On the right road

A month ago all seemed far from right as the Dragons fell to a bad defeat against Cardiff Blues in their Celtic League opener, bad in the sense that faults, especially in the set pieces, appeared alarming.

It may have seemed harsh, unfair even, to be so critical after just one league game, but the signs were there anyway, and I felt it was only right to draw real attention to the problems in some small way on my part to endeavour to get them corrected right away.

And sorted they have been to a great degree as coach Chris Anderson, new to the union game and its complexities, has bolted on to his motivational and man management skills a rapid knowledge of what is required on the union front.

For example, I don't believe even a fortnight earlier he would have been able to make the front row changes at exactly the right time which he did in the marvellous match against Leinster last Friday.

Not only was the timing and the choices right, but they probably influenced the course of the match. The men who had done their job were replaced by fresh legs who carried on the good work in a big way.

Anderson remains a hard headed guy who takes no prisoners, is demanding on the fitness front, can be hard on individuals (Gareth Wyatt a worthy case in point), believes fundamentally in his own methods, backs his own judgement and is keen to make a real success of the job.

He wants players with him who will go through the fiery furnace and wouldn't back down in the trenches. Not for him the faint hearted or those who might be a bit concerned about a minor injury, you just play through that is Anderson's attitude.

He respects excellence - hence his admiration of Percy Montgomery - and he does tend to surround himself with similar hard-nosed Australians, including with the greatest respect his wife, over here with him and said to be the one person he takes real notice of given her major rugby (league) family background.

How nice it was not just to meet up with the great man Ian McIntosh again after the Leinster game, but how gratifying to see him and Anderson locked in conversation hours later in the club.

McIntosh's verdict about one of his Rodney Parade successors' rugby heart and soul was positive - that's good enough for me.

It's essential to keep feet on the ground, of course, and not get carried away by three successive victories. But reality is, nonetheless, that the Dragons were far too strong for Celtic League champions Llanelli Scarlets, they won in Glasgow where they got thumped last season and they beat a star-studded Leinster team, achieving an unexpected bonus point in the last two.

Evidence enough that not only are the Dragons improving but they possess rich potential as well, especially taken into consideration some spectacular rugby they have played in those last two games.

They have started to move the ball comfortably, they are playing with real width and they are scoring some cracking tries - Kevin Morgan's against Glasgow and Gareth Cooper's against Leinster - being the best examples.

The pack was always strong anyway, though it still needs to be more resolute, but now the side is blessed with some brilliant runners in Morgan, Wyatt and Cooper while Ceri Sweeney is finding his feet now and Hal Luscombe was blooming before getting injured.

And there is still Montgomery, who was incredibly almost a forgotten figure on his return against Leinster which says everything about the impact made by the new boys from the Celtic Warriors who did all the scoring.

Cooper is, for me, the real catalyst, a cheeky guy full of confidence with a lightning quick rugby brain. He's also a damn good single figure golfer as he showed to our cost in a memorable Wales management/Welsh media golf day at the Vale of Glamorgan last week.

He says Anderson has the players' respect and that while he may still be a bit green on the finer points of union, if he praises a player he takes notice and feels gratified.

All of that augurs well for the Heineken Cup campaign which begins in under three weeks before when the Dragons can win on the road against Ulster and the Borders.

If they maintain their current progress I wouldn't say victory in their first three Heineken Cup games at home to Newcastle, hammered by Leicester on Saturday, Edinburgh at Murrayfield and Perpignan at home is beyond them.

That really would set the season alight and get the fans going in large numbers to France for the big away test against Perpignan.

At a time when things are going so well, how sad that the international planners are about to ruin the domestic programme.

The Celtic League is being played right through the November internationals which means the regions will be deprived of all their leading players.

Take the Dragons-Ospreys potential humdinger at Rodney Parade on November 5, the night before Wales play South Africa.

The Dragons will be without Montgomery, Sweeney, Cooper and Michael Owen and possibly Kevin Morgan and Richard Bryan as well while the Ospreys are sure to be missing Sonny Parker, Shane Williams, Gavin Henson, Duncan Jones, Adam Jones, Brent Cockbain, Jonathan Thomas and maybe Ryan Jones.

That means the clash between Wales' top two teams at the top of the Celtic League will be ruined which is a crying shame.

I realise international rugby brings in the cash which keeps the whole game afloat and it also gives the regions a chance to involve their whole squad, as well as test their strength in depth.

The regions also have to be run as businesses in the professional age and there are already gaps during the Six Nations, but to deprive the fans of a full blooded clash between two of the best Celtic teams is at best regrettable, at worst a disaster.

So I would appeal to the Dragons and the Ospreys to rearrange the game for later in the season when there are no clashes.