A Tale of 2 coaches – England should learn lessons from the Irish example
What a contrast in the manner in which the Irish and English Rugby Unions have dispensed with their respective coaches in the past month.
The Irish looked their man squarely in the eye and said ‘Eddie, it’s just not working anymore, you and us. It’s over. But we don’t want to just throw you on the street, we will let you depart with dignity, with our praise and thanks ringing in the shell-likes into which we once whispered sweet nothings’.
The English adopted a different approach. They ignored Ashton’s phone calls, told him they were busy and couldn’t meet up. He found out that they were seeing other people through hearsay and was left to feel used, maltreated as the RFU prepared themselves to commit to a new man without even phone call. In the end the RFU told him that they still wanted to be friends but Brian could be forgiven for telling them he never wants to see them again (or words to that effect) and erasing them from his phonebook.
So how did England manage to get themselves into such a mess? Well they are reaping what they sewed the minute they put their head coach in a strait jacket by not letting him pick his own coaches and by bringing in an ‘Elite Performance Director’ to breath down his neck but not take any of the flak. The Irish conversation must have been simple:
‘Things are going badly and need to change. Who’s in charge?’
‘Eddie O’Sullivan’
‘Right, get rid of him’
‘Righto, consider it done’
In England I imagine it went along the lines of:
‘Things are going badly and need to change. Who’s in charge?’
‘Well Brian’s head coach but John Wells has a say in things. And there’s Rob of course’
‘Well what does he do?’
‘Not entirely sure. You’ll find him behind the sofa. He’s sort of in overall charge but doesn’t involve himself in team affairs. Unless the team’s winning of course. But they’re not so it’s probably not his fault’
‘Well who put this stupid structure in place?’
‘We did sir’
‘Ah, well let’s have an interminable series of meetings to talk it over then’.
I’m paraphrasing obviously, but I don’t think I’m too far from being on the money. As soon as a man not involved in team affairs, and therefore removed from accountability when it comes to the team’s performance, was allowed to pick the coaches, a situation like this was the potential outcome. In Ireland, Eddie O’Sullivan reigned supreme, as did Gareth Jenkins in Wales, Bernhard Laporte in France and just about any head coach of a leading rugby team, international or otherwise. It is only England where it seems to have been messed up.
So if Ireland had the right structure, what went wrong? Well the whole thing had gone stale. The long-serving coach needs to constantly keep moving and strive for improvement to avoid stagnation, complacency and too cosy an environment. In private, constantly questioning what you are doing and working for improvement is not a sign of weakness but is an absolutely essential part of the job.
O’Sullivan had become so utterly convinced that every decision he had ever made was correct that he failed to act when circumstances around him changed. He was so set in what he was doing that he failed to see the wood for the trees, failing to realise that some of his leading players were stagnating and that to achieve renewal and progress, an injection of dynamic young blood was necessary.
In the 6 Nations a strange role reversal had taken place in the Ireland team. Usually when you introduce new players, the coach and the established players have to drag them up to the requisite level. But O’Sullivan and his experienced lieutenants were being hauled along by the likes of Jamie Heaslip, Eoin Reddan, Andrew Trimble and Rob Kearney. It was this sight which must have made the Irish powers-that-be realise that O’Sullivan was being left behind in the slipstream. It was time to move on.
Sir Alex Ferguson has always been the master at the art of reinvention. Any time a player, no matter how senior, began to slip below the required standards or was no longer a productive force in the team, he was out. Paul Ince, Mark Hughes, Jaap Stam, Ruud Van Nistelrooy all suffered the same fate. Everyone thought Ferguson was mad when he got rid of these guys but on every occasion he was proved right. He understands probably more clearly than anyone else that no matter how long you have been in a job, in order to stay at number one you have to keep moving, and keep asking ‘What next?’.
This is the challenge which will face Martin Johnson but not for some years. For now he has to put his own procedures in place, bring in the right people and stamp his authority. Everything to do with the England team must be ratified by him first – the kit, the training facilities, the layout of the changing room, everything The groundsman at Twickenham should be consulting him to make sure the pH of the soil meets with his approval. He will obviously surround himself with experts but his is the final word in all matters.
He must keep everything moving. Clive Woodward has admitted that probably 9 out of 10 of his ideas were crackpot and were abandoned but the ones that stuck were the critical non-essentials which created that extra 1% which made his team stand apart. Hopefully Johnson will be allowed leeway to put his plans in place. He is being compared to Woodward but they are very different. Woodward thought so far out of the box he was often in a different post code but Johnson is a basics man and will act in his own distinct way.
