is complaining about being short of cash and when they have a chance of making some money and building some business they blew it on all fronts. Players, staff, management - the lot of them. Very frustrating for paying supporters to see the shambles before their very eyes.

Did you go for the rugby or just to get drunk? I and my friends went for the rugby, enjoyed a pint before and after the game firstly to think of the win we were sure we would get and after to say why we lost, good company, enjoyable drink and went home safe and sound. Not everyone goes simply to get p***sed.

rhinestine wrote:
The best thing the dragons team can do is to ignore the coach and play what they see on the pitch.

Play open rugby, just because every other team wants to play kick chase, we don't have to.

They are over coached robots, they need to play off the cuff.

Totally agree, unfortunately this requires a rugby brained 9 and 10 we have neither .

casto wrote:
if this was the best region v the worst region.wales should just pack in it and stick to singing.hope yo enjoyed your free rugby shirts east newport dave.i wouldnt get out of bed to watch this drivvle.even if it was free

Good now stop talking about something your not interested in and give everyone a happy new year.

Robert Shillabeer wrote:

East Newport Dave wrote:

Robert Shillabeer wrote:

East Newport Dave wrote:
Hugely disappointing that the Ospreys won so comfortably. We went down without a whimper. No control from outside half and players incapable of breaking the gain line bar Toby and Tuilagi. That's on the field.
Off it.
Massive queues under the Hazell Stand for beer. Amazingly, the bars were 50% shut down on New Year's Eve - incredible. Who is running things? Completely rudderless! The man on the tannoy invited us to the club/Bisley lounge afterwards. No chance if you can't even get the service right in the ground. Just a shambles!

By New Years Eve most people have plans in place so the lack of beer sales means nothing to the big picture so stop moaning because you couldn't get another pint in. The facts are we were outplayed in the second half, they controlled almost every aspect of the game therefore stopped the Dragons gaining ground. We never broke the line in the second half and struggled to keep possession, Lewis Robblin made a bad decision when he tried to. Kick clear, but he was the sat man defending so not much blame for the charge down. We lst because of pour defending in the first 4 minutes, and a charge down in the last ten otherwise we competed well but to no availe I'm afraid. Good effort but wrong result. New year so lets just hope for better.

Robert, get a grip. I didn't bother to buy a drink because the queues were too long. At half time my son queued for 25 mins and missed part of the 2nd half. It is the first time he has been to a Dragons game for a few years and not only did the team perform poorly but he had trouble getting a beer! They can't even get the easy bit right.
What business gives its staff the night off on the busiest day of the year. I don't give a **** about it being New Year and the bar staff wanting to go out. Having to pay them enhanced rates is irrelevant because the amount of money they could have taken completely eclipses the staffing cost. The region is complaining about being short of cash and when they have a chance of making some money and building some business they blew it on all fronts. Players, staff, management - the lot of them. Very frustrating for paying supporters to see the shambles before their very eyes.

Did you go for the rugby or just to get drunk? I and my friends went for the rugby, enjoyed a pint before and after the game firstly to think of the win we were sure we would get and after to say why we lost, good company, enjoyable drink and went home safe and sound. Not everyone goes simply to get p***sed.

Who is mentioning getting **** rob,i for one wont stand and cue for ages be it rp or wetherspoons, the business side of this club is inept at best, and is costing the club money.

let em swing wrote:
Surprised by some commenters optimism to be honest, they were poor against an average ospreys team who were nowhere near their best, DE has ot got a clue, neither has Beale unforunately with a lot of you happy with what is total mediocrityit will takeforever for DEand his band of hangerons to get the message, lets not forget we have failed to beat probably the worst Bues side to ever represent the region, if we cant be competitive tis season we never will be, in the name of rugby please sack the hapless DE now.

I think many would have agreed with you before the board made it clear where we stood financially speaking. Most now accept we have shortcomings and are looking forward to next season when the promised investment in the squad should improve matters on the pitch. We were never going to beat the Ospreys but came close to a bonus point. The Scarlets would have preferred our score line I am sure. Got to keep it real for now. This is the season we will be least competitive.

let em swing wrote:

Robert Shillabeer wrote:

East Newport Dave wrote:

Robert Shillabeer wrote:

East Newport Dave wrote:
Hugely disappointing that the Ospreys won so comfortably. We went down without a whimper. No control from outside half and players incapable of breaking the gain line bar Toby and Tuilagi. That's on the field.
Off it.
Massive queues under the Hazell Stand for beer. Amazingly, the bars were 50% shut down on New Year's Eve - incredible. Who is running things? Completely rudderless! The man on the tannoy invited us to the club/Bisley lounge afterwards. No chance if you can't even get the service right in the ground. Just a shambles!

