Irish brilliance !!

Awesome! I have to hold my hands up and say it! From the reception given to the England team to the intercept try by the Boss to round off the demolition, it was all awesome.
I had read articles upon articles about Croke Park and the history, and the two lines that really resonated with me were about a country having the chance to show it's maturity and dignity having moved on from those horrific memories. And I have to say I was massively moved at the arrival of the teams and especially at the anthems, the dignity, the maturity was humbling and it was at that moment that I wished I had taken up the invitation to go. To have witnessed that at first hand would have been a very special memory.
And it did not stop there! The Irish team then mirrored their countrymen in the crowd, and were simply dominant in every aspect of play. They had managed to harness the roaring emotion of the occasion and control it and then channel it into one of the finest Irish performances I have ever seen.
O'Connell was magnificent, all aggression, control and experience, and it was he that started to tip the balance Ireland's way with his attacks on the English line out. Their backrow were brilliant, quicker, sharper, more powerful, more explosive, more physical and more skillful. ( Have I left anything out??!)
O'Gara ruled the pitch, and the midfield provided no surprises by humiliating England's, but they had able support from the back three, especially Horgan who was brutal, dirty, and a try scoring hero!
I sat at the end completely deflated. We had been shattered, we had been torn apart by this Irish team, and it was very hard to take.
I struggled to look for some positives...............! Strettle was definitely one, I thought he showed attitude and ability and I liked his style. Lewsey as ever was a beacon, Rees looked sharper when he came on as did Tait, but that was it......!
I think it is fairly obvious to all that Farrell will not make an International centre. He just does not have enough pace, and you need look no further than that. Sadly the midfield as a whole does not pose any threat at the moment, and Ashton needs to rectify that if we are to threaten the best teams. Our back row is still a problem, as we do not possess any explosive ball carriers, and we look laboured and entirely predictable at the moment.
I have never understood the front five, and still don't!! But I am at a loss as to what Deacon delivers to England that is special or gives us any edge? And again, where in that five are our ball carriers??
It has been one whacking reality check! More of a swift kick in the ***** ! But how we react, and how Ashton reacts will be the test of us, and how we will be able, or not, to challenge the French.
So..............by the end my emotions had switched back, and as I curled up like a baby into the foetal position on the sofa, I was relieved that I had not accepted that invitation to go over.............!

None of this Today !!!!

I am sure this won't happen!!! And as for the language!!!

More of this tomorrow PLEASE !!!

Robinson out !

It is a huge blow to lose Robinson, let's not kid ourselves. we need our best finisher, and his experience, so his loss, and the pressure now on Strettle as a new cap is huge! It is made worse by the rumours I hear that Wilkinson is not going to make it either! I hope more than anything that they are wrong, but it does not look good! Drink heavily, that could be the solution!!!

Croke Park, Saturday!!

How important is this game for England on Saturday? So often games are labelled as crucial, vital, must win etc etc, and for the vast majority of the time, they are not! This game, however, falls into that category, and more, because with no exaggeration, it is pivotal to England and their progress towards the World Cup.
The importance has nothing to do with the stadium, the history or the emotion however, and that is meant in no way as a slight. It is pivotal down to the very impact it will have, one way or the other, on the England players, management, media and fans.
The peripheral issues needed to be and have been addressed. Yes, there needs to be an understanding of the terrible history all those years ago, there needs to be a sensitivity towards the impact that has had on so many lives ad so many views. But let's also be brutally honest, once that has been taken on board, and digested by the players who will walk out for England on Saturday, it has to then be consigned to the memory bank, as it is not relevant to them and the rugby match they are about to play. And a rugby match is all it is. The players who are on the pitch are English, and very proud to be, but they are not related, not supportive, and certainly not interested in being associated with the events all those years ago.
So I fervently hope that the game is seen in perspective, and not as some opportunity to avenge, to punish or to abuse a team who have come with the sole purpose of trying to win at sport.
I do believe all the hype and emotion will impact far more on the Irish team that the English however, as it has been such a painful memory threaded into their daily lives, it is an issue so topical to the communities that they live in, and as such the emotion will reverberate far deeper than with the English who have not had to deal with decades of hurt.
So the pressure is very much on O'Driscoll and his team, not only to win, but to shoulder the burden of massive expectation and passion, not all of it healthy, and to deal and control this alongside the normal pressure and emotional turmoil of a rugby International. No mean feat that!
And for England, the opportunity in rugby terms to catapult their confidence ten fold up the ladder, and to give themselves the chance to face the French at home, unbeaten, confident and settled, not a thought many would have entertained in dark November!
It is one hell of a day coming our way, and one hell of a ride coming the players way. I hope we get some close ups early on of the eyes, because it is there that I think we will get our first indications of who ,and who has not, got control on their emotions and focus!!!