The bottom line is that he must be allowed to do things his way. And if it all goes wrong (God forbid) then he’s out, cleanly and quickly. The RFU may have made a mess of the whole process, and Ashton wouldn’t agree but all in all, while the end doesn’t justify the means, we may just have got there in the end.
By Stuart Peel
Johnson takes the reins as RFU finally makes a decision
Martin Johnson was finally handed overall control of the England rugby team today after several weeks of speculation. It is a huge relief that a conclusion has finally been reached and the RFU can hopefully stop embarrassing themselves and the whole English game. In truth the appointment has been on the cards for a while but I for one refused to believe it until it was officially announced, as I rather suspected that the RFU would find some spectacular and original way of messing it up.
And so we welcome back the hero and live in hope that the big man can cure all the ills and right all the wrongs which have bedevilled the England team these 5 years. It remains to be seen whether Johnson, with no management experience, can wave a magic wand and transform the England team overnight. What is certain though he that he will be cut a lot more slack than his two predecessors were by the English rugby public.
I found myself slightly shocked at the amount of vitriol directed at Ashton when he never seemed to me to be the root of the problem. His big error was accepting the watered down terms offered by the RFU in the first place. Once he had done that, his hands were tied rather, although that does not excuse some of the more bizarre selection decisions of the 21st Century.
The best news is that Johnson appears not to have stood for any of the RFU’s pussy-footing. He has demanded full control of his coaching team and the selection of the players, and quite right too. He must stand and fall by that and he knows it. This is best for all concerned as there is no room for doubt regarding accountability and, knowing this, Johnson will leave no stone unturned when it comes to getting precisely what he wants. Hopefully he will act as a rocket up the proverbials of the establishment, a la Woodward a decade ago.
The most interesting part of the next few months, barring who is appointed to take the side to New Zealand, will be how Johnson deals with Rob Andrew. There is an ever-growing suspicion that he is not equipped to take the big decisions and that nobody really knows what it is he is supposed to be doing. Johnson has no use for deadwood and will not be averse to making his point in this respect. Andrew’s big job appears to have been to appoint the England Head Coach but he has messed it up twice and on the third occasion the RFU overrode him, told him who they wanted and did not leave him alone until he had got him. If this is the only way to make things work then what is he doing there in the first place? He is in danger of becoming something of a victim being used by the RFU to shield them from accountability.
The RFU must learn from the whole sorry episode. If Johnson is successful, and there is little reason why he shouldn’t be, there is the danger that they will say ‘Well we got there in the end and the end justifies the means’. It doesn’t. Not by a long way. The whole thing has been a disgrace and you strongly suspect that the grandees, were they to find themselves in a brewery with a load of booze, some guests in fancy dress and a set of party-organising instructions, would hold a series of meetings over several months to figure out what on earth they were supposed to be doing. On the day that those responsible for messing up the launch of Heathrow Terminal 5 were handed their P45s, the RFU should remind themselves that in any other field of business, several people would have been fired immediately for such mishandling.
The treatment of Brian Ashton has been beyond the pale. Had they just sacked him after the 6 Nations then that would have been fine, regardless of whether you agreed with the decision. At least it would have been clean and decisive. By leaving him in limbo for so long as they desperately tried to fudge a way to avoid getting rid of him altogether, they exacerbated the damage. Whatever you think of him as a coach, Ashton has been treated appallingly and it is of huge credit to him that he has retained his dignity throughout. He is just about the only person to come out of this with any credit.
So the future has finally arrived, it is ruthless, grizzled, nasty, no-nonsense and a blessed relief. Johnson is a winner, first and foremost. And for the first time in 4 years, England have the right structure in place, albeit that some have had to be dragged there kicking and screaming. I’m excited about it. Are you?
by Stuart Peel
Heineken Cup Quarter final preview
The Heineken Cup cranks back into action this weekend to hail the start of that part of the season which has, in recent years, produced the best and most exciting rugby to be found in Europe at club or international level. Many of the games which have stuck in the mind of late have come at around this time as sides look to time their run to glory.The Heineken Cup has a very different look and feel to it this year. Many of the big guns have been sabotaged by the bewildering seeding system which happily has been consigned to the garbage for next year. It means that the 1st and 2nd seeds are the sides lying 8th and 6th respectively in the Guinness Premiership. Leicester and Leinster, Wasps and Clermont Auvergne have all fallen by the wayside, being as they were split between 2 groups which were won by Toulouse and Munster respectively. Indeed it is arguable that at least four of the teams playing this weekend are palpably not in Europe’s best 8. This could be lamented but if anything it promises to make the latter stages even more unpredictable and exciting.
