Rugby Mad Blog

What a difference a fortnight makes!

Saracens’ fans didn’t dare hope they might see such a turn around in their team’s fortunes, but they were surprised and delighted with the guys’ performance against the Ospreys at Vicarage Road.

It was one of the best games I have ever witnessed Saracens play, in my 4+ years of watching them. Everyone from 1 to 22 put their all into the game.

[Slippery Winger Shane Williams is tackled by ferocious Sarries defence. By closing him down so often, Sarries severely restricted the Ospreys' scoring ability]

The Ospreys started brightly enough, with James Hook slotting a penalty in the 2nd minute. Sarries’ Glen Jackson replied with two of his own in the 10th and 15th minutes. By the half hour, Sarries had lost both Brent Russell (hamstring) and Andy Farrell (shoulder) to injury. That could have proved to be unsettling for the team, but subs Francicso Leonelli and Adam Powell slotted in with barely a stutter.

Just before half time, Paul Gustard made a break but was brought up within inches short of the line, the TMO having to decide, much to the disappointment of the home fans.

[Fly Half James Hook was far from his usual best. Another factor in the Ospreys losing the plot]

Leonelli scored a crucial try in the 2nd mintue of the new half, with Glen Jackson having no trouble with the wide out conversion. In the 57th minute, Sarries were all but home again when Osprey Lee Byrne knocked on deliberately in a desparate attempt at defence. The ref had no hesitation in sending him to the bin for 10 minutes for cynical play, and Jackson slotted the extras to take Sarries to a 16-3 lead.

[Scrum Half Justin Marshall clears from a ruck, but wasn't able to marshall his troops as well as his name suggests - or with quite the aplomb of injured Mike Phillips]

After a raft of subsitutions for both sides, Osprey replacement Paul James managed to burrow over from close range for a score in the 74th minute. That meant a nailbiling last 6 minutes for Sarries, with only a 6 point advantage.

[Nick Lloyd goes for a trot. To a man, the Sarries boys were popping up all over the pitch in defence and attack, where you least expected them]

The Black defensive line held firm, and they even went on the attack again. Working themselves into the opposition 22, and up towards the 10m line with 2 minutes to go, Glen Jackson kept a calm head and true aim with the boot to drop a goal and put Sarries 9 points up. It was then a case of keeping possession, defending to the death and ticking the clock down.

[right - Hugh Vyvyan clutches the ball like a man possessed, watched by muddy Winger Richard Haughton]

With the crowd counting down the seconds, Sarries regained possession of the ball, hoofed it into the stands and propelled themselves into an historic Heineken Cup Semi Final against Munster at the Ricoh Arena on 27th April.

The sellout home crowd went nuts, such success all too rare in important games at Vicarage Road. Richard Hill, a master all afternoon of the dark arts of defence and disruption, was Man of the Match. Let’s hope the team can take him to greater heights in the next coupld of rounds, and perhaps see him lift the Heineken Cup before he retires at the end of the season. That would indeed be a fitting end to the great man’s career. Allez Les Noirs!

See more photos from the game.

I was amazed just how close England fronted up to the Tongan Haka before kickoff – virtually nose to nose. Clearly, both sides meant business! At least the Tongan’s green hair never materialised.

Kickoff was collected by England, who put immediate pressure on Tonga – Lewis Moody [right], typically chasing anything, took an accidental knee in the face while charging down a kick within the first two minutes. He wasn’t down for long.

Tonga turned over an England break at six minutes, and came rampaging down the wing – eventually being pushed into touch. England seemed to be chasing high balls much better than last match. But they then gave away a penalty for holding on, just into their own half. Pierre Hola stepped up for the kick which just went over, giving Tonga the initial lead, 0-3.

The forwards went for a nice rumble up the pitch, with George Chuter driving from the rear. Paul Sackey took it further upfield and Tonga couldn’t resist hands in the ensuing ruck. Jonny Wilkinson redressed the balance for a 3-3 score.

