TO COMBAT both Aaron Ramsey’s and Gareth Bale’s decisions to play for an Olympic GB Team in 2012 is like telling Sam Warburton and George North “You can’t play for the Lions”.
There are a number of differences between football and its wiser brother rugby. The obvious being the difference in the shape of ball, which any school child will learn quickly in the playground if given the chance.
But the more murky differences are the ones that explain why Wales’ IRB and FIFA world rankings are light-years apart.
Brush aside the fact that football – or soccer for any readers down under – is viewed globally by a larger audience and overwhelms over sports by the sheer numbers who play it.
Rugby has a unique concept when it comes to its international fixtures, one that football should follow suit.
The club-versus-country debate is ongoing. It would take some courage to reject an invitation to play for your nation so to concentrate wholly on ambitions at domestic level.
And where players do have a choice, the words of Jim Mallinder, Northampton Saints’ rugby director who has thrown his name into the hat of possible contenders for England's head coach role, have this week rung true: “Everyone should aspire to play at the top level.
For Ramsey and Bale, nothing could be more exact. Despite a difference in sporting backgrounds for a lot of Welsh talent, a sportsman should always be given the option to compete at their sport’s pinnacle, especially players of Ramsey's and Bale’s calibre.
In rugby, club fixtures are not postponed just because the league’s best players are on international duty. The fact is, football is so deep in its own pocket, it fears its fan-base will turn away on weekends its star names are not available.
While eyes are watching nations compete during the 2012 RBS 6 Nations, clubs and regions in the Aviva Premership, Pro 12 and Top 14 are forced to delve into their youth teams, to think about attrition and the future of the club’s potential.
It also makes for a closer battle in their respective leagues, giving lower clubs the chance to compete and billionaire owners in the football world more to think about when spending if they know their multi-million pound employees won’t be available for selection.
A chance to represent their country at Olympic level will strengthen bonds in football. If not, it will instead be left to rust.
Ramsey and Bale should have the blessing of their national coach Gary Speed, not a dressing down.
On the flipside, if rugby showed the same combativeness between its country and clubs as they do in football, I doubt the world would be blessed with half the talent that has come to its fore.
Saturday 5 November 2011
Sunday 9 October 2011
Work to do for underfiring All Blacks
A REPUTATION, for an hour at least, was lost in New Zealand today.
The All Blacks are through to the semi-final of a World Cup held in their own back yard but they will have to examine their future in the 2011 tournament closely - and fast.
Graham Henry’s men have been humbled by their flattering 33-10 victory over Argentina and by the Puma’s power, which came to fruition in Auckland this morning.
The ship is creaking it has to be said, and the challenge ahead in the shape of Australia - a semi-final reunion that goes back eight years - leaves the world compelled to see how the all conquering All Blacks will fair when tested for a full 80 minutes.
The end of the line for Dan Carter, New Zealand’s all-time record points-scorer who was injured in training last week, still looms in the consciousness.
There seems to be an eagerness in the New Zealand ranks to avoid falling into a lull of worry in the absence of their leading-light. It was noticeable today that the hangover is still lingering.
Colin Slade stepped in, but only for 20 minutes before he was withdrawn through injury. One was scary, but two out is petrifying.
A nation now holds its breath to see if third-stringer Aaron Cruden, the 22-year-old who instead now holds the weight of expection pressed down on his shoulders, can bring an end to 24 years of wait.
Argentina will be disappointed. No one expected them to compete with the might of the All Blacks but the fact is they have and proved further they should join, at last, a four-way tournament played below the north-south divide.
The Australian outfit are again strong contenders for the World Cup after misery in the Pool stages. Their defeat to Ireland hurt deeply but they deserved to lose that game.
Their win over South Africa, however, has shown the glimmers of a revival, and continues an age-old tradition: no side defending their crown has yet to do so successfully.
Like France, Australia are still breathing. That’s what counts. The Springboks, 1995 and 2007 World Champions, are out in contrast.
The battle of the openside flankers, Richie McCaw of New Zealand and David Pocock of Australia, will be an interesting contest in Auckland next Sunday.
As will the tussle between Sam Warburton of Wales and Thierry Dusautoir of France, both captains for their respected nations, but will deliver a very different kind of conflict.
