Friday, February 29, 2008
AAaaaaaaaaaaaaaargggghhhhh!!!!!!!
Just saw the England squad for the next round of the 6 Nations. How can Balshaw still be in and Lewsey still be out? Lewsey must have slept with Ashton's wife as this has to be a purely personal decision, there is no logical reason why Ashton would continue with a man who goes up for an up and under catch 5 metres away from where the ball is.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
What can I write......
Gibbo - So my last rant fully expected England to be spanked and for a new dawn to begin. Instead I may have got the best of both worlds. England won with 14 men as Balshaw was so awful that he should have worn a blue shirt and within any normal bounds of reason, he should be banished from the England squad forthwith.
In all honesty England can put their victory down to French naivety more than anything. One starting cap shared between 8, 9 & 10, no specialist goal kicker, a game plan that was as predictable Reggie Perrin's commuting challenges and a front row that may only be able to compete with Australia at international level. Hardly a recipe for success. Lievremont is correct to play with such youth, but they still need to be smart about it. England were streetwise and their front row is looking ominously good. At the ruck at the end when Wigglesworth scored, you can see Phil Vickery running and hurdling players as if the game had just started to get to the ruck to ensure the ball was safe. Quite a contrast to his recent outings as skipper. England still didn't do much with the ball in hand and need to get the wings more involved in the game.
Wales were the team of the weekend though and are looking mightily dangerous, their game in two weeks should be a good one if the Irish can get pumped up for it. They too looked impressive against the Scots, but they need to bring some consistency to threaten Wales.
One final point to make is that the press have hinted that England can still win the 6 Nations. Statistically this is true but the reality is a stretch. Wales would need to lose to Ireland and France, England would need to beat Scotland and Ireland, and then England would need to make the 7 points deficit that they have to France in points difference at the moment. As France are yet to play Italy where they could clock up a cricket score, I see this as a very big mountain to climb. After the impressive tally Wales racked up against Italy, even a loss would not knock them from favourites for the cup at least.
In all honesty England can put their victory down to French naivety more than anything. One starting cap shared between 8, 9 & 10, no specialist goal kicker, a game plan that was as predictable Reggie Perrin's commuting challenges and a front row that may only be able to compete with Australia at international level. Hardly a recipe for success. Lievremont is correct to play with such youth, but they still need to be smart about it. England were streetwise and their front row is looking ominously good. At the ruck at the end when Wigglesworth scored, you can see Phil Vickery running and hurdling players as if the game had just started to get to the ruck to ensure the ball was safe. Quite a contrast to his recent outings as skipper. England still didn't do much with the ball in hand and need to get the wings more involved in the game.
Wales were the team of the weekend though and are looking mightily dangerous, their game in two weeks should be a good one if the Irish can get pumped up for it. They too looked impressive against the Scots, but they need to bring some consistency to threaten Wales.
One final point to make is that the press have hinted that England can still win the 6 Nations. Statistically this is true but the reality is a stretch. Wales would need to lose to Ireland and France, England would need to beat Scotland and Ireland, and then England would need to make the 7 points deficit that they have to France in points difference at the moment. As France are yet to play Italy where they could clock up a cricket score, I see this as a very big mountain to climb. After the impressive tally Wales racked up against Italy, even a loss would not knock them from favourites for the cup at least.
Friday, February 22, 2008
The Last Alamo
Gibbo - I apologize for continuing to rant continuously on this subject, but I guess that I haven't gotten it off my chest yet and my frustration continues to build. After the game against France tomorrow if England win I will shut up. If they lose, then I also hope to shut up as I believe the axe will need to be swung with vigour around the England dressing room.
The two best teams in the tournament, are the two that have made the most unforced changes. The depth of coach's knowledge about his players and squad international experience that is starting to develop in Wales and France can be cultured for the next four years to create World cup contenders.
The farce that is happening in England and Ireland (I leave out Scotland and Italy as they both lack the talent to judge them harshly) is the antithesis of preparation for the next RWC. It is obvious that Lievremont and Gatland have both said winning is not everything, and without that burden playing with style has led to victory. England on the other hand have picked from experience to win, only to look like muppets in defeat to Wales and an attempted defeat to Italy.
Ireland may take some solace from their comeback against France, but it should not last long. Scoring points when the game is lost is also down to the psychology of the team that racked up a large margin and took their foot of the pedal.
For this weekend, Scotland do not have what it takes to really beat Ireland so it will be a walk in Croke Park for the Irish. Wales need to be smart, the Italians showed against Scotland and England that they can hurt you if you don't concentrate. The rotation in the welsh squad should be motivation enough to force such concentration and assure a solid victory.
As for England France. I hope for an English victory and to be proved wrong by Mr Ashton. I expect a French drubbing and to see a New England appear 3 games too late in a fortnight.
The two best teams in the tournament, are the two that have made the most unforced changes. The depth of coach's knowledge about his players and squad international experience that is starting to develop in Wales and France can be cultured for the next four years to create World cup contenders.