Olly Barkley made a great break in midfield taking a high ball, but England were turned over when Barkley was isolated in the tackle. On 16 minutes, Sukanaivalu Hufanga broke through Jonny Wilkinson’s poor tackle and slid under the posts, with Hola converting for a 3-10 lead. But seconds later, Tonga gave away a penalty in their half, and were caught napping when Wilko booted a high ball for Paul Sackey to ground before sliding over the dead ball line – just! Jonny couldn’t convert from out wide, so it was 8-10. Perhaps as a result of those tournament balls?

England had a decent lineout in the Tongan half, and the forwards drove up the wing. Spinning out side and switching from side to side, the England boys kept pushing up, forwards and backs. The Tongan defence held firm, and George Chuter knocked on with 5m to go. England gave a huge shove at the scrum, but Tonga’s Finau Maka [left] still came out the back of the pack with it.

Then England had the put in for a 5m attacking scrum. Andy Gomarsall broke but was flattened by Maka, then the forwards had a go at making progress. Barkley was in the pocket, but failed to pop a drop goal. Opportunity missed – I’m sure Jonny would have scored from the same position.

The 22m dropout kick was very flat, and won by England who pushed into Tongan teeritory again – Jonny punting a lovely kick up the left wing for a 5m defensive lineout for Tonga. A chance for the forwards to do their disruptive best at the lineout – Steve Borthwick [right] making his presence known. The Tongans knocked on – for an England put in at the scrum. It went wide across the pitch, the attack was slowing down, and Wilko was in the right place – neatly slotting over 3 points for an 11-10 lead.

At 34 minutes, Tonga gave away another penatly, just in their own half, so Jonny stepped up for the 3 points to make it 14-10. Tonga were then looking dangerous in the England half, when Tonga spilled the ball, Sackey took the scraps and flew 83m down the right wing for another try. Wilko’s conversion floated slightly wide, but a 19-10 lead was a bit more comfortable.

England needed to score first in the second half to push home their advantage. Two minutes in, Lewis Moody again collided heavily, this time with his No. 7 counterpart Nili Latu. The penalty incurred was missed by Jonny. It was now raining heavily, so perhaps he slightly missed his footing.

Matthew Tait [left] made a decent break at 44 minutes, to push England into Tongan territory. But England were unable to capitalise on it. At 47 minutes, Tonga had an attacking lineout but the England defence kept resisting. Eventually Tonga chased Andy Gomarsall into the in-goal area, and he was forced to put it down. So, a 5m scrum for Tonga. Gomarsall made a nuisance of himself and disrupted for a clearance back to the England 22.

Barkley was replaced by Andy Farrell at 51 minutes. England were lacking shape and Easter was pinged for hands in the ruck in our half – Hola was close enough for the 3 points to bring it back to 19-13.

Paul Sackey took a great clearance kick which failed to go into touch, it went through the hands and Mark Cueto [left] made a super break, eventually Matthew Tait took the ball over the line. And Wilko added the extras for a 26-13 lead.

At the restart, it was taken well by Nick Easter who offloaded beautifully to Martin Corry. England pushed up again but Andy Farrell crashed into his own man, so it was a Tongan scrum. The clearance was picked up by Josh Lewsey but England didn’t make much more headway.

Matt Stevens was subbed for Phil Vickery and his first scrum was a good one. For 2-3 minutes, England pushed hard into Tongan territory, looking more promising. Lawrence Dallaglio came on at 64 minutes for Corry. The England scrum was good, and the ball passed through hands until Mark Cueto got within inches of the line. Tonga turned over b
ut immediately knocked on, so the whites had 5m attacking scrum. It was swung into midfield and Andy Farrell [above] bounced over for a cruicial try under the sticks. And his first international try for England. Jonny added the extras for a 33-13 lead.

Around 70 minutes, Tonga were attacking up the wing when a long pass was intercepted by Andrew Sheridan, who thought it was a gift! Then England were on the attack again, going through the phases. Lee Mears took it upfield, but it wasn’t going very far, so Jonny popped over another drop goal for 36-13 lead.

Tonga made a great break with their winger Tevita Tu’ifua, and ended up with a scrum about 10m out in England territory. They spun it wide and eventually England gave away a penalty inches from the line. Eventually they were able to clear, but Tonga kept pushing up from their lineout. They never gave up, but knocked on after a tackle from Phil Vickery, for an England put in around 77 minutes. It was botched at the back, so this time Tonga had a put in. They worked it across the field to put Hale T Pole over in the far corner, despite Josh Lewsey’s best attempts. The conversion was good, and the final score was 36-20. They really deserved their final try, having played very creditably.