Pre-Christmas, all the English teams left in the competition looked excellent and played some fantastic rugby in the pool stages. All have struggled since then and despite having home ties, will have to work very hard to ensure an English presence in the last four. The two Welsh teams, especially the Ospreys, will be buoyant after Wales’s Grand Slam, Munster have been quietly improving during the season and the French sides will benefit from having had more match action after the delayed start to the Top 14. The line-up may look unusual but there is a feast of rugby ahead of us.
London Irish v Perpignan (Saturday 1500hrs)
The first semi final is a hard one to pick. London Irish are capable of playing superb rugby but lack consistency. They qualified for the quarters as no 1 seeds after winning a group which contained Saturday’s opponents. Overall however, Perpignan probably just shaded their head to head encounters, London Irish taking the group by virtue of their ruthless demolitions of the Dragons and Treviso. The positive for Irish is that both games with Perpignan went with home advantage and this could once again prove crucial. They will need the utmost discipline, something they have struggled with this season, and Percy Montgomery’s immaculate left boot will be on hand to punish any misdemeanours.
The game could be loosely billed as Perpignan’s grunt against Irish’s guile but in truth it is far more than that. Irish will need a platform to play from and must achieve at least parity up front to unleash their backs. Shane Geraghty, Peter Richards and Delon Armitage are all in contention after spells out injured and they could make a huge difference to a squad which lacks the depth of some of their rivals. Perpignan do not possess the big names of some of their French rivals but will lack nothing in aggression as they seek a third Heineken Cup semi final. I take Irish to squeak home by less than a score with home advantage once again proving the difference between these two well-matched teams.
Gloucester v Munster (Saturday 1730hrs)
Kingsholm hosts what must go down as the tie of the round. Gloucester have been the coming team in Europe for some time without ever having quite made the breakthrough in big games. They lit up the early stages of the tournament with some scintillating rugby. Their first half against Ulster will live long in the memory but they still have plenty to prove. There remains the suspicion that they go missing in the big games and it is time for their young exciting lads to step forward on the big occasion.
Their recent form however has been patchy. While they remain near the top of the Premiership their form has tailed off. Yet as pitches start to harden and the likes of Tindall (whom they have missed hugely) return, they could start to rediscover their magic. Saturday is the perfect time.
Munster just keep plodding on. Every season seems to be billed as their last chance to make a big impression but they have reached the quarter finals for an incredible 10th time. Some of their players have been around so long they must be well into their 50s by now. Gloucester will still remember being humiliated at Thomond Park a few years back and will be determined to prove their big game pedigree. But Munster emerged from the toughest group in the competition through sheer bloody-mindedness despite being considerably more limited than Clermont and Wasps. Nobody understands the demands required for European success as much as Munster. Gloucester have it all to do and I expect them to fall just short.
Saracens v Ospreys (Sunday 1230hrs)
Saracens, after a season in which they looked likely to challenge for multiple honours are in danger of disintegrating and this represents their last chance of redemption if their season is not to sink without trace. They were hammered by Ospreys in the EDF and Ryan Jones voiced his suspicion that were they still playing now Saracens still wouldn’t have scored. However, this could play into Saracens hands. The Ospreys will be confident in their ability to overcome Saracens. However Saracens have seen what the Ospreys are capable of while Saracens showed very little of their potential in that game. It is likely that Saracens will face a very similar Ospreys team while Ospreys will be facing a very different Saracens outfit, not in terms of personnel, but in terms of efficiency and approach.
Saracens have showed before that they can turn it round quickly at home against Biarritz where they offered very little in the first half before running away in the second half to a 45-16 victory against one of Europe’s big beasts.
Having said that, Ospreys are confident and are on a roll. They will not want to lose the momentum established by Wales’s grand slam in which so many of them played a big part. It is often the case with Welsh teams that much depends on their self-belief. The international season, allied to their progression to the EDF final at the expense of Sunday’s opponents could render them an irresistible force. They certainly feel that this is their time. The loss of Mike Philips will barely create a ripple as they have Justin Marshall to step in and they should once again overcome Saracens.
