Johnno’s England – Not For Want of Trying

Last year England finished second in Martin Johnson’s first Six Nations, well in keeping with their habit of finishing more strongly than they seem capable of, but widely considered a travesty. Since then the England manager has been continually criticised for his selection policy, the lack of fluency in England’s attack and his inability to communicate with the media, much of which is justified.

Johnson’s inexperience has certainly contrived to give the impression of a bunker mentality; a mix of ‘don’t you know there’s a war on?’ and ‘we’ll come right in the end,’ but he has been up against a media, which if not quite on a witch-hunt, has certainly been extreme in its views. It is surprising then, to see Eddie Butler soberly concluding on the general hysteria at the end of this Six Nations. I look forward to Stuart Barnes’ confession that England missed Steve Borthwick at the lineout in Paris, but I’m not holding my breath.

There is little denying that England have been unimpressive this season. They managed just five turnovers and six tries, in contrast to the sixteen racked up last year. Facing Scotland and France (both rejuvenated this year) away has presented a considerable challenge, and yet both should have been despatched.

One of the most severe criticisms levelled at Johnson is that his selection policy favours defensive players and more sinisterly, the old-guard who were playing in 2003. Actually, Johnson has been dealt a cruel hand by the injuries to Tom Croft and Tom Rees, while James Haskell has been off the boil since his two tries against Wales a month ago. Lewis Moody and Joe Worsely are conservative choices, notable for their tackling rather than their scavenging on the floor, so it is something of a mystery why Steffon Armitage hasn’t been given an opportunity at 7, especially when Nick Easter could make way for Worsely or Haskell.

In the front row, perhaps the most vulnerable position for the inexperienced player, Dylan Hartley and Dan Cole are slightly more mobile props who let England down in France but have otherwise been relatively solid. Hartley in particular looks like a prospect but is still young and hotheaded. In contrast to the back row, injuries have prevented Johnson from falling back on the old guard in the front row.

Outside of the backs, it is the second row that has met with most criticism. Steve Borthwick’s has been hounded throughout his captaincy, probably as much as a result of his lack of passion in post match interviews as his lack of ground made in the loose. The fact that England’s set-piece has at least been relatively solid is a small mercy, however, and it is more that the absence of Simon Shaw has exposed the lack of impact Louis Deacon makes. Again, a good case can be made for Courtney Lawes but Tom Palmer also seemed to serve the pack well against France.

Then there’s Jonny. Wilkinson bore the cost of a stultified backs division by being dropped for only the third time in his England career but England still have no strategy for their number 10 spot. Arguably, Toby Flood and Shane Geraghty battle it out as Danny Cipriani heads Down Under. Flood has enough in defence to please Johnson and while he doesn’t have Geraghty’s pace or inside ball, he knows where an overlap is possible and takes some wrestling to get thrown to the floor. In contrast, Wilkinson’s reputation for taking contact is hiding his unwillingness to run with the ball and when he came on against France he tended to kick possession away.

The niggling doubt that Flood or Geraghty will be found out plagues the England management, as does the thought of playing a World Cup in eighteen months without a team that is used to each other. Danny Care has been given an extended run at scrum half after Paul Hodgson and Harry Ellis had similar opportunities and has certainly not disgraced himself. Ben Foden has eventually been rewarded for his performances from the bench and Delon Armitage given some competition.

One player who has had an ineffective tournament, however, is Riki Flutey. Mike Tindall will take the plaudits for his performance yesterday, and Johnson will be criticised for the strange decision to remove him from play, but it was his man inside, who has so rarely been attacking the gain line as he is supposed to, and who disappeared for large chunks of yesterday that will cause headaches. Will he be back to form for next years Championship? The autumn tour of the Southern Hemisphere is a good place to test him out, but it must be a make or break moment.

Whether Johnson will keep the faith with Matthew Tait, who plays with heart and guile but has little of the power that Tindall, Dan Hipkiss or even Flutey offer is another tough call. Being thrown on yesterday did nothing for him but there remains the chance that he could produce a slashing break out of nothing like he did in the 2007 World Cup Final.

