Ospreys Break European Curse
Carwyn Harris
Coincidences in sport are a strange thing. After a while they move from being coincidences to trends and then habits and then eventually an unbreakable barrier.
After six losses from six European knock out games it certainly appeared as if succeeding in Europe would become something the Ospreys would never achieve.
This year seemed less likely than most, with the rest of Welsh rugby seemingly falling apart around them, the Ospreys were the only Welsh side to reach the knockout stages in Europe this year and hosted Sale in a round of 16 tie at Bridgend’s Brewery Field.
A side with six Welsh internationals unavailable through injury achieved something the previous six couldn’t.
The previous graveyard of Ospreys results reads thus, a 19-10 loss away against Saracens in 2008, followed by a thumping 43-9 loss by Munster the following year and then the heartbreaking 29-28 defeat at Biarritz in 2010.
All three were quarter finals in the Champions Cup but the next two would come in the Challenge Cup in 2017 and 2021 with four-point losses at home to Stade Français and Newcastle respectively.
Then finally came last years’ loss in the round of 16 Champions Cup fixture away to Saracens.
But all that changed at home to Sale as Ospreys ran out 23-15 winners at the Brewery Field.
“I’m delighted for lots of reasons,” said Ospreys head coach Toby Booth.
“I thought we prepared really well, it was a typical Ospreys performance – find a way – keep scrapping and I was really pleased with the application.
“You have to try and create an opportunity to give memorable moments and memorable days, and this is another one of those, for what I’m told is Ospreys’ first ever knock-out win in Europe so it’s a lot of ticks there which is good.”
Next up for Ospreys is a trip to Kingsholm to face Gloucester, a far cry from the Brewery Field but Booth emphasised the importance the venue had on his side’s victory.
“I was delighted that coming here paid off because I thought the atmosphere was outstanding,” said Booth.
“It was a real cauldron and caused some pressure moments. We’ve made no secret that we love playing in front of people and an atmosphere, and there was an atmosphere here tonight.
“There was also one on New Year’s Day here against Cardiff and that’s what we want to create. When you need a little from the crowd they give it to you and these boys respond well to it.”
Scrum-half Luke Davies started that game against Cardiff with his quip “joio” after a scuffle with Wales scrum-half Tomos Williams a rare ray of humour in what was an incredibly wet affair.
However, he too was full of praise for the Bridgend crowd having come on for Reuben Morgan-Williams midway through the second half.
“It’s priceless, the crowd gives us an extra edge and with a full house there’s nothing like it, it really does mean a lot to us lads,” said Davies.
“It means a lot as players to have the fans all down here, the Liberty is a good venue but to have everyone on top of each other with the sound they create we are very grateful.
“You can feel it and there’s a bit more pressure but that’s what we want.”
The home side certainly came under pressure in the second half, having held a 20-3 two quick tries from Sale brought the scores back to 20-15 before a late Owen Williams penalty secured the win.
“To be honest there’s a hell of a buzz in the changing room at the moment,” said Davies.
“Sale are a hell of a side and maybe some people didn’t give us a chance I don’t know but we’re a tight group and the boys are buzzing, we’ve just got to push forward now.
“My heart was going a bit when Sale got back into it, but that’s rugby it has its ups and downs and good sides find a way to win and we did that tonight, it wasn’t pretty but we did it.”
QUICK LINKS
Ospreys March On To Quarters
Carwyn Harris
Ospreys secured their place in the European Challenge Cup quarter finals with a 23-15 win over Sale at Bridgend’s Brewery field.
Tries from Morgan Morris, Keelan Giles and Reuben Morgan-Williams had put the home side 20-3 up but they had to withstand a late fight back with the visitors scoring through former England u20s and now Scotland Six Nations squad member Aaron Reed and England international Ben Curry.
Storm Kathleen had threatened horrendous rain but the rain mostly abated half an hour before kick-off, with occasional showers.
Sale made 11 changes to the side which hammered Exeter 41-5 in the Premiership last week, whilst Rob du Preez moved in from outside centre to fly-half due to England fly-half George Ford being rested.
