Dom’s Lions Squad

Lions squad picks – 36 players?
Always tricky to get your split right

15/14/11: (7) Byrne, Kearney, Armitage, S Williams,
                   Fitzgerald, Bowe, Evans
12/13:    (5) O'Driscoll, Roberts, Flutey, Shanklin,
                  Henson(covers 10,12,15)
10:       (2) O'Gara, Jones
                 (cover by Henson, no other pressing candidates)
9:        (3) Phillips, Peel, Ellis
8/7/6:    (6) R Jones, M Williams, Powell,
                  Heaslip, Leamy, Wallace, Ferris
4,5:      (5) O'Connell, O'Callaghan, Wyn Jones,
                Gough, White(covers 6)
2:        (3) Flannery, Rees, Mears
1,3:      (5) Sheridan, Jenkins, Murray, A Jones, Horan
(too many loose heads but no way I'm picking Vickery)

It doesn’t look so strong when you look at it like that….

Matt’s Lions Squad

FBs – Byrne, Armitage, Kearney
Wings – Ickle, Cueto, Bowe, Evans
Centres – BOD, Flutey, Shanklin, Henson, Tait
10s – Jones, ROG, Wilko (if fit, if not then Hook)
9s – Phillips, Peel, Foden
8s – Heaslip, Ryan Jones
7s – Wallace, Williams
6s – Croft, Worsley
Locks – POC, AWJ, Ian Gough, Shaw
Props – Gethin Jenkins, Murray, Sheridan, Jones, Vickery
Hookers – Flannery, Mears, Ford

Clarke – the new Greenwood?

In the Lions squad of 2007, a promising, young centre was picked, yet to be capped despite significant clamour from regular watchers of club rugby.

That man was Will Greenwood.

Who nearly died on that tour.

(If you’ve never seen it, watch the greatest rugby video every made – Living with the Lions).

12 years on from that great, great tour, a similar situation arises.

Johnno, handcuffed with a strange agreement that let’s him make five changes from a squad picked before the 2008-2009 season began, faces a problem in the centre.

One man making regular, significant contributions in the centres for his club is yet again overlooked.

That man is Jon Clarke of Northampton.

He’s got a long way to go to be the new Greenwood, but he has made a start.

And, no less a judge of centre that Jeremy Guscott also agrees thinks he’s earned that chance.

Fill in the gaps – England squad short of men of form

Let’s reflect on the revised England squad:

Forwards: Tim Payne (Wasps), Andrew Sheridan (Sale), Matt Stevens (Bath), Phil Vickery (Wasps), George Chuter (Leicester), Dylan Hartley (Northampton), Lee Mears (Bath), Steve Borthwick (Saracens), Nick Kennedy (London Irish), Tom Palmer (Wasps), Simon Shaw (Wasps), Tom Croft (Leicester), James Haskell (Wasps), Lewis Moody (Leicester), Tom Rees (Wasps), Nick Easter (Harlequins), Luke Narraway (Gloucester).

Backs: Delon Armitage (London Irish), Olly Morgan (Gloucester), Mathew Tait (Sale), Mark Cueto (Sale), Paul Sackey (Wasps), Ugo Monye (Harlequins), Jamie Noon (Newcastle), Mike Tindall (Gloucester), Riki Flutey (Wasps), Shane Geraghty (London Irish), Danny Cipriani (Wasps), Toby Flood (Leicester), Danny Care (Harlequins), Harry Ellis (Leicester), Ben Foden (Northampton).

First of all, Johnno’s hands were tied.

From the agreement at the start of the season and the initial squad, injuries aside, Johnno could make five changes.

What a ridiculous importance that places on the first squad of the season.

But, but, but, let’s face it – the squad has an out of form look about it.

Forgetting about positions, if you were to pick on form, you’d play three full-backs (or at least men currently playing full-back for their clubs) – Morgan, Foden & Cueto.

But, surely you couldn’t drop man-of-the-autumn Delon Armitage. So that’s four full-backs then.

And then, none of the forwards makes a compelling case on current club form.

So… that’s four full-backs and no forwards.

So, picking on form, we have to accomodate four full-backs, Mike Tindall, and Shane Geraghty.
And no forwards.
Terrific.
And Twickenham tickets – what a bargain.

So, Tindall plays inside which doesn’t tend to suit him. One full-back steps up to outside centre and two go to the wing – Foden says he’s a scrum-half but the Sale and Northampton side selector’s disagree. Fair enough, let’s say he’s not a wing but most of the back three should be interchangeable.