Johnno’s England have been more varied than they have been given credit for, but the time Johnson takes to make decisions is worrying. Personalising the problems has not helped, as it is fair to say that almost all players in the squad offer something. The trouble is that changes in personnel could well be the difference England need to get on the front foot. The forwards need to be rumbling forward or looking for turnovers and we have not yet caught up with the general view of the other five Nations that kicking possession away is not always the best policy. Wilkinson can still rise to a challenge but England’s safety-first approach is in danger of becoming inflexibility. I’m no fan of reckless running rugby (fact is, both Ireland and Wales suffered as a result of it at times). All I am saying, is give Flood a chance.

Six Nations Review – Le Grand Slam

The 2009 Six Nations were a tournament to forget, unless you were Irish. The boys in green won their first grand slam for sixty years, but in the same manner as a player who has just received an interception pass and can’t quite believe he’s clear of the pack. Then there were the games marred by endless full-back to full-back kicking, and navel-gazing that suggested that English rugby was in decline – a powerful impression belied by their second place finish.

Then came the Lions tour – the saving grace of the Northern Hemisphere – and suddenly this year’s Championship is a feast of running rugby. The seventh grand slam in the past decade and France’s third in the same space of time will be remembered as a triumph for Gallic incaution on the part of their three-quarters and the commanding petit general, Morgan Parra (all-running, all-dancing, all-kicking French number 9’s are as much a French tradition as Emperors, African football players and riots). But more importantly it was the year they stopped le tinkerman stopped changing his team, France sorted out their defence and indiscipline and finally out-thought England in the scrum.

Perhaps the momentum afforded by five games instead of four is overwhelming, but once the battle for the Championship was effectively over, the rest of the tournament became far less predictable. Scotland’s late win over Ireland was a triumph for a team reinvigorated by a breath of fresh management but who themselves were turned over by the increasingly tough-minded Italians.

Then there were the Welsh, wholly unpredictable in themselves.  The Welsh have won two Six Nations grand slams, in 2005 and 2008, but have been in indifferent form in 2010. That’s not to say that they aren’t entertaining. In fact, the growth and growth of Stephen Jones as a player (perhaps the Lions influence again) has given them renewed determination to fling the ball around with abandon. After upsetting Scotland at the death and giving France a run for their money (having gifted them an unassailable lead), they routed Italy yesterday. But they also left it to the last game to score their first first-half try, giving the impression that they can’t quite manage temperate. Stragely, given the Lions’ reliance on Jamie Roberts, it appears that his influence is outweiged by James Hook, who along with Shane Williams seems to be at the centre of everything Wales do.

If Stephen Jones was the fly-half of the tournament, Dan Parks and Jonathan Sexton also deserve some commendation. Parks has stepped into the void left by Chris Patterson’s injury and become no less talismanic, winning three Man of the Match awards. It was he who put the final damper on Croke Park with a great tactical kick that forced the penalty he won the match with in the 79th minute. Then there was Jonathan Sexton, whose pace put him into a gap in the first half Ronan O’Gara would probably have kicked into, and led to the first try. It was cruel then, that his placekicking cost Ireland the Triple Crown but he had the bravery to tell ROG to wait on the sidelines until he had improved his percentage. Luckily, he scored.

Italy seem to be settled with Craig Gower in the first receiver position, but England are at a total loss, dropping Jonny Wilkinson for the lack of inspiration in the English backs, only to recall him when five points behind. It speaks volumes that they will fall back on a kicking game, but England looked far more solid with ball in hand. Indeed, it was only the rain that disrupted the game plan and by the final quarter it had eased off.

Championships are often more memorable for the moments provided by flying (or hopeless) backs but this year belonged as much to the back row forwards. France’s tackled everything, Scotland’s seemed to make all the ground and even Ireland’s seemed to come to the fore when all else failed yesterday. England’s were ineffectual – with only five turnovers in the whole tournament, while one of Wales’ was found in a golf buggy on the hard shoulder (offering a joke that denies Sam Warburton an honourable mention).