Kicking Duel at Croke Park

Let's just hope that Jonny is this focused on Saturday!! Good technique I thought, and I was especially pleased that the skirt did not ride up too high!!!

Never go behind the bar!!

Painful!! But I am hoping similar to what we will do to the Irish on Saturday night!!!!!

Player release!

So the Irish players have been relaxing, whilst some of the English players have had to play! I am amazed at the shocked reaction, it is not a new issue! The RFU and clubs have had 11 years to sort this out, so to be fair, not that long!!
I very rarely get anything right, but I remember telling the then secretary of the RFU and a guy called Colin Herridge that they should sign up the top 40 players as soon as the game went professional. They declined, sipped their gin and tonics and explained that the Rugby Football Union would always have first call on players!! Arrogant and as can be seen unbelievably inaccurate!!!
So now we are faced with the issue that our players are disadvantaged in comparison with the Irish. If we lose next week, the main reason thrown up will be this lack of rest, but if we win, then the issue will be amazingly forgotten! I am not convinced that it is going to be a major issue.
If I was Ashton, I would use it as an angle to focus the guys, to develope the backs to the wall mentality, which when added to the history and the emotion that the new Stadium will bring, could be the best approach! We need to create that mentality, and one that will relish this kind of challenge. It would have been a game I would have loved to play. The whole challenge, the emotion, the history (which must be respected) then confronted as another challenge to beat. It would be awesome to run out, feel the atmosphere, and to overcome the whole stack of advantages going Ireland's way. To beat them there, the first time at Croke park, when they are rested and we are not, that is what it is all about, and that would be a great feeling as you walked off the pitch having achieved it!!
Dream on, you might say, and I know I am a sad ******* !! but for some reason those are the challenges that made playing rugby special.
So for some strange reason, I am looking forward to the game!
Anyone want a little bet???????!!!!

Rob Andrew Pleading!!

Interesting to see Rob pleading with the clubs not to play the starting line up!! Do I remember correctly that when he was in charge of Newcastle he refused a very similar plea??!!
I can't have a go though, because he is my mate, and it just amuses me how he has flipped sides, and manages to keep a straight face!!
Sad to realise that we are still in this country V club farce, over 11 years into professional rugby! No rush!
But it will be interesting to see if Rob's pleas fall on deaf ears. I think it will largely depend on whether he was begging on his knees or not!

Zinzan's Blog

Love Zinny's new update! Talking about the French 'choking the rooster' !! Strange, I always thought they 'bashed the bishop'!! The last paragraph is an interesting insight into the mind of a Kiwi legend!!!!!

Women!

Reminds me of the first mixed dinner the RFU committee ever allowed after one of the Internationals!

BBC

Here I go with a massive whinge!!!
The BBC !! Maybe that is enough said!!
England V Italy, and in the studio we have................ wait for it............the injured Joe Worsley!! Member of the team, except for a small injury that will keep him out of this game. So just the right man to give us an objective and honest insight to the days play? Bollocks!! To be fair to him how can he? They are his team mates, and his friends and he is not going to criticize any of them. So surprisingly we get a bland, uninteresting view from a 'current' player! Brilliant! It had me rolling in the aisles!!
But it gets better!!! Down pitch side, down in the crowd, where we can hear the screams, almost smell the deep heat and sense the adrenalin pumping, we have ...................Dan Ward-Smith!!!! Bloody hell!!! The man has not even played International rugby, he has sadly missed his chance for this Six Nations due to his injury, but he is desperate to go on the summer tour and be available for the World Cup. So quite obviously he is ideally placed, like Joe to give us an analytical view on the game, informed due to his experience, and unhindered by any personal ambitions to ingratiate himself to coaches and team mates alike! It was so embarrassing I had to flick the volume off! It is no fault of his, and in no way do I blame him, but who the hell makes these crass decisions in the BBC? The poor guy could obviously not stand for too long without pain, which was the only saving grace as he was not asked to comment for too long!
I can't wait for the French game. Maybe we could have Jonny Wilkinson popping to the tunnel during the game to give us an insight every now and then, or maybe we could use a young kid who has just been picked for England Under 16?? Francis Baron might want to get involved and tell us about the new stand, sorry His stand, and we could even squeeze Prince Harry in surely for some in depth analysis???
What a load of bollocks !!!
Sharpen up, get some decent analysts who are going to give us interesting, thought provoking reviews, and stop all this sad 'currency' and 'celebrity' face in the crowd crap!!!

Six Nations so far!

