Glass half empty or half full — or smithereened on the floor.
Each will have his or her own view on the state of Welsh professional rugby after a weekend that saw defeats for all the regions.
Cardiff performed best of the four but still came unstuck at home to Harlequins. Ospreys showed plenty of spirit but spirit gets a team only so far. Dragons are stuck in a losing cycle, while the Scarlets crashed heavily in Bordeaux.
That said, there were some positives from the weekend, particularly in the matter of individual displays.
MARK ORDERS takes a look.
Winners
Carwyn Tuipulotu
There wasn’t much for the Scarlets coaches to take from their side’s 45-10 hiding in Bordeaux. Their ball retention was poor, their tackling slipshod and the handling imprecise.
Their lack of rugby because of Covid-related issues over the previous three months absolutely has to be taken into account.
But Dwayne Peel was right to suggest that didn’t explain everything. Just two weeks earlier, after all, the Scarlets had beaten the Ospreys with a strong second-half show. On Sunday, even quality players under-performed.
Amid all the woe, however, there was cause for quiet encouragement from a youngster of whom big things have been forecast.
Carwyn Tuipulotu spent only 25 minutes on the pitch as a replacement, yet in that time he made 10 tackles and actually achieved go-forward with ball in hand.
The job of a bench player is to make an impact, and in the short time he spent on the pitch, the former Sedbergh School pupil did make his presence felt.
Nothing world-shaking, true enough, but for a 20-year-old making his European debut, he at least registered on the radar.
Not all his team-mates could say the same.
Marcus Smith against Cardiff
How good was the English youngster in Harlequins’ 36-33 win over Cardiff at the Arms Park on Friday?
Good enough to prove the difference between victory and defeat for his side.
Cardiff should have emerged victorious, with a 14-point lead heading into the final quarter.
But with Smith on the field there is a sense that anything is possible and the fly-half duly inspired his side to success, stepping up in the closing minutes with a try and then a match-winning penalty.
What particularly impressed wasn’t just his late flurry of points.
It was his quick thinking and ability to play what was in front of him.
Here was a player capable of changing the dynamic of an attack with a call he’d made in a split second. His brain seemed to be operating at a faster level than anyone else on the pitch and he had the skill and audacity to convert his thoughts into moments that took the breath away.
Once, Wales used to produced No. 10s like Smith.
It seems a long time ago.
Among other things, the Harlequin reminded us, well, he reminded us that small can still be beautiful even among the behemoths of modern rugby.
Quins, and England, are lucky to have him.
Ospreys props
In front of the Welsh selectors Gareth Thomas took his chance to shine against Racing 92.
The west Walian helped secure scrum dominance against the French side with a powerful set-piece show backed up by 11 tackles and 18 metres carried.
Nicky Smith then came on and kept up the good scrummaging work while also poaching a brilliantly executed possession steal.
Thomas and Smith have been the top-performing looseheads in Welsh rugby this season and the expectation will be that they’ll be rewarded with Wales squad places for the Six Nations.
If not, more than a few will feel the selectors have missed a beat.
Jac Morgan
He’s a regular in this section and deservedly so.
There was another big shift from him for the Ospreys on Saturday, one that saw him put in 20 tackles against Racing 92, achieve two turnovers and make 23 metres with his carrying.
He’s a youngster who is going to get better.
But he already looks more than capable of stepping up.
It will be intriguing to learn how Wayne Pivac now views him.
James Ratti, Owen Lane, Tomos Williams, Rey Lee-Lo, Seb Davies
All first-class for Cardiff in the hurry-up they gave to English champions Harlequins on Friday evening.
Lane has a few creases in his defence that need ironing out but he’s powerful and knows where the try line is, while Williams has moved up a level in recent weeks and Lee-Lo is consistently one of his team’s best performers.
There was a hard-working effort from Ratti, too, with the No. 8 strong in both attack and defence.
And Seb Davies maintained his good form, showing a skill level that any side would be pleased to sign off.
Had they a better scrum and been sharper in their decision-making at key moments late on, Cardiff would have won.
As it was, they were left to wonder how they let slip a 14-point advantage with 19 minutes to play.
Losers
The Welsh regions in Europe
Where do you start?
By recording an issue of painful fact — that all four professional teams this side of the River Severn lost in Europe over the weekend.
As Peter Jackson pointed out on social media, it was the 10th time in 13 seasons for Welsh sides not to make the knockout stages of the Heineken Champions Cup.
The Welsh Rugby Union should be deeply concerned about the ongoing challenges faced by Cardiff, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets. Professional rugby is the shop window of the game and right now in Wales the picture is one of seemingly never-ending struggle.
It is not all about finance.
But a glance at pretty much every sporting league in the world will underline how important the folding stuff is.
Where is the vision and where are the ideas to improve matters for the teams involved?
Where is the leadership to break the cycle of disappointment?
It’s hard to blame players and coaches too much because often they are not operating on a level playing field, facing opponents who are significantly better funded.
For how long must this go on?
At the very least, a review of professional rugby in Wales should be called for with everything on the table.
Inaction shouldn’t be an option.
Welsh lineout woes
A professor of rugby isn’t needed to remind us that the lineout is a key aspect of rugby.
A properly executed set-piece can serve a team well during high-pressure moments and sometimes even prove the difference between victory and defeat.
Sadly for some of the Welsh regions, this important area of play let them down over the weekend.
The Ospreys returned a meagre 50 percent return on their own throws against Racing 92, while the Scarlets weren’t much between with a 67 percent success rate.
The Dragons lost one in four on their own ball against Benetton.
Cardiff were the best of a bad bunch with 89 percent accuracy against Harlequins, but, really, there’s room for all to improve.
Want the latest Welsh rugby news sent straight to you? Look no further.