France combined a bit of everything good about Northern Hemisphere rugby (have they benefitted from the exodus of English players to France?), and as such are worthy wingers. Most will say so-much-the-better that they did it with a bit of flair, but all-in-all, Northern Hemisphere rugby is once more in rude health and seems to be in the process of rediscovering itself. Unfortunately, only when it comes into direct contact with the South can the improvement be fairly measured. This autumn will therefore be an interesting precursor to the World Cup, at which point, all bets are off.

England Take a Knock, Not a Fatal Blow

These days it is easy to feel as though transportation has been reversed, and England have imported a whole cadre of Southern Hempishere rugby critics. In a rare moment of self reflection, Eddie Butler last week considered that it might be a symptom of rugby’s growing popularity that every performance is examined in its most extreme interpretation. That, or England’s glory years 2001-3 have heightened expectations.

Either way, it would be fair to say that England could have and should have beaten Ireland who equally lacked real control over the game. England started with intent and were inside their opponent’s 22 within minutes. But an English team from time gone by would hardly have screeched to such a halt, or been turned over. It is a credit to Ireland’s experience and self-confidence that without Wales’ skills, when they turn the ball over they know how to stretch a defence and create an overlap – beautifully illustrated by Tommy Bowe’s opener.

Jonny Wilkinson has shouldered more expectation in the past weeks than he has since 2003, given the criticism levelled at his game-management. He seemed concious of this, taking on contact and trying things – some too clever, but notably, offloading to Ricky Flutey just before England’s only try.

For the most part, however, England’s back play was predictable. Matthew Tait may have got more ball than his predecessors at outside centre, but space is the commodity he requires. Instead, England’s best side-step was employed as a battering ram and on several occasions a first-receiver. Ireland’s backs, by contrast, have the confidence to arrange and re-arrange themselves, safely anchored by Brian O’Driscoll. When they were behind, with just seven minutes to go, Tommy Bowe came off his wing at a lineout and zipped through the midfield channel, leaving England looking as though that sort of thing shouldn’t be allowed. Wales, similarly, often have Stephen Jones looping round Jamie Roberts, or Leigh Halfpenny cutting inside. Done well, even simple training ground plays can stretch defences.

On the other hand, England were more than hamstrung by the slowness of the ball that came out of the breakdown. Their lack of momentum is pitiful, and almost completely inexplicable – although they were not helped by the referee, who allowed Jamie Heaslip to come in at the side and lay all over the ball in the final move (Heaslip was awarded Man of the Match for precisely that sort of thing).

The frustration is more potent because England finally seem to have decided on their first XV. Losing Simon Shaw after four minutes was a notable loss, but there were few other players who you would actively want sidelined. England have a strong front-row, second-row, and back-row – Nick Easter and Dylan Hartley carrying, Borthwick catching and Lewis Moody tackling all sound reasonable. Only the two props lack test experience, but the breakdown is a serious hindrance.

Danny Care sometimes seems to struggle with his temprament (albeit, he was unfairly penalised for wanting the ball quickly when England were awarded a penalty), but he has time enough to develop and the enthusiasm required of a scrum-half. Outside him he has pace, but few ideas. The three-quarters need to come into the line more – which only Ben Foden seemed likely to do yesterday. Rickey Flutey will now shoulder the responsibility for creativity given the hopes pinned on his return.

As the responsibility, not to say blame, shifts along, England come closer to the World Cup, next year. Martin Johnson sounded somewhere between tears and bemusement as he tried to fathom the collapse of England when they had so much more ball. As is becoming tradition, Johnno looked on the bright side;

“There are lots of good things we did yesterday, that’s the key thing. We didn’t finish them all off again and that ultimately cost us the game.”

He is largely right. Ireland missed only one tackle and it was ultimately one of those days. The Six Nations is tight this year, and perhaps we have become a little too used to Grand Slams (having had two consecutively). These days, winning doesn’t come easy.

Allez les Noirs

Saracens 28 Toulon 9

In lieu of Toulon’s superior record in the Amlin Challenge Cup and perhaps even more significantly after losing their first two games of the year, victory was imperative for Saracens in Thursday’s European Cup game. To hope for a four-try bonus point seemed optimistic, and so it proved, but the Men in Black nonetheless produced a second half to blow the cobwebs away, denied the Frenchmen a bonus point and set up a final pool game with everything to play for.