Toulouse v Cardiff (Sunday 1500hrs)
Toulouse are rightly favourites for the competition and seem to have risen above the malaise which has enveloped French rugby of late. They possess so much depth and with Wasps, Leicester and Clermont Auvergne having been knocked out, they have a squad without peer in this year’s tournament. They should really fancy their chances. The loss of Michalak has barely been felt because all they really need at 10 is someone to transfer the ball from Kelleher or Elissalde to the likes of Jauzion, Heymans and Clerc. Not a bad position to be in.
Cardiff did well to get out of the dogfight that was Pool 3, taking the scalp of a strangely subdued Stade Francais on the way. But this will surely be a bridge too far for them. They have ended some years of underachievement by getting to this stage and it could be a platform for greater things to come. They have been unfortunate that they have got the toughest trip possible despite winning their group. I suspect that they will give a good account of themselves but Toulouse will prove too strong. It would be a gargantuan effort for Cardiff to prevail.
I don’t know about you but I love the Heineken Cup. So charge up the cold box, surround yourself with nibbly snacks and pizza menus, pack the other half off to the cinema, sit back and enjoy.
by Stuart Peel
Wilkinson poised to join Johnson’s England coaching dream team
Reports emanating from Newcastle this morning have suggested that Jonny Wilkinson is poised to join Martin Johnson’s coaching team if the World Cup winning captain chooses to accept the management of the England team. In an extraordinary development, it is thought that Wilkinson will be installed as kicking coach and as a consultant on back play, including attack and defence. While there will be another full time backs coach who will concentrate more on the skills side, Wilkinson is likely to have significant input into the tactics and approach of the team.
Wilkinson has only been out of the England starting line-up for one game and is certainly not retiring, but this is evidence that he is already thinking about the next stage of his career in rugby. With the emergence of a string of young rivals led by Danny Cipriani, but also including Ryan Lamb, Shane Geraghty, Toby Flood and Charlie Hodgson, perhaps Wilkinson has reconciled himself to the fact that his days at the top are numbered. This would be an extraordinary admission for a man as dedicated and ambitious as Wilkinson but after Cipriani’s performance against Ireland, perhaps he thinks it is time to carve out a new niche for himself.
This news is further evidence of the fact that Johnson appears likely to agree to manage England and that he will have full power to hire and fire as he sees fit. It appears that he wishes to surround himself with trusted lieutenants whom he knows and trusts. Wilkinson will still be available to play but this news also casts further doubt over the future of Brian Ashton. Were Johnson to take over, then the only way Ashton could really be retained is as backs coach. The introduction of Wilkinson, even in a consultative role, may be the thing which leads Ashton to decide that there is no future for him in the set up. It would undermine him even more than he has been already.
Still, the prospect of Johnno and Jonny pooling their vast array of knowledge is an enticing one. What price a role for Neil Back as defence coach to create a World Cup winning coaching triumvirate? If they cannot create a winning mentality then we are beyond redemption.
Enough compromise, Johnson must be offered complete control of the England squad
The news that Rob Andrew has approached Martin Johnson to offer him a role as manager of the England rugby team should be greeted with a healthy degree of circumspection. Andrew’s record of taking decisive and forthright action in his current role is not exactly impressive and I for one will be reserving judgement until the exact terms of the offer are made public.
Until now, Andrew appears to have utterly failed to grasp the key point of management in top level sport. This is that one man must be put in sole charge, must pick his own lieutenants, have full licence to select his own team and must have the first and last word in all matters relating to the squad. Clive Woodward has often stated that he would have rejected the England job had these terms not been granted to him. Eddie O’Sullivan, Warren Gatland, Graham Henry and almost all other successful international coaches have been all-powerful in their domains.
Whether through pressure from the RFU, or through his own reluctance to put his head on the block, Andrew has thus far produced only fudge and compromise. It was very clear during Andy Robinson’s tenure that the problem lay as much in the structure of the coaching set-up as his own individual limitations. When Woodward jumped ship, the RFU did not seek a replacement but grafted the role of manager on to one of the coaches. This represented a failure to realise the truths that lay at the heart of England’s 2003 World Cup success – that one man was in complete charge and built a coherent team with a clear chain of accountability, with all members buying into and sharing his vision. The move was akin to removing the Chief Executive of a large business and not replacing him.