Ospreys in contrast made just three, all-enforced with Rhys Davies injured in last weekend’s 36-21 win over the Lions along with Sam Parry who was a late withdrawal while Evardi Boshoff was cup-tied from his time with the Cheetahs as Harri Deaves, Lewis Lloyd and Kieran Williams came in.
Sale began on the front foot, former Osprey Tom O’Flaherty regaining the kick off before Rob du Preez’s cross field kick found Reed and despite his offload going forward Sale won a penalty at the scrum and duly kicked to the corner.
Following brilliant defence from Adam Beard at the maul, Sale were repelled with Raffi Quirke’s kick through for du Preez dabbed down in goal by Owen Watkin.
However, TMO Thomas Charabas deemed that Gareth Thomas had obstructed du Preez in getting to the ball with referee Mathieu Raynal giving the Sale fly-half the simplest of kicks in front of the posts which he duly took to give Sale a three-point lead.
From the restart, Owen Williams’ kick went straight into touch, but the Ospreys pack won a penalty at the resulting scrum giving the fly-half an opportunity from just inside his own half, but his kick came up short.
Sale were the dominant side early on and when Telusa Veaninu beat Luke Morgan on the outside a try seemed inevitable but Reed took contact instead of feeding fellow wing O’Flaherty on his inside.
The visitors did get a penalty however, but after Agustin Creevy had tapped from five metres out a combination of Adam Beard, Morris and Justin Tipuric did brilliantly to hold up second row Ben Bamber over the line.
The visitors’ handling seemed to defy the weather, successfully finding the edge, particularly down Reed’s wing whilst the kicking of du Preez and half back partner Rafi Quirke continuously pinned the home side in their own 22 and put pressure on the throwing of young hooker Lewis Lloyd.
One area the home side were getting the upper hand was the scrum, and after the third penalty in a row in that area Tipuric again asked his fly-half to go for the posts and from 10 yards closer than his previous effort Williams’ kick sailed through to level the scores.
Having survived Sale’s early onslaught, the Ospreys would then take the lead. Quirke’s clearing kick was half charged down by Thomas and the ball was recycled with Ospreys going left into midfield before coming back right.
Two brilliant tip-on passes from Owen Williams and then Jack Walsh put Watkin in space and his cut out pass found Morris who showed good pace to beat the cover before cutting inside the despairing dive of Veainu to score in the right corner.
That would be it for the scoring in the first half thanks largely to a brilliant turnover from player of the match Harri Deaves in the final minute.
In the seventh minute of the second half, Ospreys had a second try. After their driving maul was disrupted, Morgan-Williams pulled to the blindside finding Giles with a miss-pass who exchanged passes with Owen Williams before scoring in the corner.
Giles and Ospreys were perhaps fortunate that his first pass inside to Williams wasn’t reviewed as it seemed forward, but the home fans at the Brewery Field certainly didn’t mind.
Williams missed his third kick of the day, but almost immediately he’d have another chance. Sale retained the restart and looked to spread the ball into midfield but Rob du Preez’s pass was picked off by Morgan-Williams with the scrum-half streaking in unopposed from his own 10 metre line to score under the posts.
Sale did get a try in return though with a bouncing ball in midfield picked up by Reed who showed a great turn of pace to round Walsh and dive in in the corner for a deserved try.
With a little more than 10 minutes remaining Sale captain Curry went over from the back of a driving maul and was deemed to have enough downward pressure to set up a grandstand finish.
Owen Williams missed with a penalty inside the final seven minutes which would have sealed the victory but corrected the error with less than two minutes remaining and ensure a quarter final against Gloucester at Kingsholm in a weeks time.
Ospreys: (8) 23 Tries: Morris, Giles, Morgan-Williams. Con: O. Williams. Pens: O. Williamsx2
Sale: (3) 15 Tries: Reed, Curry. Con: R. du Preez. Pen: R. du Preez.