Gamesmanship at ground level has continued to confuse officials, frustrating the flow of rugby in the latter stages of the tournament and has rendered it almost impossible to follow.
Pocock and McCaw, both scrappers themselves, have the vision to play tight and loose.
Warburton and Dusautoir have these facets too, but, on examination, the Welsh captain is far more courageous on the floor while his French counterpart plays more on the fringe; a link man to his team’s improving but still disjointed backline.
This will go in favour of Wales at least. The world will be hoping for a try-filled weekend to come and although that will most certainly be the case, the team to proceed to the final won't be the one with the guts in attack but the street-smarts in defence.
Ball retention is vital and containing the opposition is just as important at this stage.
Only Wales and Australia have been able to demonstrate this consistently, while New Zealand and France have been suceptible with ball.
If Wales continue to remain brazen at the breakdown, the red could well meet the the green and gold for the first time this year.
The All Blacks are through to the semi-final of a World Cup held in their own back yard but they will have to examine their future in the 2011 tournament closely - and fast.
Graham Henry’s men have been humbled by their flattering 33-10 victory over Argentina and by the Puma’s power, which came to fruition in Auckland this morning.
The ship is creaking it has to be said, and the challenge ahead in the shape of Australia - a semi-final reunion that goes back eight years - leaves the world compelled to see how the all conquering All Blacks will fair when tested for a full 80 minutes.
The end of the line for Dan Carter, New Zealand’s all-time record points-scorer who was injured in training last week, still looms in the consciousness.
There seems to be an eagerness in the New Zealand ranks to avoid falling into a lull of worry in the absence of their leading-light. It was noticeable today that the hangover is still lingering.
Colin Slade stepped in, but only for 20 minutes before he was withdrawn through injury. One was scary, but two out is petrifying.
A nation now holds its breath to see if third-stringer Aaron Cruden, the 22-year-old who instead now holds the weight of expection pressed down on his shoulders, can bring an end to 24 years of wait.
Argentina will be disappointed. No one expected them to compete with the might of the All Blacks but the fact is they have and proved further they should join, at last, a four-way tournament played below the north-south divide.
The Australian outfit are again strong contenders for the World Cup after misery in the Pool stages. Their defeat to Ireland hurt deeply but they deserved to lose that game.
Their win over South Africa, however, has shown the glimmers of a revival, and continues an age-old tradition: no side defending their crown has yet to do so successfully.
Like France, Australia are still breathing. That’s what counts. The Springboks, 1995 and 2007 World Champions, are out in contrast.
The battle of the openside flankers, Richie McCaw of New Zealand and David Pocock of Australia, will be an interesting contest in Auckland next Sunday.
As will the tussle between Sam Warburton of Wales and Thierry Dusautoir of France, both captains for their respected nations, but will deliver a very different kind of conflict.
Gamesmanship at ground level has continued to confuse officials, frustrating the flow of rugby in the latter stages of the tournament and has rendered it almost impossible to follow.
Pocock and McCaw, both scrappers themselves, have the vision to play tight and loose.
Warburton and Dusautoir have these facets too, but, on examination, the Welsh captain is far more courageous on the floor while his French counterpart plays more on the fringe; a link man to his team’s improving but still disjointed backline.
This will go in favour of Wales at least. The world will be hoping for a try-filled weekend to come and although that will most certainly be the case, the team to proceed to the final won't be the one with the guts in attack but the street-smarts in defence.
Ball retention is vital and containing the opposition is just as important at this stage.
Only Wales and Australia have been able to demonstrate this consistently, while New Zealand and France have been suceptible with ball.
If Wales continue to remain brazen at the breakdown, the red could well meet the the green and gold for the first time this year.
Saturday 8 October 2011
Wales won't fear whatever comes their way
WALES would be smiling whatever the result in Auckland today.
France’s win in the Anglo-Franco conquest at Eden Park will do nothing to derail Wales’ preparations for their first World Cup semi-final since 1987 – and nor should it.
Sam Warburton and his men showed they are not only credible tournament finalists in Wellington this morning, but have the appetite and rugby prowess to win the whole thing.
Now, when have we ever said that about a side under Warren Gatland’s rein?
Money was on Ireland – but only because they triumphed Tri-Nations champions Australia.