Andrew has had multiple opportunities to right this wrong and has taken none of them. When Robinson’s position became untenable, he was replaced by another individual who was pulled from the ranks and given a ‘compromise’ role. Another coach who’s strengths lay on the training field was asked to deal with the management side as well. The fact that it was presented as a short-term solution to get through to the World Cup yielded the hope that Andrew knew what needed to be done but judged, correctly, that now was not the time to do it. His actions after the World Cup have blasted those hopes out of the water in no uncertain terms.
This time, there must be no compromise. If Martin Johnson, or anyone else for that matter, is to be offered the job, it must be on their terms and they must be given licence to do whatever they see fit. The positive is that Johnson, unlike Ashton and Robinson, will not accept the job unless his demands are granted. The negative is that the noises coming from Andrew, and indeed Ashton, are not all that encouraging.
Ashton has requested the installation of a manager, but with the caveat that they have no say in rugby affairs. This shows that he does not appreciate the root of the predicament in which he, and England rugby finds himself. It also betrays the fact that he merely wants someone else to face up to the questions of a frustrated media.
The concern is that Andrew will accede to his demands. First of all, the introduction of a nominal manager would further cloud the accountability at the top of England rugby, already muddied by the lack of an overall team supremo and the presence of Andrew in his apparent non-entity of a job. Secondly, no decent, ambitious, top-level manager - Johnson, White, Gatland etc - would even consider agreeing to such a role as they are fully aware that it is unworkable.
There is no room for sentiment or compromise this time. Andrew and the RFU cannot hide behind bare and overly-flattering statistics for they are deceptive. In years to come a casual observer may look back at the 2007-08 season, see that England finished second in the World Cup and the Six Nations and assume that it had been a fairly successful period. Those of us who sat through the debacles against South Africa, Wales and Scotland and the stuttering win over Italy will remember otherwise. In 20 years of watching England, the only other time I have watched 4 such grisly performances in quick succession was on the Tour to Hell in 1998. Yet that was the 3rd/4th team being thrown to the lions on an ill-advised and ultimately meaningless tour. On this occasion it has been the 1st team, with all possible resources at their disposal, playing at the sharp end of international rugby and producing a quite staggering level of inconsistency. That inconsistency is symptomatic of a squad receiving mixed messages and who are unclear on what is being demanded of them on any given day.
Reports suggest that we need not worry that the status quo will prevail as certain members of the RFU have informed Andrew that the retention of the coaching team in its present form is not an option. This puts even larger question marks over Andrew’s role. He has been asked to make a recommendation to the Board but has been told that certain options are unacceptable. That the RFU feel the need to tell him this does not reflect a huge amount of confidence that their man will come up with the right answer. If they think they know the solution, and are not convinced Andrew will find it, why not cut out the middle man?
For all his lack of experience in managing rugby teams at any sort of level, Martin Johnson knows what it takes to succeed in elite sport. He was a central figure in one of the most successful and innovative elite sporting organisations of modern times and will bring that experience with him. It remains for us to hope that Andrew and his men are brave enough to dispense with sentimentality and compromise and realise what it takes to achieve success. If they really believe Johnson is their man, then they must give him undiluted power; not just a job on the estate, but the keys to the mansion. Evolution has failed, revolution and a full clear-out is required. It is not just one of many options, it is the only way forward
by Stuart Peel
Today Europe, tomorrow the world for rejuvenated Wales
It is common knowledge that Wales only won the Grand Slam because they have Shaun Edwards, an Englishman; and Warren Gatland, a Kiwi; and they had Iain Balshaw playing for them at Twickenham. They played okay but had the luck of the bounce. They were in this position three years ago and stuffed it up – they will inevitably do it again. This is another false dawn.
These are just some of the barbs with which Englishmen throughout the land will be attempting to wind up the nearest Welshman. And the Welsh will simply be able to smile smugly and invite the English to ‘show us yer medals’.
Sadly none of the above is actually particularly true. Wales won the Grand Slam because they have very good players, played fantastically well as a team and were the best side in the tournament by a distance. However begrudging some of the congratulation being aimed their way by disillusioned Saxons, they heartily deserved their success.
We may have to get used to it as well. Many of this Welsh team are young and this time they are likely to retain their hunger. 2005 was the ultimate false dawn and many of the players looked like they felt they had made it. I’d like to see the players team up and try to overthrow Warren Gatland and Shaun Edwards. Good luck with that boys, you may not live to tell the tale.