I think England’s performance was an improvement from the Samoa game last week. Sackey’s second try in the first half, and Farrell’s first in the second half were both cruicial for morale and turning the game. There was a sticky 15 minutes in the second half, but they scrummaged well, won their lineouts, turned over a few opposition lineouts and defended well in the main. Jonny’s points from the match means he’s just five points behind Gavin Hastings’ record of 227 World Cup points. He’s back!

The Tongans have had a great World Cup, and I’ve really enjoyed watching them play over the last month. They have really acquitted themselves well, and looked the strongest of the three Island nations. Samoa have been disappointing, and Fiji have been ok if not outstanding so far.

So now we have a quarterfinal with Australia! Bring it on…

What a contrast with last night’s opening game. England fans who travelled to Lens for the game were disappointed with a lacklustre performance from the team. It was a slow start, and after the first quarter, it was England 3 USA 3. The Eagles had defended well and had the only chance of a try, before Phil Vickery kicked out and tripped centre Paul Emerick. Vicks has since been cited for the offence and banned for two games.

Olly Barkley was one positive – he had a good game and fully deserved his Man of the Match award. He distributed well, and went over for a try. Despite the spear tackle from Paul Emerick [right] late on, he got up and finished the game. Emerick’s World Cup is over after being banned for 5 weeks for the dangerous tackle.

Mike Catt had the chance of a try around the half hour mark, but USA defended well and cleared their lines. USA’s Esikia was sent to the bin around the same time, and Olly managed to kick the points. Soon after, Josh Lewsey made a good break, which ended when he tripped over his own feet! However, he managed to offload to Tom Rees, then across to Jason Robinson who crossed the line for England’s 100th World Cup try. Barkley’s conversion attempt floated wide.

Just before half time, Mike Hercus attempted a drop goal, which was collected by Mark Cueto, then passed off to Olly Barkley who crossed over for a morale-boosting try.

[Olly Barkley clears the ball close to his own lines]

In the second half, Tom Rees [left] darted over the line for a score with Barkley kicking the extras. However, the rest of the England team were sloppy and kept making silly mistakes. They were never really dominant in the scrum, and Mark Regan’s throwing wasn’t terribly accurate. George Chuter didn’t do much better when he came on. Perhaps Lee Mears would have been a better bet?

The Eagles’ Blake Burdette nearly got a try, but Mark Cueto saved the day. Lawrence Dallaglio was sent off at 73 minutes, for lying on the ball. He hadn’t played well anyway, looking sluggish and out of form. [right, one of Dallaglio's few high points in the game]

Replacement prop Matekitonga Moeakiola made it over the line for a well-deserved score just after, with Hercus hitting the conversion. Andy Farrell made a decent break during the dying moments of the game – he looked reasonably sharp when he came on as a replacement with some of the other heavy brigade.

So, England won 28-10, but it was far from pretty. They’ll have to do a lot better next Friday if they’re going to get another win against South Africa. Pull your socks up, lads!

This blog is one year old today.

Not much of a milestone in blogging terms, you may say. But I’ve enjoyed blethering away about my favourite sport for the past year. Whether anyone else is reading is immaterial!

I’m looking forward to the rugby-fest that presents itself on Saturday: three games on the trot. Need to stock up on beer and take the phone off the hook!

Jason Robinson’s training injury is a bit of a worry, having been scoring well since his return to international duty. Let’s keep the fingers crossed it’s nothing serious. I’ll stick my neck out (no pun intended) and make a few predictions:

Scotland vs Italy, 15:00, Murrayfield
The Scots are on a roll from last time round, and Italy have now lost two in a row. Plus, the Scots have home advantage, even if the ground will be far from a sellout. I think if Italy were to beat anyone this year it would most likely be Scotland, but I’m not sure they’re fired up enough yet. So, Scotland to win.