You wouldn’t have been blamed for placing your hard-earned cash on them but Wales were in no way underdogs.
They have stamped their authority on this year’s tournament, not once, but from its outset, and are well placed to face a team, yet to-be-decided, for the final back in Auckland on October 23.
Their 22-10 victory over the Irish was hard-fought. Sixteen tackles in the first 35 minutes from Luke Charteris alone set the bar, consolidating Wales’ destruction in defence, and crediting them in attack.
Tries came from Wales’ record try-scorer Shane Williams to open proceedings early on, and then from recovering Mike Phillips before Jonathan Davies to cap the win off.
Meanwhile, Ireland threw away possession too easily while Wales disrupted whatever chances their opponents could conjure. Three times Ireland met with Wales’ try line in the first forty but not to any prevail.
Ireland's forwards won the battle against the Aussies a month ago but Wales were warriors from the front of its pack to its back and couldn't be matched and sent Ireland packing back to Dublin, who know more was expected from them.
Elsewhere, England’s defeat at the hands of the fruitless French was confirmed the moment head coach Martin Johnson put pen to paper.
Analysis following England’s last-gasp points-scrap over Scotland last week should have made it black and white for him.
A team who can’t win set piece ball cannot play the wide rugby they practice on the training paddock and nor can it feed the half backs to direct it. England have the wing-power but not once were they released.
For starters, yes, Steve Thompson has years of experience ahead of his former Northampton Saints’ protégée, but there is no question Dylan Hartley is England's on-form hooker at present.
And Matt Stevens, who was given a chance to redeem himself for his dismal display seven-days earlier, failed, while England’s other muscle-men James Haskell and Courtney Lawes were left to stew on the sidelines.
The halfback combination should have been a no-brainer also.
Where there is faith in England’s golden boy Jonny Wilkinson, on the back of England's tribulations off the field and concerns of Mike Tindall’s fitness on it, Toby Flood has already proved his worth at standoff, but, unnaturally, had to settle for 12, a position he has never filled.
England hadn’t set the tournament alight but basic selection errors have cost them dearly.
France, however, have had room to grow from the moment they kicked their tournament off against Japan.
England, you felt, had reached their potential, and couldn’t replicate it.
Marc Lievroment, the French head coach under pressure from home-press to deliver following their defeat to tournament minnows Tonga last Saturday, seems to have gone some way in relieving it for the time being at least.
France, for all their downfalls and squabbles behind the scenes, have that extra gear and although it may not have come to surface yet in this tournament, World Cup rugby is not about form but also attrition, and if you’re in it, then you’re definitely still in it.
2011 started by giving England confidence but has offered road blocks England have been unable to hurdle at its height. There has been a lot of promise for England but that has been taken away.
Johnson is confident England’s best days are ahead of them, however, following their defeat to France.
The team’s loss to South Africa in Paris in 1999 only made the team stronger under Clive Woodward, but the question should be: is Martin Johnson, the player who led England to World domination in 2003, the right man for the job today?
England looked desperate and confused; a team which seemed to find itself in the RBS 6 Nations back in March and April but lost its identity somewhere along the way to New Zealand.
Wales, on the other hand, are doing all the right things - and all just in time.
The world’s super powers Australia, South Africa, and tournament hosts, the All Blacks, have it all to play for, but on Wales’ performance today, world status doesn’t come into it.
The favourites remain in rugby’s arsenal below the equator – an antipodeans-axis of first-class football. Whichever team you pick, they have all been at the top of world rugby somewhere along the long road of rugby heroics.
For Wales, this may be unchartered territory. But as a nation waits in wonder, they have certainly set the wheels in motion.
France’s win in the Anglo-Franco conquest at Eden Park will do nothing to derail Wales’ preparations for their first World Cup semi-final since 1987 – and nor should it.
Sam Warburton and his men showed they are not only credible tournament finalists in Wellington this morning, but have the appetite and rugby prowess to win the whole thing.
Now, when have we ever said that about a side under Warren Gatland’s rein?
Money was on Ireland – but only because they triumphed Tri-Nations champions Australia.
You wouldn’t have been blamed for placing your hard-earned cash on them but Wales were in no way underdogs.
