More Than Balls

Irish break their duck as Ospreys limp out of Europe

2011-01-16T19:50:00.001Z

The Ospreys lacked any creativity, go-forward and passion as they lost to London Irish 24-12 at the Madejski Stadium and with it any chance of qualifying for the final eight of this year’s Heineken Cup.

The Exiles, who had prior to this match failed to win any of their past ten matches in all competitions, threw the ball around and made opportunities for themselves scoring two tries to nil through wingers Topsy Ojo and Sailosi Tagicakibau. They were not without simple mistakes, but the Ospreys failed to capitalise and looked downhearted throughout, as another year passes without the stars of Swansea collecting Europe’s highest prize.

The battle-lines may have been drawn on a football pitch in middle England, but for this afternoon it was overrun by Celtic rivalry – and it was the Welsh who almost got off to a dream start. London Irish failed to gather the kick off, a problem they had throughout the match, allowing the Ospreys to swarm in predatory fashion towards the Irish line.

Hooker Richard Hibbard made a strong break only to be brought down five meters short, before Chris Hala’ufia’s huge defensive hit drove Mike Philips back over the try line he had just crossed without managing to ground the ball.

But despite the initial pressure, Irish looked the brighter in the opening 15-minutes. Captain for the day, Seilala Mapusua, cut a good line to break the Ospreys 22 only to be stripped by Dan Bigger and a sleeping Welsh defence almost saw Irish sneak a touchdown from an initially unconvincing Darren Allinson box-kick.

Dan Bowden slotted a penalty to give Irish the lead, but from the resulting restart, Irish failed to organise themselves and allowed the Ospreys to regain the ball and attack with vigour - Biggar instantly levelling the scores with a penalty of his own in the 18th minute.

Irish though didn’t respond like a side lacking confidence. A burst from Delon Armitage put the Exiles on the front foot before they found themselves with an overlap on the left wing. The ball was fed to Tagicakibau who finished from 20-meters as he has done with potency for so many years. Bowden who was moved to fly-half while Ryan Lamb still warmed the bench, missed the touchline conversion.

He did however knock over his next kick when his side were awarded a penalty from a scrum to put Irish ahead 11-3 after half an hour.

Referee’s George Clancy’s interpretation of the scrum deemed Irish were on top at the set play, which would have surely interested the likes of Martin Johnson as young Alex Corbisiero brilliantly combated the power and experience of British Lion, Adam Jones, and was lively in the loose.

A penalty a piece from the two fly-halves ended the first period 14-6 to Irish, who were good value for their lead, and continued it instantly in the second half. A break and clever offload from Bowden created the space for Ojo to run under the posts, leaving a simple conversion for the New Zealander who started it all.

Biggar missed two simple penalties, as the Welshmen looked all at sea with a light haze of rain drifting into the Madejski, and even the introduction of Lee Byrne for Barry Davies couldn’t get the Ospreys firing.

The Irish back-row of Samoan George Stowers, Tongan Chris Hala’ufia, and Englishman Steffon Armitage – who plays like a South Sea Islander – were superb throughout, not allowing Mike Philips to boss games as he likes nor make any of his trademark darting runs around the fringes of the breakdown.

Biggar did kick a penalty before being replaced and James Hook knocked over a further score to bring the Ospreys to within two scores with fifteen minutes remaining at 21-12.

And a terrible feeling of déjà-vu must have sunk into the pit of Toby Booth’s stomach as Bowden missed a long range penalty on 69, and then James Buckland was penalised with a yellow card for tackling the man without the ball – a booking due to a culmination of Irish infringements around their line, which meant they played the last nine minutes with just 14 men.

But the Irish defence and spirit was resolute, highlighted by a huge hit from captain Mapusua on Jerry Collins which led to a turnover and effectively ended any chance of an unlikely turnaround.

Ryan Lamb came on in the dying moments and slotted a neat penalty from the junction of the Ospreys’ 10 meter line and the left hand five meter line to give the Exiles a long awaited 24-12 victory.

