Rugby Rugby Rugby

Ritchie McCaw

2005-11-18T20:31:00.000-08:00

With just over 24 hours to go Ritchie McCaw, argueably the best openside flanker in the world, has ruled himself out of the clash with England. He received a blow to the head during the Kiwi defeat of Ireland and has decided that it is safer to not play in the game tomorrow. He has had a series of head injuries previously, due to the uncompromising nature of his play.

His ommission will come as a blow to the AB's, but will not lessen the battle that England will have to face. Especially as one commentator described him as the third best player on the pitch in last weeks test, after his backrow colleagues, the task for England will remain huge.

The Perfect Rugby Day

2005-11-18T19:34:00.000-08:00

The perfect rugby day, for me, is:

Night before supplies are bought for the following days rugby. Cans of Guiness popped in the fridge, breakfast groceries stored.
11.30ish Mates come round and the first tinnies opened
12.30 Breakfast is cooked and cosumed. Bacon, sausages, tomatoes, hash browns, mushrooms, eggs, baked beans and toast. All washed down with coffee, OJ and, of course Guiness
1.30ish Taxi or walk to the pub of choice to bag, hopefully, the best seats
Grab the seats, get into the bar maids good books so she provides the waitress service for beers, relax and watch the pre-match amble.
2.30 KICK OFF!!!!!!
4.00 Celebrate or commiserate.
Few more drinks and then eventually a curry and home.

Heaven!!! Especially if England win!!

2011 World Cup (contd)

2005-11-18T19:24:00.000-08:00

So I put my hands up and have to admit that I got my guesstimate wrong, with New Zealand getting the competition rather than Japan.

In all the reports I have read, there have been cries of the old boys network winning the day, as the original eight members of the IRB get two votes each. Many felt that this lead to the Kiwi victory, particularly as they lost co-host status due to a dispute with Australia in 2003. In addition, the current All Black form cannot have failed to help along with the presence of Helen Clark, the New Zealand Prime Minister.

Anyway, the die is cast and the Webb-Ellis will be fought over on the two Southern hemisphere islands in 2011.

Congratulations!!

Graham Henry's Hand Bags

2005-11-15T18:46:00.000-08:00

Maybe it was the case that Graham Henry had just not had a good night sleep, or that he had gotten out of bed the wrong side, but the idea of seeing men "spying" on his training session does seem just a little delusional.

But, and this was the icing on the cake, to then accusingly ask the assembled media if it was them "hiding behind the fence today in camouflage taking a video of the training?" does make you wander if the men in white coats are coming for him. Because the men in white jerseys certainly are.

Immortal All Black Quote

2005-11-15T18:03:00.000-08:00

There is a great interview with the legendary Fran Cotton about his experiences playing the Kiwis and how England could dominate on Saturday in today's Telegraph.

The highlight for me though was the story of when he lead a Northern side to victory over the All Blacks, in 1979, and came up with one of the most inspirational lines to have been uttered on the field of rugby...

World Cup Question

2005-11-14T21:05:00.000-08:00

Is it still acceptable to wear the England shirt celebrating the 2003 World cup win?!?!

I found that many people from the nations that did not win, did not...

2011 World Cup

2005-11-14T17:48:00.000-08:00

Something that had slipped my mind in the aftermath of the internationals last weekend was the fact that we will discover who will be hosting the 2011 World Cup this week. With New Zealand, South Africa and Japan being the only nations to have signalled intend, the contest does present some headaches for those fine people at the IRB who have to choose.

Acceptance of the Protean or Kiwi bid signals a status quo in the world of rugby union, with the IRB not willing to consider a new world order, outside of the eight founding nations of the IRB. They are safe bets, with a level of guaranteed revenue from television and ticket sales, which you simply will not get from the Asian market. They both dominate on the world stage and have both held aloft the Webb Ellis.

Japan, in rugby terms, are whipping boys. There last major test, not counting a win against Spain who are no rugby powerhouse, was against Ireland, in June this year, where a 29 point loss was handed out on home soil. And not many fans of the game will have forgotten their 145-17 annihilation at the hands of the All Blacks in the 95 World Cup.

Though, ironically, Japan may well have done. They have somewhere in the region of 130 000 registered players currently and acceptance of this bid could firmly place rugby in Asia’s eye-line. And this love of the game was confirmed by Rob Andrew who has put his weight behind their campaign.

”I said before Newcastle went on our pre-season tour to Japan this summer that I believed it was a rugby mad place and everything I experienced there confirmed it. The facilities we used were superb, as good as any other country in the world that I’ve ever visited as a player or coach. The grounds were immaculate, the hotels were great and there were big and noisy crowds wherever we went. Taking the World Cup to Japan would take rugby to a vast new audience... We know what World Cups in these places are like and it’s time to try something new. The game needs to move forward."

And with Martin Johnson, Jason Leonard and Nick Farr-Jones also adding their vocal support it does indeed seem that the Webb Ellis Trophy will be paying a visit to the Orient.

Quote of the Day

2005-11-13T22:34:00.000-08:00

I have just been reading the post game interview with Andy Robinson, the England coach, and Charlie Hodgson was there to explain how he got injured:-

"I got stuck trying to get underneath Drew Mitchell and my legs just seemed to split apart"

If only some of the girls that I have known were as keen as the England number 10.

Great Weekend of Rugby!!

2005-11-13T21:46:00.000-08:00

England Vs Australia 26 - 16

Well the first thing that has to be said is that a 10 point victory over any Wallaby side is pretty impressive. With the close losses in the last two Cook Cup games, I felt that this could have been another hard fought contest but with the boys in white ultimately on the wrong end again. However, I was pleasantly surprised and extremely happy by the blowing of the final whistle.

I was concerned somewhat in the opening 10/20 minutes with the ease with which the English blindside was being exploited. In addition, a very nervy start from seemingly all of the team put an Oz team, who at times did not look like they were on a six game losing streak, in front after just three minutes. With the sin binning of Lewis Moody things could have gone horribly wrong, but the game turned when Gregan got 10 minutes on the sideline and England stamped their authority on the game.

The most impressive element was the game that Hodgson had, and that is something that I thought that I would never say!!! He placed kicked well and his territorial kicking was superb, grinding down the Aussies in the mid first half which lead to the English pack being able to batter some more life from their counterparts. In addition, his cover tackling, twice, down the wings stopped certain scores and ultimately kept the game tangible.

Another encouraging aspect was the scrummaging with Andy Sheridan having a magnificent game on his first full cap. He absolutely hammered his superior power, apparently he can bench press twice his body weight, over his opposite man and made some quality driving runs at the defence. Great game!

But where does this leave the fifteen now, especially with the All Blacks to play next week. Personally, I think that fixture will be an uphill task, especially with the missed tackles that seemed rife during some parts of the game. The AB's have a great momentum for this tour already and with most of their first team having been rested for the Ireland game, it will be a punishing encounter for England. The major benefit that I can see is that it will give Andy Robinson the best chance to see exactly where he and the squad need to be for the 2007 World Cup.