True test comes next weekend for the regions

Jan 14 2008 by Delme Parfitt, South Wales Echo

CARDIFF Blues and the Ospreys are both one victory away from a place in the Heineken Cup quarter-finals after defeating English opposition soundly in the last round.

But this weekend will be the true test of their credentials.

The Blues are at Bristol and their group has so far coughed up just one away victory. Waiting for them to slip up will be Stade Francais, but they are also on the road, at Harlequins.

Bristol also have a chance of topping the group, but their failure to secure a bonus point against Stade means they will need to secure a maximum against the Blues and they are a side which delivers victories at home rather than tries.

Unlike the Blues, the Ospreys started their Heineken Cup campaign with expectation in their luggage after spending big.

Squeezing into the last eight as one of the two best runners-up and so securing an away draw would be a minor triumph.

It would be typical of the Ospreys to become the first team to beat Gloucester in the tournament this season and then lose to already eliminated Bourgoin.

In recent years, Welsh teams have never been more vulnerable than when they believe they have arrived.

Having two sides in the last eight would be a mixed blessing for Wales coach Warren Gatland.

Achievement on the one hand would be balanced by the fact that most of the stand-out players for the Blues and the Ospreys last weekend will not be available for the Six Nations opener against England.

Justin Marshall, Marty Holah, Xavier Rush, Ben Blair and Paul Tito are New Zealanders, while Martyn Williams has retired from international rugby.

Game management has become a buzz term in the last year.

It means players being able to control a match and react to events rather than helplessly and haplessly watch a gameplan unravel.

But take the overseas players away from the Blues and the Ospreys and where are the managers?

Gatland announced last week that he hoped to introduce a policy of location when it came to selecting his side. Those based in Wales would have a better chance of getting the nod than anyone in England, France or elsewhere.

That's all very well, but with only four regional teams surely the idea should come as part of a proposal to reduce the number of non-Welsh players in the professional ranks.

The problem at the moment for Gatland is that a number of the overseas players are playing pivotal roles and should, in theory, be setting good examples for their Welsh colleagues.

Take them away and everyone saw the answer when the regions rested some of their Kiwis over the Christmas period. Poor decision-making abounded.

The start of the Six Nations is less than three weeks away.

Wales will go into the tournament in good heart if Heineken Cup results go their way on Sunday, but the last two years show that they need to make a considerable improvement.

At least most of the teams in the competition are coming off the back of poor World Cup campaigns. The one exception, England, only impressed in the second half of the tournament and hardly look to be a significant force.

Gatland needs to be given time, but the Welsh Rugby Union are the Newcastle United of the oval world.