PerryGo in Wales 2003
By PerryGo
August 27 2003
Gwent Dragons is one of the new regional franchise teams put together at the instance of the Welsh Rugby Union – a restructuring said to be essential to the future of Welsh Rugby. But has anyone explained this to the supporters..?
The match programme started off promisingly enough. At least it had ‘GWENT DRAGONS’ in big bold upper-case lettering at the top. But that was about as clear and definitive as the new branding seemed to get.
Not only did the large-as-life player featured on the cover (who is it – does anyone know..?) look decidedly unhappy and one couldn’t help noticing his shirt was totally bereft of any sponsorship or branding. Maybe that’s why he looked so unhappy.
Perhaps we should offer to share a few spare ‘CSF’ logos with them?
In any event, identity confusion was rife. To start
with, there was no sign of any ‘Gwent’ replica shirts or other gear in the Club
Shop. That would be the
Secondly, the chant ‘
Thirdly, either no-one had told the scoreboard operator - or he’d deliberately ignored it - but, either way, the Home team was clearly visible on the scoreboard as – you guessed it – ‘Newport’.
Credit where it’s due, mind. Obviously the Club (or is it the Region..?) listen to the views of supporters on things like the scoreboard because Rodney Parade has not just one but two of the things. One electronic and one of the old-fashioned variety.
The praise I was inclined to heap on the Club/Region for this far sighted and supporter-sensitive innovation was a tad undermined by the fact that, for reasons unknown, they have chosen to site the two scoreboards right next to each other. Hmmmm. However, normality is restored by the knowledge that both of them said – yep – ‘Newport’. Or at least, they did until about 17 minutes of the first half had passed (and the home team had taken the lead, co-incidentally…) whereupon one (but not both) of the scoreboards changed to ‘Dragons’.
The total absence of any sign of ‘Gwent Dragons’ branding is perhaps not surprising. The Region was supposed to be a merger between Ebbw Vale and Newport, but because the two clubs involved could not agree on a name (Newport apparently insisting that ‘Newport’ was incorporated in it somehow) the WRU imposed the neutral name ‘Gwent Dragons’ upon them. But not upon anyone or anything to do with Rodney Parade, it seems..!
According to Plant Rugby last week, Gwent Dragons director (and Ebbw Vale Chairman) Marcus Russell said in a resignation statement that “Almost from the outset, (Newport owner) Tony Brown, together with certain other directors of Newport RFC Limited, have opposed any of the progress required for the success of Gwent Rugby Limited in protest against the name Gwent and, later, Gwent Dragons”
Only weeks after 'Gwent Dragons' was launched as the official name, the province will now - after all the initial bad feeling on the matter - incorporate the 'Newport' name in a new working title of ‘Newport and Gwent Dragons’. Catchy, eh?
Or at least, so they say. The new Regional team’s website www.gwentdragons.com has no mention whatsoever of these latest developments.
Having said that, the site doesn’t exactly exude confidence for the season ahead. In advertising season tickets for sale, trying to drum up support, it resorts to “Gwent Dragon's (sic) big matches with Leinster and Munster at Rodney Parade are well worth a seat to see Irish stars Brian O'Driscoll and Ronan O'Gara” Hmmm.
It was hard – on Monday’s evidence – to make any judgements on how the new team itself will fare. That’s not to say they looked particularly impressive, quite the opposite at times, but they were without quite a number of first-choice players. The defeat at home to Leeds the week before, in which by all accounts they played pretty badly, together with the fact that they failed to breach the Quins’ goal line in this match, will be of concern. On the other hand, it is difficult to read too much into these early pre-season workouts, and we must be mindful of not trying to do the same for Quins.
Perhaps the final word on the Gwent/Newport Super Team franchise’s lack of self-belief was evident from the choice of post-match music. As we left the ground, I could clearly hear the strains of “I’m finding it hard to believe we’re in heaven…” Chosen by someone from Ebbw Vale, maybe?
Anyway, what initial observations might we make about Quins, based on their performance?
Well, overall pretty good, I think. The first thing that impressed me was the fact that, despite playing away from home, there was no sign of the dreaded and dreadful ‘away shirt’.
On the playing side, I find it hard to fault anyone and, whilst there is undoubtedly still work to do, I would think the coaches will be reasonably pleased with the performance, especially in defence. The forwards played well as a unit, both Keogh and Willis looked lively at scrum half (and should provoke some competition for the number nine shirt) and the backs impressed, particularly Mel Deane before he went off injured. George Harder put in a couple of big hits and Paul Burke’s strengths - and weaknesses - are unchanged from last season.
If there is a negative, it may be that we failed to score more tries, but this may be put down at least in part to the rearranged backline which resulted from both Deane and Bell having to leave the field at the same time with injuries.
Another negative might be the flip-side of a positive. I thought both the starting locks, Simon Miall and Jim Evans, played very well in general play. Miall made a strong case for Man of the Match and seemed to make a huge number of tackles around the park. Evans had a terrific run ball in hand at one point in the second half and they did a good job in the set pieces. Whether these can, in part, be put down to the opposition’s weaknesses, however (they seemed to lack organisation at the line outs and in the second half were all over the place in the scrums, especially when Worsley and Dawson took over as props) we will not know until they face tougher opposition. My concern, though, is – are they big enough? And do we have enough cover in the second row?
Jim Evans is a towering 6’ 7” – but only 16 stone 2lb. Meanwhile, Simon Miall is 6’ 4” and 16 stone 6 lb - hardly heavyweights. Even Bill Davison, at 6’ 6” is only 16 stone 8lb.
That might not seem particularly significant until you compare these stats with a few peers. Martin Johnson, for example, at 6’ 7”, is 18 stone 10lb. His England and Tigers team mate, Ben Kay, is 6’ 6” and 18 stone 3lb. Wasps Simon Shaw is 6’ 9” and 19 stone 1lb, whilst Bath’s Danny Grewcock is a comparative lightweight at 6’ 6” and only 17 stone 7lb.
Perhaps the comparisons are invidious; after all, Bath’s Steve Borthwick is close to going to Australia with – or in place of – the aforementioned ‘giants’ of the English game, but at 6’ 6” he’s only 15 stone 12lb. And Sale’s 6’ 6” Chris Jones has caught the eye of the England hierarchy as one to watch despite being a mere 15 stone.
Will superior technique, ball handling skills and speed around the park compensate for the size thing? Will we be looking to play a 15-man brand of rugby to capitalise on it? I certainly hope so. Or will we regret not signing a ‘big hairy’ to balance out the lighter, faster guys?
We shall see.
It would be inappropriate to close without a brief word of appreciation to the home supporter (from Ebbw Vale) that I sat next to. If you found the website and you’re reading this, thanks for the company and the jokes. I hope the team do well this season.