Ireland vs England, 17:30, Croke Park
The clash everyone’s talking about. Brian O’Driscoll, fit for this game, thinks Wilkinson will be a big influence (he’s not wrong). England looked relaxed in training yesterday, according to reports. If they can keep their composure, they may upset the party at Croke Park. But Ireland’s midfield are more of a threat than either Scotland or Italy have been – so Andy Farrell better be on his toes. I think Ireland will win, but not by much. Actually, I don’t mind either way as long as it’s a great game and doesn’t get swung by iffy refereeing decisions.

France vs Wales, 20:00, Stade de France
The Welsh are smarting from two losses, and basically have nothing to loose by going to Paris and doing a number on the French. Captain Raphael Ibañez is worried about Gallic complacency, which could indeed by their undoing. But do Wales have the bottle at the moment? I think not, so my money’s on France to win.

I was minding my own business waiting for a train this morning, when what should I spy on the opposite platform but this poster for the Daily Telegraph:

["We've got Rugby's finest minds"]

I wondered if he’d got the enourmous egg from constantly battering opposition front rows?

The club vs country row rumbles on like an old sore which has had the scab picked off yet again. WHEN are the RFU and PRL Ltd going to sort it out?! It’s getting very tedious! They are all looking like bigger eggheads than Keith Wood! And the poor old players just end up as piggies in the middle.

With a Six Nations rest weekend coming up, Brian Ashton named his team to play Ireland on 24th earlier in the week, in the hope that his chosen players would be rested by their clubs, a large number of which have important games scheduled over the weekend.

Wilkinson sits out Newcastle’s game against Bristol, but team mates Tate and Flood are in the starting XV. Some of the Leicester boys might come off the bench for their Worcester game. But Saracens are fielding Andy Farrell at 12 for their match against Gloucester. I’m disappointed to be missing that one, especially as a win could mean they move into the top 4! But I’ll be watching closely for the result!

It’s not just the English who have been inconvenienced – several Premiership clubs refused to let their Scottish internationals attend a training day this week.

Six Nations Game 2 – England vs Scotland (42-20)

What can you say? For someone who has not played international rugby for 3+ years, and has barely played more than a handful of club matches in that time too, you just have to admire Jonny’s skill and determination to then come on at Twickenham and play a blinder of a game.

Whether or not you agree with the try that was awarded to Jonny in the second half, you can’t deny he made a huge impact in the game.

Harry Ellis [right] was held up over the line after a few minutes, then two teams traded a couple of early penalties, then Jonny punted over another before Simon Taylor’s try from a crap England lineout. Paterson converted and all of a sudden, England were down 6-10.

To be fair, most of England’s lineouts were solid, and Scotland didn’t seem to compete much in the air, which was a surprise.

I thought Ellis played a blinder of a game too, as did Brian Ashton who thought it was his best game in an England shirt.

A few more penalties later (to England), and all of a sudden, Billy Whizz [left], another player recently out of the Interanational wilderness, strikes for his first try of two during the game. And England went in to the break leading 17-10.

Thankfully for the English fans, there was more of the same in the second half, with Martin Corry stealing a lineout, followed by a huge shove from the forwards, a tackling error from Sean Lamont, and Jason Robinson was over the line for his second.

So, two gambles in selection from Brian Ashton paid off – and so did the third, that of Centre Andy Farrell [right]. He was passing and distributing well, made some good breaks and generally looked like a far more experienced Union player than he actually is. He worked well with Mike Tindall, too, which is great news for the midfield.

A few more points for Jonny, plus a late consolation try for Scotsman Dewey, and the final score was 42-20. Other notable points from the game – Danny Grewcock was winning his 67th cap, which made him the most experienced England man on the field. He made some great lineout jumps and generally behaved himself discipline-wise. And Jonny’s 27 points beat Rob Andrew’s record of 24 for a Calcutta Cup match.

Jonny and the rest of us were hugely relieved the only injury he picked up was a fat lip, and he said the rest of the game went like a dream.

So, a great start for England. Bring on Italy next week!

Or read my Ten Word Review

The Men In Black had a great game against Narbonne on 14th January. They beat the French visitors by 47-20. Here’s a shot from the match:

You can see more pictures from that game at rugbypix.com, as usual.

So Saracens are on course for a great half term report, having won their pool in the European Rugby Cup, which means they get a home Quarter Final. They play Glasow Warriors again (having beaten them once in Watford and drawn the return leg at Glasgow), on the last weekend in March.