The farce that is happening in England and Ireland (I leave out Scotland and Italy as they both lack the talent to judge them harshly) is the antithesis of preparation for the next RWC. It is obvious that Lievremont and Gatland have both said winning is not everything, and without that burden playing with style has led to victory. England on the other hand have picked from experience to win, only to look like muppets in defeat to Wales and an attempted defeat to Italy.
Ireland may take some solace from their comeback against France, but it should not last long. Scoring points when the game is lost is also down to the psychology of the team that racked up a large margin and took their foot of the pedal.
For this weekend, Scotland do not have what it takes to really beat Ireland so it will be a walk in Croke Park for the Irish. Wales need to be smart, the Italians showed against Scotland and England that they can hurt you if you don't concentrate. The rotation in the welsh squad should be motivation enough to force such concentration and assure a solid victory.
As for England France. I hope for an English victory and to be proved wrong by Mr Ashton. I expect a French drubbing and to see a New England appear 3 games too late in a fortnight.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Two weeks off....
Johno- ....thank god, if you are an English fan. The long and short of it, we have a back row problem. Haskell will be good in time, Easter has not got his game legs at the moment, and Lipman is so far down the depth chart at 7 it is no wonder we faded badly against the Italians this weekend. If you break it down we had a nascent star at 6 learning the international game, a journeyman first choice starter at 8 that is lacking match fitness, and a 4th choice starter at 7. It doesn't matter who the opposition is, the make up of that back row just doesn't cut it at this standard. We all know that forwards determine who wins games, and the backs determine the margin of victory.
On a positive note I have been very happy with Flood at 12 barring one or two bad kicking decisions, which is not that bad over two games. The sooner the Balsa-wood farce at 15 ends the better, not a bad bloke and not his fault he keeps getting picked, but he just can't hack it at this level. The back three need JSD and Lewsey...FACT.
This week Ireland looked crap in the first half, but dug deep and showed some good fight in the second half. At least someone is getting the halftime team talk right.
So it looks like the championship will be decided in the Wales v France match, which rather fortuitously is the final game of the tournament.
Sadly for me the highlight of this weekend was not played out on the pitches of Europe, but in the commentary box. It was a delight to listen to Brian Moore spitting venom in an apoplectic rage at England's lamentable second half display. He may have broken the commentators number one rule when he obviously over stepped the "unbiased" line, but he's English and he cares and could no longer contain his incredulity. Brian, I salute you...
On a positive note I have been very happy with Flood at 12 barring one or two bad kicking decisions, which is not that bad over two games. The sooner the Balsa-wood farce at 15 ends the better, not a bad bloke and not his fault he keeps getting picked, but he just can't hack it at this level. The back three need JSD and Lewsey...FACT.
This week Ireland looked crap in the first half, but dug deep and showed some good fight in the second half. At least someone is getting the halftime team talk right.
So it looks like the championship will be decided in the Wales v France match, which rather fortuitously is the final game of the tournament.
Sadly for me the highlight of this weekend was not played out on the pitches of Europe, but in the commentary box. It was a delight to listen to Brian Moore spitting venom in an apoplectic rage at England's lamentable second half display. He may have broken the commentators number one rule when he obviously over stepped the "unbiased" line, but he's English and he cares and could no longer contain his incredulity. Brian, I salute you...
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Week one - now there's a turn up for the books
In order of play - Ireland were pretty dire against a determined but limited Italy. EOS has got to be a little more bold in his selection. I can't believe people are getting excited about the possible return of O'Connell. Good player that he is, you need a bit more to get excited about than that. Italy are not going to be pushovers this tournament, especially at home. They have a strong pack and exceptional back row. They now have a fantastic coach as well.
I don't even know where to start with England v Wales. England looked pretty reasonable in the first half, although the quality of support running for line breaks was diabolical and we did only score from the ubiquitous cross field kick. At the breakdown and in the tight we bullied them off the park. Then absolute madness set in. For me the telling passage was when we shovelled the ball backwards and mostly along the floor from sheidan to gommers to vickery to balshaw, any of whom should have just shut up shop and taken the hit rahther than offloading. It looked panicked and must have been a huge boost for the leekists. After that you needed cool heads and leaders. There was enough experience out there but it seemed to count for nothing. I firmly believe your captain should play 80 mins unless dead. If we have a position whereby the captain is not perceived to be far enough ahead of his competitor for the spot that he regularly gets subbed on 60 mins, he shouldn't be captain.
Well done to Wales for hanging in there and exploiting the terror that England created for themselves.
I had high hopes for Scotland this year. I thought they had a settled team and some good players. They were awful against France and really need to work hard to put in a performance against Wales. As for France, it was hard to tell how good they were against a team as poor as Scotland were on the day.
One weekend down and all to play for.
I don't even know where to start with England v Wales. England looked pretty reasonable in the first half, although the quality of support running for line breaks was diabolical and we did only score from the ubiquitous cross field kick. At the breakdown and in the tight we bullied them off the park. Then absolute madness set in. For me the telling passage was when we shovelled the ball backwards and mostly along the floor from sheidan to gommers to vickery to balshaw, any of whom should have just shut up shop and taken the hit rahther than offloading. It looked panicked and must have been a huge boost for the leekists. After that you needed cool heads and leaders. There was enough experience out there but it seemed to count for nothing. I firmly believe your captain should play 80 mins unless dead. If we have a position whereby the captain is not perceived to be far enough ahead of his competitor for the spot that he regularly gets subbed on 60 mins, he shouldn't be captain.