Toulon had clearly travelled with every intention of contesting the match, giving starts to Jonny Wilkinson, Worcester-bound full-back Luke Rooney and Joe van Niekeerk. The biggest cheer from the crowd came for Saracens legend Kris Chesney. Saracens too played a first-choice team that is becoming increasingly discernible over the management’s rotation system. Schalk Brits started, Steve Borthwick was captain, Marshall and Hougaard at the pivot, Barritt and Ratavou in the centres and Alex Goode at full-back. Perhaps the only obvious absences were Wikus van Heerden, rested, and Hugh Vyvyan, held back for impact.

Unsurprisingly perhaps, the quality of the two sides cancelled each other out for much of the first half. Wilkinson dropped an early goal and kicked mostly with trademark precision – knocking over two penalties but missing a third. for the most part, however, the cold weather and wet conditions hampered a game which included the obligatory spell of aimless kicking.  Brits in particular dopped a few catches – unremarkable enough if not for the fact that they will limit his chances of being picked at full-back this season.

In the end, there were only three moments of real quality in the first half. First came Justin Marshall’s drop goal from the base of a maul – some feat given the space most fly-halves ask for. Second came Brad Barritt’s shuddering tackle on Luke Rooney after a kick and chase was unwisely played by Toulon. Wilkinson at least made the third for Toulon, with a neat grubber into space that he then collected and offloaded.

Toulon made nothing of it, but if the English fly-half could repeat it in a months time, England would be grateful. It was Saracens who came out slightly on top, with an edge in the scrum that won them several penalties. Hougaard kicked faultlessly and his four penalties were the difference at half time.

The second half saw Saracens extend their grip and when Hougaard took them to twelve points ahead they began to play a more expansive game. For most of their best moments Goode or Brits was present, albeit with the centres also drawing defenders, but the combination of resolute defending from Toulon and Sarries’ flat backline meant there were few breaks. In the end it was only when the two Toulonnaise flankers had been sent to the sin bin for cynically slowing the ball that Saracens could muster a forward’s try, Justin Melck touching down.

That was about all Saracens could muster, and the last ten minutes belonged to Toulon as the substitution of Goode and Brits and an injury to Barritt sapped the energy the game was crying out for. The significance of the game was that it put Saracens just one point behind Toulon with equal tries, so that if Toulon win without a bonus point or do worse, Saracens can squeak through. That justified Venter’s summation that their mission had been suitably accomplished, but Saracens will have to return to winning ways or get the backs playing better rugby if they are to go the distance.

England 6 New Zealand 19

The All Blacks were supposed to be England’s toughest Test. After each game in this series, it was; ‘We’ll get massacred by New Zealand if we play like that.” As it happens, being the underdogs gave England an opportunity to have a go at the underperforming, but still fearsome Kiwis (though not to the same degree as plucky Scotland, who won a deserved victory over Australia).

The early sparring saw England twice go ahead, 3-0, then 6-3, before Dan Carter levelled each time.  Ugo Monye nearly did the team an even bigger favour, just failing to intercept the ball when he had come off his wing and the All Blacks had decided to run from their 22.  In all, however, it was quite a dull first half, with England holding on and Carter missing the kicks that would have allowed New Zealand the comfort to play their own game.

It was in the second half that England began to exert some pressure of their own, but the game was determined in a ten-minute period starting fifteen minutes into the second half.  First, Wilkinson’s chip into the 22 saw a whole pack of England players bearing down on New Zealand.  The All Blacks, however, were quite content to use the space run it out of their 22.  Nonu’s inside pass releasing Zac Guildford, and Wilkinson had to backtrack thirty metres to dislodge the ball from the winger.

Not long afterwards New Zealand took clean ball from a lineout and as the forwards drove into the England 22, created space on the blindside.  Although Sivivatu was marked by Banahan, he jinked and held the defender in place as Richie McCaw and Jimmy Cowan came round the scrum.  Sivivatu slipped the ball inside, for McCaw to play in Cowan.  It was a devastating display of passing, allowing New Zealand to turn a non-advantage into a decisive overlap.

