General Chat

Warren Gatland has chosen his squad for the forthcoming 6 Nations Championship

WALES SQUAD 2014 RBS 6 NATIONS:

Forwards:
Paul James (Bath), Gethin Jenkins (Cardiff Blues), Ryan Bevington (Ospreys), Richard Hibbard (Ospreys), Ken Owens (Scarlets), Emyr Phillips (Scarlets), Adam Jones (Ospreys), Samson Lee (Scarlets), Rhodri Jones (Scarlets), Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys), Luke Charteris (Perpignan), Ian Evans (Ospreys), Andrew Coombs (Dragons), Ryan Jones (Ospreys), Justin Tipuric (Ospreys), Sam Warburton Capt (Cardiff Blues), Toby Faletau (Dragons), Dan Lydiate (Racing Metro), Aaron Shingler (Scarlets)

Backs:
Rhodri Williams (Scarlets), Mike Phillips (Racing Metro), Rhys Webb (Ospreys), Dan Biggar (Ospreys), Rhys Priestland (Scarlets), James Hook (Perpignan), Jonathan Davies (Scarlets), Jamie Roberts (Racing Metro), Scott Williams (Scarlets), Alex Cuthbert (Cardiff Blues), George North (Northampton Saints), Leigh Halfpenny (Cardiff Blues), Liam Williams (Scarlets).

Fixtures...
1st & 2nd FEBRUARY 2014:

Wales v Italy Sat 2.30
France v England Sat 5.00
Ireland v Scotland Sun 3.00

8th & 9th FEBRUARY 2014:

Ireland v Wales Sat 2.30
Scotland v England Sat 5.00
France v Italy Sun 3.00

21st & 22nd FEBRUARY:

Wales v France Fri 8.00
Italy v Scotland Sat 1.30
England v Ireland Sat 4.00

8th & 9th MARCH:

Ireland v Italy Sat 2.30
Scotland v France Sat 5.00
England v Wales Sun 3.00

15th MARCH:

Italy v England Sat 12.30
Wales v Scotland Sat 2.45
France v Ireland Sat 5.00

LOOKING FORWARD :-) :-) :-) :-)

RYAN JONES

Former Captain and Wales Back-Row Forward Ryan Jones is out of the Six Nations Championship due to a Hamstring injury.

Ryan Jones suffered the injury during Osprey's Heineken Cup defeat by Leinster on Friday night. He is being replaced in the Welsh Squad by his regional team-mate James King.

JONATHAN DAVIES
Jonathan Davies, who was thought unlikely to be able to play in this Six Nations Championship due to a Chest Injury, may be able to play in the later matches.

Many thanks, Jemima fach :-D :-D Great info.

Have just sent a birthday card to a Welsh young lady who lives in Northampton with her favourite Welsh player, George North, on front wishing her a penblwydd hapus.

How sick are we in Wales that he has to play for the Saints :-( :-(

Diolch yn fawr John :-)

Unfortunately, unless they sort out the mess in the running of Welsh Rugby soon, George won't be the only one! :-( :-( :-(

Looks to me like Wales, France and Ireland next weekend. Hope I'm not jinxing anything. It is certainly my personal preference. I think first matches are the Under 20's (?) on Friday. And we must not forget the women this tournament. Some excellent rugby there too.

Was stopped in my local supermarket by some lovely girls who were helping with packing. They had Treorchy RFC on their shirts and one dainty young miss informed me that they played rugby every week and were seeking funds. Lovely girls, all of them. Real credit to our Valleys. :-D :-D

It's a good job Australia is not involved :-D :-D

Invincible! :-D

But, as an honorary Welshman, I'll be backing Wales :-D :-D

Thankyou John for reminding about the Under 20s and the Women! :-)

For those of you new to Rugby-
When the Six Nations Rugby Championships take place each year, we also have an UNDER 20S Championship, running at the same time.
We also have a Women's Rugby Championship!

FIXTURES AS FOLLOWS:

WALES RUGBY under 20s International Fixtures 2014

31-1-14 ( Fri) 7.10pm WALES u20s v ITALY u20s Home
7-2-14 (Fri) 7.35pm WALES u20s v IRELAND u20s Away
22-2-14 (Sat) 6.05pm WALES u20s v FRANCE u20s Home
7-3-14 (Fri) 7.45pm WALES u20s v ENGLAND u20s Away
14-3-14 (Fri) 7.00pm WALES u20s v SCOTLAND u20s Home

All Welsh Home games are taking place at Parc Eiras, Colwyn Bay, North Wales.

