This documentary was extremely beneficial for learning how to become a good journalist. It was a hard hitting documentary revealing something that Freddie Flintoff had never opened up about before so required a real degree of sensitivity which I believe was given by the people who made the documentary.
The story was trying to tell how Flintoff had lived his life despite really struggling with his mental health at times. As a viewer I was surprised at this as before hearing about his eating disorders and his previous struggles I would have had no idea about what he has gone through in the last 20 years.
Due to the nature of the documentary the most difficult questions were being asked to Flintoff, who wanted to reveal to the general public the struggles he has endured in his private life. He was asked about what he usually eats, and when he was last sick due to his condition, obviously these are sensitive questions.
Personally I was quite surprised with some of the access the production team got in the making of this. I was surprised that they found people with similar conditions to Flintoff who were willing to speak to Flintoff (a total stranger) and discuss their conditions on National TV which will be seen by possibly millions of people. Each of the interviewees were very open which made it an interesting watch.
Personally, I don’t think there were any unanswered questions in this documentary.
Ospreys flanker Dan Lydiate posted a heartfelt video message onto his Instagram account on Wednesday afternoon pleading with people to stay indoors and help the NHS.
Lydiate, who has 67 international caps (64 for Wales & 3 for the British and Irish Lions) posted the clip saying “I know this is a tough time, particularly for the younger community but let’s all do our bit and all help the NHS staff by staying at home”
Lydiate went onto praise the NHS staff by saying “The staff at the NHS are doing an amazing job but they need people to remain home”
The 2012 Six Nations player of the tournament then went on to empathise how important it is that people remain fit and get exercise in these difficult times by saying “You can still be active at home, in your gardens with your family members or whoever you live with”
Finally, Lydiate explained the importance of staying in contact with friends throughout this period by calling them or using FaceTime to speak to one another instead of meeting in person.
Meanwhile, Swansea City player Bersant Celina posted a clip of himself playing football with a friend on a local beach.
The Kosovo international is obviously trying to maintain fitness with the Championship season set to resume at the end of next month with Swansea still in the hunt for a play off position.
As the January transfer window reaches it’s final few hours Swansea fans can look at the club’s transfer dealings this month as a success, especially when you consider how precarious Swansea’s financial position has been of late and when compared to the dealings of recent transfer windows.
Think back to this time last year, the January transfer window had been a disaster for Swansea. No players had been brought into what was already a squad struggling on numbers, Jefferson Montero was shipped out on loan to West Bromwich Albion, Wilfried Bony was loaned out to Al-Arabi in Qatar, and going into the final few hours of the window it looked like club captain Leroy Fer and star player Dan James would be loaned out to Aston Villa and Leeds respectively, such was the club’s financial position.
As luck would have it for the Swans Fer’s move fell through with Tom Carroll leaving instead, and James’ move fell through at the 11th hour before a big move to Manchester United in the summer. However, despite two late deals falling through it remained an awful window for the Swans and one that would be avoided at all costs in future years.
Fast forward 12 months and Swansea’s transfer window has been a relative success. No key players have been lost and three young, talented players have come into the club. As of 7pm on deadline day, the players who have left the club officially are goalkeeper Kristoffer Nordfeldt (Gençlerbirliği), Kristoffer Peterson on loan (Utrecht), Declan John on loan (Sunderland) and centre back Cian Harries has been recalled from his loan spell at Eredivisie club Fortuna Sittard and has joined Bristol Rovers on a permanent basis.
There could be further moves in the hours that remain with Scottish international Barrie Mckay heavily linked with a loan move to Fleetwood Town and Spanish striker Borja Baston looks like he’ll be heading for the exit door with a shock move to Premier League strugglers Aston Villa on the cards.
These departures won’t bother Steve Cooper too much with all these players struggling for league football in recent months, and Baston’s deal particularly will please the club hierarchy due to his high wages for a club in the Championship.
