Bowe’s inside knowledge sure to test Wales defence

TOMMY BOWE knows as much as the next player that perception counts for a lot in rugby, as it does in life.

Ireland concede more than a few penalties and they are deemed an unruly side worthy of special attention by referees. Wales flatter to deceive, not adding up to the sum of their parts, and all of a sudden they are seen as flaky and disinterested.

And so it goes. Bowe would be keen to follow his national coach Declan Kidney in attempting to change such perceptions and as an Irishman plying his trade in Wales for two-and-a-half years, he is more than qualified to challenge prevailing mindsets about both teams heading into this evening’s Six Nations clash at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.

Of course, some perceptions are more troublesome than others and the Ospreys and Ireland wing has had a devil of a time getting rid of one view of him among his club’s fans.

“I think I have a fairly good relationship with the support over there,” Bowe said. “Mind you, they all seem to think I came over in a caravan. I don’t know where that has come from, My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding maybe!

“I get on very well with them. They definitely have a respect for me over there and I have a respect for them, too.”

The mutual respect extends to his Ospreys team-mates, many of whom will be lining up against him in Cardiff this evening, keen to keep an often sceptical home support onside having ended an eight-Test losing streak with back-to-back wins over Scotland and Italy.

The remaining scepticism comes from the unconvincing nature of those wins in Edinburgh and Rome but Bowe believes spirits within the Welsh camp have returned to a high on the back of those victories.

“I think there is a huge amount of pressure on them. They haven’t been having a good time in the Millennium, but having come away with two wins in the last two games, I think they’ll be a new team and they’ll be feeling very confident and looking for a scalp against us this weekend.

“The type of game plan they play, they work opposition teams very hard. They are very, very physical up front and they really try to take the opposition on.

“(The accusation of being) wishy-washy could be confused with the flair they have as well: sometimes it comes off, sometimes it doesn’t. Whenever it doesn’t come off, it might look as if they are uninterested, but when it does, they can set the place alight.”

And never more so than when Bowe’s Ospreys team-mate James Hook is in command. Hook reverts to fly-half after an injury to Jonathan Davies forced his exile back to the centres for the game against Italy. Having played in so many positions across the Wales back line, the France-bound Hook is back in his favoured position, providing a more creative outlet for Wales than the previous incumbent Stephen Jones.

Bowe said: “Hooky adds that extra dimension, and they will be looking at him to boss the game, get them into the right areas but at the same time when it comes to opening the game up he’s a good man for doing it.

“He hasn’t played too much at 10 this season, where we have Rog (Ronan O’Gara) and Johnny (Sexton) playing well all season. Hooky has played a lot at 13 as well. It’s difficult to throw him in at 10, but he sees himself at 10, it’s where he wants to play, and it’s a great opportunity for him.”

Hook’s opportunity puts the onus on Ireland to shut down the fly-half.

“He’s an exceptionally talented player, probably the most talented player I’ve ever played with, in the sense of ball skills,” said Bowe. “He’s one of these players, like all world-class players, who just seems to have time on the ball. If the kick is on or a pass is on, he picks the right decision.

“We don’t want to make the job easy for him; we want to crowd him a little bit and hopefully nullify that threat.

“Whenever he comes in at 10 you know the ball is going to be slung about a fair bit so it’s definitely going to be an attacking run. I’m sure the Welsh look at that as well.”

The Irish will also be keeping an eye on another Bowe club-mate in former Wales captain and back-rower Ryan Jones.

“He’s been playing very well for the Ospreys. He’s been playing second row, which is a new position for him and which is maybe where people wrote him off. He’s doing a lot of the hard work, doing a lot of the rucking, but he’s a very good ball carrier as well.

“He’s mentally strong. He takes a lot of criticism sometimes but he’s one of these players that always seems to come back again.”

Of course, the nature of the game is that just as Bowe is offering insights on the Welsh, so they will be doing the same on Bowe.

“I think it’s good,” he said. “It will be interesting to see what they say.

“I’ve learned a lot (at Ospreys) but I think I’ve brought a lot to the team as well. They might single me out, but I don’t think it will be anything to worry about.”