Ummm,
15. Foden
14. Morgan
13. Armitage
12. Tindall
11. Cueto
10. Geraghty
9. Care
And 1-8 are trading on past reputations.

And a prop in the squad picked as a centre, consistently.

Not exactly reassuring.

Plus Jon Clarke of Northampton should have been in the squad.

Hello – Earth Calling Rob Andrew…

Very rarely do newspaper articles about rugby make me angry, there are after all far more important things in life to worry about, but this little beauty had me tutting and chuntering like a middle Englander reading a Daily Mail editorial.

Rob Andrew rejected the view that supporters were disenchanted following the calamitous sequence of results over the past three weeks

Reading this I wondered if Rob Andrew had taken some kind of powerful hallucinogen or had transmogrified into Walter Mitty or perhaps had taken PR lessons from Comical Ali.

If it was not so appalling it would be funny. If that is what the man really believes then England are in deeper trouble than the already deep trouble that the Autumn series suggested. Firstly his comments are an affront to the intelligence of England fans. Secondly, they are untrue.

Rob Andrew is on thin ice with most England fans as it is.  Let’s not forget he has presided over the Andy Robinson fiasco, the shameful Brian Ashton hiring and firing and now an all time record home defeat. He might be more slippery than a new Teflon pan from Mattalan, but sooner or later some doodoo is going to stick to this man. His reputed salary of £400K grates even more during the current economic climate at a time when the average fan has to wonder whether 80 quid for a top whack ticket and 4 quid for an insipid lager is really value to watch a rubbish team get spanked in a soulless new concrete block of a stadium.

My advice to England fans who do not agree with Mr. Andrew would be to boycott buying tickets to the forthcoming Six Nations matches. I intend to. And I am someone who has supported and travelled to watch England through thick and thin for the best part of 30 years.

Rugby World Cup Draw – Will England Escape the Pool?

SO, only three years early, here is the draw for the 2011 Rugby Union World Cup:

Pool A – New Zealand, France, Tonga, Americas 1, Asia 1

Pool B – Argentina, England, Scotland, Europe 1, play-off winner

Pool C – Australia, Ireland, Italy, Europe 2, Americas 2

Pool D – South Africa, Wales, Fiji, Oceania 1, Africa 1

Now, on the surface that looks fine and dandy for England, escaping having to face one of the Tri-Nations teams after the dismal Autumn annihilation. I think it is a bit tricky. Very bad luck to draw Scotland, one of the third-tier nations. The Scots always, always raise their game against the old enemy. They will be targeting their pool match against England  from this point onwards.  Argentina might actually be the softer of the two games. I always thought they were slightly overrated last year, despite their third place World Cup finish. If I was a betting man I would predict their fortunes taking a downward trajectory in the next three years. Let’s hope England’s fortunes improve as failing to top the pool would see almost certain 1/4 final elimination at the hands of probably New Zealand.

The All Blacks are probably relieved to see their nemisis France in Pool A. New Zealand have a much better chance of beating them here, and a loss is not as catastrophic as the two previous semi-final upsets.

Elsewhere Wales must be distraught to see their own nemisis, Fiji, alongside Cup holders South Africa. Ireland must fancy their chances of getting past Australia and Italy. The lack of depth in the game makes it unlikely that any of the other third-tier nations or qualifiers will make it out of the Pool stages.

England Team for All Black Humiliation

Delon Armitage (London Irish)

Paul Sackey (Wasps)

Jamie Noon (Newcastle)

Riki Flutey (Wasps)

Ugo Monye (Harlequins)

Toby Flood (Leicester)

Danny Care (Harlequins)

Tim Payne (Wasps)

Lee Mears (Bath)

Phil Vickery (Wasps)

Steve Borthwick (Saracens, capt)

Nick Kennedy (London Irish)

James Haskell (Wasps)

Michael Lipman (Bath)

Nick Easter (Harlequins).

Replacements

Dylan Hartley (Northampton)

Matt Stevens (Bath)

Tom Croft (Leicester)

Tom Rees (Wasps), Harry Ellis (Leicester)

Danny Cipriani (Wasps)

Dan Hipkiss (Leicester)

Oh joy so it seems more muddled selection thinking. Noon survives again. Cipriani dropped. Right call? Well, it seems he is taking the flack for the dog’s breakfast against South Africa. I would have kept him in. See how he likes coping with Mr. Nonu! That would have been more punishment! Rees is dropped despite being one of the few relative successes last week. Kennedy back – have they admitted it was a mistake to discard him after the Pacific Isles match?

