From our Valleys Correspondant....

One Christmas so much like another in the old sea town of Cardiff now and out of all sound, except the distant cheers from CAP I sometimes hear a moment before sleep, that I can never remember when playing Dragons whether we ran in 12 tries in 2006 or 6 tries in 2012. All festive fixtures roll down toward the two-tongued Bay like a Liam Belcher rumble and they stop at the rim of the carol-singing, Dan Fish freezing Taf. I plunge my hands into the ice edged water and bring out whatever I can find. In goes my hand to that white-sprayed river and out comes the derbies and all that it means. 

But away from overly literary musings, in a league which offers little in the way of away support it is always positive to meet supporters who have made the journey to CAP - and leaving aside the truism of Turk laden Pontcanna, Ospreylian infestation of Roath or the Clarts milling around Central in wide eyed wonderment, the festive series of fixtures, laden with rivalry, ubiquitous Lynx Africa aroma and families seeking fresh air are always a highlight of the year. Whilst these games offer both a memory and an opportunity for bragging rights they are more a chance to find like minded souls to balance mutual Union inspired sorrow, disagree on which of players deserve a Welsh squad place and all the while visibly and financially celebrating the best of professional rugby in Wales. 

As has been suggested before, longing for packed grounds and meaningful games is no slight on hemispheric visitors from South Africa nor is it wishing decaffeinated coffee on Italians, nor is it a plea for fair refereeing of Irish breakdown play or decrying albeit earnestly the wait for Scotland's year to finally arrive. Far from it, very far from it. Games at CAP, Parc y Scarlets, Rodney Parade and at the Swansea Dot Com deserve the best atmospheres, they deserve the snarling defiances and the sweeping joys. The URC is, on occasion, an exercise in myopic mundanity where our own team's mistakes are overly scrutinised and forgiven too easily and too readily. 

Rugby in Wales seems to have lost that precious art of defending its own. For who are we defending it from? This is where the festive programme comes into its own, the games are laced with voices from the other side, they are a reminder that we do not own the intellectual property on expectation and standards. They are, in short, why rugby can grasp, shake and hold the imagination in a way few sports can. Rugby in Wales needs to regain that sweep and ability to sing or wallow all night so the days which follow are either soaring midst Thomas' happy hills or sulk in his damp Sunday farmhouse parlours. 

For all this, Cardiff Rugby have built on last season's promise and have already chiselled out fine victories - against Ulster and Cheetahs in particular - and a welcome festive present would have been another victory vs Dragons and an all too rare win vs Ospreys. The players deserve further tangible proof of progress, supporters deserve a moment of quiet triumph or raucous celebration and more than this, grounds packed to the rafters will suggest the game is far from what is portrayed in the media, or as Thomas himself may well seen it, deliberately manufactured by those from the bat-black belfry next door. 

Yes, two wins would have been most welcome so when it comes time to sleep, as we close our eyes to say some words into that close, blue and black darkness we can be filled with a satisfaction 'meaning' provides and look forward to the next time with pride and belief and with no little bragging for the back pocket.

 Blwyddyn Newydd Dda pawb.