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 [...]

So How Was it For You? The 2008 6 Nations and England

Before the 6N started one of the more popular rugby forums was running a thread titled, “Your tournament hopes and fears”. It asked fans to state their ideal tournament, and their nightmare scenario.
My ideal realistic outcome was to lose no more than one match and to finish no worse than second. My nightmare scenario was to [...]

England 33 – 10 Ireland : Ireland ahead in race to ditch coach

In many ways, this was a strange game.
Ireland came out of the blocks like greyhounds, racking up ten unanswered points before taking their foot completely off the gas. It was almost as if they realised that a thumping victory would extend Eddie O’Sullivan’s reign so they showed what they could do if they wanted to [...]

England team to play Ireland 6N:2008

Cipriani in – hurrah! Wilkinson the only change – boo!
What can we say? Ashton has left enough rope to hang himself. It’s clear to me that he’s as clueless at selection as

The value bet: weekend 08/03/2008

OddsChecker
Wales v Ireland – Currently no standout value in the market. I’m looking at Wales at about 6/4. Wales have shown more quality than Ireland in recent performances. With doubts over Dempsey and Murphy and with Gatland having a psychological advantage over O’Sullivan, I fancy Wales’ chances. But 6/4 doesn’t meet my criteria of value. [...]