Ospreys v Ulster
Shamelessly, here's a link to my match report in the Irish Mirror. The full piece can be seen in the Irish News too.
The thoughts of a trainee journalist
Shamelessly, here's a link to my match report in the Irish Mirror. The full piece can be seen in the Irish News too.
Llanelli Scarlets rounded off their 100% successful Heineken Cup group campaign with a hard fought yet sloppy win over London Irish at Stradey Park.
My first trip on Friday night to watch the Newport Gwent Dragons means it's three of the four regions visited and only one to go. I will complete the Welsh tour when I stumble across the Liberty Stadium in Swansea to see the Ospreys at the end of January.
The first weekend of January. 3rd Round Proper. The world's most famous cup competition. It's the weekend the smaller football league clubs dream of, possibly their only chance of meeting one of the big guns, earning the financial windfall and hopefully having their 15 minutes of fame.
By the early hours of tomorrow morning, I expect the Ashes test series to be complete. An embarrassing 5-0 scoreline, the first in 86 years, should spark severe ramifications for English players and management alike. Undoubtably, heads will roll and some players such as Trescothick, wicketkeeper Jones and Giles may never wear an international shirt again.
A Premiership match against a football club more famous in its own town for its rugby league team and pies was hardly ever going to get the emotions flowing. However, the small matter of a late yet bizarre Michael Essien own goal certainly did so as I entered the second tier of the Stretford End for the first time in three months.
I've recently started working for a media company called Statrugby. The job entails writing stat pieces for their website each week and attending games, recording all the key information on our trendy PDA's back to the director, Hugh Copping. I've been assigned to watch the Llanelli Scarlets for the rest of this season. My first live game from the press box sitting alongside BBC's Eddie Butler and former England coach Dick Best was a treat. A Heineken Cup clash between the Scarlets and Toulouse at the intimating Stradey Park.