There is absolutely no reason why Wales should not be there or thereabouts in the 6 Nations all the way up to the 2011 World Cup and beyond. They have the players, the coaching structure and staff and there should be no shortage of desire in such a rugby-mad country. If they shake off their traditional inferiority complex when playing the Southern Hemisphere, they could even challenge for the next World Cup. They share with Ireland a lack of belief when playing the Tri-Nations and look as though they do not expect to win. They should no longer have any fear.
The traditional Welsh weaknesses have been ironed out extraordinarily quickly. Their scrum was competitive, they were physical around the fringes and their defence was organised, aggressive and nigh on impregnable. Ally that to the traditional strengths of pace, skill and ambition and the rest of the world should be a little scared.
The key thing now for Wales is to realise that this is when the hard work starts. After the 2005 Grand Slam they failed to win a match in 2006. Amusing as this was, it was also a little tragic to see players with such ability playing with no direction or conviction. Gatland and Edwards will not let this happen. They have both known sustained success and know precisely what to do to achieve it.
So hearty congratulations to Wales, and while we are at it to the RFU for bottling it after the World Cup and letting possibly the finest coaching team in the world fall into the hands of one of our rivals. How comforting for us Englishmen to know that the game in this country is run by indecisive invertebrates.
by Stuart Peel
Cipriani the anti-Jonny ascends the throne
It’s almost as if Danny Cipriani is going out of his way to be as different from Jonny Wilkinson as possible. Not content with having been dropped for going to a nightclub last week, he has now sworn on BBC1 at teatime. That puts him in a pretty exclusive club with the likes of the Sex Pistols. There will be plenty of left wing whingers lodging complaints, branding him an oik and yearning for his predecessor, the man whom everyone would like to marry their daughter. To be honest, that probably says more about them than about Cipriani. Personally I thought it was hilarious and rather endearing, but you would never catch Wilko uttering such obscenities.
Cipriani possesses none of the almost crippling self-doubt which haunted the young Wilkinson. If Wilkinson did 99 good things in a game, he would stay up all night worrying about the 1 thing he did wrong. With Cipriani you sense it is the opposite, that he could mess up several times in a row but it would only take one moment of success to reaffirm his faith in his own ability. This is not to accuse him of arrogance or of ignoring errors when he makes them. It is a tremendous attribute to have, the attitude that what is done is done, and to retain the belief that your next action will be outstanding. This is another area in which he is the anti-Jonny.
Cipriani is a very different player and person to Wilkinson but what they share is a huge desire to excel, a tremendous work ethic and the fact that they are pretty good at rugby. Wilkinson’s quest for perfection is well-documented but Cipriani is reputed to always be one of the last men off the training pitch and pays for his own sprint coach in his spare time. Everything in his life is channelled to being the best rugby player he can possibly be and with his natural talent that could be something to behold.
Cipriani was absolutely outstanding against Ireland. Journalists and commentators were bandying around words such as ‘maverick’ but that does him a serious disservice. He possesses very sound basic skills, excellent vision, a sharp brain and good decision-making. He is lightning quick and always has an eye for a gap. It is only in England’s arch-conservative rugby culture that a fly half who likes to run is branded a maverick. If he starts chucking 30 yard Carlos Spencer-esque passes behind his own line when one point up in the last minute (as Spencer has done on occasion), then he may be considered a maverick. As it is he possesses the distribution skills of Charlie Hodgson, the attacking intent of Spencer and the pace of Jerry Guscott. That is a pretty compelling combination with the potential to produce as complete a rugby player as any.
The main worry in Wilkinson’s absence was that England would miss his metronomic goal-kicking but those concerns were allayed by Cipriani’s flawless display. Cipriani retained kicking duties after Wilkinson came on and chose that period to hit a touchline conversion straight through the middle in a swirling wind. Not bad.
I promoted the Cipriani-Wilkinson 10-12 axis before the tournament and it certainly looked decent on Saturday. However, Toby Flood looked rejuvenated when released from Wilkinson’s shadow and played with an imagination and liberty which we had not previously seen this season. With Olly Barkley in excellent form and Shane Geraghty going well between injuries, England suddenly have options in midfield.