By New Years Eve most people have plans in place so the lack of beer sales means nothing to the big picture so stop moaning because you couldn't get another pint in. The facts are we were outplayed in the second half, they controlled almost every aspect of the game therefore stopped the Dragons gaining ground. We never broke the line in the second half and struggled to keep possession, Lewis Robblin made a bad decision when he tried to. Kick clear, but he was the sat man defending so not much blame for the charge down. We lst because of pour defending in the first 4 minutes, and a charge down in the last ten otherwise we competed well but to no availe I'm afraid. Good effort but wrong result. New year so lets just hope for better.

Robert, get a grip. I didn't bother to buy a drink because the queues were too long. At half time my son queued for 25 mins and missed part of the 2nd half. It is the first time he has been to a Dragons game for a few years and not only did the team perform poorly but he had trouble getting a beer! They can't even get the easy bit right.
What business gives its staff the night off on the busiest day of the year. I don't give a **** about it being New Year and the bar staff wanting to go out. Having to pay them enhanced rates is irrelevant because the amount of money they could have taken completely eclipses the staffing cost. The region is complaining about being short of cash and when they have a chance of making some money and building some business they blew it on all fronts. Players, staff, management - the lot of them. Very frustrating for paying supporters to see the shambles before their very eyes.

Did you go for the rugby or just to get drunk? I and my friends went for the rugby, enjoyed a pint before and after the game firstly to think of the win we were sure we would get and after to say why we lost, good company, enjoyable drink and went home safe and sound. Not everyone goes simply to get p***sed.

Who is mentioning getting **** rob,i for one wont stand and cue for ages be it rp or wetherspoons, the business side of this club is inept at best, and is costing the club money.

Why go on about it then just chill and enjoy the New Year.

Robert, I drove down so could not drink much but my son is in his 20s and wanted a beer or 2. It's part of the enjoyment. People like you who accept mediocrity are part of the problem. The whole experience was poor yesterday when they needed to get it right. How will they ever need to get it right when the likes of you just accept the rubbish being served up.

East Newport Dave wrote:
Robert, I drove down so could not drink much but my son is in his 20s and wanted a beer or 2. It's part of the enjoyment. People like you who accept mediocrity are part of the problem. The whole experience was poor yesterday when they needed to get it right. How will they ever need to get it right when the likes of you just accept the rubbish being served up.

Exactly. Anyone who cannot see the obvious link between commercial success and success on the pitch is clearly living in the dark ages.
A bar running out of beer on New Years Eve, you literally could not make it up!

Forget the frustration off the pitch, what about on it? Pack have improved and I was one of their big critics but are getting better.What frustrated me was that Ospreys found us easy to defend against , our 12 on the crashball is so predictable then we dont do anything off it, he needs to learn to time a pass or offload.It was not working so why not put Dixon on and try something different!! If we wanted to play a kicking game which it looked like we had the wrong 10 on the pitch Robling lost all his confidence and should have been replaced by Jones, nothing to lose, him and Dixon could have varied it up. I have supported the coaches up to now but last night they appeared clueless, if their pr match game plan is not working. Players look overcoached and frightened to play off the cuff.

phantom14 wrote:
Forget the frustration off the pitch, what about on it? Pack have improved and I was one of their big critics but are getting better.What frustrated me was that Ospreys found us easy to defend against , our 12 on the crashball is so predictable then we dont do anything off it, he needs to learn to time a pass or offload.It was not working so why not put Dixon on and try something different!! If we wanted to play a kicking game which it looked like we had the wrong 10 on the pitch Robling lost all his confidence and should have been replaced by Jones, nothing to lose, him and Dixon could have varied it up. I have supported the coaches up to now but last night they appeared clueless, if their pr match game plan is not working. Players look overcoached and frightened to play off the cuff.

