This is brilliant as it allows me to see just how nuts people really are.  Why Google sends some of these searches to my site is beyond me, but then why people search them at all is a question as well.  So at the start of each month I have decided to share the best of the searches… show you how bizarre this can really be.

Top 5 Bizarre Searches

In no particular order

1. Welsh Wannabe English – I would like to assure whoever it was that was searching for this – no, we really, really don’t  In fact that is probably top of list of things we really don’t want.
2. Welsh love sheep.  Yes, apparently we do.  Certainly more than we want to be English.  What i am concerned about is what they were hoping to find!  I certainly hope it wasn’t an image search!
3. What do you called Welsh people.  Quite aside from the odd English – the very fact they have answered their own question seems an odd one for a Google search.  Unless it was meant to be linked to sheep jokes again.
4. How many Jason’s have played for Newport Gwent Dragons.  OK it’s rugby related – but what an odd thing to be searching for.  Hope they got their answer.
5. Hand fans.  Seriously – people came to the blog by typing in hand fans?  What on Earth could they be hoping to find?

This is avoiding a number of ones that contain words I try not to use on the blog – which I assume are more adult in nature, and avoided the huge number that seem to have an interest in whether certain rugby players have girlfriends – in which the main two searches for seem to be Jamie Roberts and Dan Biggar.  No accounting for taste I suppose…

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No Byrne, no Bowe, no Adam Jones, no AWJ, Byrne, Shane and Paul James on the bench.  This is hardly a first choice line up – yet again showing the problem with starting a league with low key games.  How different would it be for a derby match where the whole country is watching?

That is not to say there isn’t plenty of interest.  How Gareth Owen has developed over the summer, Ben Lewis (hopefully) getting some regional game time after a horrid time with injury and the debut of Fussel are highlights for me – and a lot of people I know are interested in seeing how JT performs at 8.  But I would rather a stronger set up for the first game, look to get us some momentum going forward.

Major worry?  Where is the creative spark going to come from?

15 Gareth Owen

14 Nikki Walker

13 Sonny Parker

12 Andrew Bishop

11 Richard Fussell

10 Dan Biggar

9 Jamie Nutbrown

1Ryan Bevington

2 Mefin Davies

3 Craig Mitchell

4 Ian Gough

5 Ian Evans

6 Jerry Collins (Capt)

7 Marty Holah

8 Jonathan Thomas

Replacements

16 Huw Bennett

17 Paul James

18 Cai Griffiths

19 James Goode

20 Ben Lewis

21 Rhys Webb

22 Lee Byrne

23 Shane Williams

The following players were not considered because of injury:

Ryan Jones – Bone bruise

Richard Hibbard – Ribs

Morgan Allen – Back

Tom Smith – Shoulder

Rory Pitman – Knee

Tom Isaacs – Knee

Richard Kelly – Knee

James Hook – Shoulder

Barry Davies – Groin

Scott Baldwin – Foot

Jonathan Spratt – ACL

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Whilst we did get articles for both sides of the argument I have decided to rewrite the pros one – the one I got didn’t quite hit the mark for me, but will make an interesting article in it’s own right.  Whilst I am not fully behind offering him a new contract (I am sitting on the fence) playing devils advocate is nothing new to me.  I’m an argumentative sod.

So read through both sides of the argument and please do use the comments to let us know which side of the fence you are, what you thought of the arguments and anything you think we missed out.  We’d love to hear YOUR thoughts.

Cons of Offering Warren Gatland a New Contract Before the World Cup

by Scotty Millar

Madness!!, that’s what I thought when I read that the WRU were looking to tie Warren Gatland down to a new contract taking him upto the 2015 world cup, have they not learnt anything from the recent football saga involving the English FA and Fabio Capello, Capello was offered a new contract in June, 9 days before the world cup kicked off, England then went on to have a nightmare world cup and Capello who was blamed for the poor performance, was kept on because the FA couldn’t afford to sack him, due to this new contract he had signed.

Now whilst I hope Wales have a successful world cup (how do we define that these days, a quarter final spot? Semi-final? Or even going down in the group stages but playing good rugby?) I feel it is very short-sighted of the WRU to be talking to Warren about a new contract.

