Kiwis having fun!!

The First thing that strikes you is that these Kiwi's know how to have a good time don't they!!! And then you think, Zinny, you big ****** bully !!!!

New Team

Wow !!! Wilkinson !!!
I am not quite sure what to make of it! Part of me thinks, yes he is a class player, he has experience, he has courage and he is proven at this level. Take into account the lack of Barkley and Hodgson and is there an alternative?? And then part of me thinks, for ****s sake he has only played 40 minutes of rugby in the last three months, and has not played International rugby for over three years ( the shocking Lions tour aside!)
So I am torn!
But I am an optimist and an England fan, and all I can do is hope that he has a good game, that England show some passion, direction and sense of enjoyment, and that on Saturday evening I am enjoying a beer telling everyone what a great and brave selection it was!
Sad that Ward-Smith is not available, I was interested to see if Ashton was going to have the courage to start him! For some reason I think they were going to bring him off the bench.
Great that we have a proper number 7, hopefully that will lead to far more fluidity and continuity in our play.
As for the midfield........ well they are bloody big! I would not have fancied playing against them. (mind you when thinking about it, I did not fancy playing against any combinations!!!) Despite all the hype, I do think Farrell will bring a maturity, some leadership and a presence to the number 12 shirt, which has been lacking for three years now. I thought they would play Tait at 13, for pace more than anything, but Ashton must think that in Balshaw, Lewsey and Robinson we have enough pace, and we can inject it where necessary. Tindall is back on form and will certainly enable us to get the ball and focus across the gainline for a change.
So apart from being shocked and having splinters up my arse on the Wilkinson issue, I am generally pretty positive.
A first win for Mr Vickery I feel !!

Brian Ashton

So the Newcastle coach is buzzing about Brian Ashton, and the effect he has already had on the England players!! not really a shock is it? without being too cruel, look at the environment that the guys had been dealing with.......it was tantamount to going back to school by all accounts, and not a school for the particualrly gifted either!! The players spent hours in meetings, being spoekn at, and humour was about as popular as sneezing during the plague!
I am delighted that the players are buzzing again after and England training session, that is the way it should always be. Clubs are your bread and butter, where you learn the skills, the mental toughness and build your experience, but it is playing for your country that is the dream. It was unbelievably sad to hear that England players were dreading the time they spent with England and were depressed about the set up. Without sounding too old fashioned, playing for your country is such an honour, one that should never be taken lightly, and every player who is lukcy enough, who has worked hard enough and is priveleged anough to pull on that shirt, should be mindfull of all the great players that went before him, all the great players who were never as lucky as him, and with those thoughts in his head should make sure that every second wearing that shirt is savoured and relished to the full!
Enough of that emotional waffle!
So all positive from the England camp! Now lets see what team gets picked!!

Arsenal V Man Utd

Went along to the Game, courtesy of BT (love them!!). Great stadium, in an interesting area! Sadly not the outcome Tom, our eldest was looking for, so I had to wait ages for the tears to stop before we could leave! Always good to go to a football game and see some gratuitous swearing!! To be fair there is an edge and atmosphere at the big football games that is very special.( as long as you are safe!!)Still betting on United for the title!

The French !

So the French are going to boycott next season's Heineken Cup??!! Serge Blanco has intimated that it is in support of the English clubs in their fight with the RFU?? Call me cynical, but does anyone else out there have that niggling doubt about the truth in that statement?? The French supporting the English?! I know, I know!! I will say it again............ the French supporting the English!!! ............ No, I am afraid I just can not go for that!
Please tell us the truth! Do they want Pernod as the sponsor, or Moet Chandon?? Are they upset because they are not doing too well, or is it a financial issue?
Whatever the reason, I just can not see that it is in support of the good old 'Roast Beefs' !!!

great Joke! Don't read if you are easily offended!!

'I'm baffled by your orange penis' the Doctor told his patient.
'Does anyone else in your family have this condition?'
The concerned fellow said 'no'
'Do you handle any chemicals at work?'
'I don't work'
'Well what do you do all day' asked the Doctor
' I watch porn and eat Wotsits' !!!!!!!!!!