You make some sound judgement about being over coached, they seem to be transfixed with the crash ball instead of playing it out wide through the hands a bit more and producing that seed of doubt into the opposition. The weather doesn't help that sort of game so it was predictable. The Ospreys didn't use thier wings that much either but we did kick away far to much possession and generally lost the airiel ping pong game. And thanks for saying about forgetting the off the pitch nonsence about not being able to get a pint, most go to watch the rugby not drink gallons of beer, that comes after the game.

Agree with the comments about lack of vision. There were 2 instances in the first half on our scrum which wheeled to the right and Evans could have gone that way with just him and Harries initially against one Osprey defender, but he went the other way because of a called move. Whatever happened to heads up rugby. Overall though I think the last 2 games have shown an improvment.

The biggest disappointment is that we were at home but posed little or no attacking threat. We had some ball but made some poor decisions and kicked some quality possession away. There seemed to be little idea how the opposition could be broken down and the final 10 or so minutes were worrying where we were just resigned to defeat.

Having glanced at he upcoming fixtures, all 4 are winnable if this team showed some rugby sense, DE should stand up and call these next 4 games make or break, and put his job and reputation on the line, it needs someone with a bit of guts to do that, lets see if he is made of something substantial or just another wru muppet.

Agree with most of the comments ...in this age you cannot separate on and off field performance .....the whole match day experience is important.
I honestly think it is a case of players being POORLY coached not just over coached.
I repeat my comments about J Evans'
poor passing...criticise Roblin if you must but most of the ball he got was very, very poor.
Again please look at the positions of players in different areas / situations, they put themselves under pressure match after match through simple errors which could be sorted out by INTELLIGENT coaching.
The coaching situation in Wales needs looking at, too many mediocre people involved at all levels and especially national and regional.... jobs for the boyos!
D E seems a nice guy but you know what they say about nice guys.
To be brutally honest if the standard of rugby in Wales doesn't improve, and quickly then it doesn't matter if the beer is free there won't be many people there to drink it

speakoutnow wrote:
Agree with most of the comments ...in this age you cannot separate on and off field performance .....the whole match day experience is important.
I honestly think it is a case of players being POORLY coached not just over coached.
I repeat my comments about J Evans'
poor passing...criticise Roblin if you must but most of the ball he got was very, very poor.
Again please look at the positions of players in different areas / situations, they put themselves under pressure match after match through simple errors which could be sorted out by INTELLIGENT coaching.
The coaching situation in Wales needs looking at, too many mediocre people involved at all levels and especially national and regional.... jobs for the boyos!
D E seems a nice guy but you know what they say about nice guys.
To be brutally honest if the standard of rugby in Wales doesn't improve, and quickly then it doesn't matter if the beer is free there won't be many people there to drink it

Very good point made. It seems that if an ex-player does his coaching badge he is in. I may have said this before but it tends to be those with a teaching background who make the best coaches. We certainly have a poor selection practising in Wales at present.

East Newport Dave wrote:

speakoutnow wrote:
Agree with most of the comments ...in this age you cannot separate on and off field performance .....the whole match day experience is important.
I honestly think it is a case of players being POORLY coached not just over coached.
I repeat my comments about J Evans'
poor passing...criticise Roblin if you must but most of the ball he got was very, very poor.
Again please look at the positions of players in different areas / situations, they put themselves under pressure match after match through simple errors which could be sorted out by INTELLIGENT coaching.
The coaching situation in Wales needs looking at, too many mediocre people involved at all levels and especially national and regional.... jobs for the boyos!
D E seems a nice guy but you know what they say about nice guys.
To be brutally honest if the standard of rugby in Wales doesn't improve, and quickly then it doesn't matter if the beer is free there won't be many people there to drink it

Very good point made. It seems that if an ex-player does his coaching badge he is in. I may have said this before but it tends to be those with a teaching background who make the best coaches. We certainly have a poor selection practising in Wales at present.

Not really a must, but those who come from a background of teaching tend to have the ability to get their point across easier. That however s simply an art not the most requisite thing a good coach needs. There are some very good coaches around who do not come from education backgrounds. Just look at the head coaches at national level and show how many are teachers or lecturers, not any I don't think. What is a must s the ability to get your views across in productive way. The art of coaching is not a mythical thing that is limited to a certain group of people, there are others who can take to it like a duck to water, but not that many.

Thankfully, the front row is showing signs of improvement. Ok, the shoots are still only just showing but progress is progress. An experieced addition would be increasingly beneficial.