England found themselves in the All Black’s half several times with options, but frequently took the wrong ones.  Wilkinson’s first option when given the ball on the 22 was to take a drop, highlighting the paucity of England’s ambition.  In response, Mils Muliaina sliced through England’s defence before feeding Conrad Smith, who was forced into touch just yards from the line.

Haskell made a few half-breaks, but it was Tom Croft (on for the injured Joe Worsely after two minutes) who ripped the ball from a New Zealand maul after Wilkinson’s teasing kick, and seemed almost certain to cross but for determined defence.  Duncan Bell picked up and dived for the blindside, but was held up short, and the forwards could not clear the ball.  The resulting scrum proved disastrous, and the put-in was reversed.

Late on, Geraghty’s chip could have found Monye but bounced short and a last minute encampment on the New Zealand line turned to farce.  As has become common, England’s attack had wanted composure and received only individualism.

It is getting easy to forget what England are good at, but the scrum and particularly the lineout were solid.  Wilkinson, Borthwick and Moody typified an almost complete defensive performance, but it is possession that seems to worry England most.  In Haskell, Croft and Hartley, they have plenty of quick forwards who love to run, but no stand-out ball carriers who will break the gain line when defences have re-grouped.  For that, they probably missed Worsley and later, Shaw, but the distribution was also inadequate.  Hodgson seems to get drawn into rucks too easily, and Wilkinson plays too deep to encourage players to run good lines.  England miss Flutey desperately.  Unfortunately, Wilkinson’s defence is just too invaluable, so the first-receiver problem is key.

Fiery Australia disappoint improved England

England 9 Australia 18

England were counting on a victory against Australia today.  Though the hosts were had more than twenty elite squad players sidelined through injuries, the visitors were missing captain, Stirling Mortlock, and had rolled over for both New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations.  England meanwhile were last in action in a Six Nations they were ultimately runners-up in, but were ill disciplined and inconsistent.  A win would give England momentum and start their autumn series with a view to a successful World Cup campaign in two years.

Though the lust for victory was plain to see, England faltered yet again.  Australia, for their part, did not let themselves down.  While England dominated the first half, Australia got the only try.  And when Australia had the opportunity to dictate the pace of the game in the second half, they did so beyond England’s capacity to absorb it.

England looked a more comfortable outfit in the first half than they had done in the two years since the World Cup final.  They didn’t concede turnovers, nor many penalties, and moreover, were dominant in the set-piece.  Steve Borthwick, in particular, was imperious in either side’s lineout and Jordan Crane made his mark early on with five carries within as many minutes of the game starting. 

Indeed, England were off the mark after only two minutes, as Jonny Wilkinson dropped a goal following good progress by the forwards.  Not long afterwards, the rejuvenated fly half had added another three-points from a penalty and hit the post from forty metres.

Wilkinson was a joy to watch, tackling everything that came his way, and running the ball menacingly at the Australian defence.  What was even better, however, was that the combination of Wilkinson and Geraghty, the form fly half in the Guinness Premiership, worked wonderfully.  With Wilkinson operating at first tackle and Geraghty with his superior pass and sidestep as first-receiver capable of mis-matching forwards against weak tacklers, England looked worthy of the quick ball Danny Care provided. 

Another positive was the willingness of England’s back three to run the ball.  Monye is continuing the form that saw him selected for the Lions, and the addition of a competent kicking game makes him a suitable fullback.  That said, he needs to stay on his feet more if he is to create genuine scoring-opportunities.  Banahan and Cueto on the wings offered both pace and brute force, and their height gives them an advantage when it comes to cross-field kicks.

That said, England scored no tries, and their best sustained pressure came from forward play.  Danny Hipkiss always seems to break the game line, but Ayoola Erinle seemed more capable of offloading.  All in all, no one seemed to be running the lines to take advantage of Geraghty’s awareness of what was on.

