The Celtic Perspective – Part 3

The Ice Man Cometh….

If Ronan O‘Gara was having sleepless nights after his lions tour this summer then Jonathan Sextons outstanding international debut will have done nothing to cure the Cork mans insomnia. The Dubliner kicked seven from seven and ran his back line with the confidence of a seasoned out half. This was admittedly a lack luster performance from a desperately under strength Fijian side but the budding Ireland five-eighth can only be judged on the opposition put in front of him. The RDS was the perfect place for the St Mary’s man to make his international debut. But the rain and swirling wind meant kicking conditions were appalling, which made his performance even more impressive.   Ironically Sexton himself suffers from insomnia; he claims to have not slept well for several nights before the Heineken Cup Final in May and apparently required a sleeping pill to get some shut eye before his Ireland debut last week. It didn’t show. His man of the match performance was enough to oust O’Gara in a shock selection decision from Kidney for this Saturday’s game against the world champions South Africa. A match the older man would have surely wanted to play in badly to help him exercise his demons from the second lions test. This selection will have sent shock waves through the Ireland camp. The O’Sullivan era in terms of selection will not be replicated. The fifteen untouchables are no more. Selection should not be about players settling scores. Finally places are up for grabs.

If Sexton can reproduce form anything close to his recent outings he will certainly give Declan Kidney a few headaches in terms of selection for the six nations.  In American parlance this was like watching a young Joe Montana on his debut for the San Francisco 49ers. You just get the feeling Leinster’s most valuable player in the European Cup Final will go on to do special things for his country. I read in the Sunday Times this week that ‘O’Gara has more to offer’. I have no doubt he does but for my learned friends in Limerick and Cork who think we should be pinning our hopes to an ageing out half (He’ll be 34 at the next world cup) I think it’s time for a reality check. O’Gara has been a marvelous servant of Irish rugby but he will have to move over eventually just as Ollie Campbell and Eric Elwood did. I think out halves are a bit like heavy weight boxers in that they tend to stay on too long past there best. Just think if Ian Humphries could get his tackling sorted. The Ulsterman too is one to watch and will no doubt make the step up to test match level in the not too distant future. 

At half time at the match on Saturday I was asked by a friend “what’s going wrong? Why aren’t we putting them away”? “There’s too much kicking said another” I heard several cries of yeah aerial pin pong boll*x”! The IRB will have to look at the new laws at the breakdown that they ushered in. They are penalising teams going forward with the ball when the ball carrier gets isolated and prevented from releasing the ball usually by the defending open side flanker. In the past when a ruck had formed the referee would cry “hands out it’s a ruck”. Not so anymore. The new laws allow for defending players to tackle the ball carrier to the ground and compete for the ball as soon as he gets back to his feet to steal it legally. A second player from the defending team is also allowed to enter the ruck to try to compete for the ball once he is also on his feet and not coming in from the side. If the ball is not pilfered by the tackler(s) the ball carrier is often penalised for holding on or one of his team mates is pinged for entering the ruck from the side or going of his (or their) feet. A penalty is awarded to the defending team which more then not results in three points. The new laws reward defending teams and have bread a culture of fear into coaches which has lead to teams now being coached to kick the ball back as soon as they get it to avoid being isolated and giving away a penalty resulting in interminable aerial ping pong or a game of kick chase crash. It also means teams are not getting hot ruck ball anymore and are almost never scoring from phase play as defending teams won’t commit large numbers to the ruck as they will have a jackal in the breakdown either pilfering the ball or slowing it up so much that his team has plenty of time to fan out across the park and organise their rugby league like defensive line. It means guys like Heinrich Brussuw, Richie McCaw and David Pocock are the future MVP’s of the game. The ideal open side now has low centre of gravity is physically imposing, quick in the loose and can pilfer or slow up opposition ball at the breakdown. Sound like anyone on the Ireland team? Unfortunately for Ireland they don’t have an open side that can match Brussuw this Saturday and I suspect he will do serious damage. The new law at the breakdown and referee interpretations of it is destroying the aesthetic of this wonderful sport.  I wonder what Mr Webb Ellis would make of it all?    

 PS I was delighted to see Scotland beat the Wallabies at the weekend. Fantastic result. It was also great to see Martin Johnson force a smile with Graham Simmons in the pre match interview.