Ospreys: Walsh; Morgan, K. Williams, Watkin, Giles (Nagy 77mins); O. Williams, Morgan-Williams (Davies 56mins); Thomas (Smith 53mins), Lloyd (Moore 79mins), Botha (Henry 64mins), Ratti, Beard, Deaves (Morse 64mins), Tipuric, Morris.
Sale: Veainu (Doherty 63mins); Reed, James, Ma’asi-White, O’Flaherty; R. du Preez, Quirke (Thomas 56mins); Harrison (McIntyre 51mins), Creevy (Taylor 51mins), Opoku-Forjour (Harper 51mins), Bamber (Ellis 46mins), Andrews (Bamber 56mins), Curry, Dugdale, J-L du Preez.
QUICK LINKS
Wales Bag Four In Perfect Start For Wilkinson
Carwyn Harris
Wales began their Euro 2025 qualifying campaign with a comfortable 4-0 win over Croatia at Wrexham’s STōK Cae Ras stadium on Friday night.
Two goals from Wales’ most capped footballer Jess Fishlock, along with further efforts from Rachel Rowe and Angharad James made it the perfect start to Wales’ European campaign.
The win marked new head coach Rhian Wilkinson’s first game in charge having taken the role in February, replacing Gemma Grainger who had taken a position as Norway’s head coach.
Wales went into the game ranked 27 places above their opponents going into the game and the home side began the game on the front foot.
They had the dream start within four minutes with Rowe driving forwards before feeding Fishlock who opened up her body and calmly placed her right-footed finish for her 41st goal in Wales colours.
Fishlock has hinted recently that this campaign may well be her last at the age of 37 and won player of the match during a dominant team performance.
Wales played a high press in defence which was very successful with Croatia unable to break out from their own defensive third, but the home side were unable to find a second goal for the next half and hour as the final pass, or ball into the box, let them down.
Rowe was Wales’ most dangerous player early on, coming in off her left wing to play in behind Elise Hughes and her mazy runs continued to cause Croatia issues.
Hughes came close with a back post header before half time but the score remained Wales 1-0 Croatia going into half time.
Wales begam the second half in the same way they had started the first and they were rewarded, once again through Fishlock.
Four minutes into the second half, her brilliant run was found with a ball over the top from Gemma Evans. Fishlock flicked the ball over Doris Bačić in goal and did brilliantly to follow in her strike as it came back off the crossbar to calmly nod the ball in.
No sooner was it two than it would be three. Croatia trying to pass the ball out from the back with Angharad James stepping in to win the ball and Fishlock unselfishly setting up Rowe who worked the ball onto her left foot before firing in for a deserved goal.
When Wales’ fans finally finished celebrating Rowe’s goal they had a fourth and a third in just seven second half minutes to applaud.
Evans proved provider with another ball into the box from the left centre back position. Her searching ball appeared to be overhit, only for James to produce a sliding finish from an improbable and tight angle.
Wales made changes after the hour with Mary McAteer and Ceri Holland replacing Hughes and Rowe as head coach Wilkinson got the opportunity to see some of her other stars in action.
Fishlock was also withdrawn with a quarter of an hour left to play and Wilkinson will need to wrap up her star player in cotton wool ahead of Kosovo and ahead of the remaining Euros qualifiers.
It said something of Wales’ comfort on the night that it took until the 77th minute for Croatia to have a shot on goal, with Tea Vračević’s shot from outside the box blazed high over the bar.
Vračević also had Croatia’s only shot on target five minutes later but her drive from 30 yards strait at Wales goalkeeper Olivia Clark and easily gathered.
Holland did come close to what would have been the goal of the game, but her bending and looping strike from outside of the box came back off the bar, whilst Lois Joel and 20-year-old McAteer both came close to scoring.
Next up for Wales is a trip to Kosovo on Tuesday night after the Kosovans lost 2-0 in Ukraine. After that they will have a double header against Ukraine starting with a home game on the 31st of May at Parc y Scarlets.
Wales: Clark; Roberts, Ladd, Evans; Powell (Morgan HT), James, Ingle (Griffiths 86mins), Woodham; Rowe (McAteer 65mins), Fishlock (Joel 76mins); Hughes (Holland 65mins).