Bath clinch crucial win with the luck of the Irish still missing in 2011

2011-01-01T17:56:00.001Z

History repeated itself as Bath snatched a last gasp win against London Irish at the Madejski stadium to record their first Aviva Premiership victory since October. The visitors beat Irish earlier in the season thanks to a late Nick Abendanon try, but this time around secured a 24-25 with an 80th minute Olly Barkley penalty.

Bath and London Irish went into the match with two of the worst recent records in English rugby, and the number of mistakes and penalties conceded by both sides during the 80-minutes made it seem as if their dismal runs had become habit for each set of players.

Bath Director of Rugby Steve Meehan said: “I was really pleased with the team coming back from being ten points down.

"Winning in that fashion means a lot and obviously we will be very happy on the coach, but we are also aware we need to cash in on this big time over the next week as we have a very important four or five months ahead of us.”

The crucial change came when Bath moved to a more forward orientated game at half time, to grind out a victory as a light rain set in across Reading.

Irish made a flying start to the game. From a Bath line-out Steffon Armitage’s pressure on Butch James caused the South African to spill the ball which was hacked through by centre Dan Bowden. The ball was quickly recycled wide for Sailosi Tagicakibau to smash through two tackles and score in the corner, which Chris Malone majestically converted.

The home side attacked at a ferocious tempo, while Bath were making too many basic errors and gifted the home side penalties for mindless infringements around the tackle area. A Malone goal increased his side’s advantage to ten points after seven minutes.

The game settled down as the opening period wore on, and Bath began to force their way into the match. Delon Armitage missed a penalty from well inside his own half, before Olly Barkley slotted from 50-meters having missed a much simpler chance just minutes before.

A needless quick line-out from Malone in his own 22 left Delon Armitage isolated and three Bath defenders swarmed over him to force another penalty in front of the posts which Barkley had no difficulty in converting to make the scores 10-6.

But an inspired moment created Irish’s second try of the match. A neat run-around by Elvis Seveali’l with George Stowers created the overlap to feed Delon Armitage who screamed down the right wing. He passed inside to Richard Thorpe who bustled over the line to leave Malone with a difficult touchline kick – but this didn’t seem to faze the fly-half who neatly converted.

A further penalty from Barkley before the break made the score 17-9.

Bath started the second half as they played the first – making silly errors when in promising positions – but a nicely weighted kick from Butch James pinned Irish in their own corner and set up a sustained period of attacking pressure for the visitors.

They spurned their first opportunity with a knock on in the tackle five meters from the line, and then after opting to kick to the corner after a further penalty, Irish were reduced to 14-men when Thorpe saw yellow for slowing the ball down.

Eventually the green Irish wall of defence which had stood firm for over 10 minutes broke down. After one unsuccessful appeal to the video referee, scrum-half Michael Claassens broke from second phase ball off the back of a scrum to score.

Barkley then took the West Countrysiders into the lead - converting Claassens’ try and shortly after slotting another penalty to put his side in front for the first time in the game, 17-19, and with the momentum firmly on their side.

Toby Booth turned to his bench and brought on the experience of Clarke Dermody, Bob Casey and Seilala Mapusua, which made an instant impact.

Topsy Ojo broke through a weak tackle in midfield to run in under the posts from an attacking Irish line-out and restore the home side’s lead. Bowden, who moved to fly-half with the removal of Malone while Ryan Lamb remained on the bench, kicked the conversion in front of the posts and the Madejski was instantly lifted.

But it was Bath who hit back next with a penalty bringing them to within a kick of victory at 24-22 and with eight minutes remaining of the match.

Irish were turned over on their 10-meter line after a strong Bath scrum, who used the possession to move themselves to within drop-kickable range. But another infringement left the England centre with a simple penalty to take victory and leave visibly frustrated Booth and his Irish coaching staff scratching their heads as to how they managed to throw away the game.

Blues end 2010 with a win despite the Ospreys taking flight in the second half

2010-12-31T16:16:00.001Z

Last weekend the talk might have been about the return of one Welsh centre, but today at the Cardiff City Stadium, Jamie Roberts made his first start for the Blues since wrist surgery and helped his side to a shaky 27-25 over the Ospreys.