 PPS Happy Thanks Giving (tomorrow) to all my friends in the States and all Rugby World;s American readers.

Tales from the ‘Heath – Part 6

By Sam Perkins, Rugby World reader

A hard earned break this weekend for the Blackheath teams. The Developments (3rds) are on tour in Mexico, the lucky wotsits, and league matches don’t return to normal scheduling until next week. That meant; pub, beer and a good weekend of rugby.

Good performance from England, once again a passionate first-half display, however, in the last third just was lacking that depth and southern hemisphere endurance to ruck against the mighty all-blacks. Unlike the other games though, we can take more positives than negatives from this spectacle. For instance, position changes and successes. Cueto was brilliant at full-back swapping with monye, who had a fine game, scoring the “try that wasn’t”. The pack was superb (apart from a trivial brawl in the ruck from Tim Payne) and earned some respect back from the previous demonstrations. Thank god for the return of Simon Shaw, he would easily partner Victor Matfield in anyone’s World Team second row. Stick him on the wing if we have to; just have his steadfast presence in the team.

However, the weekend’s spectacular performance was up north in the little country of Scotland. Who thought they could beat a former world champion nation. A poised team on the back of a comfortable victory over England and gaining a well deserved draw against Wales. Australia was looking stronger and stronger with arguably the best “scrum-half/fly-half” pairing in the world. But low and behold, Scotland crack out the goods; what a defensive exhibition. Congratulations to the Scots!

With Scotland looking confident under Robinson and France playing some of the best rugby I have ever witnessed, the Six Nations could be one of the best we have ever witnessed. Bring on Springs Fixtures!

England women v New Zealand women verdict

By Paul Morgan, editor of Rugby World Magazine

Former England legend Gill Burns (many of the the players are there now because of people like Burnsie) put it so well in her role as pitchside commentator when she said the women’s game was the better one of the England v New Zealand clashes at Twickenham today…and everyone in the 12.500 who stayed on to watch a cracking game must agree.

For the good of the women’s game England emerged victorious, which ensures that next year’s Women’s World Cup (which will be held in England) will not be the usual procession of New Zealand winning it. They clearly have a fight on their hands.

Coach Gary Street and his assistant Graham Smith pulled off a masterstroke in victory. England lost 16-3 to the same New Zealand team last Saturday and the coaches gambled on a no-holds barred contact session on Wednesday to put some devil into their team. The coaches would have their fingers crossed as the tackles when in, but despite some blood and a few scratches emerged unscathed.

And it looked like England were still in that contact session when the game started as they got out of the blocks hitting rucks and getting stuck into the tackles as if their lives depended on it. The New Zealand haka – which is very different from the men’s – has the unfortunate finish of the Kiwis marching 10 or 20 feet towards their opponents. England refused to budged and ended nose to nose with their opponents. That confrontation set the tone.

The first victory for England over New Zealand in eight years was secured by a try from Catherine Spencer and the boot of Katie McLean. That boot didn’t just kick a drop goal and conversion as McLean’s kicking game was a key reason why England won. The Black Ferns simply couldn’t match it and in worsening conditions couldn’t get close enough in the final minutes to think about closing the gap.

But the real heroes for me were props Claire Purdy and Sophie Hemming. When the going got tough, these two got going! Most coaches will say you can’t win a game without a great tighthead and Hemming fitted the bill against New Zealand. putting their side on the front foot. And coach Street has the luxury of knowing he will have props Katie Storie and Rocky Clark back for next year’s World Cup. That is going to be some selection headache!

Everyone who watches women’s rugby has known for some time what a talent Maggie Alphonsi is. But the Saracens openside really came of age in this game, fulfilling the potential she has shown, on the biggest stage. She is set to not only be one of the stars of the 2010 World Cup, but is already setting new world-class standards for women’s rugby. The breakdown has never been more important than it is today and Alphonsi is the team’s hunter, the women’s equivalent of Richie McCaw.

What difference will this make to next year’s World Cup!

England’s message next week will be this victory has achieved nothing. These women’s career will be defined by the World Cup next August. Also they know New Zealand will come back 10 points better. England’s challenge is also to be ten points better.