If Gats signs the new contract taking him to 2015 and then Wales have a complete nightmare of a world cup in 2011 they would surely have 2 choices, sack Gatland, which would cost a fortune or stick with him for the duration of his contract until 2015.

Current form isn’t exactly brilliant at the moment, yes under Gats we have played some great rugby and we now have a better squad than ever before but form of 3 wins in 10 games is not something I would be looking to offer a new long-term contract on.

The improvements of the other teams within the 6 nations also brings added pressure to perform and if Wales did have a bad world cup in 2011 and Gatland was still in charge, would a poor 2012 6 Nations see him leave anyway? As welsh fans are we more bothered by the 6 Nations results than the world cup?

Yes if we do well we might lose him to New Zealand whether it be the national team or the Waikato Chiefs, but I would much rather this be the chance we take, can there not have a clause in the contract that benefits the WRU for once, e.g. if we reach our target in the World cup 2011 (whatever they decide that is) we will honour the contract to 2015 but if you don’t reach it then we will stick with the current contract signed in 2007 (and ends after the world cup) so the WRU would not be out of pocket whilst Gatland goes off to pastures new anyway.

If he decided to leave after a successful world cup then we would all wish him well and would have to look forward to the next coach that comes in to take the team (hopefully buoyed with confidence) forward to the 2012 6 nations, and if its been a poor world cup we look for someone with new ideas to move the team on.

The Pros of Offering Warren Gatland a New Contract Before the World Cup

By Rugby Nick

Why we SHOULD offer Warren Gatland a new contract

So the WRU are in talks with Warren Gatland about extending his contract. Good. True there are some negatives to him being offered a contract before the World Cup but I am confident that the reasons for offering him an extension well out weigh the negatives.

One important point to consider, and oddly one that gets left out when people talk about offering him a new contract or not, is what other coaches are there out there? Conventional wisdom states that experienced coaches will be available after the World Cup. But let us question conventional wisdom for a second.

Who?

Which of the current International coaches would you like? Let us take a look at some of the major ones.

• New Zealand: Graham Henry. Ex Welsh coach, would he want to come back. I’d welcome him back if he did but strongly doubt he would.
• South Africa: Peter De Villiers. Odd decisions, odd press statements. No thanks.
• Robbie Deans: Not convinced personally, Oz looking decent and promising – but not sure how much is down to him. Also have doubts he would take it.
• Martin Johnson: Dear God no. Legendary player, unconvincing manager and the epitomy of English.
• Andy Robinson. Done well since leaving England. Wouldn’t be bad – but not conviced he would want it, that he will leave Scotland, or that putting an 03 winning coach into a WRU top is a good idea!
• Declan Kidney. Munnerball in Welsh shirts? Would never work.

Look outside of that there are a couple of options. Dai Young has worked some great stuff down in Cardiff despite being hamstrung by the board. But is he ready? Would he be better than Gatland? Possibly to both – but is it time to risk it?

Scott Johnson is unlikely to go back to the WRU in my opinion, Sean Holley is not up to it in my opinion, I have already stated my opinions on Paul Turner and the less said about Nigel Davies as a candidate the better.

Our attack has been poor, in my opinion, which rules out Rob Howley, McBryde is just starting to get experience (and giving some of our issues most believe he shouldn’t be in the coaching set up anyway) and… well we’re running out of serious candidates now.

There are some Super 14 candidates – but nothing that stands out for me, especially the rumours surrounding Ian Foster, not an awful choice but one I would rather we didn’t make. I’d rather take a punt on Dai Young.

Confidence

Of course it is not just about a lack of worthwhile targets out there. By giving Warren a new contract (if he takes it) we are showing confidence in our coach – something we have never done before a Rugby World Cup!

We are playing some decent stuff. There are worries – our lack of learning from our mistakes for example. But I have hopes that we are starting to turn the corner there… we hear the right noises from the Welsh camp and we have heard how we are now there physically, so now it is time to focus on skills.