They have stamped their authority on this year’s tournament, not once, but from its outset, and are well placed to face a team, yet to-be-decided, for the final back in Auckland on October 23.
Their 22-10 victory over the Irish was hard-fought. Sixteen tackles in the first 35 minutes from Luke Charteris alone set the bar, consolidating Wales’ destruction in defence, and crediting them in attack.
Tries came from Wales’ record try-scorer Shane Williams to open proceedings early on, and then from recovering Mike Phillips before Jonathan Davies to cap the win off.
Meanwhile, Ireland threw away possession too easily while Wales disrupted whatever chances their opponents could conjure. Three times Ireland met with Wales’ try line in the first forty but not to any prevail.
Ireland's forwards won the battle against the Aussies a month ago but Wales were warriors from the front of its pack to its back and couldn't be matched and sent Ireland packing back to Dublin, who know more was expected from them.
Elsewhere, England’s defeat at the hands of the fruitless French was confirmed the moment head coach Martin Johnson put pen to paper.
Analysis following England’s last-gasp points-scrap over Scotland last week should have made it black and white for him.
A team who can’t win set piece ball cannot play the wide rugby they practice on the training paddock and nor can it feed the half backs to direct it. England have the wing-power but not once were they released.
For starters, yes, Steve Thompson has years of experience ahead of his former Northampton Saints’ protégée, but there is no question Dylan Hartley is England's on-form hooker at present.
And Matt Stevens, who was given a chance to redeem himself for his dismal display seven-days earlier, failed, while England’s other muscle-men James Haskell and Courtney Lawes were left to stew on the sidelines.
The halfback combination should have been a no-brainer also.
Where there is faith in England’s golden boy Jonny Wilkinson, on the back of England's tribulations off the field and concerns of Mike Tindall’s fitness on it, Toby Flood has already proved his worth at standoff, but, unnaturally, had to settle for 12, a position he has never filled.
England hadn’t set the tournament alight but basic selection errors have cost them dearly.
France, however, have had room to grow from the moment they kicked their tournament off against Japan.
England, you felt, had reached their potential, and couldn’t replicate it.
Marc Lievroment, the French head coach under pressure from home-press to deliver following their defeat to tournament minnows Tonga last Saturday, seems to have gone some way in relieving it for the time being at least.
France, for all their downfalls and squabbles behind the scenes, have that extra gear and although it may not have come to surface yet in this tournament, World Cup rugby is not about form but also attrition, and if you’re in it, then you’re definitely still in it.
2011 started by giving England confidence but has offered road blocks England have been unable to hurdle at its height. There has been a lot of promise for England but that has been taken away.
Johnson is confident England’s best days are ahead of them, however, following their defeat to France.
The team’s loss to South Africa in Paris in 1999 only made the team stronger under Clive Woodward, but the question should be: is Martin Johnson, the player who led England to World domination in 2003, the right man for the job today?
England looked desperate and confused; a team which seemed to find itself in the RBS 6 Nations back in March and April but lost its identity somewhere along the way to New Zealand.
Wales, on the other hand, are doing all the right things - and all just in time.
The world’s super powers Australia, South Africa, and tournament hosts, the All Blacks, have it all to play for, but on Wales’ performance today, world status doesn’t come into it.
The favourites remain in rugby’s arsenal below the equator – an antipodeans-axis of first-class football. Whichever team you pick, they have all been at the top of world rugby somewhere along the long road of rugby heroics.
For Wales, this may be unchartered territory. But as a nation waits in wonder, they have certainly set the wheels in motion.
Thursday 29 September 2011
"Hold on! Things just got interesting."
IT’S crazy to think that only two weeks ago I had Australia pegged as dark-horse favourites for World Cup glory...
...New Zealand the most likely to fall to pieces under the Kiwi strain...
....Wales to struggle in a Pool of Death...
...and the Springboks, Tri Nations flops, never to show signs of world champions form for at least another four years.
Since two weeks ago, everything has changed.
The pace of this year’s tournament has upped several notches. Teams we expect to win have done so with interest.
Scotland and Italy hold hope they could still reach the final eight and cause an upset.
New Zealand put in the best performance of the tournament by thumping the French, their World Cup nemeses from the north.
England continue to win but don’t look extraordinary.
All of a sudden, it feels like a World Cup.