Substitutes not used: O’Sullivan, Green, Barton, Estcourt, Jones, Davies, Kelly.
Croatia Bacic; Pezelj, Balo, Nevrkla (Gegollaj 85mins), Kunstek (Canjevac 85mins); Krajnovic (Vidovic 66mins), Vracevic, Krznaric; Lojna (Markovic 57mins), Glibo (Slipcevic 66mins), Jelenic.
Substitutes not used: Filipovic, Kirilenko, Jedvaj, Terzic, Fiket.
QUICK LINKS
Northeast Ton As Glammy Dominate Day One
Carwyn Harris
Easter’s been and gone you’ve fallen for two or three April fools’ jokes and now the Cricket season is here.
The County Championship has started and in Division 2 Glamorgan travelled to the home of cricket on opening day to face Middlesex.
Four of the nine matches across the two leagues didn’t start today due to bad weather but Glamorgan were part of one of the lucky five fixtures that went ahead.
Last season Glamorgan won just one game in the Championship, but they have already set themselves up well to equal that record.
Sam Northeast’s first job as captain was the toss, he lost, with Middlesex opting to put the visitors in to bat.
Both on loan Craig Miles and Mir Hamza were selected in the XI for Glamorgan but there was no place for Mason Crane.
Zain ul Hassan and Billy Root entered the field as the openers for Glamorgan but it wasn’t long before we saw our first wicket as Ethan Bamber’s delivery found ul Hassan’s outside edge with wicketkeeper Jack Davies making a regulation catch.
Middlesex would’ve hoped that the wicket was the first of several, but it wasn’t to be with Northeast coming to the crease and combining with Root for a partnership which lasted until lunch with both reaching half centuries to leave Glamorgan 118/1 after 30 overs.
Glamorgan haven’t managed to have much time on grass in pre-season, having not gone abroad and having one match washed out and another shortened due to rain, but there was no sign of that from Northeast.
After lunch the pair put on a further 27 runs before Root fell for 67, beaten by a Henry Brookes delivery from around the wicket.
As in the first session, there would be only one wicket, Northeast reaching his century courtesy of a drive through the covers for four, reaching the ton from 146 balls.
He, along with Kiran Carlson remained unbeaten through the session till tea and continued a long while afterwards with Northeast eventually reaching the 150 mark and Carlson his half century.
Carlson was eventually caught off Bamber for 77 driving straight to Leus du Plooy at extra cover with Glamorgan on 321-3.
That would be the final wicket of the day, with Colin Ingram fortunate not to be caught for 29 from Sam Robson at second slip.
The only disappointment for Glamorgan will be that Northeast was unable to bring up his double ton, ending on 186 with Ingram also unbeaten on 32 as Glamorgan finished the day 370-3 from 96 overs.
Glamorgan will now look to push on tomorrow with the bat before turning to the ball and the twin threats of Miles and Hamza.
QUICK LINKS
Welcome To Wrexham - Tennis Edition
Carwyn Harris
Wrexham is set to welcome players from around the world as the Lexus Junior International Wrexham – Tennis Europe takes place at the Wrexham Tennis Centre.
The event runs from Sunday the seventh of April until the 14th with more than 600 players from across the globe compete in under-12 and under-14 categories, with countries such as India, Lithuania and Jordan represented alongside the UK.
It is the 34th year of the Junior Tour which has seen players such as Justine Henin and Caroline Wozniacki along with 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer and Britain’s own Sir Andy Murray.
A host of Welsh players will be competing in the event, including Llanelli’s Isabella Leive-Morgan and Swansea’s Rundong Huang and both will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of their tennis idols in the pursuit of crucial European ranking points.
Looking ahead to the tournament Leive-Morgan said: “It’s great to have this international event held in my home country and I’m hoping to be competitive and fly the flag for Wales.”
Tennis Wales Competitions and Event Manager Mark Lewis said: “It is fantastic to see the best junior international players competing here in Wales at Wrexham Tennis Centre.”