We are talking about a coach that has led us to a Grand Slam. We seem to be getting a little flippant about it as we also won one in 2005 – but let us remember we had to wait 25 years for that one, winning a Slam is a huge achievement.

The BBC have suggested that the new rules will suit Gatland’s tactics. Whilst I am not convinced by all their conclusions they do raise some good points, it could well be we will start seeing Wales rise again.

Demand

Remember what I was just saying about a lack of talent out there? That is an issue the world over right now – and we have one of the most respected rugby coaches in the World. That means he will be in demand.

If he does well New Zealand will likely come calling. If he has a contract the very worse that could happen is we get a good pay out for him, the very best is we keep a top coach. We give ourselves some security.

If we do badly – actually what is badly? Not making the quarters? For the first time in a long time I don’t see that happening. We are not going in with a new coach, we are not going in under prepared, we are not going in with a lightweight pack or some clueless tactics (even if we need to work on a plan B).

So if we do badly we are lumbered with a coach that did badly. But badly is not making the quarters – and if that happens I am not sure I see Gatland sticking around anyway, and I certainly don’t think he would have a problem finding a job. Even if he does badly plenty of clubs and Super 14 teams will want to bring him on board – so how much of a pay off will we need to give him?

We are risking losing a top coach a time when there are no real options, simply under the concept of ‘wait and see’. Not for me, and thankfully not for the WRU.

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But it is far from just us that have press that couldn’t find a rugby pitch if they were given a map – plenty of other nations have them.  And right now New Zealand have managed to provide us with a couple of, rather smug, corkers.

All this is thanks to Bob Dwyer and Green and Gold (a great Aussie rugby blog) who have dared to suggest that refs are pretty lenient towards the All Blacks – and done it by producing a stat that shows how many [penalties are conceded per yellow card.  The stats?  53 per yellow for the All Blacks, 8 per yellow for the Springboks and 7 per yellow for the Aussies. (this came from this article by Bob Dwyer in Green and Gold).

This has had the Kiwi press somewhat up in arms about it (ok, the two articles I have read – I exaggerate for effect).

Classics

And the ‘articles’ that these journalists use to refute the allegations are pure classics, great examples of how journalists really don’t think about what they are saying – but just want to rant and sensationalise.  That is fine on a blog like this where my income is minimal – but for a paid journalist supposedly addressing facts and the news?  Oh dear, oh dear.

Lets take a look at them then…

First up is SkySport.co.nz who in this article manage to argue himself in circles.  He starts off, to be fair, by making a good point – that is all stats need to be taken into account with a watching of the game, and understanding.  They can not be used in isolation and hope to have a huge amount of meaning.  And I agree.  He uses this to bash Bob Dwyer’s analysis.  A bit harsh that one – those of us that use, as he suggests, an intelligent eye (rules me out, but a number of those with such viewing implements seem  to have contrary opinions to the article) to watch the game have come to the same conclusion.

He suggests that anyone agreeing with Bob and Green and Gold, that the Kiwis are getting some preferential treatment and are cheating, are simple minded and biased.  It is a great paragraph or two actually.

Using the numbers of this disparity it’s easy for the simple-minded and biased, to conclude that the All Blacks are treated differently.

However now it’s time for those who have the intelligence to use a fork without stabbing themselves in the cheek to enter the fray.

Yep – he uses the old chesnut of setting up, before he makes his point, that anyone disagreeing with him is simple minded and unable to use a fork.  You just KNOW you are in for a good argument when that happens.  Put simply  - agree with me or you are stupid.  Or as he also puts it -

One hopes, and suspects, the only folk he will convince is nutter, Peter de Villiers, pig-headed anglophile, Stephen Jones and a couple of in-bred private school boys from Randwick.

Ahhhh, journalism at it’s very finest.

So what about his point? He has a little bit of one – that the pressure situations put on Oz and SA are causing them to commit yellow card offences more.  Of course that repeated infringements is a yellow card offence as well passes him by, but we can skip over that for the sake of ease.

What I do love is how he manages to make this accusation of bias and cheating something that only the stupid, ignorant and inbred would believe… and then admits the All Blacks cheat.  I again quote another classic paragraph

The All Blacks have come to terms with the new law interpretations better then their opposition. They are also fitter and technically superior. They are also smarter, enabling them to “bend” the rules to their advantage.

