Unprotected Six?
The Six Nations has gone and the inquisitions have begun. Why don’t we
win line-outs? Why do we struggle when expectations are high? Why do Italy
look half decent against Wales? And were Wales really only the fourth best
team? Oh so many questions. But sometimes you have to admit the best team won
and, true enough, Ireland did. The bottom line is that Wales have all the right
components – both in terms of players and coaches – and they are
only a few tweaks away from being world class contenders. For that reason,
this set-back should be kept in proportion. The World Cup will be the time
to judge this group of players.
Target man
Gavin Henson gets
drunk after Wales beat England. Gavin Henson stands on a pool table. Gavin Henson
gets mouthy. Gavin Henson must be
destroyed. I added the
last one myself to fit in with some of the self-righteous brigade who found his
behaviour in the Queen’s Vaults appalling/disgraceful/irresponsible/insulting
(there were plenty of other adjectives). It’s all derived from the principle
that sportsmen, as role models, must behave a certain way. To my mind that means
they shouldn’t do something illegal. Henson was drunk and loud. Not ideal,
but it’s no great crime, especially as his next game was a fortnight away
and nearly all top sportsmen have a night out once in awhile. A big part of the
issue is that Henson is seen by the media as a fair target for abuse: he uses
the media to cultivate his celebrity status so the media have a right to use
him when he looks a bit silly. That said, Henson being drunk is not a valid reason
to castigate him in the way they did. The response was totally disproportionate
to the “offence”. What’s ironic is that two of his journo critics – both
men whose wages are paid by the public and, like Henson, hold a role of public
responsibility - were absolutely smashed on the same night!
Punch break
Joe Calzaghe has gone, but the Welsh Amateur Boxing Association are putting up
a good fight in his absence. Figures obtained by RedHanded show that in the 15
years since Calzaghe turned professional in 1993, the number of amateur fighters
in this country has soared by 30% to 3,332. It’s a huge increase, helped
largely by the growth in the number of clubs in that period, rising from approximately
100 to 111 today. Ironically, one of the most promising aspects of the expansion
will possibly come in the Olympic arena, the one stage Calzaghe never appeared
on. Currently there are four Welsh boxers in the Great Britain Development Programme
and two, light welterweight Lewis Rees and Andrew Selby, the European bantamweight
bronze medallist, in the elite Podium Programme, the 14-strong pool of fighters
from which the eventual Olympic team is chosen. All of a sudden it seems the
chances of a Welshman fighting at the Games are relatively high, no small feat
considering there hasn’t been one since 1984.
Riath Al-Samarrai covers back and goes on the counterattack