In terms of players brought in, Steve Cooper has utilized his contacts from his days in the England U17’s setup to great avail with Rhian Brewster being brought in on loan from Liverpool, and Conor Gallagher & Marc Guehi being brought in on loan from Chelsea. Brewster and Gallagher have added some much-needed firepower in recent weeks, while Guehi looks to be a shrewd acquisition being able to play across the back four and provide cover if needed.
All in all, a successful transfer window for Swansea, as they kept hold of key players such as Bersant Celina, Mike Van Der Hoorn and the much sought after Andre Ayew, got fringe players off the wage bill and managed to secure deals for some highly rated youngsters, all of which will contribute to Swansea’s aim of reaching the Play Offs come May.
The Ospreys were Wales’ only Welsh representative in the Heineken Champions Cup for the 2019/20 season after beating local rivals the Scarlets for the final spot in the tournament at the back end of last season. It wouldn’t have been harsh to say that the Ospreys’ Champions Cup campaign was over before it started.
The Ospreys have been on their worst run of form since their inception in 2003 having only won one game all season, at home to Treviso in the Guinness Pro14. With a plethora of injuries along with off field crisis, being pooled alongside European giants Munster, Saracens and Racing 92 looked a recipe for disaster.
The Ospreys finished bottom of their group with just 2 match points, losing all 6 games and conceding more than 30 points in all but one game. Despite a weakened Saracens team being reduced to 14 men at the Liberty Stadium after 4 minutes, the Ospreys were still unable to get an elusive win which sums up their campaign. A season in the Challenge Cup looks inevitable for the Ospreys next season who will look to rebuild over the next few months.
Scarlets
The Scarlets missed out on qualification for the Champions Cup and played Challenge Cup rugby for the first time in their proud history. They were pooled alongside French giants, Toulon, Bayonne and newly promoted Gallagher Premiership side, London Irish.
The Scarlets started their campaign well with a hard fought win at home to London Irish, before coming close to sneaking a remarkable win away at Toulon where they played the majority of the game with 14 men after Tevita Ratuva’s first half red card before succumbing to a 87th minute converted try which saw them defeated 17-16. The Scarlets picked up 2 wins in the back to back games against Bayonne in December which put them in a great position to qualify from the group going into the final two games.
However, a disappointing defeat 27-15 to Toulon at Parc Y Scarlets meant that going into the final round of games, the men from West Wales needed a bonus point win in Reading against London Irish and for results to go their way if they had any chance of qualifying. Fortunately for the Scarlets, results went their way and the boys in red put on a phenomenal show for their vocal travelling support, winning the game 33-14 and getting the desired bonus point victory to see them into the knockout stages.
They now face the unenviable task of facing tournament favourites Toulon away in the Quarter Finals at the beginning of April.
Cardiff Blues
The Blues were back in the Challenge Cup for the 2019/20 after falling just short in their attempt for Champions Cup rugby. The Blues were pooled alongside Leicester Tigers, Pau, and Italian part timers Calvisano.
The Blues began with an expected comfortable win away to Calvisano before facing a weakened Leicester side at the Arms Park. Despite the weakened opposition, the Blues fell short, losing 14-11 against the English giants, which proved a major blow in their attempt to qualify.
The Blues got back on track in December with an outstanding bonus point win against big spending French club, Pau, but were unable to repeat the feat in France going down 34-29 in the reverse fixture.
Having lost 2/4, the Blues knew a win at Welford Road against Leicester was a necessity if they were to have any chance of qualifying. Unfortunately for the Welsh side, they went down 30-20 at Welford Road, all but ending their hopes of qualification.
A ten try, 64-3 drubbing of Calvisano, saw the Blues end their campaign on a high but it wasn’t enough to qualify, finishing 3rd in their group, and missing out on the chance of adding to their 2010 & 2018 Challenge Cup successes.
Dragons
After being Wales’ least successful region for a number of years, the Dragons, under the stewardship of Dean Ryan were looking to make a statement in the 2019/20 Challenge Cup. Pooled alongside Worcester Warriors, Castres Olympique and Russian side Enisei STM, the ever improving Dragons would have been quietly confident of qualifying.