The first listed UNDER 20s MATCH is being televised LIVE on BBC2 Wales. Programme starts 7pm.

WALES WOMEN’S RUGBY International Fixtures 2014

2-2-14 (Sun) 1.00pm WALES women v ITALY women Home
7-2-14 (Fri) 7.30pm WALES women v IRELAND women Away
23-2-14 (Sun) 2.00pm WALES women v FRANCE women Home
7-3-14 (Fri) 7.30pm WALES women v ENGLAND women Away
16-3-14 (Sun) 2.00pm WALES women v SCOTLAND women Home

HELLO to my GOOD WELSH Friend ALLAN ;-) :-D :-D :-D

Thankyou for your support :-) :-)

NOT LONG TO GO NOW! Are you all getting excited?! :-) :-)

AND BY ALL- I MEAN PROBABLY JUST JOHN! :-D :-D
Your new Board Name fits well John!
Hope I'm wrong, as we'd love to hear from more of you!

TELEVISION SCHEDULE FOR 6 NATIONS:

Six Nations 2014: BBC Television Schedule
Please note all broadcast details subject to change

Saturday 01/02/2014
BBC One & HD 14:00-16:30 Six Nations Rugby: Wales v Italy (14:30)
BBC One & HD 16:30-19:00 Six Nations Rugby: France v England (17:00)

Sunday 02/02/2014
BBC One & HD 14:30-17:00 Six Nations Rugby: Ireland v Scotland (15:00)

Saturday 08/02/2014
BBC One & HD 14:00-16:30 Six Nations Rugby: Ireland v Wales (14:30)
BBC One & HD 16:30-19:00 Six Nations Rugby: Scotland v England (17:00)

Sunday 09/02/2014
BBC One & HD 14:30-17:00 Six Nations Rugby: France v Italy (15:00)

Friday 21/02/2014
BBC One & HD 19:55-22:00 Six Nations Rugby: Wales v France (20:00)

Saturday 22/02/2014
BBC One & HD 13:15-15:30 Six Nations Rugby: Italy v Scotland (13:30)
BBC One & HD 15:30-18:00 Six Nations Rugby: England v Ireland (16:00)

Saturday 08/03/2014
BBC One & HD 14:00-16:30 Six Nations Rugby: Ireland v Italy (14:30)
BBC One & HD 16:30-19:00 Six Nations Rugby: Scotland v France (17:00)

Sunday 09/03/2014
BBC One & HD 14:30-17:00 Six Nations Rugby: England v Wales (15:00)

Saturday 15/03/2014
BBC One & HD 12:10-14:30 Six Nations Rugby: Italy v England (12:30)
BBC One & HD 14:30-16:45 Six Nations Rugby: Wales v Scotland (14:45)
BBC One & HD 16:45-19:00 Six Nations Rugby: France v Ireland (17:00)

All matches will also be covered live on Radio 5 live or 5 live sports extra.*

DON'T FORGET- WALES V ITALY under 20s.....
FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE ON BBC2 at 7pm- KICK OF 7-10pm
Chance to watch some of the great talent coming up through the ranks!

THE STARTING TEAM IS ANNOUNCED-
WALES PLAYERS CHOSEN TO PLAY ITALY:

Wales will be led out by it's Captain- ALUN-WYN JONES! :-) :-)

1.....Paul James
2.....Richard Hibbard
3.....Adam Jones
4.....Luke Charteris
5.....Alun-Wyn Jones CAPTAIN
6.....Dan Lydiate
7.....Justin Tipuric
8.....Taulupe (Toby) Falatau
9.....Mike Phillips
10...Rhys Priestland
11...George North
12...Jamie Roberts
13...Scott Williams
14...Alex Cuthbert
15...Leigh Halfpenny

Ken Owens, Ryan Bevington, Rhodri Jones, Andrew Coombs, Sam Warburton, Rhys Webb, James Hook, Liam Williams-

................................................................................................................................................
DON'T FORGET- WALES V ITALY LIVE on BBC1- SATURDAY- KICK OFF 2-30pn

Wales v Italy UNDER 20S Match... Kicks off TONIGHT 7.10PM

Live Coverage on BBC2 WALES from 7pm.