Bob Dwyer would have you believe this is cheating, and in the technical sense he is right. But this is sport we are talking about and bending the rules to ones advantage is part of the game.

So he even manages to admit Dwyer is right, but wants us to believe that cheating is acceptable in sport (presumably only when the All Blacks do it – wonder what his feeling on the French forward pass of ’07 was).  But remember that anyone agreeing with Dwyer was stupid, unable to use a fork properly.

Dinner must be a fun time in his Bevan’s house!

Another

There is another classic, not quite as brilliant at insulting himself – but a great effort at a pot calling a kettle black none-the-less.

Paul Lewis over at the NZ Herald has this to say on the matter.

He starts off having a go at the moaning Aussies (actually I quite enjoy that sport as well, not that we’re any better) and even admitting they did the same in 07 (putting his self analysis a step above Bevan’s).  He then also positions himself, before the article starts, as being the only one worth listening to.  A little more subtly, calling Bob Dwyer and co ‘conspiracy theorists’ (neatly linking them to the tin foil brigade and so discrediting their point of view).

The main thrust of the argument that Lewis creates is there is no indepth study of each offence, that there could again be other reasons for the difference in yellow cards.  He even tries to suggest that we should dismiss it as we already know the Kiwis have less yellows – not sure why we should dismiss a perfectly good fact and he doesn’t bother to give us a reason.

But it is his rant at Dwyer and again Green and Gold, about how there is a lack of analysis, that strikes me as so brilliant.  Not once, in the whole article, does he even attempt any analysis.  He is instead happy to have a go at Bob and G&G, about how they provide nothing (aside form stats, which we should dismiss) – and crucially provides no analysis of his own.

Surely if you are looking to have a go at someone for not backing up their argument you would have to back up yours.  But no, he doesn’t bother.  He even had a perfect opportunity – he talks about a video posted on Green and Gold where a slow mo of Kiwi offences highlighted SA or Oz ones that weren’t picked up.  But presumably he was so enjoying his ride on his high horse he forgot about his own article.

He talks about how the Aussies and SA have to give away offences because the Kiwis are so much better, faster and stronger.  But again fails to give us the analysis he demands of others.

It seems sports journalists are great at crying foul – but fail to understand the basics of forming a cohesive argument.  Blogs may well suffer from the same problem – but at least we own up to our own bias and don’t set ourselves up as a great source of news.

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Mark Taylor, one of the ex-captains braving the trek, was kind enough to take time out to answer a few questions about the walk for us.  There is a massive fund raising target set for all concerned, and Mark has a personal target of £2,000.  So please do sponsor him on this very worthy endeavour.  You can sponsor him here.

Mark Taylor Interview

I see that some of the fund raising efforts are the release of limited edition pies and beer – personally these are causes close to my heart, or my stomach at the very least. As an ex-pro do you still try watch what you eat and drink, or do you enjoy the freedom no longer playing gives you? Are you having to watch what you eat for this climb?

I’ve always been a bit of a fussy eater, so my diet hasn’t really changed since I was playing. If anything, I’ll probably try to eat more in the coming weeks to make sure I’ve got some extra energy to get me up the mountain.

It is great to see rugby players, and ex-players, raising money for charity… we do what we can with our efforts on http://waspswalk4matt.com/ … I am certainly impressed with the scope of this effort, and it looks like it will be a huge effort! What sort of training are you having to do to get yourself up the mountain? Have you ever done anything like it before?

This is a completely new experience for me, so I’ve walked Penyfan on a number of occasions to try to get used to hill walking. Obviously this doesn’t really compare to Kilimanjaro, so the University of Glamorgan have been kind enough to let us train in their oxygen chamber to prepare us for the reduction in oxygen at altitude. How our bodies will react to the lack of oxygen associated with altitude will be the biggest challenge to overcome – my brother walked Kili a couple of years ago, and he told me all about the headaches and lethargy that we will face, so I’m very nervous about the final few days!