They also beat London Irish 19-8 at Watford on 28th Jan, meaning they move up to 5th in the Premiership table, heady heights indeed! Plus, they have one match in hand as they still have to play the postponed game against Irish at Reading on the third weekend of March.

Meanwhile, I’m looking forward to the Six Nations games this coming weekend. Especially with the return of Jonny at No. 10 and the inclusion of Andy Farrell at 12! Well worth watching. Dave Woods asks if Faz’s presence will encourage some of our League brethren to watch the match too.

Richard Hill scored on his first Saracens game back from injury, in last night’s EDF Cup match against Wasps. It was apparently very wet, but Saracens won 26-15. And althought neither team could progress out of their group, it was still quite a good game, by all accounts. Thomas Castaignede was at Fly Half and got 16 poinst with the boot.

I didn’t attend that match, but here’s a photo [left] from the equivalent fixture last season, at Adams Park. On that occasion, Wasps ran out winners with 42-8. Now Saracens have to keep up their momentum for the next European Cup match, against GRAN Parma, on 10th December. I shall be attending that one, so will post some photos when I can.

Meanwhile, the debate over Robbo and his successor still rages. Johnno says he’s not keen on coaching right now. Mike Catt suggests Dean Richards would be a great choice. Calls have come for RFU Chief Exec Francis Baron’s head, but he’s having none of it. And the dirty laundry is beginning to be aired – former England defence coach Phil Larder tells us what he thinks of Andy Robinson’s decicion making.

Finally, tomorrow sees the last game of the Sprinboks’ autumn tour, against a World XV at Welford Road. Saracens provide four international players for the World XV – Cobus Visagie (South Africa), Fabio Ongaro (Italy), Thomas Castaignede (France) and Andy Farrell (Great Britain RL). Their captain is Lawrence Dallaglio. Let’s see how Faz performs in such esteemed company!

If England’s Saturday defeat by the ‘Boks wasn’t bad enough, Saracens went and “did an England” on me on Sunday too – they threw away a perfectly good 17-3 half-time lead, and lost to Worcester 20-17!

Admittedly, it was rather difficult going on a very soggy Watford pitch [see left, Glen Jackson kicks up a puddle as he takes a penalty]. But they really should have held their composure and not rolled over and capitulated in the manner that they did. All credit to Worcester, who finally notched up a win in their 9th game of the season. You can see more pictures from the game at rubypix.com

And so finally this week, Andy Robinson has done the decent thing and resigned. I’m sure he’s a very nice bloke, but he seemed to be out of his depth as coach, and I’m afraid England’s results under his tenure do nothing to dispel this observation. Corry’s captaincy looks unlikely to run into the Six Nations, either. And we’re in trouble with regards quality Centres and Fly Halves.

Interestingly, Saracens’ French back Thomas Castaignede thinks Farrell could be the next Will Greenwood. It was good to see Thomas playing for Sarries again [see right] on Sunday, after his spell out with injury and Interntational duty. Another welcome comeback will be that of Richard Hill, who is now fully fit and selected for Saracens team against Wasps tomorrow, after his 2005 Lions injury nightmare.

Several links to peruse today…

Sarries field an unchanged team for the match against Worcester. Let’s hope they can do as good a number on them as they did last weekend at Northampton.

Kevin Sorrell says Andy Farrell may be the England solution to the midfield problem. Whilst it might be jumping the gun a little bit, I have to acknowlege that:

• Sorrell knows what he’s talking about
• Farrell has looked far more convincing (in the games I’ve seen him in) at 12 rather than 6.

[Farrell goes in for the kill during the match against Leicester a fortnight ago]

Anyway, Kiwi Zinzan Brooke says he would give Andy Robinson and Martin Corry the chop, if he was in charge at the RFU. The only problem is, who would replace them? There’s no obvious candidate for either post at the moment, or I suspect they would have the job by now.

Let’s wait to see what the weekend brings! Maybe Josh Lewsey is doing some up-front damage limitation by claiming that “people are naive if they expect us to rip the Boks apart“. Well, Josh, we might not expect it, but it wouldn’t half be nice if you did!