Welsh European Review

A weekend where the Welsh sides had very little to play for, the Scarlets and Ospreys were already out of the Heineken, and the Blues needed a lot a factors to go their way if they were to progress. The Dragons did have the chance to put themselves in a useful position in the Amlin going into the last weekend against Bath, the only region that harbored any realistic hopes of progression before this weekend.

Racing Metro 13 - Llanelli Scarlets 19

For a team that had nothing to play for the Scarlets showed an incredible amount of pride against the Racing Metro superstars. It was a lesson in what good team spirit and work ethic can get you. Although Racing can sign almost whoever they want, the missing link is something that money can't buy. The Scarlets showed that they are a force to be reckoned with and this young squad seems to have learnt from the experience they have had in this years Heineken, particularly the heavy defeat in Clermont. Rhys Priestland was named Man of the Match and was back to his best just in time to give Warren Gatland a selection headache at 10. Overall, it hasn't been a bad campaign for the Scarlets although they bow out early they have played some good rugby against excellent opposition.

Toulon 43 - Cardiff Blues 20

This was always going to be a tough trip for Cardiff, although if they had managed a win it would have seen them in pole position in pool 2 after some good results back to back against Glasgow. The Blues did compete with Toulon when both sides had 15 on the field, but four yellow cards really hurt the Blues and Toulon took advantage. With three penalty tries coming their way which all produced yellow cards, the ref was questioned when he did not award the Blues the same reward when it appeared that Toulon had infringed in the same manner late on. The game was well gone by this point and the Blues despite competing for large portions found themselves well beaten.

Neath Swansea Ospreys 17 - Northampton Saints 29

Another Welsh team which had nothing to play for but pride as the Northampton Saints rolled into the Liberty Stadium. The first hald was a fairly dull affair with Biggar and Myler trading blows from the tee to leave the score 3-12. The game sparked into life early in the second half when George North finished from his own 22 metre line. The game began to open up and the five tries in the second half made it a good spectacle. The Ospreys, like the Blues the day before, competed but never looked like winning. The Saints just had a little bit too much class. Something that this game did show was that hopes of an Anglo-Welsh League look dead in the water. With an official attendance of just 8,347 coming to see Northampton Saints one of the top Aviva sides. It does not look a viable option in terms of raising the numbers through the gates.

Newport Gwent Dragons 13 - Bath 30

The Dragons went into this game with ambitions of the Amlin quarter finals still very much alive. However, they were outdone by a dominant Bath side who secured a bonus point win away from home and with that confirmed their place in the quarters. This will be the end of the Dragons European adventure for this year, they will go back to the Pro12 where their good form may be helped without the distraction of Europe.

Another year without a Welsh team in the quarter finals, Heineken Cup isn't competition that the regions do well in. Welsh Rugby fans will have to wait another year to see their team in Europe's elite competition. However, there could still be a Welsh winner if Lee Byrne could help deliver for Clermont, before he comes to the Dragons next year.