Ireland’s win over the Aussies was the wake-up call.
Not for New Zealand or South Africa, however, who simply soldier on and dismantle anything in their paths.
It would be shameful to lose just to opt for a perceived easier route to the final.
They both could face the old enemy once again in place of Ireland, who they both would have expected to sweep aside with ease.
But instead they could be combined in a mini tournament of the three super-powers - a fight to the death to see who gets a chance for the ultimate prize.
If all goes to plan, we could be in for one hell of a final furlong.
But alarm bells were ringing above the hemisphere. The Irish win over Australia seems long ago now, but only because it has clicked the switch in the minds of their Six Nations comrades, who have only just realised they are now in a tournament they can surely win, and started to take matters seriously.
To their credit, Wales have stormed the tournament from its outset, albeit they may still be pondering whether their loss to South Africa in the opening round was so terrible after all.
Wales could still have beaten Australia if things were different and Ireland were on course to play South Africa in the quarter finals instead. But we live in a parallel universe.
As the tournament grows, you get the feeling it’s not necessary about who is best on paper, but who can survive the storm ahead and maybe, just maybe, have a crack at the jackpot.
It’s interesting to think that one game can change the whole mindset of a tournament.
Going into a test match with a southern hemisphere heavyweight is traditionally soul destroying. No one ever believes you are going to win.
Have Ireland proved us wrong? Has a shift really occurred? Or was it a one off?
Either way, doors have certainly opened. It’s cliché, but hindsight is a very special thing.
Things could still change again in the next 72 hours, but without it, everyone will feel a World Cup final is still in their grasp.
Get ready for a rocky ride in the next few weeks, because, unless I am wrong, there’s a feeling this tournament has only just begun.
...New Zealand the most likely to fall to pieces under the Kiwi strain...
....Wales to struggle in a Pool of Death...
...and the Springboks, Tri Nations flops, never to show signs of world champions form for at least another four years.
Since two weeks ago, everything has changed.
The pace of this year’s tournament has upped several notches. Teams we expect to win have done so with interest.
Scotland and Italy hold hope they could still reach the final eight and cause an upset.
New Zealand put in the best performance of the tournament by thumping the French, their World Cup nemeses from the north.
England continue to win but don’t look extraordinary.
All of a sudden, it feels like a World Cup.
Ireland’s win over the Aussies was the wake-up call.
Not for New Zealand or South Africa, however, who simply soldier on and dismantle anything in their paths.
It would be shameful to lose just to opt for a perceived easier route to the final.
They both could face the old enemy once again in place of Ireland, who they both would have expected to sweep aside with ease.
But instead they could be combined in a mini tournament of the three super-powers - a fight to the death to see who gets a chance for the ultimate prize.
If all goes to plan, we could be in for one hell of a final furlong.
But alarm bells were ringing above the hemisphere. The Irish win over Australia seems long ago now, but only because it has clicked the switch in the minds of their Six Nations comrades, who have only just realised they are now in a tournament they can surely win, and started to take matters seriously.
To their credit, Wales have stormed the tournament from its outset, albeit they may still be pondering whether their loss to South Africa in the opening round was so terrible after all.
Wales could still have beaten Australia if things were different and Ireland were on course to play South Africa in the quarter finals instead. But we live in a parallel universe.
As the tournament grows, you get the feeling it’s not necessary about who is best on paper, but who can survive the storm ahead and maybe, just maybe, have a crack at the jackpot.
It’s interesting to think that one game can change the whole mindset of a tournament.
Going into a test match with a southern hemisphere heavyweight is traditionally soul destroying. No one ever believes you are going to win.
Have Ireland proved us wrong? Has a shift really occurred? Or was it a one off?
Either way, doors have certainly opened. It’s cliché, but hindsight is a very special thing.
Things could still change again in the next 72 hours, but without it, everyone will feel a World Cup final is still in their grasp.
Get ready for a rocky ride in the next few weeks, because, unless I am wrong, there’s a feeling this tournament has only just begun.
Wednesday 14 September 2011
Test-time for minnows will benefit rugby globally
DISTANCE between the world’s rugby elite and the rest is closing.
Sure, it wouldn’t be a World Cup without a few surprises in the stirring pot to make the tournament extra special – there always is.