But crucially this win will give them belief. It is all very saying you believe you can beat a team, but England do believe it now and when their backs are against the wall in next year’s World Cup they will have this match to use as inspiration.

Off the pitch well done to Sky for televising the match. BBC never did! And well done for putting Gill Burns on the pitchside and Susie Appleby in the studio for the game. Let’s hope these two are there again for the World Cup and the commentators also have a woman, like Appleby, alongside them to give expert comment during the games.

England Head Coach Gary Street said: “It’s brilliant to win here at Twickenham in front of our biggest ever crowd. Hopefully we have showed the people watching here today and watching on sky what a fantastic sport this is, and how skilful the women’s game is at this level too.
“We won this game because of our physicality, our defence was tremendous and we really believed in ourselves. Catherine Spencer today put on one of the great Twickenham performances. To come out and play as well as she did being captain and earning her 50th cap is amazing. She is a tremendous athlete and brilliant leader of this team.

“From here now the important thing is that we keep moving forward and improving. We know that winning the world cup is not a pipe dream anymore, we can do it and that is our goal for the next nine months.”

England Team

15 Emily Scarratt (Lichfield), 14 Katherine Merchant (Worcester), 13 Claire Allan (Richmond), 12 Rachael Burford (Richmond), 11 Charlotte Barras (Saracens), 10 Katy Mclean (VC) (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks), 9 Amy Turner (Richmond), 1 Claire Purdy (Wasps), 2 Amy Garnett (Saracens), 3 Sophie Hemming (Bristol), 4 Rebecca Essex (Richmond), 5 Joanna McGilchrist (Wasps), 
6 Heather Fisher (Worcester), 7 Margaret Alphonsi (Saracens), 8 Catherine Spencer (C) (Bristol). Replacements: 16 Sam Reeve (Worcester), 17 Rosemarie Crowley (Lichfield), 18 Tamara Taylor (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks), 19 Jane Leonard (Team Northumbria / Army), 20 Georgina Rozario (Bristol), 
21 Alice Richardson (Richmond), 22 Fiona Pocock (Richmond)

Tries: Spencer
Conversions: Mclean
Penalties: 
Drop goal: McLean
Substitutions: Richardson for Burford, Taylor for Essex (HT), Pocock for Barras (53), Crowley for Purdy (61), Leonard for Fisher (65), Reeve for Garnett (67), Rozario for Turner (74).

New Zealand Team

15 Kelly Brazier (Otago)
14 Victoria Grant (Auckland), 13 Huriana Manuel (Auckland), 12 Amiria Rule (Canterbury) VC, 11 Carla Hohepa (Otago), 10 Rebecca Mahony (Wellington), 9 Emma Jensen (Auckland), 1 Ruth McKay (Manawatu), 2 Fiao’o Faamausili (Auckland), 3 Stephanie TeOhaere-Fox (Canterbury), 4 Vita Robinson (Auckland), 5 Victoria Heighway (C) (Auckland), 6 Casey Robertson (Canterbury), 7 Justine Lavea (Auckland), 8 Linda Itunu (Auckland). Replacements: 16 Claire Rowat (Wellington), 17 Kimberly Smith (Canterbury), 18 Beth Mallard (Otago),
19 Olivia Coady (Canterbury), 20 Kendra Cocksedge (Canterbury), 21 Renee Wickcliffe (Auckland), 22 Anika Tiplady (Canterbury)

Tries:
Conversions:
Penalties:
Drop Goal: Mahoney

The Celtic Perspective – Part 2

By Rugby World reader Ken FitzGerald

Once more unto the breach dear friends….

This famous quote is from Shakespeare’s play Henry the V. The breach in the quote refers to a whole in the wall surrounding the town of Harfleur in Northern France. Henry and is army had besieged the town in 1415. During a lull in the fighting Henry addressed his exhausted troops to ignite their passions and motivate them to attack the whole in the wall again and to basically keep going in the face of adversity. Most of us have probably seen clips of this blood rousing speech over the years performed on film by Laurence Olivier or Kenneth Brannagh. The reason I mention this is for two reasons. The first being I was struck by the thought of what words of inspiration Martin Johnson uses on his players before a game; and the second being will Graham (gis’a hug Shawsy) Simmons’s producer at BSkyB have to use a similar speech to get him to interview the goliath that is the England manager again?  If you haven’t seen the post match interview from last Saturdays England Argentina game u-tube it. The ending is hilarious. To say the Martin Johnson looked like a man under siege is an understatement.    