STARTING TEAM:

Afon Bagshaw (RGC); Dafydd Howells (Ospreys), Harri Evans (RGC), Steffan Hughes (capt, Scarlets), Joshua Adams (Scarlets); Ethan Davies (Dragons), Tom Williams (Blues); Callum Lewis (Blues), Elliot Dee (Dragons), Nicky Thomas (Ospreys ), Ben Roach (Blues), James Sheekey (Blues), Will Boyde (Carmarthen), Scott Matthews (Dragons), James Benjamin (Dragons)

The Under 20s are definitely worth watching.
Some great talent coming up through the ranks that will one day be included in the Senior Squad.

They're out singing the anthems-

It's very moving to watch these young boys choked up or crying. Also singing on top of their voices..... Mae Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau yn annwyl i mi...

Three penalty points to Italy

YES- 1ST TRY OF THE EVENING TO WALES by 18 year old Joshua Adams.
The wind took a well aimed conversion away! 5-3 to Wales <3

Crowds Singing Sosban Fach.....

Welsh
Mae bys Meri-Ann wedi brifo,
A Dafydd y gwas ddim yn iach.
Mae'r baban yn y crud yn crio,
A'r gath wedi sgrapo Joni bach.

Sosban fach yn berwi ar y tân,
Sosban fawr yn berwi ar y llawr,
A'r gath wedi sgrapo Joni bach.

Dai bach y sowldiwr,
Dai bach y sowldiwr,
Dai bach y sowldiwr,
A gwt ei grys e mas.

Mae bys Meri-Ann wedi gwella,
A Dafydd y gwas yn ei fedd;
Mae'r baban yn y crud wedi tyfu,
A'r gath wedi huno mewn hedd.

Sosban fach yn berwi ar y tân
Sosban fawr yn berwi ar y llawr
A'r gath wedi huno mewn hedd.

Dai bach y sowldiwr,
Dai bach y sowldiwr,
Dai bach y sowldiwr,
A gwt ei grys e mas.

Aeth hen Fari Jones i Ffair y Caerau
I brynu set o lestri de;
Ond mynd i'r ffos aeth Mari gyda'i llestri
Trwy yfed gormod lawer iawn o 'de'

Sosban fach yn berwi ar y tân
Sosban fawr yn berwi ar y llawr
A'r gath wedi huno mewn hedd.

Ethan Davies scores 3 penalty points for Wales! <3
SCORE TO DATE: 8-3 to Wales <3

English (literal translation) of Sosban Fach:

Mary-Ann has hurt her finger,
And David the servant is not well.
The baby in the cradle is crying,
And the cat has scratched little Johnny.

A little saucepan is boiling on the fire,
A big saucepan is boiling on the floor,
And the cat has scratched little Johnny.

Little Dai the soldier,
Little Dai the soldier,
Little Dai the soldier,
And his shirt tail is hanging out.

Mary-Ann's finger has got better,
And David the servant is in his grave;
The baby in the cradle has grown up,
And the cat is 'asleep in peace'.

A little saucepan is boiling on the fire,
A big saucepan is boiling on the floor,
And the cat is 'asleep in peace'.

Little Dai the soldier,
Little Dai the soldier,
Little Dai the soldier,
And his shirt tail is hanging out.

Old Mary Jones went to the fair in Caerau,
To buy a tea set;
But Mary and her teacups ended up in a ditch,
Through the consumption of rather too much "tea".

A little saucepan is boiling on the fire,
A big saucepan is boiling on the floor,
And the cat is 'asleep in peace'.

Another 3 penalty points by Ethan Davies 11-3 to Wales <3

Crowds shouting....

Aggie Aggie Aggie Oi Oi Oi! :-D :-D

Penalty to Italy for Wales coming in from the side :-| :-| :-( Naughty! 11-6 Wales

" lalalala....And we were singing... hymns and arias...Land Of My Fathers... Ar Hyd Y Nos"

Italy- another penalty 3 points- SCORE NOW 11-9. Gap now closing. Come on Wales!

HALF TIME SCORE: WALES under 20s 11... ITALY under 20s 9

Gareth Jenkins (former Wales International Rugby Union Player and former Head Coach of the Wales International Rugby Union Team) being interviewed from the stands.

Gareth Jenkins scouts for players for Scarlets (Llanelli) Rugby Union Club.

Penalty for Wales, and another 3 points from Ethan Davies for Wales <3

Score- 14-9 to Wales