Roberts' return to the starting 15 was a quite one, but he did show some strong running and a solid defence which optimised his region's performance.

The 19-3 first half advantage Dai Young’s side took in at the break proved to be the difference as the Ospreys hit back in the second period, led by substitute Mike Philips and winger Richard Fussell, to set up a tense finish in the Welsh capital.

On a night where fireworks will light up the night skies across the country, there was very little spark in the first half. Dan Parks, who is often criticised for not showing attacking impetus was the difference between the sides as Cardiff capitalised on almost every visit in and around the Ospreys 22-metre; while their opponents tried to recreate some of the magic which saw them demoralise the Scarlets earlier in the week.

Two penalties from the Scotland fly-half in the first five minutes of the game was followed by an eighth minute try in the left hand corner from Tom James. The 23-year old capitalised on a Blues overlap after a turnover 25-meters out, as the game was being blitzed by the home side during the opening exchanges – Parks converted.

Man-of-the-match from the Ospreys’ 60-17 home victory over the Scarlets, Dan Biggar, kicked his side their first points of the afternoon shortly afterwards, but two brilliantly taken drop-goals by Parks gave the Blues a 17-3 lead before referee Nigel Owens brought a disappointing first half to a close.

The second period was spiced up after just two minutes from an unlikely source – Owens – as he sin-binned a prop from each side – Tau Filise and Paul James. Trouble at the scrum which has plagued rugby across Europe this season drove the referee to dismiss both men after a series of fracas.

The extra space may or may not have made the difference as Richard Mustoe found the smallest of gaps from a standing start to score a try from nothing beginning at the half-way line.

Both sides made changes as both sides saw some of their star talent roll on, which would have pleased Warren Gatland more than anyone. Leigh Halfpenny returned after his long injury lay off, while Mike Philips came on for the visitors and gave them the aggressive edge they were missing.

The Ospreys began to attack with purpose and lay siege on the Blues line for five minutes and multiple phases, but they were met by a resolute defensive wall. Richard Fussell looked the most likely to break the deadlock with his direct and pacey running, but it was his team-mate, Paul James, who had just returned from his 10-minute break, who breached the line.

Dan Biggar missed the conversion, but James Hook did not make the same mistake when Tommy Bowe scored almost instantly afterwards after intercepting a midfield pass from Parks.

The Ospreys were back to within two scores at 24-15 and were three points closer when Hook landed a penalty, having missed another more difficult attempt.

But with half an eye on the clock, and their first half cushion, the Blues clung onto their lead and just made sure they ended 2010 on a high.

Ceri Sweeney, who came on to replace Parks knocked over a penalty from 40-meters which proved to be crucial, as from the restart he sliced his clearance kick to give the Ospreys the field position to score a 77th minute try though Andrew Bishop. The conversion was kicked by Hook, to set up a tense last two minutes for Cardiff.

The only solace for the fighting Ospreys was a losing bonus point which maintained their second position in the Magners League table, while Cardiff elevated themselves to third and just a point behind their South Wales rivals.

Gavin Henson waltzes back into professional rugby at Wembley

2010-12-26T16:47:00.001Z

With the fake tan still very much evident, Gavin Henson made his Premiership and Saracens debut today against Wasps at Wembley.

His long awaited return to the pitch came after 51-minutes, replacing Michael Tagicakibau at outside centre and immediately made an impact. He was so close to making a dream start, going over the line having been on the pitch for just two minutes and with his first touch of the ball. But scrum-half Joe Simpson was carried over with Henson, wrapped around the Welshman like Katya Virshilas has been since September.

A debut try could have seen his new side home and dry at 15-0 with an easy conversion to come, but the incident inspired Wasps, not the North Londoners, as they came came back with two penalties to bring themselves to within a score.

Saracens, however, did enough and held the six-time English champions at bay winning 13-6.

With the exception of the initial flurry of excitement Henson had a quiet game. This is to be expected for a man 18-months out of rugby, but you couldn’t have put a hat-trick topped with a 50-meter penalty to win the game à-la Wales versus England,2005, past him.

Henson expects to be back in the international fold come February and the Six Nations, while he also expects to play at fly-half as his very frank interview on Scrum V earlier in the year suggested.