Australia were quite the opposite.  Their backs attacked at pace and were rewarded by breaking the gain line.  The fly half-centre axis of Matt Giteau and Quade Cooper was almost impossible to second-guess, so that England’s resolute defence nevertheless was always in reverse. 

After a poor decision from the touch judge gifted Australia an attacking lineout, the visitors broke into the 22, and from five metres out, the scrum half, Will Genia picked up, sold Louis Deacon the dummy and scampered around the ruck to score their first half try.  Nonetheless, Wilkinson kicked a penalty to give England a first half lead.

England never regained the upper-hand that they had enjoyed.  Too frequently the ball was knocked on after promising starts – as with a weaving run by James Haskell and a chip and chase by Monye.  They also surrendered their advantage in the set-piece by failing to contest the scrum or lineout effectively.  The most disappointing moment of the second half saw Australian fullback drive twenty metres for a try, with Monye and Cueto unable to bring him down.

One Step Forward, Two Back

The new-look England team, however long it lasts, is a leaner, faster one. The bulkier three-quarters, quick back row and Dylan Hartley at hooker offer ball-carriers all over the field.  Geraghty looks like the play-making stand-off England have been crying out for, without being the loose cannon that Cipriani proved. 

However, there is a long way to go.  Experience should help settle a back line that is not used to playing together.  Nevertheless, backs coach, Brian Smith (who did so much to increase London Irish’s attacking potential), has his work cut out.  England have not begun to ape the Lions formula of dynamic supporting runners.  Whether Hipkiss would be better utilised at inside centre and Geraghty at ten is a question that will not get asked as long as Wilkinson is around, but the existing arrangements will have to be made a lot less static.

The statistics will probably not be too harsh on England.  They missed relatively few tackles, but were still unable to halt Australian advances.  This bodes poorly for when England have to face more physical opponents, which they will in the next few weeks.  They may be able to maul, but will need to focus on the tackle area, from both an attacking and a defensive perspective.

Martin Johnson would not, in an ideal world, have used this series to experiment.  He sees it as far too late and in a way is right.  Injuries present immediate and long-term problems.  Does he ignore the opportunities presented by this exciting team of rookies and draft the regulars back in? 

Andrew Sheridan and Julian White will not be left out (neither, unfortunately, will Vickery, in all probability).  Simon Shaw and Joe Worsely are probably too strong and experienced defensively not to be included.  Paul Hodgson played well when he came on, but the scrum half position will not be crucial. Mike Tindall should not be required, but the centres are still a problem area.

These autumn internationals will therefore be critical to England’s development under Martin Johnson, and unless they can win one or two against the odds, the pressure will mount. That is why a good performance was not good enough.

Rugby 09/10

What to look out for in the new rugby season, and why it’s worth the bother.

It’s the best of times and it’s the worst of times.  There’s an intro loaded with cliché value, but it really has been true of this summer.  The engrossing heroics of the British and Irish Lions in South Africa gave us some of the best rugby, and best drama since at least the 2007, if not 2003 World Cups.  Yet, the sport has been tainted by disciplinary after disciplinary. 

Sergio Parisse, Alan Quinlan, Schalk Berger – what do they all have in common?  They’re all dynamic loose forwards, talismanic to their clubs and countries.  Wrong, they have all been cited for eye-gouging, and been given disgracefully short suspensions.  Bath have lost five players because of illegal substance use and now everyone in England knows at least one rugby club – Harlequins, and at least one joke about fake blood.

In this article I want to escape the confines of the team-by-team prediction format.  It will be done by experts in every major newspaper and anyway, I couldn’t claim objectivity!  What I will do is hazard a guess at what this season might be remembered for, if at all.

Cheating

One incident from last season has already taken over this one.  When Tom Williams went off with a ‘blood injury’ in Harlequin’s Heineken Cup Semi-Final, everyone knew that he’d cheated.  Rugby is a long way behind WWE in realism, and that really is saying something.  Quins have been lucky to escape sporting sanction this year – they may have been fined nearly £300,000 and had Tom Williams banned for four months, but they have not been kicked out of European competition, nor been docked points (yet), nor lost many players in the mean time.  Admittedly, Dean Richards leaves a big gap, but his credibility is now in such shreds that far from being the England heir-apparent, it is unclear that he will ever coach top-class rugby again, even after his three-year ban expires.  Anyway, to have played on with him would have been to shame Quins even more, and it is the moral burden that most journalists suspect will strangle their season and will hopefully deter others from similar crimes.