But it’s clear the powers of rugby at international level are losing weight over the so-called minnows and the see-saw that measures the rugby dynamic is taking a noticeable shift in direction.
New Zealand, the 2011 tournament hosts and number one team in the order of world rugby, have always set the bar.
And, even if they haven’t lifted the Webb Ellis Cup since the tournament was founded and won by its predecessors 24 years ago, the All Blacks remain hot favourites to end, this year, almost a quarter century of hurt.
Something is changing however. That’s if the opening round of the 2011 RWC was anything to go by.
There has been, and is, a real battle of the classes in rugby but hopefully that has been unsettled.
If New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa are the kings of the rugby kingdom, England, France, Wales, and Ireland are certainly its princes.
But an uprising from the “lower-tiered” teams – the Romanians, the Japanese, the Americans, the Canadians – have all shown this hierarchy should be banished.
Argentina removed the shackles last time out, conquering France in the opening game of the 2007 RWC and going on to a semi-final tussle with impending champions South Africa.
And if they have shown ability to survive on the scraps and leftovers from their superiors’ table, like Argentina other hungrier nations should be given the time, the chances, and ultimately the respect to develop their rugby too, so to compete at the highest levels.
One test match is not enough in a World Cup year for a side like Argentina, and although they have been granted admission to a new Four Nations tournament in 2012, if they are really being taken seriously on the international stage, surely this would have come sooner.
They pushed England on Saturday in a test they probably should have won but lost by four.
England feared the power of the Pumas, including noticeably more of its squad’s piano shifters rather than piano players, leaving out some more delicate men, who are not big in nature but know how to win rugby games.
There are far too many to list them all.
Time spent realising their best 15 in five Six Nations tests was wasted in the squad’s World Cup warm ups with Wales, twice, and then Ireland.
Martin Johnson, who was finally taking chances on new blood, has regressed in his thinking and turned to the safety of selecting household names – a security list he has tucked in his back pocket for rainy days like Saturday.
Wales, on the other hand, have learnt from their 2007 heartache and left out a number of old heads who have served their country well in the past but can’t take it forward any further.
Inexperience was the only ingredient lacking in Wales’ stunning performance against South Africa on Sunday and they would have won if not for some cutting edge.
But the squad is vibrant and, more importantly, fit, both at the breakdown and with ball in hand. To beat the Springboks, the ball must be moved at some pace and Wales knew that as many of its own showed the same for the Lions in the summer of 2009.
There has been an interlude for the last eight years that has made that difficult to replicate. Nations, barring the best down under, have manufactured many brutes from a construction line of muscle-wielding ball-crashers without rugby brains; the intimidating to look at who lose everything intelligent.
Meanwhile the truly creative have been left ignored and worse still – forgotten.
New Zealand are the best in the business because they trust a depth and breadth of knowledge they have on the field.
They protect their youth and introduce it at the right times; not when they can fill jerseys, size 52” chest, and can break through brick walls, but only when they are ready, 100%.
Talent is nurtured with the ball first, the gym second.
For the most part, rugby took a step backwards when it lost this philosophy and decided to take science to extremes rugby shouldn’t need to know.
New Zealand win games because they have raw talent.
If this is adopted across the globe, more will benefit from their way of thinking.
Sure, it wouldn’t be a World Cup without a few surprises in the stirring pot to make the tournament extra special – there always is.
But it’s clear the powers of rugby at international level are losing weight over the so-called minnows and the see-saw that measures the rugby dynamic is taking a noticeable shift in direction.
New Zealand, the 2011 tournament hosts and number one team in the order of world rugby, have always set the bar.
And, even if they haven’t lifted the Webb Ellis Cup since the tournament was founded and won by its predecessors 24 years ago, the All Blacks remain hot favourites to end, this year, almost a quarter century of hurt.
Something is changing however. That’s if the opening round of the 2011 RWC was anything to go by.
There has been, and is, a real battle of the classes in rugby but hopefully that has been unsettled.
If New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa are the kings of the rugby kingdom, England, France, Wales, and Ireland are certainly its princes.
But an uprising from the “lower-tiered” teams – the Romanians, the Japanese, the Americans, the Canadians – have all shown this hierarchy should be banished.