To achieve the latter, he needs to overcome the very impressive Owen Farrell who has deputised at Saracens after Derick Hougaard put himself out for the season. The rookie has performed impeccably, but whether because the game was at Wembley, the pressure of Henson or the fact that against Wasps he came up against a wily, international class openside flanker in Serge Betsen, Farrell junior did look slightly out of his depth on this occasion.

With some more training under his belt, Henson probably will step in, and amongst the group of young English prospects and South African exiles looking to prove a point, Henson could excel.

He was reserved after the game, saying he hopes to start in the next week or two at 10 or 12, and only then can he think about a return to the red shirt of Wales.

To reach the form required, other Saracens like Schalk Brits could be exactly the sort of player to help their new Welsh team-mate thrive. The hooker’s strong running could work beautifully off the shoulder of Henson’s passing or his own line breaks.

His return within the ranks of the current Welsh set-up may be greeted with mixed emotions, but for rugby fans and spectators Gavin Henson brings sparks of magic to light up pitches, fill stadiums and create incredible match winning moments.

Jacobs and Wasps sting Irish's title ambitions

2010-11-21T16:12:00.001Z

London Irish began their trio of season defining matches with a 33-25 defeat against Wasps at High Wycombe in a sensational game of rugby.

Adams Park remained a bogey ground for the Exiles as their run there extended to just one win in ten. Both sides welcomed back a number of regulars who were rested during the LV-Cup ties and others deemed not necessary for their international squads to add extra spice to the occasion.

A frenetic start saw high intensity running, and both teams won kickable penalties in the first five minutes. Ryan Lamb - who has had a superb start to the season - pushed his from the touchline wide, while opposite number, Dave Walder, made no mistake from just inside the Irish half.

One of the players released from Martin Johnson’s squad earlier in the week, Tim Payne, was punished twice in quick succession at the scrum, gifting Lamb the opportunity to level the scores. Irish continued to play with power at speed, but married with the dexterity, calmness and accuracy of their in-form stand-off’s kicking from hand.

But it was Wasps who scored the opening try after a quick-witted 22-drop out from Walder put them on the attack against a disorganised Irish defence. Good hands from the home side unleashed Tom Varndell, and quick recycling from England hopeful Joe Simpson led to Simon Kefu cutting a line before feeding centre partner Ben Jacobs, who carried three defenders over the line to score.

The man who started it all knocked over the conversion to make it 10-3.

Simpson, with his seemingly trademark socks around his ankles, was constantly buzzing around the base of the breakdown. His incredible turn of pace and rapid service gave Wasps fantastic opportunities in attack, and while all the talk has been about Ben Youngz in England’s number nine shirt – the 22-year old who has been so unfortunate with injuries, will be ready to step up if and when called upon.

Irish quickly retaliated, but in comparison to the pace of Simpson and the game up until the 28th minute, the try was made with brute strength. Chris Hala’ufia swatted three Wasps defenders off the back of a scrum with his right hand to pop to the supporting Paul Hodgson who ran in from 25-meters to bring his side back to within two points - Lamb failing with another touchline kick.

A penalty each left the score 15-13 at half-time, but the home side were down to 14-men after Payne saw yellow for a number of needless penalties.

Irish took full advantage of their extra man straight from the kick off, as positive play took them from 22 to 22, where Lamb put another deft chip through causing chaos in the Wasps defence. The ball popped up to Dean Bowden to dab under the posts – though there was more than a sniff of a forward pass in the build up – and Lamb easily converted.

Walder retaliated instantly with his fourth kick from five, but the second half didn’t get going until the 60th minute.

The Exiles spurned two opportunities just meters from the Wasps line in quick succession as Nick Kennedy was turned over when an extra pass would have seen Topsy Ojo cross the whitewash, and then Steffon Armitage left his rival England openside flanker - Tom Rees - for dead, only to knock it forward under pressure from the covering tackle.

The Exiles were dominant in this period and a score could have buried their hosts. But from nothing, Wasps turned the game on its head.