With all these Welsh captains coming together it is certainly something that raises the publicity for a good cause, and shows how rugby players can do good stuff after they stop playing. Do you still keep in contact with many/any of your old team mates?

I’ve been lucky enough to stay in the game to a certain extent with commentary work, so I still see a lot of my old team mates regularly. I’ve also found a few on Twitter (EDIT: you can follow Mark Taylor here), so I’ve caught up with I few I haven’t seen in a while. Unfortunately, their banter hasn’t improved at all!

Who do you reckon will stand up to the efforts of the climb best, and who will struggle in your opinion?

Everyone I speak to who have experienced walking at altitude tell me that it is a complete lottery – how your body reacts often has little to do with fitness. I’m sure that we will all struggle at some stage.

What are you most looking forward to, and most dreading about the climb?

Dreading any altitude sickness, most looking forward to coming back down after hopefully reaching the top!

And since we’re a rugby blog a quick set of rugby questions

1. who do you think will win the 6 Nations? France

2. who do you think will win the World Cup? New Zealand - I think they’ve got the strongest squad, and should be able to finally shake of the ‘choker’s’ tag.

3.Who do you think will win the Heineken Cup? Very tough to call, but I think it will be one of the usual suspects from Ireland or France.

4.Who do you think will win the Magners League? A close run battle between Leinster, Ospreys and the Blues.

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Ok that’s a tad harsh, a lot of the awards decided are worthy.  For example I may be biased as an Ospreys fan but Tommy Bowe has been so superb this season he is fully deserving of the players player of the year award.  But one that has confused me is that the Dragon;s boss Paul Turner has won the Magners League Best Coach Award.

Now he has been doing decently down at Rodney Parade, but pardon me if I don’t join in the lauding of him that seems so prevalent amongst various newspapers, rugby sites and the like.  Paul Turner’s ‘success’ has been an argument that has been had on the Rugby Rebels forum a lot and it boils down to this.

The Dragons won one more game than last season.  That’s it.

In a season when a lot of opposition teams were hit hard by the Lions our, something the Dragons didn’t have to contend with, and when despite promises we had games in the International window, they managed a total of one more win.  Not to be the bottom Welsh team may be progress, and winning one more game is always welcomed, but I don’t understand the lauding, in some areas, of Paul Turner as a miracle man.  I especially don’t understand those who think he should be the next Welsh coach.

A few other snippets for you to consider – the Dragons won a total of 2 away games all season, and one of those was in the now devalued Anglo-Welsh cup.  The Dragons had performed all season with a settled side – losing very few players to international call ups.  They played teams who had players on international duty, who were rested after such duty, who were shattered or injured after the Lions tour.  And with all that only won 1 game in first team competition on the road and are lauded for not being the bottom Welsh region.

Don’t get me wrong, I do think the Dragons are a solid team, that Paul Turner is doing some decent stuff on a very limited budget and in reportedly poor facilities.  But I can’t understand how he can win the Magners Coach of the Year award, there are a number of more deserving candidates in my opinion.

Other winners included:

Magners Players’ Player Award – Tommy Bowe (Ospreys)

Magners League Young Player of the Season – Tim Visser (Edinburgh)

Celtic Rugby Chairman’s Award – Michael Bradley (Connacht Rugby)

Magners League Try of the Season – Ken Owens (Scarlets)

Gilbert Golden Boot Award – Chris Paterson (Edinburgh)

Specsavers Fairplay Award – Cardiff Blues

Magners League Dream Team Captain – Ali Kellock (Glasgow Warriors)

Magners League Dream Team 2009 / 2010

15 Ben Blair (Cardiff Blues)
14 Tommy Bowe (Ospreys)
13 Brian O’Driscoll (Leinster)
12 James Hook (Ospreys)
11 Tim Visser (Edinburgh)
10 Dan Parks (Glasgow Warriors)
9 Tomas O’Leary (Munster)
1 Gethin Jenkins (Cardiff Blues)
2 Ken Owens (Scarlets)
3 Adam Jones (Ospreys)
4 Leo Cullen (Leinster)
5 Ali Kellock (Glasgow Warriors)
6 Jerry Collins (Ospreys)
7 John Barclay (Glasgow Warriors)
8 Jamie Heaslip (Leinster)

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The Dragons are having a ‘meet the players’ day at Motorpoint, where you can ask questions, meet your heroes (or villains) and help support charity – as all money raised on the day will go to Cycle Challenge Wales.