Argentina removed the shackles last time out, conquering France in the opening game of the 2007 RWC and going on to a semi-final tussle with impending champions South Africa.
And if they have shown ability to survive on the scraps and leftovers from their superiors’ table, like Argentina other hungrier nations should be given the time, the chances, and ultimately the respect to develop their rugby too, so to compete at the highest levels.
One test match is not enough in a World Cup year for a side like Argentina, and although they have been granted admission to a new Four Nations tournament in 2012, if they are really being taken seriously on the international stage, surely this would have come sooner.
They pushed England on Saturday in a test they probably should have won but lost by four.
England feared the power of the Pumas, including noticeably more of its squad’s piano shifters rather than piano players, leaving out some more delicate men, who are not big in nature but know how to win rugby games.
There are far too many to list them all.
Time spent realising their best 15 in five Six Nations tests was wasted in the squad’s World Cup warm ups with Wales, twice, and then Ireland.
Martin Johnson, who was finally taking chances on new blood, has regressed in his thinking and turned to the safety of selecting household names – a security list he has tucked in his back pocket for rainy days like Saturday.
Wales, on the other hand, have learnt from their 2007 heartache and left out a number of old heads who have served their country well in the past but can’t take it forward any further.
Inexperience was the only ingredient lacking in Wales’ stunning performance against South Africa on Sunday and they would have won if not for some cutting edge.
But the squad is vibrant and, more importantly, fit, both at the breakdown and with ball in hand. To beat the Springboks, the ball must be moved at some pace and Wales knew that as many of its own showed the same for the Lions in the summer of 2009.
There has been an interlude for the last eight years that has made that difficult to replicate. Nations, barring the best down under, have manufactured many brutes from a construction line of muscle-wielding ball-crashers without rugby brains; the intimidating to look at who lose everything intelligent.
Meanwhile the truly creative have been left ignored and worse still – forgotten.
New Zealand are the best in the business because they trust a depth and breadth of knowledge they have on the field.
They protect their youth and introduce it at the right times; not when they can fill jerseys, size 52” chest, and can break through brick walls, but only when they are ready, 100%.
Talent is nurtured with the ball first, the gym second.
For the most part, rugby took a step backwards when it lost this philosophy and decided to take science to extremes rugby shouldn’t need to know.
New Zealand win games because they have raw talent.
If this is adopted across the globe, more will benefit from their way of thinking.
Sunday 13 February 2011
Youngs Slams down marker for England
RBS 6 Nations
Twickenham 12/02/11
England 59, Italy 13
YOUNG at heart and young in age – England’s on-form No 9 produced one of the more matured displays seen at Twickenham in recent years, and one of the best in Six Nations rugby.
It had “2003” ringing in the ears of English rugby fans everywhere on Saturday.
Those comments are usually saved for wishful thinkers, but this time they are not so speculative.
Never mind Chris Ashton's quadruple score, Toby Flood’s electrifying line-breaks, or even some backhand showboating from No 8 Nick Easter – none of these magical moments are possible without a captain at the helm to steer them.
For years, England have requested a scrum half who can dictate play. A scrum half who can produce fast ball from the ruck with eagle-eye precision.
And it seems they have found one with some added nous that even fully-seasoned and highly-capped heads have rarely shown.
England have upped the ante at the scrum and are at last playing flat on the gain line.
But the cohesion, speed and effortlessness shown against Italy on Saturday was born from the ingredients that define Ben Youngs, which unmistakenly make him one of the most exciting rugby players on the planet.
It’s early days yet, I hear you cry, but ask yourself this: when did England last play to Ben Youngs’ example?
Against Italy on Saturday, and in Cardiff eight days earlier, he was outstanding.
Pundits usually question a scrum half that likes to roam, but while 21-year-old Youngs not only produces fast, accurate, and punishing ball from the breakdown, he is also searching for weaknesses in his opponent’s armoury; the gaps that allow Toby Flood to make his breathtaking runs, and the chinks that are broken by England’s power men.
What more do you want from a No 9? Regardless of the the number of caps under his belt.
The philosophy used to be: put 50 points on Italy, they don’t deserve anything less.
The last time that happened was eight long seasons ago, and there were signs that the then captain Martin Johnson has re-instilled the same mentality in England’s game today as they put an extra nine on the Azzurri this weekend.