Weird on the bench. Gone is the 5/2 split, again, is this an admission it was flawed original thinking to have it for three matches? No lock on bench, unless Croft is now seen as a lock? Hang on I thought Kennedy was viewed as being lightweight? No Crane on bench – I thought he was worth a go. Pleased to see Hipkiss on bench at least.

No Magic Wand in January

What makes the current situation even more depressing is that the EPS agreement allows for only five changes to be made to the squad in January. The agreement unfortunately also stipulates that zero coaches can be swapped out, even if they have been sub standard under three successive head coaches.

Ok, so Jonno might fiddle a few places as he did with Delon Armitage but what to do?

OUT (of the top 32)

Noon, Palmer, Barkley, Monye, Payne/Sheridan (I think Sheridan is vastly overrated)

IN

Moody, Banahan, Abendanon, Stefan Armitage, Nick Wood

Between a rock and a hard place

Before the start of the autumn internationals, I said that if we got a win against the big three, we could consider ourselves ahead of schedule.

Three down, one to go and we’ve not even got close to the draw against one onf the big three that I considered a successful campaign.

The game against South Africa, the World Champions, was as depressing a game I’ve seen in a long time. At least in the pool game against South Africa I had backed England to lose by 31 points or more. This time there was no anaesthetic.

It was hard to take anything positive out of the game. The lineout was ok against renowed lineout operators. In patches, Easter, Rees, Haskell, Care, Armitage and Sackey looked like they were playing at the right level. Cipriani belongs to this level but is out of sorts. In his short international career, three try-giving charge downs is two too many for a player of his supposed calibre. Flutey has shown glimpses but needs someone other than Noon outside him.

The pack looks wrong. How much blame should lie at the door of Wells? How long can the pack underperform yet the head coach takes the blame? Vickery & Shaw look like donkeys of yesteryear. An explanation of Kennedy’s demotion after the game against the Pacific Islanders has yet to be given. Monye’s body language at the tackle betrays him as a speedster without a natural feel for the game.

Borthwick – the only established captaincy candidate – continues to look out of his depth as a player. Palmer shows little promise. Yet there is no candidate enforcer for the front five (prefereably two).

The biggest problem against South Africa was moving the ball. It is an established key to success in rugby football that you pass the ball in front of the player, and he takes it at speed. Too often on Saturday, the receiver took the ball static, went to start running and get up to speed, only to be met by the blitz defence and taken down when he stood or even further back. Basics. Mini rugby basics.

And yet, what can be done?

Nothing.

The squad, picked in July, is in place. There look to be several Wasps players too many. There look to be many players trading on last season’s form and reputation (longer for Vickery).

So, nothing can be done for New Zealand. The only hope is the next squad review point before the Six Nations. Anyone want my ticket?

Half-Term Mini-Report

As the first part of the season comes to a close, and the club game gives way to the fest of entertainment that is the Autumn Internationals, I would like to reflect on my pre-season wish list, and admit that I obviously know nothing about club rugby!

Yes it is early days but already my prediction list is in tatters.

Saracens for the EDF is already out the window (and how long can this unpopular, unwatched runt of a tournament survive by the way?)

Clermont for the HEC was clearly a romantic pipe dream swayed by 40 minutes against wasps last season.

Gloucester for the GP is also as likely as a straight scrum feed. I really thought this time they would have been born again hard. Seems I was wrong.

That is why I don’t gamble.

The furore over ELVs and protocols has been done to death in the press and up and down bars across the country but a few things are worth mentioning. Wasps for instance. Who would have thought they could have begun so badly. The first few defeats were put down to their typical sluggish start, but it is now apparent that they are in some kind of turmoil if not quite yet freefall. A source close to the team has told me that things are not well behind the scenes and that some addition or change to the coaching line-up might be made sooner rather than later. Well we shall see about that but it bodes ill for the Lions unless Geech and Edwards can get to grips with the situation at the breakdown (the venerable Mr. Barnes makes some interesting points here).

I think that some coaches and players have blamed the ELVs for aimless kicking contests when in reality some of the fault lies in poor coaching and poor tactics. Having said that, the law allowing the maul to be collapsed is a farce, as is the rule allowing any number in the lineout. These two rules have in one swoop eradicated a vital aspect of the game. I sincerely hope the maul is returned to its rightful position when the IRB reviews the law trials after this season.

My fear for the Autumn games is that we are going to have a dog’s breakfast at the breakdown. How will referees interpret the laws? How will the Tri-nations teams adjust? By rights, New Zealand and Australia should get whistled into oblivion (seeing as they have apparently ignored the edict imposed on GP teams to stay on feet at ruck time). What are the odds they won’t be? Answers on a postcard…..