A social media account called ‘Did the Dragons Lose?’ caught the eye over the weekend. A simple enough concept, the admin of the X account posts one word – “Yes” or “No” – after every game played by the side from Newport.
Not since October, 2022, has the account posted “No” twice in the space of a week. The recent victory over Lyon ended a year-long winning drought, bringing delirious scenes to Rodney Parade. One week on, it’s a case of rinse and repeat. An upset victory against Connacht marked their second consecutive win and was undoubtedly the result of the round over the weekend’s United Rugby Championship (URC) action.
This was a delightful result for a fanbase devoid of joy in recent years, but a horror show for a Connacht group which has now lost twice away to Welsh clubs inside three weeks. Spare a thought for anyone opening their phone to a stream of questionable jokes comparing Dragons victories to local bus services.
If anything else, the joyous celebrations were a short-term reprieve for Welsh rugby, given the pervading narrative that one of the four regions is set to be cut. They certainly provided a stark contrast to the atmosphere at Bridgend which was, at times, funereal. Ospreys fans witnessing their team’s defeat to Munster were clearly affected by rumours that their heads will be on the chopping block.
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Connacht’s loss, featuring a disastrous run of conceding 48 points in a 45-minute spell, rounded up a strange weekend for the Irish provinces. Despite losing against Leinster, Ulster emerged from the Friday fixture with credit after giving their opponents a scare. Leinster continue to face questions on their form despite four wins on the spin since the end of the November internationals.
Munster, meanwhile, find themselves tackling similar queries about winning ugly following their bonus point in Bridgend. As for Connacht, there are no prizes for guessing how they’re feeling. Really, the Dragons?
With the second of three consecutive weekends featuring interpro rugby now approaching, good luck making sense of it all. Next week’s headliner on the festive fight card is undoubtedly the visit of Leo Cullen’s Leinster to Munster. Neither side has played particularly well in recent weeks, but the meeting of both provinces is always highly anticipated by supporters.
Both head coaches involved in Limerick next week – Cullen and Clayton McMillan – point to the challenges of eight consecutive matches in a bid to explain their charges failing to hit peak levels. Irish players have to be both integrated and rested, depending on the day. European matches must be prioritised. As should playing against other provinces, really.
“It is not the way you ideally want to play every week,” acknowledged Cullen after a second come-from-behind win in as many weeks. “We’ve made a lot of changes, so some of that is forced again.
“Obviously we know we have to manage players at this stage of the season. So you’re seeing the guys in the stands, there’s that chop-and-change that we have to do. Then you’re trying to build cohesion.
“So we play Friday to Friday. Listen, lads were off the weekend . . . It’s limited in terms of prep.”
“I’ve been speaking to lots of media people who have questioned [how] we have been winning but it’s not been pretty,” said McMillan after beating the Ospreys with an error-laden display. “That’s not overly concerning to me, there’s a long way to go in the season, plenty of growth in our side.
“When you look across the competition, everyone’s in a similar boat. Teams have good days at the office, others where they look scratchy but just get across the line. That’s the stage of the season we’re at. It’s cold, wet, windy, everyone’s fighting for points. Just try keep your nose in front.”
That Jack Crowley, Tadhg Beirne and Craig Casey have missed one of Munster’s last four games would suggest they should all be in fine fettle for next week.
The time of year, combined with the prospect of a first league double over Leinster in a decade, was sufficient for Munster fans to sell out Thomond Park.
Quite literally given the timings of the fixtures, Ulster’s trip to Connacht on the 27th serves as the undercard warm-up for the Munster-Leinster clash. Given where they are in the Richie Murphy rebuild, Ulster’s form has built up enough goodwill that no one is crying disaster after losing a game they probably should have won in Dublin. Their lack of depth means that, for now, they still couldn’t beat the URC champions even when displaying arguably the best form of any of the Irish provinces.
’Tis the season and Irish rugby is in the shop window over the festive period. While winning ugly is better than losing, we can only hope more provinces start playing well over Christmas.