“We know the Tennis Europe Junior circuit has been the launchpad for many a successful career, and we could be looking at stars of the future over this week.”
QUICK LINKS
Welsh Trio Secure Olympic Places
Carwyn Harris
Welsh swimmers Matt Richards, Medi Harris and Daniel Jervis have all secured their places at the Paris Olympics.
They did so after their performances at the Aquatics GB Swimming Championships in London.
Harris, 21, has secured her place as part of the women’s 4x200m women’s freestyle relay after finishing third in the individual race, behind Freya Colbert and Abbie Wood.
Harris, Wood, Colbert and Lucy Hope, who finished fourth, combined to win silver at the World Aquatics Championships in Doha in February and will hope to go one better in Paris.
Jervis secured his place at Paris on day three of the championships with a dominant display in the Men’s 1500m freestyle.
His time in winning gold – 14.47.94 – was almost six and a half seconds under the Olympic qualifying time and he will be booking his flight or Eurostar to Paris.
Speaking after the race Jervis said: “I was probably the most nervous I’ve ever been.”
“This is probably the best moment of my swimming career. I’ve got an amazing support network with my family, friends and my partner here.
“What a moment so thank you very much I could see you all.
“It was really nice to see my dad sat just there, my parents have been there for me since literally the day I was born and I’m very fortunate and blessed to have them.”
Jervis added: “The last few months I’ve really found training hard. I’m 27, not 18 anymore, training sessions hurt me now.”
“To be honest, whatever we’re doing in training clearly has worked, I wouldn’t be here without my coach and other coaches and team in Swansea.”
Jervis won Bronze at the commonwealth games in Glasgow in 2014 and Silver four years later at the Gold Coast and seemed over the moon to have booked his place at Paris.
However, it was later in the day when the real fireworks were set to fly in the Men’s 100m freestyle.
Matt Richards MBE aged just 21 was up against double Olympic Champion Tom Dean and Duncan Scott who became the first British athlete to win four medals at an Olympic Games with his gold and three silvers at Tokyo 2020.
All three had combined with James Guy to win 4x200m freestyle gold at Tokyo when Richards was just 18.
Dean also won individual gold at the games in the 200m whilst Richards won gold at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka in the same event, along with helping the team to 4x200m gold.
In the 100m at the Aquatics GB Swimming Championships, Richards stormed to gold, pipping Scott to another British title and finishing within the Olympic qualifying time, securing his place at the Paris Olympics.
In doing so, he also secured his place in the 4x100m team alongside Scott, Dean and Alexander Cohoon.
“I couldn’t ask for a better way to start the week than that,” said Richards after the race.
“It’s a great result for me personally but also for all the boys and bodes really well for the 4×100 team in the Summer.”
With the 200m Freestyle final set for Sunday, expect more fireworks as all try to push each other to further success.
QUICK LINKS
Cardiff Set For ‘Massive’ End of Season
Carwyn Harris
Cardiff City’s women’s team are preparing for a “massive” end of the season with two cup finals and a crunch game at the Cardiff City Stadium against Wrexham on Sunday.
The Bluebirds secured their second successive Adran Premier title on Wednesday the 27th of March with a dominant 4-0 win over rivals Swansea City.
“There was a spring in our step on Wednesday,” said attacking midfielder Kerry Walklett.
“You knew we were going to dominate that game before we left the changing rooms because there was a spring in the team which I haven’t seen before.”
While Walklett signed in January, right wing-back Lisa Owen has been at the club since 2014.
“Swansea is still our biggest game of the season,” said Owen.
“I’ve been at the club for so long now where at one time we’d expect to be beaten by them every game sometimes we’d lose 7-0, 5-0 and it shows how far we’ve come to beat them 4-0 on Wednesday, it’s a massive achievement for us girls.
“Especially the girls that have stayed by the team the development has been crazy.”
Whilst that win was impressive, Cardiff suffered a 2-0 loss in Llandarcy against Swansea last time out and will be keen to bounce back.