I am sure Wilkinson will rise to this challenge and strive to improve himself further but I think he can wave good bye to the 10 shirt for the time being. Wilkinson is a guy who has made the absolute most of his talent through his sheer desire to succeed. Cipriani has more raw talent and if he retains his hunger to the same extent then Wilkinson will struggle to compete. For now it is all about Danny. He got one thing wrong yesterday though. Forget the forwards and Jamie Noon; he should have been f**king man of the match.
by Stuart Peel
Glory, redemption and pride on the agenda as 6 Nations draws to a conclusion
The 2008 6 Nations draws to a conclusion this weekend and it’s been a strange old affair. Rebuilding was the name of the game after the World Cup with some targeting a fresh start, others aiming for redemption. In the main this has resulted in an awful lot of caginess, some serious stodge, flashes of brilliance but all in all no real narrative running through the tournament.
It is therefore hard to know what to make of this 6 Nations as a whole. Indeed it could easily have been a contest where the victors were merely the least incompetent, the team who deserved to lose least, rather than the team who deserved to win most. Prior to round 4, there was talk of one of the most closely fought and exciting championships in years. And then the whole thing fell flat on its face with 3 seriously poor games.
So thank god for Wales. Without them the competition so far would have been bereft of excitement and have become one long, rather tedious chore. But they have been a revelation. It is a testament to them that the Irish, despite having rediscovered some form, felt that the only way to beat them was to make the game as slow and tedious as possible. That the tournament will be won by the one team who has been prepared to set a solid platform and utilise it with ambition and pace should be a cause of celebration and a lesson which others will hopefully heed.
The three games in the final week of the tournament all have very different subplots. Wales and France are battling it out for glory, England and Ireland for redemption, Scotland and Italy for pride. These factors will have a profound effect on the ways in which these games are played. If you want to see exuberant, care-free, running rugby this weekend, I suggest you go and find a local league game and steer clear of BBC1, at least until 5pm when Wales play France.
Many players are playing for their international futures and 3 of the coaches are fighting to save their jobs. We saw in the latter stages of the World Cup what pressure can do to a team and how it can restrict the game as a spectacle. But while the matches may be hard work at times, they will never be anything less than compelling as the mental and physical battles unfold.
Italy v Scotland – 1pm
Italy and Scotland’s World Cup encounter was mind-numbing and there is little to suggest this game will be any different. On that occasion the carrot was a place in a World Cup quarter final; this time it is to avoid obtaining an extra wooden implement to add to their already-overflowing cutlery drawers. In its own way, this is just as motivating.
It is a crucial game for Frank Hadden. After the progress of his early days in which made Scotland competitive again, he has proved unable to push on and graft new dimensions on to his team. A championship with only a single victory, albeit over England, could spell the end of him.
Nick Mallett is coming to terms with having to do much with little and, while he is under no pressure himself, a first winless championship for Italy since 2005 would be a big step back for the Azzuri. They will fancy themselves against Scotland who, while on a high after last Saturday, are almost defined by their inconsistency.
England v Ireland – 3pm
At Twickenham, I would love to see Brian Ashton release the shackles and allow his team to run free. Sadly, confidence and morale is so low that it would be extraordinary for this to happen. This must surely be Ashton’s last game – many were saying that getting to the World Cup final would be the worst thing to happen to England and so it proved as spineless decision makers at the RFU took the easy decision and retained the status quo. Even if England win on Saturday, they will surely not make the same mistake again.
Ireland become more of an enigma by the game and they produced one of the most bizarre tactical displays I have ever seen in Dublin. Despite the performance of their backs against Scotland, O’Sullivan decided that the only chance Ireland had was to beat Wales exclusively up front. Except that Wales’ pack is vastly improved and Ireland’s is not really that good.
This is a clash of two teams at a very low ebb and if one of them can get into the lead then the other may struggle to come back. The exciting sub-plot is Cipriani against O’Gara, a contrast in style, attitude and experience.
Wales v France – 5pm
Wales against France is the undoubted highlight of the weekend. Wales have ability, confidence and momentum and are playing a balanced yet attractive brand of rugby. Marc Lievremont appears to have had an epiphany, at least in the short term, with the realisation that you need a pack and a platform in order to play the all-court game he is pursuing. This could well be a very different France team to that which we have seen so far and will possess the hardness they have lacked.
Wales have demonstrated what can be done with a talented pool of players allied to firm hands at the helm. Gatland and Edwards have driven their men forward with dynamism and assurance, qualities ostensibly lacking in the likes of Ashton, Hadden and O’Sullivan.
If the occasion doesn’t get to everyone, it could be a classic being as it is a clash of two teams who are at their best when they put as much pace on the game as possible. However Wales at home for the Grand Slam will be very hard to beat.
So what do we think?
