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February 8, 2010

James Haskell excelled for England © Getty Images

Richard Williams talks Top 14 with James Haskell in the wake of his star turn for England in The Guardian.

"James Haskell is hardly the first young man to go to Paris to find himself, but the city's magic seems to be working as well for him as it has for generations of artists and writers. With a brace of tries that shunted England towards a pressure-relieving victory over Wales, the 24-year-old flanker vindicated his much criticised decision to leave London Wasps and cross the Channel to join Stade Français last summer.
"Needing this win perhaps as much as any in their history, England had their opponents to thank for the errors that will allow Martin Johnson and his squad to spend the next week working in an atmosphere of relative tranquillity. Had Alun Wyn Jones not tripped Dylan Hartley five minutes before the interval or Stephen Jones not thrown an intercepted pass five minutes before full time, the criticisms of recent months would have intensified.

"Haskell's first try, on the stroke of half-time, came with a plunge for the line at the end of several minutes of English siege. The second found the flanker ready to make the final thrust as England swarmed through the tattered Welsh cover. These moments were, he claimed, prime examples of the squad's new spirit."

All about the breakdown

Posted 14 hours, 27 minutes ago

Richard Loe has one focus ahead of the new Super 14 season and it's unsurprisingly the breakdown in The New Zealand Herald.

"The main point of interest for many in this year's Super 14 will be the new Sanzar rules at the breakdown.
"I think these could be good but there are two potential problems - interpretations and the fact they are not binding on other international sides; so the All Blacks have to revert to the old rules when they play Northern Hemisphere sides.

"That's because the IRB have decided there will be no more rules changes before the World Cup. Well, okay, but Sanzar have at least realised the game of rugby has a problem and are moving to fix it. I have always said that, for every rule change the IRB approve, they should tear out two old ones that aren't used any more. Rugby has got so complicated that many players, fans and even referees don't understand it."

England can build

Posted 14 hours, 36 minutes ago

Brian Moore finds things to applaud and lament in England's opening Six Nations victory in The Daily Telegraph.

"Whether it is a reflection of the general trend towards the immediate or a lack of understanding of the game, the Twickenham crowd is becoming increasingly simplistic, with the mundane cheered as heartily as the good; perhaps it was simply relief that they had something to cheer about in England's victory over Wales at Twickenham.
"Their mood was heartened by the sight of their team running out in something resembling rugby shirts and not something favoured by the ASBO-clans that haunt the nation's shopping malls at the weekends. They also had the promise of pace and creativity in the back line, although the late withdrawal of Riki Flutey put a dent in the manager Martin Johnson's quest to find a settled centre partnership.

"For all the promise of the first 10 minutes, they must have begun resigning themselves to another betrayal of optimism as the game tightened perceptibly with only six points being shared between the sides. In fact, this was a typical Six Nations opening; nervy, imprecise and mistake-ridden and produced a lull in the atmosphere that felt almost preternatural and eerie. There was no lack of effort, but when neither side could make ground the inevitable kick-tennis threatened to take hold and several must have considered reaching for their brandy bottles and revolvers."

The state of your rugby soul

Posted 14 hours, 40 minutes ago

Owen Slot gauges the value of an intercept in the wake of England's victory over Wales in The Times.

"The period when England nearly threw away their season may be the one that saves them. In the wake of their 30-17 victory over Wales at Twickenham on Saturday, ambitious Englishmen are thus entitled to ponder the value of a single intercepted pass.
"England head for their second game of the Six Nations Championship, against Italy on Sunday, with confidence and spirits raised. And Rome is a splendid place to be a visitor at any time, let alone when it is a rugby weekend and that is the state of your rugby soul.

"But they travel thus uplifted in large part because of the 75th minute and the game-changing, though otherwise disappointing, Delon Armitage. The England full back’s reading of a pass by Stephen Jones, the Wales No 10, was the moment that saved England. It set in motion a move in which the ball passed through a number of hands and was finally delivered to James Haskell, who completed the score."

February 7, 2010

Ireland's sluggish start

Posted 1 day, 16 hours ago

Ireland skipper Brian O'Driscoll reflects on his side's disappointing performance against the Azzurri © Getty Images

Ireland got their defence of the Grand Slam and Championship off to a sluggish but successful start in perfect conditions at Croke Park yesterday. Peter O'Reilly writes in the Sunday Times.