From a scrum on the half way line, man-of-the-match Jacobs ghosted through the opposition defence, feeding Joe Worsley. Quick ball again from the breakdown left the home side with a huge overlap, allowing Kefu to stroll over. Walder added the extras to put his side back in the lead 23-18 and they never looked back.

Worsley did what his team mates couldn’t earlier and smashed Hala’ufia on the Wasps 10-meter line, where his back row partner and captain Rees turned the ball over to launch an instinctive counter attack. Varndell was given the ball in space and there was no stopping the flying wing. The conversion stretched Wasps’ lead to 12-points with just five minutes remaining.

Irish thought they had secured at least a losing bonus point when substitute prop Paulica Ion went over with 90-seconds remaining, but Wasps, who finally won a penalty against the Irish scrum, kicked three points to ensure a 33-25 win, and an empty handed return trip down the M40 for Toby Booth’s men.

American football doesn't start any fires in London

2010-11-05T17:05:00.000Z

Fireworks, lights, sparkle, glitz, glamour, beer, excitement, passion, hot dogs, music, superstars, exhilaration, big – American.

Last weekend the National Football League (NFL) of America rolled into London and dominated the spiritual home of English sport like nothing else. Red, white and blue didn’t just drape the inside of the stadium, but outside there was a remarkable ‘Tailgate Party’ serving beer, food, American Football-influenced fairground-esque attractions, a mock stadium and a live music stage.

Merchandise stalls hawked the wares of all the NFL franchises showing this event was not just about the San Francisco 49ers and the Denver Broncos, but was an opportunity for every fan of the sport in Britain to celebrate the game.

The scale of the event was unreal – something not seen in the UK even at the biggest sporting occasions – yet this was just a regular season game.

Hundreds of figures decorated the parameter of the pitch from TV crews, cheerleaders, a drumming band brought especially from San Francisco and of course the players – the huge squads took a side of the pitch each dwarfing ‘soccer’s’ technical areas as just about big enough for the huge Gatorade containers.

It is a shame the players – those competing in the sport – are the ones mentioned last, as amongst the razzmatazz the game is lost.

As flames reach to the sky and multi-platinum musicians are rolled on-and-off the pitch the spectacle overshadows the actual event.

When only an hour of actual play is scheduled, but it takes getting on for four hours to complete, there is something wrong – especially at the scheduled cheerleader displays with two minutes remaining of each quarter irrespective of the momentum of the teams or how close the game may be.

A further gripe is the number of players used. Huge squads are rotated for every play depending on the situation, with the sportsmen competing clearly labelled as only possessing a single discernable skill – to tackle, to run, to throw, to catch, to kick or to get in the way – as was the case of the 6’3” Denver Bronco who ticks scales over the 24-stone mark.

There were some awesome moments in the game – spectacular fakes, unbelievable catches, huge hits and incredible excitement – and when there was a few quick phases and a flow to the game it was exciting to watch. But these occasions were far too far apart and often lost as your eyes were caught by the shiny added extras around the side rather than the grind of the main event.

American Football is an institution in the States as families attend with BBQs on the back of their pick-ups and treat it as a day out, and perhaps my nonselence about it is ingrained with the British vs. American psyche as I expect most of our cousins across the pond view 11-men dressed in white and standing on a field all day, for five days, with breaks for lunch and scones a tea-time as somewhat peculiar.

When the NFL came to Wembley it was incredible event – the atmosphere was like no-other and the excitement was phenomenal – but the game was forgotten.

P.S – 49ers won 24-16.

Boarding Pass - Steve Borthwick

2010-09-29T11:04:00.000+01:00

Name: Steve Borthwick
Club: Saracens
Position: Second Row
International Honours: England (57 caps), England A

There are two schools of thought surrounding Steve Borthwick: the first argues he has been made a sacrificial scapegoat by Martin Johnson - dropped after a dreadful run of results for England to keep the Twickenham boo-boys at bay. While the second believes his omission is deserved for an over-rated player who never should have been given the captaincy let alone for the length of time he held it.

As events transpired, Johnson was given a get-out clause when push-came-to-shove, as he picked up an injury ruling him out of the summer tour.