Despite the league being sown up it was still emotional for Owen to lose against Cardiff’s fierce rivals.
““It was disappointing to lose to Swansea on the weekend,” said Owen.
“Wednesday was a one off, we had a different starting 11, people playing for minutes and wanting to prove a point, a lot of us hadn’t played as that 11 together so it was about giving people opportunities and experiences, come Sunday we’ll want to bounce back from that.”
Cardiff will have a chance of revenge when they face their bitterest of rivals in the Adran Trophy final on 14th of April, a competition Cardiff are yet to win.
However, before that is the prospect of a game against Wrexham at the Cardiff City Stadium on Sunday.
“It’s great for women’s football that Wrexham are pushing it so much,” said Owen.
“It shows how far women’s football has come too, it’s great for the league to publicise us.
“You can’t underestimate anyone in the league, I wouldn’t underestimate Wrexham, anyone can come out on top on Sunday!”
The game at the Cardiff City Stadium on Sunday is the first of a trio of big games which includes a cup final against Swansea and another against Wrexham in May.
“Since I’ve come in it’s been the absolute meat end of the season,” said Walklett.
“We’ve had so many games and we’re still training three times a week with a lot of squad rotations and with that at times there can be a bit of disjointedness.
“It’s difficult because every game is massive and you want to win every game even though we’ve won the league, on Sunday when we lift the trophy, we want to do it with a win and not get beat at home.
“It’s been a long old season I can see it with the girls a number of them are carrying niggles and trying to hold on till the end.”
Cardiff’s win this season has secured their place in the Champions League for another season, something which excites Walklett having not had the opportunity to play in the competition before.
“It’s a funny one for me because I’m still in pre-season in my mind,” said Walklett.
“The biggest thing with the Champions League for me is I’m looking forward to going away on that almost intense course, getting to know everyone and not just the football which will be amazing.
“I’ve come into a new country, even though it is just down the road, I didn’t know anyone, so it’s taken me two months to feel a bit more comfortable.
“The next three games are massive so it is hard for Iain Darbyshire or any of the coaching team to throw me in, it’s about patient and enjoying the minutes I get and enjoying my time with the girls and hopefully I can hit the ground running in pre-season.”
QUICK LINKS
Devils Seal Second With Giants Win
Carwyn Harris
Cardiff Devils sealed second place in the Elite Ice Hockey League with a 4-3 overtime win over Belfast Giants at the Vindico arena on Sunday.
After consecutive losses at home to third placed Belfast and at the table topping Sheffield Steelers, the Devils bounced back with a win which should offer the Devils an easier route through the end of season play-offs.
Devils conceded early in the first period with Sean Norris tipping on a Josh Roach shot from in front of goal.
The home side responded well, whilst on a powerplay Evan Mosey tipped Bode Wilde’s shot into the net with three and a half minutes left in the period before Riley Brandt gave the Devils the lead on the rebound with a minute and a half left in the first period.
With 33 seconds remaining in the first period Devils players Cole Sanford and Cody Donaghey were called and given simultaneous two-minute penalties meaning the home side would be faced with a 5v3 penalty kill.
However, immediately upon their return a blocked shot ricocheted to Sanford who found Donaghey who raced in unopposed and slotted the puck home to give his side a two-goal cushion.
That advantage was halved minutes later when the Giants raced in on goal with a four on two and Greg Printz made no mistake with his finish.
That would be the end of the scoring in the second period with the Devils holding on to a slim 3-2 lead.
Belfast put the home side under significant pressure in the final third with Ben Bowns making several saves, finishing with 34 saves on the night.
But with five minutes and twenty seconds left in the game he was beaten for a third time as David Goodwin’s shot was tipped by Ben Lake right in front again.
Bowns was called upon once again in the last few seconds, but the scores remained tied and both sides prepared for overtime.
The visitors had a breakaway barely thirty seconds into overtime but hit the bar before Bowns produced a huge follow up save.
It would be Cardiff’s day though as Trevor Cox was found on the left and waited to set up Marcus Crawford to bury the chance and give the Devils the crucial extra point.
