The Crusaders, perennial finalists, hammered their New Zealand rivals the Blues 41-19 and the Bulls, from South Africa, pulled off a surprise with a 21-12 win in Wellington against the Hurricanes.. When Sir Clive Woodward announces his squad next month for the Lions tour of New Zealand, he will at least have a form guide to work with, although not the one he expected. By contrast, his extra large coaching staff was hand-picked long before the four home countries became engaged in the Six Nations’ Championship. The other quarter-finals pair New Zealand and France, South Africa and Australia and Fiji and Argentina.Wales are not competing, thanks to financial constraints. Ireland, on the other hand, are marooned in the short game’s version of Sunday morning at the Croydon branch of IKEA, and face a scrap over the Plate with the Samoans. At least they have avoided the ignominy of fighting to avoid the wooden spoon in the Bowl.

It all makes sense if you’re there.In the Super 12, the New South Wales Waratahs beat South Africa’s Stormers 25-10 in Sydney to keep up their perfect start to the competition. The amalgamation of Neath and Swansea always seemed an unlikely and probably unhappy project when Welsh rugby decided to rationalise itself a couple of years ago. The two old clubs were always, to put it lightly, the best of enemies. “It’ll never work!” the throng of Welsh supporters, never particularly low on Jonahs, nay-sayers, pessimists and eyeores even in times like this, sang, sonorously, as one.
But with perfect perversity, in a season when nothing in the Principality has been as it should be, it has worked.

Friday night’s 30-0 win over the Newport-Gwent Dragons put the Ospreys within one win of the Celtic League title.Two tries from the scrum-half Jason Spice – tellingly, with a host of Ospreys away playing some match or other with the Welsh national team, a Kiwi – one from Adrian Durston and another from Richard Mustoe did for an alarmingly limp bunch of Dragons, and left the Ospreys needing only a win over Edinburgh next week to wrap up the title. Seeing as beating Edinburgh is about as easy as appropriating mars bars from a partially fractious toddler – and probably even easier than that at the Gnoll, the old Neath stronghold – it looks like it’s party time in Neath-Swansea Wherever that is. Roll on next season, a new stadium at Morfa and a promised, serious tilt at the Heineken Cup.There was one blow for the Welsh on Friday, their women’s side losing 11-6 at home to Ireland in one of the parallel Six Nations tournaments to the main event. “We talk about players on a regular basis and that’s working with the senior team, in one sense Whether that develops into a closer role, I don’t know That’s Andy’s call. If anyone wants me to help out in any way, I’m happy to do it.”With the world champions a chastening sixth in the world rankings, it will be a long wait until England’s chance to restore some pride against Australia and New Zealand in November.”It is hard, but it’s sport,” said Lydon, “and there could well be more pain and disappointment. It’s not that we don’t mind losing – I’ve never met anybody more determined to win than Andy Robinson – but we are on a progression to the 2007 World Cup We don’t want to peak too early.”.

What the RFU hopes will be an expanded A international programme of four or five matches, with Ireland and France among the opposition, will be handled by Ashton and Wells.Spice said he “wouldn’t be surprised” if Wells was called in by Robinson to work with the senior team. Many obser-vers would like Ashton, a master of back play, to do the same. “I’ve got a very close relationship with Andy Robinson,” said Ashton. The appointment of Jon Callard and Leicester’s John Wells as senior academy coaches alongside Jim Mallinder has further strengthened a roster underpinned by Damian McGrath, the former rugby league coach, Nigel Redman, Dorian West and Mike Friday.England’s Churchill Cup campaign in Canada in June will be led by Joe Lydon, from the senior set-up, and McGrath. Club fixtures bolted on to early- or pre-season, such as the Anglo-South African tournament mooted for 2006, would take place without the ?te players. “The concept of playing someone different outside Europe is a good one,” said Spice, “but the last thing I want to do is load players up with more matches.”England intend to channel what’s left of the top players’ energies differently next season.