What an English hypocrite I am !!! Nothing changes!! I am not impressed with Ireland after a poor performance against Wales, but I am more than forgiving of the English after a shite performance against Italy!! Shocking!!
Wales seem to be disappearing at an alarming rate down the plug hole! They have the best scrum half, a very good ball carrying No 8, the best No 7, and plenty of talented backs. So why so poor? No doubt Ieuan Shadwell Evans will give us a serious and intelligent analysis soon, but for now you will have to be happy with mine!
Jones at 10 is playing far too deep, hence they are struggling to pierce any defences. Their forwards lack leadership, and are conceding ground, speed and metres at the breakdowns. The midfield lacks a cutting edge and their general play is too slow, predictable and very un Welsh at the moment. Gone is the flair, the unpredictability, the pace the nerve, the cheek that has always shown them at their best. If they are to resurrect anything from this tournament and Pickering's amazing statement pre tournament that they were on track to win the World Cup, then they have to go back to those facets of their play that makes them special. Instinctive play, daring play, courage and pace to attempt the unexpected and let their footballers make their natural decisions rather than the laboured, ineffective sham that is being delivered at the moment.
Why do I care?? Not sure!! But bizarrely I do !!!!

Italian Job

Well not a lot of sparkle in that Italian job!! in fact bugger all !! BUT !! strangely maybe just what England needed! Needed not wanted! No one wants to play like that, and some of it was genuine shite!! But we have all been there, me more than most, and the crucial thing, is that following something like that you drink heavily, abuse lots of smaller people (slightly hard in my case!!), convince yourself that you are the dogs ******** before you collapse, and then put it right for the next game! Can't see Jonny doing that somehow, but I am sure that they will put it right for the Irish game. Psychologically the Italy game was always going to be the hardest, following the euphoria of the Scotland game and the sobering prospect of Ireland away, Italy was guaranteed to be a struggle to get up for. And so it has proved! I just hope that it has pissed them off sufficiently to focus and produce against the Emerald isle. Especially as they will have already lost to the French boys by then!!!

England to beat Italy

suprise ! suprise ! I am going for us to beat the Italians today !!
England by 20 -25 ! Not far off last week, only 2 points, so I am pushing it by predicting this week!
So fingers crossed, and lets hope the Celts kick each other to bits!!!!

The Green to crash against Les Bleus

Ireland were poor against the Welsh, and I felt lucky that they were not beaten. A reflection more on Wales's inability to kill off a lethargic side, than Ireland's ability to dig deep and scrape a win.
So this Saturday I believe the French will provide too much muscle, technique and skill in their forward pack for the Irish to get away with it again.
They just do not seem to cope with being favourites, and the psychological pressure that creates.
Let's see!!!!!!!

The Good old French

I see Bernard Laporte, who reminds me of a mad professor and certainly behaves like one, has changed his winning side! he wants to create competition within his squad! He wants an edge to each player, and he wants them all slightly unsure of their places. I can't help thinking that he is trying to do a 'Graham Henry', but the problem is, and it's a fairly major one, it is far too close to the World Cup now.
Teams need to be settling down, generating that instinctive understanding and trust within the combinations, not always looking over their shoulder and wondering what combination the professor is going to come out of the laboratory with this time!
At least it gives us all hope that such a talented squad as the French are, will be stopped from reaching their awesome potential by the strange selections of their eccentric leader!!

Review of the weekend!

Now the dust has settled, what did the weekend show us !!??
Ireland, despite all the hype, were far from impressive. O'Driscoll is a class act, but O'Gara as I have hinted at looked like a startled rabbit for most of the game, his dummy was certainly ricocheting around the stadium and the forwards did not compete well.
Wales? well in my view they should and could have beaten Ireland, with a little pace in the midfield and Jones playing flatter, I believe they would have opened up the Irish defence sufficiently to win the game!
So overall, Ireland unconvincing, has the pressure already eaten away at their brittle confidence??!!
England - great to see them win. Great to see them smile! ( Not that I am biased!!)Jonny- amazing performance considering his lack of rugby, but also from Lund, Robinson and Corry. A good performance, and a confidence building one, but certainly not a great one, and I am sure not one they will get carried away with. Scotland were poor, especially in the forwards, and the Italian's will put England under far more pressure than that, so we will have to be quicker, more precise and more instinctive in our play than against Scotland.
That said, good win for England, relief for Ireland, who knows what the French will do next, and keep your ears open for rumours coming out of Wales!!!

Oh how embarrasing !!! It couldn't have happened to a nicer bloke!!

WHAT A **** !!!

O'Gara

before I forget, did anyone else pick up the odd squeal by O'Gara on Sunday??? I am sure I caught a few on the pitch side microphones, and watching him closely he did not seem to happy with life!!i just wish I could lip read!!!
The chink in the Irish armour perhaps???!!