Talking ourselves to death

You have to wonder if some of the hierarchy in Welsh rugby have a death wish. Elementary things, like managing the relationship with the press, appear beyond them. Here’s Paul Turner, coach of Newport Gwent Dragons, talking to the Western Mail.
“It did look like some of the players weren’t playing for Gareth,” said Turner. “The players have to take a good hard look at themselves too.”
Highlighting the problem of increased player power in the professional era, Turner also questioned the commitment levels being shown.
“A lot of the players these days haven’t grown up like we did in the game,” he explained. “It’s just become a job.
“Whether we like it or not, we are in the professional age where you get player power. The coach who comes in will have to take absolutely no messing.
“At the end of the day these players are highly paid, professional athletes and you can’t treat them any different.”
In case you’re wondering, yes, some of those players are members of the squad at Newport. They’re players Turner has to foster a good relationship with. So what’s the logical next thing to happen? Here’s Michael Owen, a thoughtful player who has some of the stamp of a future head coach about him, talking to the South Wales Argus.
"When there are around 30 players involved you are always going to get strong opinions, some will say the coach is awesome while others will say he's no good.
"It's not a case of players not doing what the coaches asked, it's nothing like the players wanted the coach out or anything like that.
"You're bound to get a difference of opinion with so many players involved and some strong opinions, but nothing untoward happened.”
"We all let ourselves down. The players are equally to blame, we didn't perform and it's got to be a shared responsibility."
Now it’s hard to see any dissent there, but that’s before the journalists got to work on the story. According to the Western Mail ‘Turner’s comments simply reiterate the belief Jenkins had lost the support of some of his senior stars.’ According to the South Wales Argus ‘Player power was not involved in the sacking of Gareth Jenkins as Wales coach, insists Newport Gwent Dragons number eight Michael Owen, pictured. There have been allegations that some players fell out with Jenkins, that they didn't support him and went their own way in the crucial game against Fiji which Wales lost and led to the dismissal of the coach.
But Owen, who captained Wales to the Grand Slam two years ago and remains an influential member of the squad, denies the players had any part to play, though he does admit they have to share the blame for the disaster which has ripped Welsh rugby apart.
So you’ve got two different points of view being spun by journalists as a result of unguarded remarks by Paul Turner and Michael Owen. Nothing unusual there you might argue, but in the tightly knit world of Welsh rugby politics introspection and the kremlinology of every word uttered by ‘insiders’ is the real national sport. What’s a head coach doing even implying that some of his charges, when they were away on national duty, may have been giving less than 100% for the national side?
Sometimes, in employment, you have to be careful not to make public statements that harm your employers’ interests. That’s why good employers have press departments to support colleagues who have contact with the press, and set boundaries for them so that they can be safe in their work with the press. You have to wonder if someone at the Dragons shouldn’t have sat Paul down and reminded him that some of the players he suggests hadn’t been playing for Gareth Jenkins were ‘his’ players, people he has to work with for the rest of the season and maybe longer.

The Dragons, arguably, don’t have the resources to support Paul Turner in this way. I suspect Paul, reading this, will think it’s a criticism of him. It’s not. It’s a criticism of an introspective system where too many journalists with too many pages to fill have too much unrestricted access to figures who haven’t been trained and helped to avoid needless controversy. That’s not how professional sport should be run. Newport Gwent Dragons gain nothing from having senior employees who should work closely together being seen to disagree in the press. Welsh rugby needs to learn that lesson before it starts any inquiry to how we ended up at the world cup with what looked like a side of lions coached by donkeys.

Who'd be a coach?

Paul Turner told the Argus the other day he couldn't see any of the Welsh regional coaches wanting to apply for the Wales job.
Paul should know; he's in the toughest job in Welsh rugby, trying to get a quart out of the pint pot that is the Newport Gwent Dragons budget. The trouble is that Welsh rugby is an environment where coach and player development isn't succeeding. Part of the problem is the lack of professional leadership in the game. Coaches like Paul Turner find themselves filling a gap where professional managers should be, and all of it under relentless pressure from media, fans and the board. The abrupt but deserved defenestration of Gareth Jenkins without any attempt to work out what went wrong was a reminder for Welsh coaches of what a harsh environment the principality can be. In the absence of sensible structures that enable clear accountability no-one wins; not the players, the coaches or the fans.
Whenever things go wrong it's easy to blame the critics for pointing out what goes wrong. Better if some openness and frankness enabled the whole rugby community to genuinely engage with the past and work towards a better future.

Dragons 16 Munster 26

How did the Dragons come to lose this game?
Easily, in the end.
The chronology of the game is mundane. The Dragons weathered an early assault by Munster, moved into a well deserved 16-0 lead, then proceeded to lose the game as inexperience and an absence of leadership overtook them, aided and abetted by a ref who followed momentum.
The Dragons started badly, looking disorganised from the kick off and struggling to keep Munster out. It was a fortunate start for the weakened Dragons that reminded neutral observers that this wasn't Munster at their full strength either. Watching Parkes and Aled Thomas open the door for Munster on the tackle line by both pursuing the same player was a terrifying reminder that under Paul Turner the Dragons have had to rely on scramble defence to make up for the sheer awfulness of their defence in the five eightth channel regardless of who's played there. Munster's failure to take the lead raised false hopes for many Dragons fans.

That the Dragons managed to claw their way back into the game was a tribute to the spine of the team. Steve Jones was combative and feisty, and Joe Bearman had his best game in a Dragons shirt, outpacing a sluggish and slow thinking Munster backrow at every turn. On the front foot Evans at scrum half, hauled on after Andy Williams' knee gave way, looked lively and bright. The Dragons try, when it came, was a copybook piece of multi phase play off a line out in the Munster 22, embellished by some neat cleaning out from Steve Jones and a dart from Evans that exposed the frailties of the Munster defence. It's part of the Dragons paradox that when they reel off one of the coaching team's set plays they can look superb, often within minutes of looking naive and disorganised.

The problem for the Dragons for much of the game was that they had absolutely no invention. The wingers stayed rooted to their wings and Gomar-Davies and Ash Smith had to try and step their way through a defence that a poor ref allowed to lie up offside all night. When Smith limped off to be replaced by Gareth Maule you got the impression that honest endeavour was never going to be enough to regularly unpick the Munster defence. Gareth Wyatt had a game of less influence than the average water carrier, even managing to win the 'least mobile back player of the night' award off the officially retired Shaun Payne. Parkes looked utterly unsuited to the link role between forward and backs that this game demanded, and floundered at times as he tried to work out how to do all that was necessary. The most dangerous option the Dragons had was Evans darting from free kicks and penalties, and the ref took that option away with a display of pedantry that was shameless in its stupidity.

Nevertheless the Dragons were looking to turn round 16-0 ahead courtesy of Evans' try and three Thomas penalties. That was before a Munster try that unpicked the Dragons defence far too easily and suggested a lack of concentration or fitness so close to the half time whistle. A second Munster try just after the break left the Dragons suddenly looking like rabbits in the headlights.

And yet, if the Dragons had been better led, they would have still been able to win this match. A brave breakout by Bearman, ably supported by Charteris, ended three metres from the Munster line where the Dragons couldn't finish the break off. A surprise rolling maul that Munster could only cynically drag down tempted the Dragons to spurn three points for a kick to the corner. The adept defusing of the attempted rolling maul by Munster was as predictable as the ref's unwillingness to follow up on his threatened yellow cards against Munster players offending in the 22.

By the end, after Warwick had picked off a poor pass for an interception try the Dragons looked inept. They were never the same team once Bearman went off, while Andrew Hall's departure ushered on Peter Sidoli for a cameo of such rivetting ordinariness that it was hard to notice he was there, save for the moment when he picked up from a ruck in a move so telegraphed that it was a wet copy of tomorrow's Argus he couldn't run through.

Unlucky teams sometimes lose games they should have won, but losing teams often blame luck when a long hard look at what they're trying to achieve would make more sense. An organised and robust ten man game from this Dragons pack could have secured this game; arguably the loss of Williams early on decided this game. Nevertheless it's hard to see this side winning more than they lose this season

The press and the Dragons

Andy Howell of the worst paper in the world has been having a snipe at the Dragons again. According to Andy Dragons fans are
Already unhappy at the failure of the board of the Rodney Parade outfit to hold serious talks with an alleged consortium, fronted by former WRU chief executive Steve Lewis...
In the best traditions of the Western Mail (a paper that doesn't believe in wasting its money on journalism) Andy appears to have got his story here. All Andy appears to have added is the description of Steve Lewis's group as an 'alleged' consortium. It's a curious tale that Dragons fans have agonised over for months, trying to work out whether there was any serious intent on Lewis's part to bring some money to the table. Since Lewis never did make a financial offer or a statement of intent we'll never know.
Back in May, when this story first started to run a chap called Andrew Lambert popped up and acted as spokesperson for the consortium. He told the BBC

"The key aim is to develop rugby in the area.

"The people involved, certainly from a rugby spectator's point of view, have got the right motives.

"We're well on with our discussions but it is a complicated issue and a matter that we must get right.

"The goal is to improve the situation, both on the pitch and in terms of the facilities."

Along the way Andrew vanished, and the ubiquitous Steve Lewis came to the fore. Lewis has been an articulate critic of the current Dragons board, keen to promote his own commercial interest in the Dragons, even if it means undermining the current side in the process. Along the way he has had an unwitting (if one is being generous) ally in Dragons coach Paul Turner. Here's Paul talking about the Dragons squad in close season.

"We've got to look for some investment to try to bring the right sort of players here.

These kinds have well done this season in the Challenge Cup, but Heineken Cup is a totally different kettle of fish.

Having lost Ian Gough, Gareth Cooper and the two Brew boys [Nathan and Aled], we need to dip into the market."

I'm all for a touch of realism, but telling your squad they're not good enough is probably taking it a bit far. Paul has a curious relationship with his club via the press. For over a year he's been criticising the board of the club for not doing what he tells them. It's an interesting way to do one's job, and smacks of excuse making; anything good that happens on the pitch is Turner's doing, and anything bad is the board's fault. He's found a willing ally in Robin Davey of the South Wales Argus, a journalist so thin skinned and popularly derided he's taken to answering his critics back through his columns. Here's Robin talking in his column about the demise of the 'alleged' consortium (one day Andy Howell will explain to me how you can be an alleged consortium).
Without in any way being smug, I can't help but feel that constant pressure from these columns has at least forced the Dragons board to act in some way. But the website brigade who accused me of shying away from the Rodney Parade revelations last week because of the risk of egg on face over the consortium collapse' when, in fact, I was on holiday in the south of France will convince themselves otherwise.

Robin enjoys a strong relationship with Paul Turner; once the Dragons coach started his bandwagon about the Dragons needing new facilities Robin was on board and pursuing his cause with a fervour he never brings to his rugby reports. The perfect example of this came in 2006, when Ben Breeze wrote an article in the match programme calling for more investment in facilities, and was praised for his vision in an Argus article written by Davey and quoting Paul Turner.

How long the Dragons baod should tolerate this open rebellion by an employee is for them to judge, but it does seem odd to me that Turner is allowed to criticise the club and its directors openly and freely, yet suffers no sanction. The lack of a Chief Executive at Rodney Parade is undoubtedly an issue, but you have to ask if it isn;t time for Paul to shut up about the ground and the finances, and stick to what he's supposed to do which is coaching the rugby side.

Llanelli Scarlets 23 Newport Gwent Dragons 30

An unbiassed observer might comment that Llanelli will hope not to play worse than this all eason, but the Dragons might fear they won't play any better.
The Scarlets handed the Dragons a twenty point advantage in as many minutes, betraying a rustiness that suggests their pre-season hasn't gone well. The Dragons, on the other hand, were belying the pre-match comments of their coach who was less Tina Turner than Morrissey in his outlook. Turner has been quick to complain that he hasn't been given the money to spend that other Welsh coaches have enjoyed. Against a ragged and ineffectual Scarlets pack in the first half of this game any spending by the Scarlets appeared to have been wasted.
The wheels came off for the Scarlets from the first kick off. Richard Mustoe cut the Scarlets defence to pieces by the simple tactic of running to where the ball was going to land, and catching it when it arrived. Add in some poor quality tackling from the Scarlets defence and Rhys Thomas was over for an astonishing try. Add in the conversion and a penalty for from Aled Thomas and a 10-0 lead looked faintly unbelievable. Just as the Scarlets started to claw their way back into the game a Gareth Wyatt interception took the score out to 17-0, before another conversion and subsequent penalty by Thomas took the score to a frankly surreal 20-3 by half time.

More sober Dragons fans than your correspondent will have noted, despite the score, that the Dragons weren't entirely convincing value for their lead. Despite a clever kicking game from Thomas and Andy Williams, the forwards struggled to assert themselves over a Llanelli 8 who made best use of all the latitude allowed them by the referee. On defence the Dragons' best friend was the ineptitude of a Llanelli back line whose error rate was implausibly high, allied to a Llanelli game plan that eschewed forward effort for an over dependence on midfield moves that simply ran headlong into the packed but narrow Dragons defence.

The doubts of those more sober Dragons fans were made concrete at the start of the second half, as the Scarlets set aside their first half reticence and tried to grab the game by the scruff of its neck. Judging by the way in which the referee's decisions started to routinely go against the Dragons it was hard not to wonder if it was just the Scarlets players who had received a blistering pep talk from Phil Davies at half time.

Tries from Garan Evans and Iestyn Thomas, who had transformed the Scarlets front row, ensued as Llanelli raised the tempo of their game and used the ball and field position that the Dragons' naive approach to discipline afforded them. The naivety and foolhardiness of the Dragons was epitomized when Aled Thomas was sinbinned for an attempted foul that achieved nothing except to capture the attention of a ref who was increasingly disenchanted with the Dragons approach to the game. Add in the three points for the penalty awarded to compensate Llanelli for Aled Thomas not being able to kick one of their players and it looked as if once again Turner's Dragons were to have their fire extinguished late in the game.

Not this time. Another opportunistic Dragons attack set up a stunning field position from which Andy Williams managed to worm his way over the line to the satisfaction of the TMO, if not the Llanelli players and supporters.

Despite the Dragons best efforts to concede field position and ball the Scarlets failed to close the gap sufficiently before the final whistle - the bad tempered fist fight on the touchline just before the final whistle spoke volumes about the frustration of a Llanelli side who couldn't believe the extent of their own inadequacies.

For the Dragons there was much to be hopeful about, and much to fear. In the spine of the team Steve Jones looked close to back to his abrasive best, even if he was ultimately substituted to reduce the penalty count against him, but Fitisemanu was subdued in manner and tentative in his handling. Luke Charteris has played better than he did today, and will hopefully captain more assertively in future. By way of compensation Richard Parkes looked comfortable at this level, and capable of raising his game when he has to compete for a place in the back row with the peerless Colin Charvis.

Behind the scrum Andy Williams was a competent game manager and a brave general, sure in his choices about when he had to lead from the front. He'll need many more such performances while he is playing inside a juvenile midfield of Thomas, Smith and Dolman. All three showed glimpses of their promise, but all three made errors of judgement that would have been more costly against sides less ill-equipped to take advantage of them than this Scarlets side.

And yet, tonight, it's the Dragons who will take most comfort from the Magners League table. In a season where away wins are all too scarce, this one will be treasured by Dragons fans for reasons that are pragmatic as well as sectarian.

Yes, I know, but I thought I ought to post this...

My dad phones me from Rodney Parade after Borders have been dispatched 48-0.
"I want my money back Gar. We didn't have a single excuse to barrack the ref or the coach...."

Nuff said, and great to see Gareth Chapman back in the side...

Blyth Transport in 2016 – How it could be

It's been a good year for public transport in Blyth. The re-opening of the Bates Colliery line as an energy efficient people mover link to the new transport interchange at Newsham from the town centre has completed a process begun when SE Northumberland PTE was created in 2009. With electric / hybrid power buses operating town services on the Cowpen Road, Plessey and Beach lines public transport inside the town is now carbon neutral, an ambition that was beyond the borough council in 2006.

Not everything is rosy though. Problems obtaining sufficient rolling stock have led to some timekeeping problems on the AB&T, with trains not meeting their timekeeping targets. Train units have been obtained from operators who found them surplus to requirements after replacing them with more up to date units, and it is hoped that, with the re-opening of Chathill and Belford next year, the service will continue to be the spine of public transport in south east Northumberland and further north. Looking forward, discussions are still underway with Nexus as to the possibility of replacing the current train fleet with dual power rolling stock that can transfer to the Metro system and run under electric power from Backworth to South Gosforth, with some journeys extending to Jesmond overground.

The plans for redevelopment of Cramlington Station will go to a public inquiry in 2017. They require the approval of the secretary of state for the relocation of the train station to the south of its existing location, a d the creation of a third pass through track to help speed express services past local trains. Having said that, SENPTE's proposal to replace the existing local services with an express service operated by surplus 95 mph multiple units will, by raising average speeds on the line, enable more services to be run. The proposed services, to Carlisle and Durham via Newcastle, will start and end at Morpeth, although approval is being sort for a peak hour service in each direction to run Edinburgh – Durham and Morpeth – Glasgow via Carlisle. Such services would have been unthinkable before the introduction of road charging.

The other strand of public transport in Cramlington is the links between the new bus station on the site of the old police station to Newsham by a fast high volume service, and the development of the bus priority route via Dudley and Wideopen to Newcastle Great Park and the Regent Centre. These services are operated in partnership by the PTE and bus companies, using modern vehicles designed to attract passengers from the winnable 30% of commuters likely to give up their cars for an alternative.

None of this would have been possible without the integrated ticketing that was a central plank of the operating programme of the PTE. Passengers have always resisted interchanges between modes where ticketing problems might occur; the integrated ticketing system adopted in 2011 were an essential element in the new public transport offer. The changes coming on stream now, where each passengers ticket holder acts as an information assistant, providing real time information on arrival times and journey progress via a combination of GPS and SMS has been described by passenger groups as 'genuinely liberating'.

What this blog is for...

Lots of people have strong opinions about the complete disaster that has been the regional reorganisation of welsh rugby.
Despite good results for the national side (in a bad season for our main opponents) crowds are down, the regional game has become a sham and the Celtic League is a plaything for national selectors and the meddlesome blazerati.
So I now have somewhere I can write about rugby without being accused of meddling in the internal politics of Newport rugby, or of frightening those mythical creatures of Welsh rugby, the non committed Gwent fans.
And along the way we can maybe test out how blogger works with team working, and maybe some multiple posters on this blog....
Without offending the club management by using an official site...

That's the theory anyway...

An inauspicious start

what a good day to start a new blog about the joys of being a supporter od Newport rugby...

Yes punters, here's the good news; Ceri Sweeney can play for the north against the south in a charity bunfight at Twickenham, but he can't play for Newport Dragons in a Celtic League match that matters the night before....

The motto of this blog, as ever with Welsh rugby, will be 'You couldn't make it up....'