The RFU Super 10 concept

What a great concept!! I think it's a master stroke, and everyone seems to be missing the point!! Take a step back and think about it, we have had a very poor November, we nearly achieved our worst losing streak of all time, so English rugby is not at it's peak it's safe to say!!
So why not kill it off?? Put it out of it's misery??
Wipe out clubs with years of success, years of tradition and great support, like Leicester and Gloucester, just rub them out and kill them off. Chop them out of the league that will be financed, and force them to play in the lower division with no chance of promotion!!!Then set up clubs in areas that it has never been popular, where it has never generated any support, and you can guarantee that the game dies!
Bloody brilliant!!
I have to say though that they could have done it with more imagination, they could have made it more of a challenge!
Why not set up a club in Liverpool, right next to Anfield?? That would have taken off!! Or put one next to Old Trafford? It's not a great stadium, and I am sure once the season ticket holders at Old Trafford caught a glimpse of the game, the stadium of dreams would have been a ghost town! You see that would have been a challenge! That would have given it a chance, very slim I agree, but a chance all the same!!
Or something completely different. I mean it's not that hard to kill off a game like rugby, and wiping off 8 of the best clubs is not exactly creative, or interesting is it? It's just a little predictable and ultimately boring!
Why not just set up some new clubs, in areas such as Plymouth and Manchester, and play a completely different game??!! If you want to kill the game off, as they patently do, then at least make it amusing and memorable? I mean can't they do anything right??!!!

Mike Teague travelling to work

People keep asking me what the Iron Man is doing!!! well now you know!!!

Phil Vickery

Phil Vickery - new England captain! views??
very impressive, quietly spoken man. Anyone rated by Mike Teague, as little Phil is, has to have something about him. The Iron man believes he is special, and who are we to argue with that? ( or to put it another way, I am certainly not and never have been brave enough to argue with him!!!)
Phil came in after the last South African match, alongside Martin Corry and three of the other England players, and they were both very very impressive. I have to admit that I was s******g myself as to what I was going to talk with the guys about, what was I going to ask......., as November had not exactly been a highlight as far as English rugby had been concerned!
But Martin Corry was brilliant, very honest, very dignified depsite all the crap that he has had, and as he left later I admit that I felt bloody sorry for him and at the same time very impressed.
Phil then answered the questions in such a quiet and emotional manner, talking about how much the shirt still and always will mean, that he almost got a standing ovation. Which is some achievement following a game like that.
I do feel he is going to be a success. He has a presence about him, and a desire that I like. So fingers crossed for the ex Gloucs boy, who started work on the farm artificially inseminating the cows. Or that was his excuse anyway!!!

That terrible moment! especially if you are a back!!

Reminded me of school !!!

Does anyone know this guy??!!

England Squad

I know a few guys have criticised the new squad already, but I have to be honest and say that I am quite impressed. It has a balance to it, the senior experienced guys who genuinely have found form and an edge again such as Tindall and Thompson are back in, alongside the new talent such as Flood and Ward-Smith. The new number 8 is one of the exciting inclusions, and I hope Ashton has the confidence to play him, because England desperatley need ball carriers with explosive power and pace. If the likes of Ward-Smith and Vickery can break a gain line, then for the first time in years, English backs will be running against a disorganised defence, and then we could see some magic from the likes of Tait and Lewsey.
Always an optimist, I think Ashton will change the whole environment for the England players, turning it from a trip back to school to a mature and responsible environemt where the players are listened to and involved. That alongside an understanding that you need to enjoy your sport and even have some fun now and again, could I believe dramatically change the England team we see run out against Scotland!!

Weight Training !!!

It's weird Will, however hard I train and however heavy the weights, my arms still look like strings of spaghetti!!!!!

No rush!!

If you could sign it that would be great...........C...A....M.....P.....!!!!!!!

Style, Hair and of course diet!!

No great suprise that Dan is caught asking my advice on all of the above!! sometimes it's hard to be such an icon to these youg players!!!!!!!

You should always tell the truth

Despite all the hype around him, I thought it only right to tell Jerry that in my eyes he was just a soft b*****d !!! I ran quite fast, just after this photo!!