No matter how poor a spectacle the game was England got a win and they will take positives from that. Argentina is a difficult side to play against and a win is a win. But is this England side paralysed by a fear of failure?  Has Martin Johnson become for England in just over a year what Roy Keane did for Sunderland? Isn’t man management and motivation about empowering decision making on the field not stifling it?  With the exception of more decoy runners being used I saw no improvement in England’s attacking play and both Geraghty and Wilkinson didn’t have good days at the office.   Regardless I think England will be bolstered this week by the inclusion of the excellent Simon Shaw and will go into the game believing they can at least compete with the All Blacks this weekend. I fear it will be all one way traffic in Twickenham though. 

I must admit I didn’t see the Scotland Fiji game but am always pleased for a Celtic win; and the All Blacks proved that their brand is a big draw just about everywhere. Great to see a rugby match going ahead in the San Siro, a source in the ERC tells me it may be one of several Italian venues being considered for the Heineken Cup final in 2013.   

And so that brings me onto Ireland. I was right about the cataclysmic tussle prediction last week but not about the result. Was this the third and fourth best teams in the world playing each other? If you believe in the rankings is was. While not a great spectacle and the atmosphere in Croke park was nothing like the Heineken Cup semi final last May. It was still by and large a fascinating encounter. It was Brian O Driscolls 100^th cap, it was  Rockys return to his adopted home city and it was Cian Healy’s test debut. The selection of Paddy Wallace at inside centre absolutely baffled me. The Wallabies couldn’t believe their luck and the excellent Pocock and Elsom ran down the ten twelve channel all day. O’Gara had a shaky start giving O’Driscoll a hospital pass leading to the softest try the Wallabies will see all tour, and the rest of his game wasn’t much better. Which brings me to the question of Declan Kidneys selection policy. If he dropped Gordon D’Arcy because he believed he wasn’t playing well for Leinster and he picked Paddy Wallace because he believed he was playing well for Ulster then why was Ronan O’Gara selected at out half when Leinsters Jonathan Sexton is clearly the inform out half in the country at the moment ?  Why did the wily Kidney not play Tommy Bowe at inside center and the in from Shane Horgan on the wing with Keith Earls on the bench? This team was not picked on form and was looking dead in the water until Cian Healy grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck and charged twenty meters over the gain line and deep into the wallaby twenty two late in second half  igniting the passions of the seventy odd thousand in the stadium. They showed a lot of belief to stay in the game and fought hard for the draw. But Ultimately Ireland got out of jail with a last gasp try from their mercurial talismanic captain. But let’s hope the fifteen to face South Africa in two weeks are all their on merit and not for services rendered. This of course won’t happen, which makes me think of what words of inspiration the crafty Cork man uses to motivate his troops.

 Once more unto the breech dear friends….

 p.s can any of Rugby World’s English readers please explain Steve Borthwicks selection for the England team never mind as captain?

 

 

New Zealand Women v England A

By Paul Morgan, editor of Rugby World

A tough night at the office for England’s A team as they were smashed 48-3 by New Zealand at Esher. We should temper the result by saying that New Zealand brought 26 players on their tour to England, so this was a pretty good team and far, far better than a New Zealand A team would have been.

Having said that the Black Ferns blew England away with a power display in the forwards that set the platform for the backs to do the damage. Very impressive stuff. It was the breakdown where New Zealand dominated the most, but it did show England the powerful, aggressive game they will have to play if they are going to lift the World Cup next autumn.

For many of these women it was their first encounter with the Black Ferns, and they now know the real standards of world rugby as opposed to their club teams or the Six Nations. It’s up to them if they have the dedication, passion and commitment to raise their game enough to trouble the Black Ferns the next time they meet them.

It will be a tall order, but this is the sort of game in which England coach Gary Street will find out most about his players. Who is prepared to go away, work harder than ever to get as good as a Black Fern? Or who will become downhearted by such a defeat?

They now know it is not enough to arrive at the breakdown without a plan. The Black Ferns arrive at the breakdown, powerfully, aggressively and with purpose.