Inside of the game, more attention will be paid to another form of dodgy substitutions.  This year, the Guinness Premiership has imported from France the requirement that each team name a full front-row on its bench.  This is to prevent the practice of two props going off injured and forcing uncontested scrums, which are as they sound.  Naturally, clubs have brought in props, but it will be interesting to see whether this change makes a difference to the quality of scrums.  Also, I have to say it; Wasps, you did this so many times.

Big Venues

On Friday, at a windswept Edgeley Park just outside of Manchester, the new Guinness Premiership season begins.  Sale take on Leicester, a grudge match stoked by big ambitions.  It will be a back to basics affair, but a much needed one after a summer of embarrassment.  For the rest of the season, however, rugby’s profile will grow, a fact reflected in the venues.  The next day, 50,000 fans will pack Twickenham, and the place will probably sell-out for the Final in Spring.  Saracens will play at Wembley – possibly twice, and Leicester will almost certainly make use of the Walkers Stadium again, if repayments on their recent development at Welford Road don’t preclude it.  Rugby’s profile is still growing, and so will the crowds, hopefully.

Hands-On Rugby

This is something that I can’t swear by, but I do think that you will see more attractive rugby this year than in previous ones.  The likes of London Irish have been building an attractive attacking brand for a few years and last year’s second-placed finish will embolden them.  Leicester also found that flair was a route to success through Sam Vesty, who takes the ball forward in a manner that the more considered Toby Flood probably wouldn’t.  The return of Ben Cohen, to the Sale of Charlie Hodgson also bodes well for some good tries – despite disappearing off the radar, he hasn’t quite lost his talent.  Dare I say it, Saracens can even play a bit and Wasps’ Danny Cipriani may be the most overrated player in the game (seriously, he has barely any positional awareness), but he’s still alright.

On the other hand, Sale have lost Chabal, an icon of the English game, and Luke McAlister.  Worcester have brought in Willie Walker, not noted as a running fly-half.  Leeds probably won’t offer much in the way of rugby, nor in results, I’m sorry to say.  I predict Bath will struggle this year, not only because of the disruption caused by events at the end of last season, but because in the aggressive Butch James and the shaky Ryan Davies, they still don’t have a fly-half who can set their backs flowing.  Only time will tell what the return of Olly Barkley means to that part of the West Country, while in the part he is leaving, Gloucester have replaced Ryan Lamb, who never lived up to his promise, with Carlos Spencer, who hardly promises anything any more.

If all of this is about fly-halves more than anything else (apologies to the fat bastards), it’s because (a) they matter, and (b) we are now entering the post-Jonny Wilkinson age.  Now setting the French Top 14 alight, probably as a result of playing with someone of Kris Chesney’s quality, Wilkinson will only be playing rugby in England during the international window.  No change there, then.

The Resurgence of the Home Nations?

This year’s Six Nations was disappointing for those who remember it.  Ireland got the Grand Slam, but England, Wales and France all misfired.  This year should see more stability for the first two after a morale boosting Lions tour.  The Welsh were arguably the stars of the tour, especially Jamie Roberts but their nominal captain, Ryan Jones will have to rebuild his career after being left out, starting with the Ospreys.  If England can solve their disciplinary problems, i.e. Phil Vickery, they have the chance to build a really good team.

First, however, they have to play these guys;

The Tri-Nations Champions-Elect 

The Top Four

Leicester

Irish

Northampton

Saracens

A Final Note

One thing I don’t want to happen this season is the touted-retirement of Gavin Henson.  Henson was a player of some potential and is still young, so if his ankle doesn’t give out, I’m sure he has more to give.  In Jamie Roberts, he has a challenger to bring out the best in him.  If it does happen, you can be sure to hear from me.

Enjoy the rugby!