England Injuries – Crisis or Blessing?

Who would be a coach eh? It is bad enough for us pub selectors to try and pick a team from the rubble of the EPS, so imagine how it must feel for Jonno as he sits through each weekend with chewed nails and winces with each injury report. No sooner does he write out [...]

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 [...]

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. [...]

Italy 19 – 23 England – 10/02/2008

I missed the first 20 minutes because I couldn’t get away from my daughter’s birthday party early as planned. Sounds like I missed the highlights.
Here’s my take on what I’ve watched, heard and read:
Despite Wilkinson saying that all the players were fantastic, my sources are telling me that the fault of the performance, or lack [...]