Woeful Jones

Many people are jumping on the bandwagon of blaming Andy Powell for the lack of gusto in the back row for Wales (and in the light of recent events involving golf buggies, expect that number to grow) but the reality is Powell isn't where the fault is.

Like England, we have a leader who seems to do nothing but lead off the field, because he certainly doesn't on it (difference is England's captain offers a line-out, Ryan Jones offers little else other than a pair of blue boots) and these stats will highlight this:

Wales Vs Scotland - 13th Feb 2010

R.Jones - 12 Carries: 21 Yards

A.Powell - 6 Carries: 20 Yards

B.Davies - 8 Carries: 20 Yards

S.Warbuton - 3 Carries: 11 Yards

J.Beattie - 3 Carries: 33 Yards

France Vs Ireland - 13th February 2010

J.Heaslip - 9 Carries: 79 Yards

I.Harinordoquy - 5 Carries: 45 Yards

Italy Vs England - 14th February 2010

N.Easter - 8 Carries: 19 Yards

A.Zanni - 8 Carries: 42 Yards

These stats confirm Ryan Jones' rockbottom status of Number 8's in the Six Nations 2010 and the reason the Welsh public and pundits are quick to give plaudits to the captain and berate Andy Powell because Ryan Jones is "busier" than him, and that he's on the ball more often. Anyone can get their hands on the ball, what you do with it is another matter, and Ryan Jones seemingly does nothing averaging 1.75 yards per carry, effectively just falling on the floor for a man of 6'3". Andy Powell made half the carries but made almost as many yards, whereas replacements Bradley Davies and Sam Warburton made good ground when they had ball in hand. Ryan Jones' immediate opposition, John Beattie, made a total of 33 yards with just the 3 carries; it would take the Welsh back-rower 19 carries to reach this yardage, whereas Beattie would make 209 yards with the equivalent carries. Beginning to paint the picture?

To those who will say "he does the un-noticed things", I can assure you he doesn't. Versus Scotland he made 9 tackles, 2 of which he missed and gave away 2 penalties and his opposition in John Beattie made 12 tackles (missing none), made a clean break, turned the ball over twice and gave away no penalties.

To the others who will say "it's a one off", I can again assure you it isn't. The skipper was equally woeful in the autumn internationals but somehow slipped under the radar. Here are the stats from two of the games:

Wales Vs New Zealand - 7th November 2009

R.Jones - 10 Carries: 15 Yards

K.Read - 5 Carries: 17 Yards

Wales Vs Argentina - 21st November 2009

R.Jones - 6 Carries: 5 Yards

J.Lobbe - 21 Carries: 120 Yards

These positional hammerings Jones took in the winter require no words, is it any wonder why the Newport-born back rower has only ever scored one try for Wales?

Unfortunately, Ryan Jones has had his day. In 2005 he was undoubtedly up there with the world’s best back-row forwards, but today he is a shadow of his former self. Andy Powell is by no means the player he was when he first burst onto the scene against South Africa, but you know exactly what you’re going to get with him. Some brawn, some pace and some determination (as well as the occasional act of unexplainable stupidity, enter M4 pun), but what have we come to expect from the captain? As much dynamism as a prawn sandwich, the pace of a planning permission and the relentless ability to turn up when not wanted of that of a speed camera.

The Welsh reshuffle is imminent, but will Warren Gatland make the brave call that is needed? I expect not, the back five in the pack for France will probably remain unchanged, or at it's most outrageous:

4.Alyn-Wyn Jones

5.Bradley Davies

6.Jonathan Thomas

7.Martyn Williams

8.Ryan Jones(c)

By now you're probably well aware of what I would do, Andy Powell or back at 8 for some destruction, Bradley Davies in at lock for his ball carrying, Jon Thomas at 6 for some guile, Gareth Delve into the squad and Ryan Jones in a bar in Cardiff/Paris, wherever he feels most at home, because at the moment, it doesn't seem to be anywhere near a rugby field.