Sidoli was immense with more than able back up from Coombs.

Back row as efficient as ever, just a pity Cudd is not a few inches taller!

Sorry, but Roblin is NOT (never will be) a 10; never really impressed in the position for Newport, centre more likely.

Tuilagi, unfortunately, seems to be a one-trick pony. Why have 'flyers' on the wings when the ball rarely moves past 12.

I am getting increasingly frustrated with Prydie. Really switches on the 'after burners' when chasing back but seems reluctant to do the same going forward, always seems to be waiting for contact. I wish he would just go for it when given the ball.'

I dont normally comment on here but there are several points that need highlighting.
Clearly there are major differences about what a good performance looks like and what a good match day experience feels like.
Tuesdays performance was poor - better than it has been, but still poor. The pack worked its socks off and the half backs aimlessly kicked the ball away or got easily turned over.
I am quite disturbed at how RP is becoming the graveyard of promising OHs. I thought Tovey was a real international prospect but in his last season and a half (note the dates) he went to pieces and is now way off the radar. Steffan Jones announced himself with a bang against the Blues and his confidence has now gone down the plughole. Robling always looked competent but he is shot now too!
If we had a better, more confident, half back service and hinge the team would use the ball better. All too often kick or crash ball is the only answer because there is no time for anything else.
As for the matchday experience. I grew up in a hotel and we would always make sure that anyone who wanted to spend their money had the chance to with us. Its called good business. RP needs to cater for all the needs of its paying customers because they are the bedrock of what a region needs to be. No supporters no teams - does anyone remember the hated English regions? Where are they now?
Some of the comments here criticising those who complained about the lack of a pint, smack of dreadful complacency. All paying supporters need to be cherished and encouraged..........
.

There is a big problem with understaffing the bars in the hazel stand particularly. Also, the younger bar staff appear to be very poorly trained, often standing around waiting for the till when they could be pouring beer for the next person. Robert, if you don't like beer, that is your choice but other people do. Unfortunately, the enormous queues have put me and my family off having a drink on many occasion.

Better preparation and organisation could yield significantly higher takings on the bar.

broadsworddan wrote:
There is a big problem with understaffing the bars in the hazel stand particularly. Also, the younger bar staff appear to be very poorly trained, often standing around waiting for the till when they could be pouring beer for the next person. Robert, if you don't like beer, that is your choice but other people do. Unfortunately, the enormous queues have put me and my family off having a drink on many occasion.

Better preparation and organisation could yield significantly higher takings on the bar.

I like a pint as much as anyone, had a couple on match day, one before and one after along with my son in law who had three or four, I was driving, and a few mates one of which was also driving so he too didn't drink more than one or two. My point was most people go to a game for the rugby and a drink is only an add on and I guess there are lots who went didn't drink as they had a long old drive home. What do most go to a game for, the rugby or the beer, a little of the later is only a bonus.

Robert Shillabeer wrote:

broadsworddan wrote:
There is a big problem with understaffing the bars in the hazel stand particularly. Also, the younger bar staff appear to be very poorly trained, often standing around waiting for the till when they could be pouring beer for the next person. Robert, if you don't like beer, that is your choice but other people do. Unfortunately, the enormous queues have put me and my family off having a drink on many occasion.

Better preparation and organisation could yield significantly higher takings on the bar.

I like a pint as much as anyone, had a couple on match day, one before and one after along with my son in law who had three or four, I was driving, and a few mates one of which was also driving so he too didn't drink more than one or two. My point was most people go to a game for the rugby and a drink is only an add on and I guess there are lots who went didn't drink as they had a long old drive home. What do most go to a game for, the rugby or the beer, a little of the later is only a bonus.

I know quite a few that get completely bladdered before, during and after the games tbh. There is a whole row of them in front of us every match. I don't actually bother myself. I go purely for the game and usual drink coffee or tea because a cold drink doesn't temp me when it's already freezing. Having said that I agree the queues for beer were shocking and affected a lot of fans matchday experience and that can never be a good thing.