England also lost the collisions, and were unable to stop New Zealand’s power runners, so the scoreboard was only going to go one way.

England’s first team meet New Zealand at Twickenham (free entry from 4.15pm) this Saturday and that’s when we’ll see exactly the gap between the teams. New Zealand won the first Test 16-3 last Saturday and I would expect the Black Ferns to be 10 points at Twickenham, so the challenge for Catherine Spencer’s England side is can they raise their game considerably?

The stand out performers for England A against New Zealand were

Sonia Green – The skipper was the main reason New Zealand stayed below 50 points. She filled the job description to perfection – great with ball in hand, good runner and she rucks with the sort of enthusiasm and passion that could teach every rugby player a lesson.

La Toya Mason – The scrum-half turned in a world-class kicking game and her distribution was spot on, even though she was under severe pressure for the whole game.

Laura Keates – A Rugby World hotshot two years ago, Keates is a world-class performer and will be an England regular sooner, rather than later. Great technique and a tough nut!

But what do you think? Where you at Esher for last Saturday’s Test match or the England A game? How do you think it will go at Twickenham on Saturday?

New Zealand 48 (Carla Hohepa 2, Kendra Cocksedge, Beth Mallard, Huriana Manuel, Anika Tiplady, Kelly Brazier tries; Tiplady pen, 5 con) England A 3 (La Toya Mason pen).

Who should play for England against New Zealand

By Gary Taylor, Rugby World reader

Here is my team for Saturday’s game against New Zealand:

15. Ben Foden – Monye is not an accomplished full back and this was brought to light again with a poor display under the high ball against the Pumas. Foden is accomplished in that position and is in good form.

14. Matt Banahan – Largely uninvolved in the play until he scored the winning try on Saturday. Needs the ball in hand to be effective and pull opposition players towards him.

13. Dan Hipkiss – It’s now two very poor displays from the Leicester man. Looks out of place on the International scene, struggles with the physical side and that will be exposed by the All Blacks.

12. Shane Geraghty – Needs the ball in hand to be effective and that never really happened on Saturday. Kicking was average but showed what he can do when he gets quick ball.

11. Ugo Monye – A poor display at full back against Argentina, dropped two high balls and was eventually moved to his natural position on the wing for the second half. A first half break past three defenders is what we need to see more of and will only be effective on the wing.

10. Jonny Wilkinson – Got England off to an identical start with a drop goal after four minutes. Missed a few penalties and kicking out of hand was largely poor. Running with the ball and flat passing was the catalyst for many England attacks.

9. Paul Hodgson – Kicked to often for me. Needs to dictate the pace of the game like we know he can and take the quick tap penalty whenever possible to get England on the front foot.

1. Tim Payne – Scrummed well against a very strong and physical Argentinian pack. Will need more of the same against the All Blacks.

2. Dylan Hartley -  The Saints captain was very pumped up for this game and got involved in various confrontations with his opposite number Ledesma. Carried the ball into contact fairly well but to often for my liking.

3. Duncan Bell –  Big physical man and showed that against a good scrummaging team. More of the same this Saturday will be needed.

4. Steve Borthwick – A decent performance from the captain. Was pretty solid in the line out and carried the ball well into contact. Needs to keep playing like that more regularly.

5. Courtney Lawes –  I would start Lawes because he could be the fresh, young talent who can give the England pack a much needed lift later on in the game with his athletic ability to cover a lot of ground.

6. Tom Croft – Not the same player we saw with the Lions because England are not utilising his strengths. Needs to have more ball in hand to  use his pace and strength and impose himself.

7. Lewis Moody – Two outstanding performances against Australia and Argentina. His work rate and chasing down is phenomenal. If only we had a front row of Moody’s.

8. James Haskell – Adds more dynamism into the England pack and has the ability to break the defensive line as he did for the Banahan try. Needs to keep his concentration for the whole game and cut out the silly penalties.

Tales from the ‘Heath – Part 6

By Rugby World reader, Sam Perkins

I’m happy to report it was a victorious weekend of rugby. We (Blackheath 4s) won our game 36-3, with a sensational performance by the whole team. Extra mention has to go to the forward’s (including myself). Our strength and determination was inspiring and we made at least 5 metres ground each scrum, consistently turning the opposition over. We worked extremely hard to deliver the goods to the backs, and they did the rest, scoring great tries in conditions I didn’t think were possible. God clearly felt November was too dry, and needed a good watering. With help from Niagara Falls and a sturdy wind, the artificial pitch experienced a fatal pounding.

