Cracking the Code

The Star Casino, Sydney, bears little resemblance to 'Taly Social' (pronounced Taleee, short for Talybont), the bar at my Uni halls of residence. It bears no resemblance. However, as I exited the gambling emporium at 3:37am on Sunday February 26 2017, vis a vis today, my face held a glum expression that perfectly resembled that with which I departed  the student binge drinking haven on February 10th 2007. The day on which Wales last experienced defeat at the hands of the Scots. As a sign of personal development, I would like to add that the 2017 dejected Welsh fan comes without the Strongbow and Black stains situated within a short radius of the mouth. So, why did Scotland win? They nailed their doubles. No, this is not a reference to the much stereotyped drinking prowess of the Scots, more a darts type analogy used to indicate that Vern Cotter's side were more clinical in converting opportunity into points. And we all know what points mean.....(the answer is prizes)....

A six nations Saturday is an entirely different experience at GMT+11. I awake at 3:18am, exactly 22 minutes before the alarm is due to sound. I would love to attribute the early get up to a Christmas morning like excitement. On reflection, I think it was more the noise of neighbours returning home from the boozer. I am sweating. I doubt anyone in Cardiff is sweating, excluding the players going through their pre match rigours, oh and Dai Baselayer. If you know Cardiff on match day, then you know Dai. Dai likes to showcase his guns in a pro fit Under Armour Wales jersey. However, Dai's no fool, it gets cold in the stadium, he knows that, he puts his Baselayer on. Unfortunately for Dai, his friends have a preference to spend a notable portion of their Mikey Rayer (all dayer) in the sub Saharan climate of Walkabout. Dai sweats, the baselayer is soon saturated, but he has a cold strongbow, he is happy. Meanwhile in Sydney, escalating personal sweat levels persuade me to roll out of...

Whilst millions at home were enjoying watching Six Nations super Saturday unfold, I was forced to scurry around the Internet looking for alternative outlets for following events. The letters VPN became my nemesis. A combination of Radio Wales, Radio Ulster, BBC sport app and Twitter just about managed to keep me in check. Although the masses lauded this the best day's rugby in history, questions quickly started to emerge around the structure of the competition and why fans hadn't been treated to such free flowing games on previous weekends.  It is difficult to reject the notion that synchronised kick off times on the final weekend would assist in creating a level playing field as teams fight it out to determine their final standing. The concept is deployed in major football competitions for that very reason. It was undoubtedly to England's advantage that they had a total to chase, as opposed to Wales and Ireland who knew they just had to post their best and hope. Conver...

As I sit to write this, the 2015 Rugby World Cup countdown reads 315 days 22 hours and 33 minutes. This weekend, sees the return to our shores of the SANZAR superpowers on their end of year tours. Traditionally the Autumn Internationals provide an opportunity for the tourists to drip feed some new talent into the test environment whilst trying to exert dominance over their Northern Hemisphere opponents. For the hosts it is the start of the international season, a chance for the respective coaches to observe if their group can not only compete but defeat world class opposition. Given the proximity and location of next year's Rugby World Cup, does this year's series bare greater significance than previous? In June 1997 the English football team visited France to compete in Le Tournoi a four team round robin tournament featuring France, Italy and Brazil. The Tournament was played out as a prelude for France 98 the following year. England left as victors having defeated both F...