Sport

Wales hold on to beat Ireland

Published

3 years ago

February 8, 2021

Wales 21 – Ireland 16

AN UNEVEN display by Wales, who spent 65 minutes of the game with an extra man, was enough to see of an Irish side which never stopped pressing for an against-the-odds win.

And the win is what counts.

In a punishing and physical encounter, Wales lost players to injury and head assessments, which might explain the up and down nature of their performance.

When Peter O’Mahony was given red on fifteen minutes for a headshot on Tomos Francis, Wales might have fancied their chances; especially with the benefit of a six-point lead, courtesy of Leigh Halfpenny’s reliable boot. The brutal physical exchanges favoured Ireland, who spoiled Welsh possession, tackled like demons, and played a territorial kicking game to pin Wales back in their own half.

That was enough for Ireland to chisel their way to a 13-6 lead at the half.

With O’Mahony off the pitch, Ireland scored thirteen unanswered points. Six from Sexton’s boot and a try from a Welsh mistake.

Ireland’s try came when Wales made a hash of their own put in at the lineout. Scruffy ball got to Henshaw, who carved a gap through Wales’ defence. His pass found Josh van der Flier, who powered on before being hauled down. From the resulting ruck, Tadhg Beirne forced his way over the Welsh line and Sexton added the routine extras.

The lead was no more than Ireland deserved. After a promising first ten minutes, Wales faded out of the game for the last twenty minutes of a rugged first half in which the sides traded heavy tackles. Having got sucked into a physical encounter, Wales missed out on the chance to spread the ball wide to make the best use of their one-man advantage. Hallam Amos, out on the blindside wing, barely touched the ball or received a pass in an attacking position.

The third quarter of the game was Wales’ best period of sustained play as they, at last, managed to get on the front foot. Some brutal tackling blunted Wales’ efforts, with Taulupe Faletau losing the ball in contact when well-placed.

However, tries from George North – who was impressive at outside centre – and Gloucester flyer Louis Rees-Zammit, with an acrobatic effort, were a fair reward for the Welsh team’s efforts. Those scores were enough to give Wales and 18-13 lead, which Leigh Halfpenny increased to eight points with a 65th-minute penalty.

With that lead, Wales brought on fresh legs for the final fifteen minutes.

Callum Sheedy stepped in at fly-half with Dan Biggar moving to full-back and Halfpenny switching to the left-wing in place of Hallam Amos. Will Rowlands came on in at lock, and Leon Brown and Rhodri Jones came on in the front row.

Billy Burns, on as HIA replacement for Robbie Henshaw only minutes before came on at fly-half to replace Johnny Sexton, with Sexton’s half-back partner Conor Murray leaving the field shortly afterwards.

Burns kicked a penalty to make it 21-16 with eight minutes left.

The outstanding Justin Tipuric, who played from the first whistle to last made a vital tackle in injury time at the end of the game, as Wales clung on to their five-point lead.

Ospreys number six Dan Lydiate waited two years for a call-up to Wales’ starting fifteen. His return lasted all of twelve minutes before what is thought to be a serious ligament injury.

The blow means he will miss the rest of Six Nations. In his place, substitute Josh Navidi, himself working his way back from injury, had a decent game but was some way from his rampaging best.

Wales also lost centre, Johnny Williams, to a head injury assessment (HIA), while scrum-half Tomos Williams left the field with a hamstring injury at the half. Near the end of the game, Hallam Amos also left the field for an HIA.

In exchange, Ireland lost lock Johnny Ryan and the talismanic Johnny Sexton, while Robbie Henshaw left the field for an HIA, returning after Sexton left the pitch.

The Welsh tight five looked a lot better in the scrum than they did throughout the autumn internationals. The return of Ken Owens certainly added heft to the front row, but the lineout problems which plagued Wales throughout 2020 persisted. Wales also lost the ball in contact too many times for comfort and that is an area they will need to tighten up against Gregor Townsend’s in-form Scotland team this Saturday.

PIVAC COUNTS THE COST OF VICTORY

After the game, Wales’ coach Wayne Pivac reflected on Wales’ performance.

“We’ve picked up a few injuries, so we’re looking at those now. We’re sort of counting the walking wounded after that one,” said Pivac.

“With a six-day turnaround before Scotland, it means any players with head knocks are gone. That means we’ll lose a couple of players straight away.

“Then we’ve got a hamstring for Tomos Williams, which we’re hoping is not serious. I wouldn’t have thought it will turn round in six days. We’ll see how the rest of the squad is tomorrow and look at what sort of side we can put together on Tuesday.”