On the other hand, England had ordinary conditions to work with, and yet still made a tough game of it. Credit to Argentina and their enormous pack, they slipped just the once, and thanks to the immense presence of Matt Banahan, we seized the opportunity. However, the passing wasn’t flowing and some questionable decisions have to go to squad selection. Still, with the limits Johnson had at his disposal, he got a result, and that’s what England can build on. While your building, how about you throw those purple shirts in the cement for safe keeping?

 

England v Argentina Verdict

By Paul Morgan, Editor of Rugby World

I thought England had hit rock bottom a year ago when they were hammered on consecutive Saturdays at Twickenham by the Tri-Nations superpowers, but the performance against Argentina was far worse.
England are now ranked 8th in the world, and although Martin Johnson has no time for the rankings it shows exactly where England are.
I watched Wales on Friday night and then England on Saturday and it was like the matches were played in two different sports.
I’ll concede that Wales played in a stadium where the roof was closed and England played in poor conditions, but this is a poor excuse for an abject England performance.

In comparison Wales were glorious. Which England players would get in the Wales team?
The ridiculous thing is the players play completely differently for England than they do for their clubs. Ugo Monye, Matt Banahan and Shane Geraghty run it back for their clubs, but they kick it for England!
I know England have been hammered by injuries, but there is no excuse for that performance when almost all the players are senior figures in their clubs.
They can do some way towards redeeming themselves by having a go against New Zealand next week, or else they will get smashed.
When England face New Zealand in 1997 they were left with a similar dilemma. And then skipper Lawrence Dallaglio told the team they’d have to score three tries to beat the All Blacks. They did and drew!
Next Saturday they must also set out to score three tries or they will perish.
How do they do that? Well start by not kicking the ball high in the air when they get it 30, 40 or 50 metres from their own line. This will give them a much positive outlook and lead to a better performance.
Spread it wide. Let’s get the ball in the hands of Cueto and Banahan as quickly as possible.
At least do down having a go and give the 82,000 people who have paid £71 something for their money.
Against Aregentina:

Dylan Hartley: Much maligned by the England coaches (well, they didn’t pick him up to now!) at least Hartley wore his heart on his sleeve and he was passionate in the face of the Pumas.

James Haskell: Gave England some go-forward. Needs to be the focus of England’s attack like Dallaglio was.

Mark Cueto: The most dangerous runner in the team. Give him the ball!

Dan Hipkiss: The biggest condemnation of England was that Hipkiss never saw the ball in the first half. Spread it wide and give him a chance to excel.

But what you think? Who was good and who was bad?
Who should play against New Zealand?

Rugby World: The Celtic Perspective

 By Rugby World reader, Ken FitzGerald

 As I sit here on this tenth night of Movember stroking the handles on my glorious retro ‘tash (hey it’s all for a good cause!) I can’t help but wonder what might have been for Wales and England on the opening weekend of the by now familiar November test series. Predictably both Wales and England came close to their respective Southern Hemisphere opponents. Depressingly from a northern hemisphere point of view, an under strength New Zealand and a young misfiring Wallaby side both still proved too much for European opposition. Why? Is the coaching really that better in Australia and New Zealand? Are males born in the SANZAR countries genetically predisposed to make better rugby players?  In six World cups and 14 years of professionalism only once has a side from north of Cairns won the Webb Ellis Trophy.

 I watched that final in a bar in San Francisco during a twelve month self imposed exile in California. On that night in November 2003 I witnessed something I had not seen before. In a pub called the Chieftain on Taylor and 5^th in that magnificent city I looked on in awe as I watched Irish, French, Scottish and English supporters all cheer as Johnny Wilkinson dropped that goal to break Australian hearts and to claim the William Webb Ellis trophy for a truly deserving England side that had beaten everybody everywhere. In a word they were awesome.