In the opening game, the Dragons put in a vintage performance at home to Castres, winning 31-17 and picking up a try bonus point. The Dragons then made the long trip to Krasnador where they faced Siberian based Enisei STM, the Dragons again picked up a bonus point win, winning 49-22, putting themselves on 10 points out of a possible 10 after the opening 2 rounds.
The Dragons then took on Worcester in the back to back games in December, winning at home, but losing away. Despite the loss away from home, the Dragons were still in a great position to qualify from their group.
Their ambitions took a hit in Round 5 however, when Castres put them to the sword 42-14. The Dragons went into Round 6 knowing they needed a bonus point win and results to go their way to qualify. The Dragons got their bonus point win, winning 47-5 at home to Enisei and Castres victory at Worcester saw the Dragons qualify in 2nd place.
The Dragons will now take on Bristol away in the Quarter finals, in a game that promises to be a mouth watering encounter between 2 Anglo-Welsh rivals.
Cardiff Blues missed out on the Quarter Finals of the European Challenge Cup, despite a comfortable 64-3 win against Semi-Pro Italian minnows Calvisano.
The Blues went into the game knowing they needed a bonus point win and results to go their way to qualify for the knockout stages of the Challenge Cup, a tournament they have won twice, in 2010 and in 2018.
The Blues upheld their end of the bargaining in a game where they didn’t need to get out of second gear, securing the four try bonus point after just 21 mins through tries from Aled Summerhill, Ethan Lewis and a brace from Lewis Jones. However, this wasn’t enough as a Pau bonus point victory against the Leicester Tigers in the other game in the group ensured the Blues missed out on qualification.
Despite being much changed from the team that took on Leicester Tigers last Sunday, the Blues put on a show for the Arms Park faithful and after securing a four try bonus point after just 21 minutes kept going and were 35-3 up at the half time break thanks to a further try from the ever impressive Olly Robinson.
It would have been easy for the Blues to take their foot off the gas in the second half, knowing they had the win in the bag and knowing how unlikely it was to qualify to the knockout stages, but to their credit, they didn’t.
Shane Lewis Hughes made it 42-3 after 42 minutes and kept up their point a minute ratio when they made it 47-3 after 47 minutes thanks to a try from Wales international Lloyd Williams.
Calvisano weathered the storm somewhat for the next 25 minutes and it took until the 73rd minute for the Blues to get their eight of the afternoon when back rower Will Boyde crashed over from close range.
Man of the match Lewis Jones wrapped up his hat trick in the 76th minute before the Blues got their 10th of the game with a try from Lloyd Williams taking the score to 64-3 in 79th minute. A professional performance from the Blues against struggling opposition.
Cardiff Blues next take on Connacht away on the 15th Feb in the Guinness Pro14 while Calvisano take on Petracra Padova in the Italian Eccellenza league next Saturday.
USW and Coleg Y Cymoedd played out a 0-0 stalemate in a friendly at the Sport Park on Wednesday with both teams understandably looking slightly rusty after their Christmas breaks.
Both teams struggled to build momentum in a game affected by torrential wind and rain but Coleg Y Cymoedd started the better and despite no major chances in the first half looked the side more likely to break the deadlock in the opening facets of this mid-season friendly encounter.
Coleg Y Cymoedd were having some success down the wings and despite some dangerous crosses into the area were unable to convert their possession into goals. The half time whistle blew with neither side unable to take a hold of the game with both teams struggling to hold on to the ball for a sustained period of time.
The second half began in similar fashion with neither side being able to build due to changes at half time and throughout the game.
Late on, USW began to get a foot hold on the game and had their best chance of the game when winger, Lauryn Lyons came close hitting the side netting. Lyons, who looked dangerous throughout was proving a threat to the Coleg Y Cymoedd defence, and despite some good forward play, USW were unable to get an elusive goal which would have almost certainly seen them get the win.
The game fizzled out with Coleg Y Cymoedd having a few attempts on target, all of which were saved comfortably by Chelsea Herbert in the USW goal before the referee called time on a game beneficial for both sides before continuing their league campaigns.
USW now continue their BUCS league campaign with a game against Solent University on the 29th January.
AWC SPORT 