If the injuries were the downside of the 21-16 victory, they couldn’t dent the pride Pivac and his coaching team felt at seeing their side upset one of the favourites for the title.

“It was game one, so to get off to a winning start was very important. It was a mixed performance, really. Our scrum went well, which was a big improvement on the last outing, but there are still things to tidy up on in our line-out on our ball.

“On their ball, we turned some over and put pressure on, so it was a mixed bag in that area of the game. It was our discipline which cost us last time when they kicked 18 points. That’s what got them back into this game and put pressure on us throughout.

“We really have to have a look at that area of the game and what’s causing those penalties. We must make sure we tidy that up.”

What did please the Wales boss, though, was the way Georg North and Louis Rees-Zammit took their tries in the second half to spearhead Wales’ second-half revival. It was try No 42 for Wales from North on his 99th appearance for his country.

“It was good to see them both cross and a really good finish from Louis. George just used his power and pace and took good advantage of that opportunity – you’d expect that from a player of his experience,” added Pivac.

“It was a fantastic finish from Louis. We’re just disappointed we put ourselves under so much pressure in the end. We could have won the game at the scrum put-in, looked at creating one phase, cleaning out that ruck and then kicking the ball out.

“But we put ourselves under a bit more pressure for another three to four minutes. We have discussed that in the changing room as well. In a game like that with the injuries, we did not really need that.

“The players had already called the play and knew what they needed to do to make one last ruck and get the ball out, but there was one player on the pitch who wasn’t on the same page and Ireland got the ball back. Unfortunately, it meant a lot more defending and a lot more out of the tank before a six-day turnaround.”

“We talked around our discipline and how important it was after the last time we played them, and I think after the sending off we conceded the next six penalties,” said Pivac.

“It was very difficult to get our hands on the ball and the possession and territory stats showed that right away. We talked about that at half-time and the third 20 minutes were a lot better and we managed to claw our way back into the game and get two scores ahead.

“To get a win in circumstances like today was important. Since taking over the role, it has really been about this competition. It was day one, round one and it was very important we got a win. Now we’ve got to re-focus before facing a very confident and very strong Scotland squad in their backyard after a very good win.”

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Wales hold on to beat Ireland – Final score: Wales 21 – Ireland 16

Sport

Spotlight – Milford United

Published

22 hours ago

December 3, 2023

Herald Sport

We recently sat down with Milford United manager Steve Parks, we timed it well on the back of an outstanding 7-1 win at Marble Hall. The season has started extremely well for Parks’ men, many may have predicted a relegation dog fight this season. However as the weeks and games tick by this seems to be very unlikely as the boys from Marble Hall prove they belong in the top division.

Herald Thanks for your time Steve, a fantastic win for you yesterday beating Tenby 7-1, how do you reflect on that?

Steve Yesterday was a great win against a good Tenby side who have been strong this season. To win this tie and score 7 was a true reflection of our ability as a team and our willingness to play the ball through the right channels.

Herald Assuming stabilising division one status is your priority this season? You seem to have had a very positive start, is that how you see it?

Steve To progress into the last 16 of the West Wales Cup is a true reflection of our cup performances this season beating three first division teams, one from Swansea, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire with 21 goals scored and only 2 conceded.
This seasons objective was to remain in the 1st Division and gain valuable experience along the way . We have a mixture of youth and experience in our squad and potential to improve as a team as the season progresses.

Herald Who have been your stand out players so far this season?

Steve As a Manager I am conscientious about
naming stand out players, all squad members have had a part to play this season. We have a young talented goalkeeper who is growing with confidence with every game he plays. We are very strong in defence and have creative midfield players that offer our forwards plenty of opportunities in front of goal.

Herald With the two cup competitions still alive for you and mid table in the league so far. What would be deemed a successful season for you this season?

Steve A successful season for Milford united would be to finish mid table in the League, have a good Senior Cup and West Wales Cup run. The season started well winning the Joe Lennon Cup which we haven’t won for a very long time. We as a club are looking forward to the challenges ahead of us for the rest of the 23/24 season and hope to be as competitive as we can.

Sport

West Wales Cup Round Up 02/12/23

Published

23 hours ago

December 3, 2023

Herald Sport

Unfortunately the weather got the better of the majority of fixtures this weekend in Pembrokeshire and indeed West Wales. However the games that did go ahead provided us with plenty of action and plenty to talk about.

