The mid season break for the 6 Nations matches has done little for the reputation of the Welsh team, and these playing gaps compounded by bad weather postponements, has produced a Monmouth team lacking cohesion and fitness and easy prey for RTB Ebbw Vale who came needing the three points to avoid relegation.

Individually players played well but when it came to the hard yards and the need for decisive tackling, Monmourth were found wanting and lost in the end 18-29.

The signs were there early on when RTB appeared to be much more fired up than the home team and on ten minutes drove over the line for an unconverted try whilst several Defenders looked on.

The lesson seemed to have been learned when Monmouth started to spread the ball about the field and looked likely to wear down the bigger of the RTB forwards. With such a move the ball was spread to the right wing Childs who virtually streaked over wide out.

But it was not to be sustained as a tactic because Monmouth were being turned over and starved of possession too often and by half time, save a penalty goal on the whistle by fly-half Croudace, RTB had scored another 12 points, through first another drive over the line and then again a woefully defended three-quarter attack, one of which they converted.

With a 8-17 difference, and a stern talking to by their coach, there seemed to be no reason why Monmouth could not turn this game, which Waitrose had kindly sponsored, around and within 10 minutes Croudace had clawed three points back with another penalty.

One converted try now was all that was needed, but RTB were not to be out done and edged further ahead with another unconverted try.

Desperate measures were called for and Coach Seymour along with Dave Morgan entered the fray, bringing much needed cohesion and fresh legs, to the efforts of the team. Once again Monmouth began to run around the RTB team battering at their line again and again. From such an attacking ruck, stand-in scrum half Morgan dived over the line near enough for Croudace to reliably add the conversion to reduce the difference to four points at 18-22.

Another opportunity came Croudace's way with ten minutes to go, when captain Mark Jones asked him to kick a relatively simple conversion from some thirty yards but he hooked it and the chance and, with hindsight, the game, went begging.

RTB needed no more warnings, and played as if their very lives depended upon it. They ran the clock down quite deliberately by varying the tactics with long kicks behind the Monmouth defence and short drives in and around the fringes of mauls, while Monmouth could do little more than watch.

And then disaster struck. The RTB left wing who had been a robust and elusive runner all game, received the ball near touch, 20 yards from the Monmouth line and succeeded in beating five potential tacklers who were left spread in his wake as he crossed the line almost untouched and near enough for his kicker to convert.

There is no doubt that RTB deserved their 18-29 win and hopefully this may persuade the less committed of the Monmouth team to turn up on training nights which may help to prevent an embarrassment such as this from happening again. Internationals again next week, so why not a training run out instead of the game?