Robert Shillabeer wrote:

East Newport Dave wrote:

speakoutnow wrote:
Agree with most of the comments ...in this age you cannot separate on and off field performance .....the whole match day experience is important.
I honestly think it is a case of players being POORLY coached not just over coached.
I repeat my comments about J Evans'
poor passing...criticise Roblin if you must but most of the ball he got was very, very poor.
Again please look at the positions of players in different areas / situations, they put themselves under pressure match after match through simple errors which could be sorted out by INTELLIGENT coaching.
The coaching situation in Wales needs looking at, too many mediocre people involved at all levels and especially national and regional.... jobs for the boyos!
D E seems a nice guy but you know what they say about nice guys.
To be brutally honest if the standard of rugby in Wales doesn't improve, and quickly then it doesn't matter if the beer is free there won't be many people there to drink it

Very good point made. It seems that if an ex-player does his coaching badge he is in. I may have said this before but it tends to be those with a teaching background who make the best coaches. We certainly have a poor selection practising in Wales at present.

Not really a must, but those who come from a background of teaching tend to have the ability to get their point across easier. That however s simply an art not the most requisite thing a good coach needs. There are some very good coaches around who do not come from education backgrounds. Just look at the head coaches at national level and show how many are teachers or lecturers, not any I don't think. What is a must s the ability to get your views across in productive way. The art of coaching is not a mythical thing that is limited to a certain group of people, there are others who can take to it like a duck to water, but not that many.

Well Robert if you are going to use the head coaches at the top national level in Wales then I think you have shot yourself in the foot.
Apart from Gatland the rest are not up to the job and have somehow missed out on several levels to jump to the very top!
How Howley has got as far as he has amazes me....I believe he is classified as the Welsh Team's Attack Coach....a misnomer if there ever was one!
Let's be honest Shane Williams saved his bacon time after time and since he has retired we have been bereft of ideas in attack.
I have been involved in coaching for over 40 years and have come across many very highly qualified WRU coaches who were absolutely useless but could "talk the talk"
I repeat players are not usually "over coached" they are just BADLY coached.and unfortunately I think this is the case with the Dragons.

speakoutnow wrote:

Robert Shillabeer wrote:

East Newport Dave wrote:

speakoutnow wrote:
Agree with most of the comments ...in this age you cannot separate on and off field performance .....the whole match day experience is important.
I honestly think it is a case of players being POORLY coached not just over coached.
I repeat my comments about J Evans'
poor passing...criticise Roblin if you must but most of the ball he got was very, very poor.
Again please look at the positions of players in different areas / situations, they put themselves under pressure match after match through simple errors which could be sorted out by INTELLIGENT coaching.
The coaching situation in Wales needs looking at, too many mediocre people involved at all levels and especially national and regional.... jobs for the boyos!
D E seems a nice guy but you know what they say about nice guys.
To be brutally honest if the standard of rugby in Wales doesn't improve, and quickly then it doesn't matter if the beer is free there won't be many people there to drink it

Very good point made. It seems that if an ex-player does his coaching badge he is in. I may have said this before but it tends to be those with a teaching background who make the best coaches. We certainly have a poor selection practising in Wales at present.

Not really a must, but those who come from a background of teaching tend to have the ability to get their point across easier. That however s simply an art not the most requisite thing a good coach needs. There are some very good coaches around who do not come from education backgrounds. Just look at the head coaches at national level and show how many are teachers or lecturers, not any I don't think. What is a must s the ability to get your views across in productive way. The art of coaching is not a mythical thing that is limited to a certain group of people, there are others who can take to it like a duck to water, but not that many.

Well Robert if you are going to use the head coaches at the top national level in Wales then I think you have shot yourself in the foot.
Apart from Gatland the rest are not up to the job and have somehow missed out on several levels to jump to the very top!
How Howley has got as far as he has amazes me....I believe he is classified as the Welsh Team's Attack Coach....a misnomer if there ever was one!
Let's be honest Shane Williams saved his bacon time after time and since he has retired we have been bereft of ideas in attack.
I have been involved in coaching for over 40 years and have come across many very highly qualified WRU coaches who were absolutely useless but could "talk the talk"
I repeat players are not usually "over coached" they are just BADLY coached.and unfortunately I think this is the case with the Dragons.

Tend to agree about the current Welsh coaches, apart from Gatland and Shaun Edwards they have not been anything like successful in any sort of coaching field before getting a seat at the top table. Like any head coach at regional level all have had some experience along the way by coaching at lower levels or in support of more experienced coaches as part of the learning curve to their current positions apart from the Scarlets head coach who in fairness coached a Llanelli junior side.