Stephen Jones laments the lack of spice in modern Anglo-Welsh clashes in his "Rolling Maul" blog for The Times.
"Whole generations of rugby followers were brought up on Anglo-Welsh clashes in club rugby. The first week of Bristol's season used to bring games against Cardiff and Swansea and Newport, all inside eight days, every year. At the end of the week, for those inclined, there was a decent Christian burial.
"All that was before leagues, of course, but I recall as a schoolboy taking in those gladiatorial games and never feeling in the slightest cheated because they were, essentially, friendlies. I come to think of it, leagues took so long to come in because there was already so much bite in the games without league status at stake."
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