The Devils are still no closer to knowing who their opponents will be in the play-off quarter finals with the bottom five sides in the league separated by just three points.
With Cardiff facing three of those sides in their final three games before the play-offs they may have an opportunity to suss out their opponents ahead of any potential meeting at the Vindico arena on the 13th of April.
QUICK LINKS
James ‘Screamer’ Seals Crucial Win For Leeds
Carwyn Harris
To paraphrase a song popularised in English by Dinah Washington in the late 50’s: “What a difference six days make”.
Too forced? Perhaps, but probably not as strained as the smiles on Wales fans’ faces after their side’s loss on penalties against Poland.
One can only imagine what it must have been like for the players, who have certainly stepped up following their recent disappointment.
Nathan Broadhead scored the second in Ipswich’s crucial 3-2 win over fellow promotion chasing Southampton on Monday, but it is perhaps Leeds’ Welsh contingent whose performance is most impressive.
Having played 120 minutes in Wales’ penalty defeat against Poland both Ethan Ampadu and Joe Rodon played the full 90 in both their side’s 2-2 draw at Watford on Friday and their 3-1 home win over Hull on Monday.
The pair are part of a quartet of Wales players at Leeds alongside Dan James and Connor Roberts with the former also playing the full 90 minutes in both games whilst Roberts missed both with the injury he picked up during the penalty defeat to Poland.
Due to Roberts’ injury James was forced to move to right wing-back against Poland and his speed in the attacking third was clearly missed.
But what Wales were unable to utilise, Leeds did to great effect with James playing a key role in his side’s win over Hull.
He was involved in the first goal winning the ball back on route to Sam Byrom’s opener and should have added an assist minutes later but his brilliant run and ball across the six-yard box was inexplicably spooned over the bar by striker Patrick Bamford.
But it was his side’s third which was his moment to shine.
With Hull pushing for an equaliser and seconds remaining, goalkeeper Ryan Allsop went up for a freekick. After Anas Zaroury’s shot was blocked by Rodon, former Swans striker Joël Piroe released James who’s curling shot bent in from the right touchline barely a yard into Hull’s half.
It was quite the moment for James who celebrated with a knee slide in front of the Leeds fans following a difficult week with his penalty saved by Wojciech Szczęsny during his country’s penalty loss.
“Coming back to club I was disappointed, but at the end of the day you’ve got to get on with it,” said James.
“From my angle once I’d hit it, I could always see it was going in and we dug deep in the end so I’m thankful to get the goal.”
Summerville called the goal a “screamer” whilst Roberts congratulated his Welsh teammate with a bear hug.
It was far from the perfect performance from Leeds with play-off chasing Hull missing several chances and scored when two on-loan Liverpool youngsters combined as Fabio Carvalho finished from Tyler Morton’s cross.
The goal came as a bit of a surprise especially considering Leeds’ defence had previously only been breached three times when Ampadu and Rodon had started together at centre back.
With fewer than five minutes remaining, Crysencio Summerville drove into the box and was clipped by Regan Slater with referee Josh Smith pointing to the spot.
After a brief disagreement between former Swans striker Joël Piroe and Summerville, the penalty winner took the spot kick, calmly putting the ball in the back of the net to send Leeds back to second in the Championship.
With seconds remaining Hull sent goalkeeper Allsop forward and James bent the ball home into an empty net from the halfway line to seal all three points.
“The lads were unbelievable tonight,” said James.
“Coming off the back of a draw away at Watford, we have to thank Summerville for winning the penalty and he’s a worthy winner of the player of the match award.
“It’s a massive win, going Friday to Monday after internationals is really tough, some lads didn’t arrive until Wednesday which makes things difficult.
“Hull came out and battled to the very end and thankfully we came out on top.”
Wales manager Rob Page had asked his players to find clubs which would give them more game time and both Ipswich and Leeds are certainly reaping the rewards with seven Wales players shared between them.