While away, and in Australia especially, England impressively dominated the scrum and of course beat the Wallabies in their back yard for the first time since their World Cup victory in 2003.

After this historic win, the likes of Tom Palmer and Courtney Lawes who have also impressed so much at their club, cannot be dropped – while Simon Shaw remains as the iconic leader of the Three Chariots after his performances for the Lions in South Africa and evergreen stature.

Every coach who has selected Borthwick has openly admired both his performance and leadership qualities, while most of those who have watched him seem to miss the good work he reportedly does around the field.

Indeed Brendan Venter, after Saracens’ 24-17 win over Northampton at the weekend, praised his captain’s overall contribution to the victory.

It was a shame Borthwick wasn’t able to compete against Lawes at Vicarage Road – his younger compatriot rested by Jim Mallinder as part of the England Elite Performance Squad agreement – but his performance was not as deserving as Venter’s admiration suggested and a long way away from what would be required of a lock donning the red rose on his chest.

When taking the ball into contact he looked half-hearted and often went backwards against the committed Northampton defence - making only four meters during the 80-minutes.

Further, last year’s defeated Premiership finalists seemed to draw their inspiration from the South African contingent of particularly Neil de Kock, Derick Hougaard and Jacques Berger - not their skipper.

And the line-out wasn’t being dominated by Borthwick as much as one would expect based on his reputation.

Chances of going to New Zealand; 6.5/10 – The disappointment of Borthwick’s omission from the EPS squad was intensified as he heard the news while on his honeymoon, but despite this, he isn’t in the international wilderness. He is in the Saxons squad and with an unfortunate yet likely injury inevitably going to occur to one of his competitors in England’s engine room, Borthwick is the next in line to be called up.

Johnson clearly rates Borthwick by making him captain and retaining faith with him for so long, and come September 2011 Borthwick will at least be an experienced option who wouldn’t be intimidated by his surroundings, potentially giving him the edge over someone like Newcastle’s James Hudson or Dan Ward-Smith.

Not bad, hey?

2010-09-26T22:14:00.002+01:00

Hougaard's boot KOs Northampton as Saints fall

2010-09-26T17:18:00.000+01:00

Saracens vs. Northampton Saints
September 26, 2010
Vicarage Road, Watford

HT: 15-12
FT: 24-17

Saracens extended their winning streak against Northampton Saints and in doing so ended the Premiership’s only remaining 100 per cent record this season, winning at Vicarage Road 24-17.

Last season’s beaten Premiership finalists were the more composed of the two sides who didn’t become overawed by the visitors making the better start to the game, and capitalised with the metronomic boot of South African fly-half Derick Hougaard kicked in difficult conditions,

Saints travelled to Watford without the injured Chris Ashton and rested Courtney Lawes as part of the England Elite Performance Squad agreement and couldn’t recreate the cutting edge and spark which has optimised their exciting performances this season.

The signs looked good for Northampton, the front-row immediately taking off from where they left last week against Bath by dominating the scrum, presenting Shane Geraghty with the opportunity to kick his side into the lead after just five minutes.

Opposite number, Derick Hougaard levelled but Saracens were immediately pegged back with a penalty, though it could have been a lot worse.

With a three-on-two opportunity Geraghty put through a delightful grubber kick but Bruce Reihana failed to gather the slippy ball. An advantage was being played by referee Dave Pearson – whose late arrival at the ground due to traffic delayed the kick-off – and Geraghty restored the three point advantage.

But the fly-half failed to extend the lead further after another penalty was awarded to the Saints. Deon Carstens was the man signalled out as Brian Mujati turned the screw at the scrum.

The visitors continued to pile the pressure on their hosts. Neil de Kock attempted to clear his lines but was charged down by Calum Clark as a swarm of white shirts forced Saracens over their own line for a tricky five-meter scrum. Carstens was again penalised at the set-piece but rather than assert their dominance, Northampton opted for a kick at goal to stretch their lead to 3-9.

Despite being on the back foot, Saracens brought the game level. Saint’s flanker Tom Wood conceded a penalty for obstruction, which Hougaard slotted and then launched a huge drop-goal from 40-meters showing his ability.