European rugby supporters had become sick of the strangle hold on the game from the Tri nations.  That night it was broken, albeit temporarily. It was magnificent. Finally a European side had beaten southern hemisphere opposition in such dramatic fashion in the final of the world cup, and in their own back yard. It meant for the next four seasons in the six nations the other five countries got to play the World Champions. For Ireland it made victory in Twickenham even more special in February 2004 and for Wales in the Millennium stadium in 2005. England went through a rebuilding phase after RWC 2003 similar to the one they are in now and certainly Wales and Ireland both have made huge improvements in recent years, two grand slams in three seasons for Wales, three Heineken Cups a grand slam and a Churchill cup for Ireland. But that’s all at a European level.  Let’s not forget a magnificent Lions series during the summer that ended in narrow defeat for the tourists. I often feel the answer to the above why? (As in why do we keep loosing to the Tri Nations teams) lies more in the psychology of belief.  Fifteen guys in black making funny faces still instill fear in northern opposition and Australia keep arriving at Twickenham and walking away with the Cook cup. Can it be as we get better so to do they? Is there a gap in skill level we simply cannot bridge? I don’t believe this is the case.  But there certainly seems to be a gulf between the two hemispheres in terms of belief. So where does leave us for RWC 2011? At the moment too early to say, but early signs are worrying. After this first weekend of Rugby in the month of the moustache there’s certainly a lot to ponder for Messrs Johnson and Gatland. Roll on the weekend.

 Join me every Wednesday, at noon, here for the Celtic Perspective

P.s I believe Ireland will defeat The Wallabies in Croke Park on Sunday in a cataclysmic tussle. Declan Kidney appears to have an Alchemists touch at the moment.

 

 

England team to take on Argentina

By Gary Taylor, Rugby World reader

 

England kicked off their three game Autumn International series with a 18-9 defeat against Australia on Saturday. England struggled with the ball in hand against a patchwork Australian side and changes for the Argentina game seem likely.

 

Here is my team for Saturday’s game against Argentina:

Ben Foden – The Saints full-back has played every single minute of his teams solid start to the season and has been a consistent performer. Monye struggled to find space at full back against Australia and this could be Foden’s chance to shine.

Matt Banahan – Struggled to make an impact against the Aussie back line and was wrapped up everytime he got the ball. Made an instant impact against Argentina last year and will hope to do the same.

Dan Hipkiss – Very disappointing against Australia. Struggled with the physical impact of Ioane and was largely ineffective with the ball in hand. Will need a major improvement this weekend.

Shane Geraghty – Showed glimpses of magic with his quick turn of pace and kicking. Needed more help from Hipkiss in order to really let loose and hopefully we will see that on Saturday.

Ugo Monye – Started at full-back and was nowhere near his best on Saturday. Struggled to find space and found out that full back at International level is a different kettle of fish to the Premiership. Back on the wing for me where he does his damage.

Jonny Wilkinson – Scored all nine England points with the boot. Missed a few tackles in the second half which is very un-Jonny like but has been told to stay out of big contact in order to avoid injury. There were signs that partnership with Geraghty could be special in time to come.

Paul Hodgson – I would have started Hodgson against Australia as he is in great form right now. For me, a bit more composed and tactically astute compared to Care.

 Tim Payne – Scrummed well against Robinson and carried the ball well into contact when needed.

Dylan Hartley -  The Saints captain has started well this campaign had a slight injury going into the Australian game, hence not starting. If fully fit, a starter for me over club mate Thompson.

Duncan Bell –  Was harshly judged to have brought down a scrum late on which gave Giteau a penalty to put Australia ahead. But looked to have more presence that Wilson.

Steve Borthwick – A decent performance from the captain. Was pretty solid in the line out and carried the ball well into contact. Needs to keep playing like that more regularly.

Courtney Lawes –  I would start Lawes because he could be the fresh, young talent who can give the England pack a much needed lift later on in the game with his athletic ability to cover a lot of ground.

Tom Croft – Decent display but was up against Rocky Elsom, who had a very impressive game indeed. Was good at the line-out but struggled to break the Aussie defensive line in open play.

Steffon Armitage – Would get the nod over Moody for me because offers much more as an attacking threat. Maybe not as good defensively but has the ability to turn the ball over at rucks and get England attacking more.

James Haskell – Made a difference when he came on for Jordan Crane with his industry but England struggled in the second half to get out of their own half. Should be able to get on the front foot more often against Argentina.

 But what do you think? Who would you have in there?