"This had all the ingredients for a yawnathon — Ireland, perennial slow starters to the Six Nations, facing opponents whose one virtue is their ability to make life awkward, and a pompous, fussy, interfering referee. And how we yawned, especially during a second half that must rate as one of the worst periods of 40 minutes in championship history.
"Nearly 80,000 spectators sat patiently as Ireland, having built up a 20-point lead inside 35 minutes with a reasonably effective dismantling of the azzurri, then sat back and waited for the Italians to roll over — which, of course, they never do. Once Ireland let standards slip, it couldn’t end quickly enough — zero suspense, zero quality."

Haskell's forward thinking punishes slack Wales

Posted 1 day, 16 hours ago

Relief, not rapture, greeted England's win against Wales at Twickenham, writes Stephen Jones in the Sunday Times.

"James Haskell was the signature of their victory, with two tries and once again he put to shame the fools who believe he is a playboy. Haskell’s second try with only five minutes remaining was desperately needed to calm English nerves after Wales had come back to within three points with eight minutes remaining.
"The Haskell lieutenants were the Harlequins duo of Danny Care and Nick Easter, who injected what pace there was in the England game. England’s scrum was battered but held on, their lineout was excellent, they had composure even when they dipped alarmingly in terms of performance in the final quarter, and they had enough. They also had the ideal opposition against whom to start a revival. Wales were disastrous in the first half, so bad in so many areas that they betrayed their own strengths."

Aim is to harum, if not quite scarum

Posted 1 day, 16 hours ago

It is exactly 100 years since France first played in the championship when the old Four Home Unions tournament expanded into the Five Nations Championship and Scotland will be out to kibosh any centenary celebrations today's visitors might have planned. Iain Morrison writes in the Scotsman on Sunday.

"A more recent anniversary concerns Andy Robinson because it was four years ago that he last coached a team in the Six Nations when England finished off the season with a dismal run of three consecutive defeats including that 18-12 reversal at Murrayfield, a 31-6 spanking from the French in Paris and, his last match in charge, a narrow loss against Ireland at Twickenham.
"Suffice it to say he was undergoing the sort of anguish usually reserved for those confined to the inner circles of Dante's Inferno. The television cameras betrayed their sadistic streak, panning in on the English coach who could barely contain his frustration and certainly couldn't prevent it being writ large across his ever expressive face."

Haskell pounces in front of princes

Posted 1 day, 16 hours ago

Wales' errors gave Martin Johnson's men chance to hit the ground running. Hugh Godwin writes for the Independent on Sunday.

"This match marked Twickenham's centenary. Though the old cabbage patch attracted no kings there were two princes as Harry and William, respectively vice patrons of the English and Welsh unions, engaged in royal sibling rivalry in the East Stand. England wore an old-style off-white kit and some of their forwards – notably the gut-busting flanker Lewis Moody and line-out master Steve Borthwick – were cream-crackered by the end. The result soothed the muscles and the anxiety left over from an awkward autumn."

Johnson given a reason to smile

Posted 1 day, 16 hours ago

Sincere cheering breaks out at Twickenham as a fightback by Wales is extinguished. Eddie Butler reports from Twickenham for The Observer.

"This was not a carefree performance by England, but it was less mournful than their autumn series. The boos that had rung around Twickenham in November gave way to sincere cheers. This was a good win well-received, not a complete performance by any means, but a decent foundation stone. It was not without it twists and turns, and even had a full scare, going on long enough to allow Wales to rally in the second half.
"...In a game between two very evenly matched teams at the start of a campaign, it was always more likely that an error was going to determine the outcome than any stroke of genius. And so it was that a trip became the sin what won it."

Tahs, ACT must succeed - for Australia's sake

Posted 1 day, 17 hours ago

The Australian Rugby Union's David Nucifora believes the Waratahs and the Brumbies must make the Super 14 semi-finals, Josh Rakic writes in the Sydney Morning Herald.

"It's really important that we get an Australian team in the Super 14 finals - it's hugely important.''
"These are the words of Wallabies high-performance director David Nucifora, who says that failure by the star-studded Waratahs and Brumbies sides to at least qualify for the semi-finals could prove catastrophic for the rebuilding of Australian rugby.

''Last year was disappointing for Australian rugby and it's really important that one of our teams at least makes the semi-finals,'' he said. ''We've got teams that have the capabilities to win the competition, I have no doubt about that, so from an Australian Rugby perspective we need them to make good on that potential."