Judgement Day came and went amid a flurry of questions, not all of which have been answered.
What was the exact position with Cardiff director of rugby Dai Young after his apparent suspension?
How can we account for Vaea Fifita’s decision to strike out out at Aaron Wainwright early in the Dragons v Scarlets game?
Where was Warren Gatland? TV cameras panned to one of the stands, where several Wales coaches could be seen but not the team boss himself. Not just one missing coach then in Young, but apparently two with Gatland also absent. Doubtless, he’ll be around for Wales’ World Cup training squad announcement next Monday.
Anyway, here are the winners and losers from the weekend.
Morgan Morris
If Manchester City need any tips on how to complete football’s treble, they could do worse than contact Ospreys back rower Morgan Morris.
He got in there ahead of them by hoovering up three trophies at the Ospreys’ awards night in Swansea.
Morris won player-of-the-year gongs dished out by the region’s supporters and legends and the one awarded by the players.
His consistency has been a feature throughout the season along with his quality.
He then went out on Saturday and produced a battling display in adversity against Cardiff in the Judgement Day clash at the Principality Stadium. When plenty around him were finding the going tough, he made close on 60 metres with his carrying and put in 11 tackles. He is rated so highly at the Ospreys because he can be relied on, and he once again delivered for his side, even if more than a few team-mates failed to hit their usual standards.
Now he’ll be hoping to make it a quadruple with selection in Wales’ World Cup training squad.
Wales have shown no interest in him to date and Warren Gatland is his own man.
But on the evidence this season, it will be hard to leave Morris out.
Ross Moriarty
While the Dragons were enjoying a good weekend by beating the Scarlets in the final round of the United Rugby Championship matches, one of their old boys also had cause to smile as well.
Ross Moriarty marked his first start for his new club Brive by helping them to a 22-17 home win over Pau.
The former European champions remain anchored to the bottom of the Top 14.
And, eight points adrift from the rest in the top flight and with just three games to play, including dates on the road against champions Montpellier and Toulouse, they still look well-nigh certain to finish at the foot of proceedings.
But their fresh acquisition from Wales has made a good start, playing for 76 minutes and contributing strongly after an appearance off the bench against Stade Francais a week earlier.
French crowds may enjoy frills from those behind the scrum but they also appreciate forwards who deliver in a robust and uncomplicated way. The signs are promising, then, that Moriarty will prove a hit in his new surroundings.
Cardiff Rugby
The Arms Park also had a lot to cheer, with two pieces of silverware added to the trophy cabinet.
First, Cardiff Rugby lifted the Welsh Shield. It may be sneered at by some, but it’s better than not winning it and it allows the capital city club to compete in the Heineken Champions Cup next term. And while financial constraints will likely limit Cardiff’s ability to perform as they would want to against Europe’s best, they will not be burdened by expectation and there are still quality players at the club.
Twenty-four hours after that success, Cardiff RFC lifted the Welsh Premiership Cup, beating Newport 13-10 in the final. The match wasn’t a classic, but showpieces often turn out that way, with style a bonus. Declaring afterwards, “we came, we saw and we came up with 20 offloads but still lost,” doesn’t have quite the same ring as “we got the job done”.
Well done to all concerned at Cardiff, then.
A nod to Pontypool after their Championship Cup final win over Ystrad Rhondda, too, and to Newbridge, who beat Nant Conwy 29-13 in the Division One final.
Tomos Williams, Thomas Young
One word will do the job here: outstanding.
Josh Turnbull
He’s had another fine season with his leadership immense for Cardiff.
Indeed, his post-match press conference on Saturday was an exercise in how to do such things.
There was clear satisfaction at winning a trophy, but not too much because perspective is everything and all the Welsh sides did, after all, miss out on qualification for the United Rugby Championship playoffs. But, still, the Welsh Shield is a piece of silverware.
There was also appreciation for his team-mates with tributes thrown the way of those who are finishing at Cardiff.
And there was managing of expectations ahead of next term’s Heineken Champions Cup campaign with a squad operating on a compressed budget.
It was impressive stuff from the back-five man from west Wales who is the embodiment of a heart-and-soul rugby player.
Cardiff are fortunate to have him.
Dragons
They hadn’t won in the league since October and questions can fairly be asked about how they had allowed such a drought to continue for so long.
Also, if they can play that well against the Scarlets, why can’t they deliver every week?
Those are matters to mull over during the close season.
But at least they ended matters for 2022-23 on a high, with Rhodri Williams, Angus O’Brien, Taine Basham, Ben Carter, Rio Dyer and Aaron Wainwright to the fore.
The efforts from those six and others were impressive.
Dan Lydiate
Dan Lydiate bowed out at the Ospreys with a classy sign-off, thanking his friends and family who had been part of his journey.
He’s had to deal with a lot of injuries during his time with the Swansea.com Stadium region but the blindside kept returning from the setbacks and kept banging in selfless and ultra-committed performances.
Also, he’s never been less than accommodating in his dealings with the media.
One of Welsh rugby’s nice guys reckons there’s ‘still life in the old bull’.
And why not? Certainly, any club who does sign him will be getting a player who never gives less than his all for the cause.
His Ospreys team-mates over the past nine years would surely say as much.
LOSERS
The west's flag bearers
Gareth Jenkins once labelled a Llanelli v Swansea derby as ‘the yardstick for Welsh rugby’.
Fair play, in those days, the Loughor Bridge neighbours did set standards others found hard to match, with Neath there and thereabouts as well.
West and south-west tended to be best.
Scarlets and Ospreys have still had their moments this season, particularly in Europe, with the Ospreys giving a fine account of themselves in the Heineken Champions Cup, while the Scarlets have an EPCR Challenge Cup semi-final to look forward to this weekend.
But the pair have performed patchily in the United Rugby Championship, with Toby Booth’s side finishing 13th in the table and Dwayne Peel’s team ending up one place below them.
Of course, there are reasons why that’s been the case. The season has been played out amid a backdrop of turbulence in the Welsh game and the Scarlets had awful injuries in the early months of the campaign while the Ospreys were stretched to breaking point by Wales calls.
But both will be disappointed by their efforts in the leaue and their finishing positions.
Vaea Fifita
Er, what was he thinking?
Was he thinking?
Did he for a split second imagine he was at a Merit Table game on a dark night in the mid-1970s when TMO’s had yet to be even thought about and all sorts went on undetected with cameras booked for hardly any games?
These days, of course, there are multiple cameras at every big game. Theoretically, any indiscretion should be picked up and sanctioned. Nowadays, it may even be possible to get pinged for heavy breathing, let alone unleashing a heavy punch.
That being the case, former All Black Fifita was fortunate not to be sent off for sending a palm into the face of Aaron Wainwright in the Dragons v Scarlets game on Saturday. “Whether his hand is open or closed, it’s a stupid thing to do in the opening few minutes of a derby game,” said former Wales wing Mark Jones in TV commentary. Someone else styled it 'a moment of madness'.
Jones’ point was underlined by the Dragons scoring 21 points while Fifita was mulling over the error of his ways while in the sin bin.
No one is asking the Tonga to show the calm of a Zen master,
But indiscipline costs.
Saturday confirmed as much.
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