The win puts Leeds second, just a point behind Ipswich in the automatic promotion spots with six games remaining and a point ahead of Leicester who have a game in hand.
It’s going to be a battle royale for promotion and Wales will be right at the heart of it.
QUICK LINKS
The Statistics Behind Scarlets' Season
Carwyn Harris
“It was a sobering night, we got what we deserved,” those were the words of Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel after their 3-45 record home loss to Glasgow on Saturday.
You might expect after such a heavy loss at home that Scarlets fans might respond by booing but at the end the response from the majority closely resembled acceptance of where their side are.
Six years ago to the day, things were very different.
On the 30th of March 2018, Scarlets earnt a famous 29-17 home win over La Rochelle to reach a first European Champions Cup semi-final in 11 years during a season where they’d also reach the Pro 14 final. That was on the back of having won the league the previous season.
On the 30th of March 2024, Scarlets lost by a record 42-point margin, having already been knocked out of the European Challenge Cup following a home loss to Georgia’s Black Lion.
What happened to La Rochelle? Well, they face Stormers on Saturday as they pursue a third consecutive European Champions Cup title.
In 2018, Scarlets were in front of a record 15,000-strong crowd, most of whom stayed behind to applaud their players’ win whilst Saturday’s crowd was less than half that amount.
This season, Scarlets haven’t recovered after a South African mauling in rounds one and two of the URC this season with any momentum gained since immediately stripped from them.
After conceding 115 points to the Bulls and Sharks, Scarlets beat Cardiff at home in November, only to lose a home game to Lions by a point and then lose by 49 and 22 at Leinster and Ospreys respectively.
A month later, Scarlets grabbed their second win of the season, again against Cardiff, this time at the Arms Park. What followed were consecutive losses in the Challenge Cup to Castres and then home to Black Lion, before another derby loss to Ospreys.
Scarlets have consistently ended seasons strongly and when they beat Benetton last weekend through a last-minute Eduan Swart try, you could have been forgiven for thinking that it was the start of a run.
However, they were dismal in their 3-45 hammering to Glasgow and can only hope to put in better performances in front of their fans in their remaining home fixtures against Sharks, Ulster and Dragons, the last of which being part of Judgement Day.
“There were times when we were soft in terms of accuracy on both sides of the ball,” said Peel after the loss on Saturday.
“We gave Glasgow the ins into our 22 we knew we couldn’t afford to whether through lack of discipline or our errors.”
That discipline saw Scarlets receive three yellow cards to Tom Rogers, Dan Jones and Sam Lousi, in total they have now received nine yellow cards, the second highest in the league.
Additionally, they have conceded the highest amount of penalties, including the most scrum and lineout penalties whilst they have won the fewest scrum penalties in the league this season.
The overall statistics of this season make for grim reading from a Scarlets perspective.
Scarlets have now lost by 35 points or more on five occasions this season against Bulls, Stormers and Leinster away, along with home defeats to Munster and Glasgow.
Glasgow was their joint seventh biggest defeat in their history, of those, six have come in the league, four of which have come this season against Leinster 49, Stormers 45 and Bulls and Glasgow both 42.
If you look at the season as a whole, it doesn’t get much better. Scarlets have now conceded 436 points in the league this season, only three less than Dragons and Zebre.
However, the stats in attack are arguably more worrying. Scarlets have scored the fewest number of points in the URC this season, 21 less than Dragons and 78 fewer than Zebre.
Injuries have played their part, with Taine Plumtree, Josh Macleod and Ken Owens long-term absentees whilst Jonny Williams, Jarrod Taylor and Sam Costelow missed the game against Glasgow along with Joe Roberts and Steff Evans who are out for the season.
They have also seen Samson Lee retire in December, while Jonny McNicholl returned to an opportunity in New Zealand with the Crusaders.
With five games remaining, bizarrely, the Scarlets can still qualify for the play-offs although they would need a number of results and maybe a minor miracle to go their way.
Two of those are at home along with judgement day and they will surely be targeting them to avoid their fewest number of wins in a season which currently stands at five from the 2009-10 season.