Flood was guided through the heart of the Italian defence after some scanning by his inside half, and Chris Ashton was unleashed seconds later for a dive under the post, minutes after kick off.
Ashton twisted and twirled over the line after an England build up manufactured by Youngs, then Mark Cueto broke a 19 test duck in off Flood’s inside.
Nick Easter confirmed Sergio Parisse isn’t the only flamboyant No 8 in the business with a silky backhand pass to set up interim-captain Mike Tindall.
Following the break, tries from James Haskell, Young’s replacement Danny Care, and only a couple more for cheeky Ashton, completed the rout.
Azzurri hooker Fabio Ongaro also touched down for Italy’s only try, grounding from the rolling maul.
England did lose turnover ball at times. For the most part, they played in pairs in midfield to guarantee quick ball, and they created angles of running that cut chunks out of the Italian guard.
Chris Ashton was named RBS 6 Nations man of the match, and the first man to score four tries in a Five/Six Nations test at Twickenham since 1914.
It is safe to say, England are on a ruthless high.
The Grand Slam is on – you won’t need reminding. But that will depend much on the form of our provider in the middle.
Ben Youngs continues in this vain, anything is possible for this England side in 2011.
Twickenham 12/02/11
England 59, Italy 13
YOUNG at heart and young in age – England’s on-form No 9 produced one of the more matured displays seen at Twickenham in recent years, and one of the best in Six Nations rugby.
It had “2003” ringing in the ears of English rugby fans everywhere on Saturday.
Those comments are usually saved for wishful thinkers, but this time they are not so speculative.
Never mind Chris Ashton's quadruple score, Toby Flood’s electrifying line-breaks, or even some backhand showboating from No 8 Nick Easter – none of these magical moments are possible without a captain at the helm to steer them.
For years, England have requested a scrum half who can dictate play. A scrum half who can produce fast ball from the ruck with eagle-eye precision.
And it seems they have found one with some added nous that even fully-seasoned and highly-capped heads have rarely shown.
England have upped the ante at the scrum and are at last playing flat on the gain line.
But the cohesion, speed and effortlessness shown against Italy on Saturday was born from the ingredients that define Ben Youngs, which unmistakenly make him one of the most exciting rugby players on the planet.
It’s early days yet, I hear you cry, but ask yourself this: when did England last play to Ben Youngs’ example?
Against Italy on Saturday, and in Cardiff eight days earlier, he was outstanding.
Pundits usually question a scrum half that likes to roam, but while 21-year-old Youngs not only produces fast, accurate, and punishing ball from the breakdown, he is also searching for weaknesses in his opponent’s armoury; the gaps that allow Toby Flood to make his breathtaking runs, and the chinks that are broken by England’s power men.
What more do you want from a No 9? Regardless of the the number of caps under his belt.
The philosophy used to be: put 50 points on Italy, they don’t deserve anything less.
The last time that happened was eight long seasons ago, and there were signs that the then captain Martin Johnson has re-instilled the same mentality in England’s game today as they put an extra nine on the Azzurri this weekend.
Flood was guided through the heart of the Italian defence after some scanning by his inside half, and Chris Ashton was unleashed seconds later for a dive under the post, minutes after kick off.
Ashton twisted and twirled over the line after an England build up manufactured by Youngs, then Mark Cueto broke a 19 test duck in off Flood’s inside.
Nick Easter confirmed Sergio Parisse isn’t the only flamboyant No 8 in the business with a silky backhand pass to set up interim-captain Mike Tindall.
Following the break, tries from James Haskell, Young’s replacement Danny Care, and only a couple more for cheeky Ashton, completed the rout.
Azzurri hooker Fabio Ongaro also touched down for Italy’s only try, grounding from the rolling maul.
England did lose turnover ball at times. For the most part, they played in pairs in midfield to guarantee quick ball, and they created angles of running that cut chunks out of the Italian guard.
Chris Ashton was named RBS 6 Nations man of the match, and the first man to score four tries in a Five/Six Nations test at Twickenham since 1914.
It is safe to say, England are on a ruthless high.
The Grand Slam is on – you won’t need reminding. But that will depend much on the form of our provider in the middle.
Ben Youngs continues in this vain, anything is possible for this England side in 2011.
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