Unfortunately I am away all weekend camping (and no doubt getting soaked to the skin) so won’t make it – but for those who do I hope you have a great time, and use the contact us form if you want to write about it for the blog!  The email I received if below.

Thought you might like to know that the Newport Gwent Dragons will be holding their annual ‘Meet The Players Day’ on Sunday, August 22 at Motorpoint Newport.

The event, which starts at 10am, will give supporters the chance to meet their favourite senior squad members including all of this seasons’ new signings.

What’s more, one lucky person will get the chance to win a new Gilbert replica shirt signed by all of the Dragons’ first team players. Other goodies will also be up for grabs on the day. All proceeds on the day will go to Cycle Challenge Wales.

For directions on how to find Motorpoint Newport visit www.motorpoint.co.uk.

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7′s is the best answer for some summer rugby – as long as you are not playing in it.  And unless it’s the Fat Boy 7′s I’m unlikely to grace (sic) a 7′s pitch again.  But for those fit enough then there is an awesome looking tournie being run by David Strettle.  It’s set in the gorgeous location of La Manga with 7′s rugby, Netball, Golf and sunshine… and a few beverages I’m sure.

Looks pretty affordable actually.  Anyway here is what they have to say about it.

After the fantastic success of La Manga 7′s 2010, Superstar 7′s are proud to announce La Manga 7′s 2011!!

The world famous 5 star La Manga club, Spain will play host to another weekend of fun in the sun from the 10 -12 June.

Four tournaments, open to all abilities:

La Manga Rugby Sevens

La Manga Vets Rugby Tens

La Manga Ladies Rugby Sevens

La Manga Netball Sevens

All alongside a weekend of pool and private beach parties, BBQ’s, bars and clubs will provide the perfect destination for your end of season tour!

Whether its the La Cala beach party, the Sunset party at Dharma Bar or the pool party at Las Lomas Village you’ll be sure to play in the day and party at night.

If it all gets too much then be sure to take advantage of the inclusive 5 star La Manga Spa or why not play one of La Manga Clubs three championship golf courses.

So whether you choose to stay for 2, 3 or 4 nights and are a sportsman or spectator, don’t miss the La Manga Superstar 7′s weekend, starting from just £225 per person.

Check out more info at http://www.superstarsevens.com/

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To quote Prysiau from the Rugby Rebels thread about this

Maybe I’m wrong, but I’m absolutely convinced clubs could make far more money from merchandise if they actually put together a shirt that wasn’t utterly sh*t.

Why do they do it? All the top clubs seem to emulate SF. No-one stands out, we just have a bejewelled multi-coloured rainbow of massively gay shirts.

Take a look at the Ospreys training shirt below, as modelled by Cai Griffiths, and see what you think.  As a lover of crap shirts it is still too much for me. Maybe. Maybe I can get one and not let her indoors know…

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Instead I am looking for something a little different.  And since I like a flutter or two I am thinking a betting competition is in order.

What do I mean by that?  Simple.  I will provide anyone taking part with logins to be able to write up some betting tips on the blog ahead of the games.  We all start the season on an amount you choose (up to you, you can even bet with ‘theoretical money if you don’t actually want to put cash on it).  You come on, write up a couple of tips, write up the odds and how much you are betting on the various matches and bets and then, after the results come in, we work out how much you won (or would have won) and adjust your current ‘total’ accordingly.

A bit of fun that helps create some friendly rivalry and possibly wins you some money.

I am debating charging anyone interested a minimal amount (say £5) and the total raised going to a charity chosen by the winner at the end of the season.  Though I haven’t decided for definite yet.

Interested?  I haven’t put anything n place yet, or decided what format to do this in, so if you are interested let me know using the form below and I will be sure to inform you as soon as I get things going.

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