Will everyone be cheering for Wales for the Grand Slam or cowering at the prospect of the close harmony singing which will be drifting over the border? Will Ashton or O’Sullivan save themselves? And who will be left holding the wooden spoon? What are your thoughts?
by Stuart Peel
Change can no longer be delayed as England sink without trace
“Well it started badly, it tailed off a little in the middle, and the less said about the end the better, but apart from that, excellent”. Thus spoke Captain Edmund Blackadder in response to Baldrick’s rather pathetic attempt at war poetry. The words could just as easily be applied to England’s efforts against Scotland, although in fact they contrived to show even less wit and invention than Baldrick.
I would probably have rather have spent an evening in the company of Baldrick than in the North stand of a sodden Murrayfield on Saturday. Watching England produce one of the most insipid performances I have ever seen on a rugby pitch was one thing. Having to endure it sitting next to an Aussie who was supporting Scotland was quite another. He may have bought me a beer at half time, but I am not sure I will ever forgive Brian Ashton and his boys for putting me through that.
A few of us tried to raise our spirits by striking up a chorus of Swing Low at half time as it was clear by that point that this may be the only time we got to do it. And it was almost certain that the 10 minutes England spent absent from the pitch could not possibly have been less productive and entertaining than the 80 minutes they spent on it.
The step backwards England took on Saturday was staggering. It was a truly awful game all round but one team came with a plan, however limited, and carried it out. There was little evidence of England having any sort of plan whatsoever, and if they had one they mislaid it somewhere on the M1 on the trip up.
Each of the previous 3 games had shown a degree of progress. Before the shocking mental collapse against Wales, England had played some of their best rugby for some time. Against Italy, while largely poor, they still strung together some encouraging passages, although the mental flaws were still very much in evidence in a decidedly shaky second half. Against France, it seemed the mental weaknesses had been eliminated and further progress was in evidence as England rediscovered their core values of power and physicality.
In a world of kneejerk reaction, where media and public search hungrily for the sensational headline, we have a tendency to lose patience too quickly and don’t let coaches establish their own structures and develop their team. That England were making progress, albeit painfully slow progress, was sufficient grounds for a degree of cautious optimism.
Those flickering flames of hope were extinguished in the rain, wind and hail of Edinburgh. The period of advance is over and England have regressed to the state they were in after the 36-0 loss to South Africa in the World Cup. They showed no bite, no invention, little physicality and no hope. They kicked incessantly and poorly, were driven back around the fringes, were lumbering and one-paced and showed no appetite to alter their approach and try to change the course of the game. All the best teams have the ability to switch to a plan B in reaction to how the game is unfolding. At no stage did England look remotely capable of doing this.
Ireland should now be treated as a one-off game. England have gone nowhere in this championship and no result against Ireland can change that. They must pick a big, mobile pack built around the exuberant aggression of Sheridan, Stevens and Haskell and must introduce some of the exciting young backs whom Ashton has seemed so reluctant to trust thus far. The current crop have had their chance and failed. There must be no more hesitation before he unleashes Cipriani, Simpson-Daniel and Tait to play a quick game with quick ball, or at least show the ambition to do so. If they do well then at least something positive will have come out of the tournament.
What of Scotland? I asked the chaps behind me if they did not feel a little disappointed and cheated by the fact that Scotland have produced 3 such heartless performances when they are capable of playing with such impressive physical presence and power. Clearly 30 seconds after they had just beaten the old enemy was not quite the right time to ask this and they looked at me as though they had just trodden in me. The point stands though, and Frank Hadden must strive to find out how he can harness that passion more regularly and not just when the English hordes hove into view. It will be disastrous if they lose to Italy but still regard the championship as a success just because they defeated England.
There is no doubt that the sight of the red rose does something to the likes of Scotland and Wales but that is no excuse for England. They should be used to it by now and should deal with it. But the non-performance they produced on Saturday beggared belief. Any advance has been shattered by the knowledge that on any given day the team can play as badly as that. Many of the current team will be haunted by that and fresh blood must be brought into the side to inject some life into proceedings before they too are infected beyond repair by the atmosphere of failure.
by Stuart Peel
How to create a Volcanic eruption
England, conservative, boring old England, have an exciting, dangerous new weapon. Sadly, like a caveman presented with an AK47 and a magazine full of ammunition, conservative, boring old England have no idea how to use it. They made a promising start in fathoming out this problem; the finger twitched for a while in the general vicinity of the tr
Recent Comments