Well done to Wales for hanging in there and exploiting the terror that England created for themselves.
I had high hopes for Scotland this year. I thought they had a settled team and some good players. They were awful against France and really need to work hard to put in a performance against Wales. As for France, it was hard to tell how good they were against a team as poor as Scotland were on the day.
One weekend down and all to play for.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Status Quo
I have to admit its difficult to get motivated to write a blog in the aftermath of such a disappointing weekend. Only the French and Welsh can have really enjoyed the rugby, the latter team only for the second half.
Ireland v Italy was a dour game. Ireland looked so superior in the first half making line breaks, intelligent kicking. However they remind me more and more of England, beligerent forward play with unimaginative back's moves. Eddie has not made wholesale changes for round two. Though I think all would agree his tweaking looks positive. The Irish lineout was poor, so Jackman deserves his shot. At the end of the day though, the result for this weekend against France will come down to whether the French can continue to execute such stylish play. It all looks fantastic when it goes right, but when the passes stop going to hand or the kicks bounce the wrong way the wheels tend to come off in a hurry for the French.
England......what can I write. At half time I was a very happy man, not just because England were winning but because their style of play was keeping Wales on the back foot. The headless chickens that emerged in the second half played into the hands and the brains of Wales. I was most disappointed by the fact that so much young talent was ignored because "experienced heads" are required for international rugby (tell that to Mr Lievremont). Our experienced heads played schoolboy rugby and got their just deserts. Hats off to Wales for playing a game that forced the mistakes. As for this weekend, the ridiculous number of injuries will not help England against a pretty determined but unimaginative Italy. Half of the starting pack is out of the game, and Tindall will be missed for the rest of the tournament.
I was informed by Colleen during the Wales game that the metatarsal break that Strettle has is called a Jones fracture, rather ironic considering the opposition's favourite last name.
France have shown Eddie O and Ashton the way forward. Pick youth and let them play. France were great, of course this will be difficult to replicate on a consistent basis. But building a future on fast skillfull and winning play beats trying to build it on dull victories like Irelands and embarassing losses like England's.
As for Scotland, it looks like all of the ground they thought they had gained never really happened. Patterson should never have been left out, and while his inclusion against Wales will help them, ultimately they don't have the firepower to go on the road and beat a team who must be feeling pretty confident right now.
Winners for this weekend,
Wales
France
England
Ireland v Italy was a dour game. Ireland looked so superior in the first half making line breaks, intelligent kicking. However they remind me more and more of England, beligerent forward play with unimaginative back's moves. Eddie has not made wholesale changes for round two. Though I think all would agree his tweaking looks positive. The Irish lineout was poor, so Jackman deserves his shot. At the end of the day though, the result for this weekend against France will come down to whether the French can continue to execute such stylish play. It all looks fantastic when it goes right, but when the passes stop going to hand or the kicks bounce the wrong way the wheels tend to come off in a hurry for the French.
England......what can I write. At half time I was a very happy man, not just because England were winning but because their style of play was keeping Wales on the back foot. The headless chickens that emerged in the second half played into the hands and the brains of Wales. I was most disappointed by the fact that so much young talent was ignored because "experienced heads" are required for international rugby (tell that to Mr Lievremont). Our experienced heads played schoolboy rugby and got their just deserts. Hats off to Wales for playing a game that forced the mistakes. As for this weekend, the ridiculous number of injuries will not help England against a pretty determined but unimaginative Italy. Half of the starting pack is out of the game, and Tindall will be missed for the rest of the tournament.
I was informed by Colleen during the Wales game that the metatarsal break that Strettle has is called a Jones fracture, rather ironic considering the opposition's favourite last name.
France have shown Eddie O and Ashton the way forward. Pick youth and let them play. France were great, of course this will be difficult to replicate on a consistent basis. But building a future on fast skillfull and winning play beats trying to build it on dull victories like Irelands and embarassing losses like England's.
As for Scotland, it looks like all of the ground they thought they had gained never really happened. Patterson should never have been left out, and while his inclusion against Wales will help them, ultimately they don't have the firepower to go on the road and beat a team who must be feeling pretty confident right now.
Winners for this weekend,
Wales
France
England
Friday, February 1, 2008
Quick Predictor
Johno- What happened to Gatland? As soon as he got the job he started spewing vitriol. Is he trying to please his paymasters? Whatever his motivation he better have the tactics right or he is going to look like a right numpty . If he doesn't get the win I think he should coach the rest of the 6N wearing a leek fancy dress costume holding a bunch of Daffodils and an inflatable ewe, basically the Welsh equivalent of the Statue of Liberty.
England by 5
Ireland by 10
Scotland by 3
England by 5
Ireland by 10
Scotland by 3
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