In the West Wales Cup, Milford United hit 7 in a huge victory over Tenby. We expected this to be a close affair with both clubs having similar records so far in the league and having drawn earlier in the season. However yesterday was a complete dominance for the hosts, Scott Reid with a hat-rick, two penalties for Liam Parr and a goal a piece for Grimwood and Parks. It sees Milford into the next round of the competition and it’ll be a shock to the system for Tenby. Milford host Monkton Swifts in the league next week and it’ll be another opportunity to make a statement in their first season back in the top division.

A brace for Anthony Couzens ensured Fishguard Sports’ progressed to the next round of the competition, as they defeated AFC Glais 4-3. The cup proved a nice break from what has been a tricky season in the league so far for Phil Jones and his men.

Carew came out on top of the all Pembrokeshire tie in the West Wales Cup at the Gerald Hicks Recreation Ground. They defeated Pennar Robins 6-2, as they welcomed Sam Christopher back to the club after a spell elsewhere. Christopher was on the score sheet along with Hinchcliffe (2) who also got an assist and is in top form. Curtis Hurlow also popped up with a rare goal for the defender, youngster Archie Smith also getting on the score sheet in a win sure to please manager Scott Richards.

The West Wales Cup fixtures that didn’t take place yesterday will be re scheduled for next Saturday, taking precedence over any scheduled fixture.

News

Sporting achievements celebrated at the Sport Pembrokeshire Awards 2023

Published

2 days ago

December 2, 2023

Tom Sinclair

The remarkable achievements of Pembrokeshire’s sporting community were celebrated at a glittering awards ceremony on Friday evening, November 24^th.

The Sport Pembrokeshire Awards 2023 were held at Folly Farm and paid tribute to efforts both on and off the pitch by sports people, coaches and volunteers alike.

Record nominations had been received as the awards continue to go from strength to strength.

The judges had an extremely difficult task to whittle the numbers firstly down to finalists and then deserving winners.

The winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award was race walking star Heather Warner who has represented both Wales and Team GB at the highest levels.

A Pembrokeshire Harrier, Heather soon discovered a natural talent for race walking and it was no surprise that a collection of local and national titles followed.

Welsh and Team GB vests at both junior and senior level were the natural progression in her career.

Heather collected a fantastic seventh place in the Commonwealth Games in 2018 on Australia’s Gold Coast and a British record followed in Birmingham four years later to go with a brilliant sixth place.

While competing around the world Heather has always continued to coach at Pembrokeshire Harriers and passing on the breadth of her knowledge and experience and is a worthy winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award for 2023.

“Heather’s outstanding success, coupled with an obvious desire to one day guide others, can only help raise the profile of the sport in a positive way,” said Geoff Williams from BBC Wales, who presented Heather with her award.

The winner of the Chairman’s Special Achievement Award, presented by Cllr Thomas Tudor, was Makala Jones.

Makala has taught cold water confidence and a proper swimming technique to countless people of all ages in Pembrokeshire, enabling them to enjoy the coastline all year round. She also successfully swum the English channel solo in July this year.

She has been described as a legend, an inspiration, a real-life super hero, great fun to be around, a role model proving you can achieve your dreams and an incredibly strong and helpful human being.

In presenting her award, Cllr Tudor said what makes her so special is her passion for sharing the benefits of outdoor swimming for improved mental health.

This year the School Award was won by Ysgol Penrhyn Dewi.

The judges were impressed by the wide range of sports and activities provided by and hosted by Ysgol Penrhyn Dewi and how the school is a focal point for sports health and wellbeing in the St Davids community and surrounding areas.

Under Headteacher Rachel Thomas and Head of Wellbing Bruce Evans, young people are given the opportunity to try a wide variety of sports and activities to embed a love of staying active and protecting the natural environment from an early age.

It was also a significant evening with the announcement that host Bill Carne would be retiring after 17 years presenting the awards.

Matthew Freeman, manager of Sport Pembrokeshire, paid tribute to his dedication and professionalism over the years.

“Bill Carne has become synonymous with the Sport Pembrokeshire Awards and is rightly regarded as the voice of sport in Pembrokeshire,” he said.

“Sport Pembrokeshire are truly honoured to have had his support at the awards for all these years along with his wider support in advocating and raising the profile of the work that Sport Pembrokeshire team do across the county.

“Bill can now retreat from the stage and enjoy the evening from the audience’s vantage point and enjoy the spectacle that is the Sport Pembrokeshire awards.”

The other winners are as follows: