Gwent Dragons 2015/16 thread

by dragon4life Tue Oct 21, 2014 4:17 pm

First topic message reminder :

3 in Wales squad that would have been 4 if tyler was fit

by The Saint Fri Nov 14, 2014 9:20 pm

Each team unloaded the bench, though our 2nd half displays must still be of great concern for Lyn.

by dragon4life Fri Nov 14, 2014 9:23 pm

Saint-Harris played in the currie cup final for western province about 4 weeks ago. Played in every game in that I think so was just chucked straight into the dragons team without much of a rest

by Guest Fri Nov 14, 2014 10:46 pm

Good result. Would say that is probably our first choice front five starting, so hopefully we have a bit of confidence from so many driving lineout tries Laugh

Very concerned by the drop off in performance second half, changes or not. Boys should've been buzzing after going 48-0 up after HT and kept the momentum going.

by The Saint Fri Nov 14, 2014 11:17 pm

Rev, do you think that lock jersey is Hill's? Is he better than Goughy? I've always rated Hill mind, watched him since U20s and I was always astounded at the fact Blues ignored him. I just haven't really seen him play this season. Is he a big guy? He was pretty lean when in the white and black of Ponty.

by Guest Sat Nov 15, 2014 5:34 am

It's Hill's or Screech's, I think. I would say Screech from the start of the season, but now I personally think Hill has it. They're all going to rotate though, I guess (bar Landman).

by maestegmafia Sat Nov 15, 2014 8:56 am

Well done Dragons, he'll of a performance being reported in the papers today. Missed the game unfortunately but great result.

by VinceWLB Sat Nov 15, 2014 9:45 am

You have to wonder what was the point the Dragons had playing the likes of Landman, Stankovich, Harris.. who have played a lot of rugby already this season.
A win in that fashion in this competition isn't going to impress anyone.

by wayne Sat Nov 15, 2014 1:06 pm

VinceWLB wrote:You have to wonder what was the point the Dragons had playing the likes of Landman, Stankovich, Harris.. who have played a lot of rugby already this season.
A win in that fashion in this competition isn't going to impress anyone.

Vince, I've posted on our Topic, what did they gain from this game against the team that was put out and to put it succintly. SFA.

by Guest Sat Nov 15, 2014 1:15 pm

Dragons gain a fair bit actually. Bit of momentum for a start, given that wins have been pretty rare this season. A knowledge that we don't need to keep relying on off form players like Brew (as an example). Players like Hill, Wardle, Morgan given crucial playing time and Brok Harris eased into our playing squad.

But yeah, Dragons gain sweet FA.

by wayne Sat Nov 15, 2014 1:25 pm

[quote="Risca Rev"]

But yeah, Dragons gain sweet FA.[/quote
I'm glad you agree with me

by Guest Sat Nov 15, 2014 1:34 pm

Somebody has to

by VinceWLB Sat Nov 15, 2014 3:19 pm

Dragons gained a knee injury to one of their most important player, Stankovich picard

by glamorganalun Sat Nov 15, 2014 11:52 pm

This is the risk you take fielding some of the best plsyer in a nothing game unless there is strength in depth. Looks an impressive first half for the Dragons, I suspect they went to sleep in the second half.

by Guest Sun Nov 16, 2014 11:38 am

VinceWLB wrote:Dragons gained a knee injury to one of their most important player, Stankovich

How long is he out for? He could've got injured in training if he hadn't have played or could easily pick up an injury early v Munster, so you can't wrap players in cotton wool.

by dragon999 Sun Nov 16, 2014 1:16 pm

could be 1 week,could be 8 - Lyn Jones said yesterday

by dragon999 Sun Nov 16, 2014 1:17 pm

glamorganalun wrote:This is the risk you take fielding some of the best plsyer in a nothing game unless there is strength in depth. Looks an impressive first half for the Dragons, I suspect they went to sleep in the second half.

Bench cleared, two yellows & took foot off gas

by glamorganalun Sun Nov 16, 2014 11:29 pm

Thanks for that, I read the weather also helped.

by Guest Sun Nov 16, 2014 11:30 pm

Phil Price was part of a strong scrum at Quins, so I'm not too worried if him or even Owen Evans have to play. Loose head is not really an issue for us, as welcome as Boris is. Plus you get more round the park from Price.

by dragon999 Mon Nov 17, 2014 12:25 am

Price is a class loose head & favoured by the coaches so agree with you!

by dragon4life Mon Nov 17, 2014 10:42 pm

Evans was strong in scrum against stade and Price was good in scrum against quins so no problems at loosehead

by dragon4life Mon Nov 17, 2014 10:43 pm

And against munster sam hobbs got the better of the munster TH so thats saying something

by The Saint Thu Nov 20, 2014 7:49 pm

Harris to LH this week?

by Luckless Pedestrian Thu Nov 20, 2014 8:13 pm

O'Brien left out of the squad but apparently not because of injury. I'm not sure that's particularly clever. They sent him back to Cross Keys because it was only Low-Value Cup games coming up, so it's a bit odd to reward Dorian Jones for good performances in said Low-Value Cup. Unless O'Brien's been poor for Cross Keys, I don't know.

by dragon999 Thu Nov 20, 2014 10:52 pm

Angus went off with concussion against Newcastle, not sure what the protocol is now for that, but it is a hot topic at the moment so maybe this might be an issue?

by Guest Fri Nov 21, 2014 4:20 pm

Angus wasn't great against Newcastle, so I think Lyn has sent him back to Keys for development personally. Not the greatest example of man management. He is starting for Keys tonight. I am not overly enthused by Dorian playing ten tonight.

by dragon999 Fri Nov 21, 2014 10:40 pm

Dragons really struggling - is it time for Lyn & Kings to go?

by Guest Fri Nov 21, 2014 10:42 pm

It's not looking got for them is it? We put out a pretty strong team but got pumped. Did you go to the game? I wasn't there. Only going on the scoreline. Looks bad.

by dragon999 Fri Nov 21, 2014 11:01 pm

Yes Griff - first half boys did relatively well but were unable to cross the line.Second half was without doubt the worst 40 minutes of rugby i have seen in a very long time if ever, Munster tore us a new one, we were just not at the races what ball we did get we kicked away very badly. Munster scored seemimgly at will through great tactical kicking by Keatley & a driving lineout we were powerless to stop. Embarrassing! That said, well done Munster you taught us a lesson in foward play & tactical nous

by dragon4life Fri Nov 21, 2014 11:05 pm

Coaches need to go. Awful game plan.

by dragon999 Fri Nov 21, 2014 11:09 pm

You may be right, Dragons are better than that second half showing

by Luckless Pedestrian Sat Nov 22, 2014 4:27 am

It's hard to defend that second-half performance. Munster upped their game, but even so, that was just rank poor. The tries from the driving lineout were too easy for them, it was like going back to last season against Connacht. It just seemed inevitable. And Munster's try at the start of the second half came (indirectly) from a chargedown, which was depressingly familiar.

Positives: Rhys Jones at full back played better than Lee Byrne has for us this season in my opinion; Hallam ran the ball back rather than skying it and made ground every time; Lewis Evans didn't put a foot wrong and must be sick and tired of being on the losing side; Tyler Morgan looked sharp when he had the ball but should have been in midfield where he would have seen more of it.

'No excuses,' the Joneses said at the start of the season; I'm looking forward to hearing the latest ones.

by bedfordwelsh Sat Nov 22, 2014 8:15 am

I have backed the Jones' boys most of the way but like others on here now serious questions need to be asked as to whether they are up to the task/right men for job etc?

I have always liked both coaches and the one thing I thought Kingsley would bring is being a Gwent (Ebbw) boy then it would help the Region spread more through Gwent.

However if they go who will come in? Could we afford any real big names and could they do anymore with what they got, I think we have recruited relatively well but they don't seem to be responding or the coaches cant get best out of them.

There were rumours before the season linking Shane Howarth with us which I thought would be great but could he do the head coach role or should he come in as an additional coach etc etc.

by VinceWLB Sat Nov 22, 2014 9:22 am

Ouch this is a pretty embarrassing defeat from the Dragons, told you guys putting 50 points on the Ospreys academy boys means Poopie

by Guest Sat Nov 22, 2014 9:42 am

VinceWLB wrote:Ouch this is a pretty embarrassing defeat from the Dragons, told you guys putting 50 points on the Ospreys academy boys means Poopie

I still don't agree with you Vince. To say that winning a match, any match, rather than losing it is pointless is just poor logic. The only other outcome would have been losing against the ospryes (or drawing I suppose) - I just can't see how that is better than winning.

by dragon999 Sat Nov 22, 2014 10:33 am

I get where Vince is coming from - Read a lot this week about Dragons rolling maul & defence of, so did Munster & they put the improvement right in perspective - it's ok to do it against a young inexperienced Osprey side but Munster are a totally different kettle of fish, our coaches & players know that & should do the talking on the field not in the press.

by The Saint Sat Nov 22, 2014 10:35 am

The problem is Welsh rugby, it needs addressing from the bottom up instead of the top down. And no, that does not mean bringing back old clubs, sorry to disapoint.

I'm fairness, it was a good Munster team. They possibly have better depth than the other 3 right now, that's a result of the Penney legacy. So until the infrastructure is sorted, we'll always be chasing irish tails.

by Allty Sat Nov 22, 2014 11:07 am

lJ is not a good coach and has been out of his depth for many seasons at different clubs.

by VinceWLB Sat Nov 22, 2014 11:17 am

Griff wrote:
VinceWLB wrote:Ouch this is a pretty embarrassing defeat from the Dragons, told you guys putting 50 points on the Ospreys academy boys means Poopie

I still don't agree with you Vince. To say that winning a match, any match, rather than losing it is pointless is just poor logic. The only other outcome would have been losing against the ospryes (or drawing I suppose) - I just can't see how that is better than winning.

My point was that it was useless for the Dragons to play such a team against the Ospreys, they lost a player through injury and it would appear it didn't even served them well as preparation for the Munster game if yesterday result is anything to go by.

by Guest Sat Nov 22, 2014 11:41 am

VinceWLB wrote:
Griff wrote:
VinceWLB wrote:Ouch this is a pretty embarrassing defeat from the Dragons, told you guys putting 50 points on the Ospreys academy boys means Poopie

I still don't agree with you Vince. To say that winning a match, any match, rather than losing it is pointless is just poor logic. The only other outcome would have been losing against the ospryes (or drawing I suppose) - I just can't see how that is better than winning.

My point was that it was useless for the Dragons to play such a team against the Ospreys, they lost a player through injury and it would appear it didn't even served them well as preparation for the Munster game if yesterday result is anything to go by.

Such a team? As has been pointed out we only had about 3-5 first choice players (depending on your opinion). The rest were squad players - either 2nd or 3rd or perhaps even 4th. As also pointed out the O's had a similar number of match day squad players. I agree that playing our best team would have been slightly pointless, but then we didn't so.

by The Saint Sat Nov 22, 2014 4:22 pm

Griff wrote:
VinceWLB wrote:
Griff wrote:
VinceWLB wrote:Ouch this is a pretty embarrassing defeat from the Dragons, told you guys putting 50 points on the Ospreys academy boys means Poopie

I still don't agree with you Vince. To say that winning a match, any match, rather than losing it is pointless is just poor logic. The only other outcome would have been losing against the ospryes (or drawing I suppose) - I just can't see how that is better than winning.

My point was that it was useless for the Dragons to play such a team against the Ospreys, they lost a player through injury and it would appear it didn't even served them well as preparation for the Munster game if yesterday result is anything to go by.

Such a team? As has been pointed out we only had about 3-5 first choice players (depending on your opinion). The rest were squad players - either 2nd or 3rd or perhaps even 4th. As also pointed out the O's had a similar number of match day squad players. I agree that playing our best team would have been slightly pointless, but then we didn't so.

Kind of renders his point pointless then doesn't it Griff. Also, don't see how that game disrupted preparation, we've been trying to cope with a fairly high injury record all season.

by VinceWLB Sat Nov 22, 2014 5:34 pm

12 players that started against the Ospreys (counting Stankovich as he would have 100% sure been in the 1st 15) started yesterday, my point still stands as the Dragons played almost their best possible team in a meaningless LV cup game while the likes of Ospreys and Munster were resting their players.

Was merely pointing out terrible players management from the coaching team.

by The Saint Sat Nov 22, 2014 6:06 pm

Was that why they lost?

by VinceWLB Sat Nov 22, 2014 6:25 pm

Certainly not given the huge scoreline difference but could be food for thoughts after the Dragons' capitulation in the 2nd half.

by The Saint Sat Nov 22, 2014 6:26 pm

That's been going on all season as well. It's a fundamental flaw that needs addressing fast. It's a culmination of bad coaching and poor execution by the players.

by Guest Fri Dec 05, 2014 12:55 pm

Lyn Jones strikes again. Watch his pack get mullered by Glasgow and then send the same one out to face a side who will undoubtedly target us in the scrums. Why not pick Phil Price at loose and Brok at tighthead?

by The Saint Fri Dec 05, 2014 3:54 pm

Seen your angry comments on Facebook Rev, Wink

. I think most fans would echo your thoughts. Lyn obviously sees the Romanians as a push over, I'm not so sure that he should see it that way. Also, after the home loss to Falcons surely we'd need maximum points from each game, because at the end that's what it could come down to.

by bedfordwelsh Sat Dec 06, 2014 4:42 pm

Any reports on how the game went today, seen the result which was good to get the winning bp but we play etc

by Guest Sat Dec 06, 2014 5:01 pm

Started poorly and they started very well, as the 10-0 start would suggest. When we started playing a bit and getting some phases going, we scored. Our driving lineouts were pretty impressive. He conditions and pitch were terrible. Much better result than I expected. Thought we would struggle, but bar the first quarter we were comfortable.

Brok Harris got penalised three times pretty early scrummaging. I would suggest either he plays three next game or is dropped, as it was a worry. He was lucky the tighthead he was up against had to go off, as did their 7 who was getting around the field a bit whilst he was on.

by bedfordwelsh Sat Dec 06, 2014 5:09 pm

Guess its the old 'wins a win' adage. Good to hear the lineouts went well lets hope we can do the double next week and then in the New Year go up the Toon and get something ready for Stade at home.

by Guest Sat Dec 06, 2014 5:14 pm

Getting the BP was key. I think it'll come down to BPs in this group. I agree that getting something, anything, at Newcastle should be the aim. Don't think it'll be easy though. They're on a bit of a roll and dispatched us fairly easily/comprehensively at home.

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