Saracens began to gain control of the match around the field as the relentless character of coach Brendon Venter was optimised through his forwards who dominated at the breakdown with quick recycling and powerful phases.

Northampton conceded too many penalties around the fringes of the ruck and Pearson showed Calum Clark the yellow card – who was making his first start for Northampton. Hougaard again took his chance and a further penalty four minutes later gave his side a 15-9 advantage.

Saints coped well with a man disadvantage and it was they who went into the break with the last word - a fourth penalty of the match from Geraghty making it a three point game.

Saracens kicked off the second half with the introduction of the enigmatic Schalk Brits and immediately stretched their lead after a poor attempt by Northampton to gather the restart gave their opponents the opportunity to attack, and were caught offside in front of the posts. Hougaard’s kick from 10-meters his sixth score of the afternoon.

A dull second half saw Saracens enforce their authority on the game. Hougaard slotted another penalty as the pressure began to tell on the young Northampton side.

Geraghty kicked out on the full pinning his side back in their own 22 before the England hopeful was sin-binned for lying on the wrong side of the ruck giving Hougaard the simple task of slotting another kick for Saracens and his 24th point of the game.

With their first defeat of the season bearing down on them, the 14 Saints seemed revitalised and for a slip by centre Joe Ansbro or an extra pass by Dylan Hartley, they would have scored the first try of the game.

Saints continued to press and were close to scoring again. Soane Tonga’uiha - who came so close to moving south down the M1 himself last season - was just short of the line after a drive from five meters out. The play reverted back to a penalty against Saracens for coming in at the side, although Steve Borthwick was lucky to escape the bin himself for slowing the ball.

Saracens turned the Northampton scrum as temperatures came close to boiling over.

Much of the pre-match talk was centred around the volatile relationship between the two clubs, but good game management from Pearson and his linesmen kept a lid on the rivalry which has the potential to reach similar levels to the hatred between Leicester and Wasps in the coming years if these two sides continue to improve.

The losing bonus point was secured by Northampton in the final moments - Ashton’s replacement Paul Diggin finally breaching the Saracens defence – to make sure they only dropped one place to second, but Jim Mallinder will go back to Franklin’s Garden’s with the knowledge his side still have a lot of work to do.

Saracens

Penalties: Hougaard 7:

Drop-goals: Hougaard

Northampton

Tries: Diggin

Penalties: Geraghty 4

Boarding Pass - Jonathan Davies

2010-09-20T18:54:00.001+01:00

Name: Jonathan Davies
Club: Llanelli Scarlets
Position: Centre
International Honours: Wales (7 caps), Wales U20s

Over the past seven days the news has all been about a certain Welsh centre – or ‘fly-half’ – but this is going to focus on another – Jonathan Davies.

At just 22 the centre has the raw materials to go far, and will hope if his form at Llanelli continues he can add to his collection of caps he has already begun to amass.

With Henson only performing in front of television cameras for the next few months, and Jamie Roberts out of Wales’ autumn internationals after undergoing wrist surgery, Davies has the best opportunity he could wish for to impress Warren Gatland and make the red 12 shirt his own.

During his man-of-the-match performance against Magners League new boys Aironi last weekend, he demonstrated the repertoire of skills he has at his disposal, and the base he already has from where he must improve.

Each of his three tries showed another facet of his attacking play. The first came from a perfectly timed and well angled run which split the Italians’ defence, as well as pace and dexterity to take him half the length of the field to score.

Great support play made his second possible, always on the shoulder of the equally impressive George North, while power completed his hat-trick as his tackler could only watch on lying in his wake.

Playing outside the fantastically experienced and calm Stephen Jones, and inside Regan King - whose skill and flair was epitomised with the timing and execution of the inside ball for Davies’ opening score - is only going to benefit his rugby education; and the step up to international level could be quite a familiar one, with his team-mate at fly-half and James Hook creating holes as his centre partner.

In defence he is no mug – willing to get stuck in at the breakdown and committed in the tackle, he played at times as an extra back-row forward.

Chances of flying to New Zealand: 7/10 – If the Wales World Cup squad was picked tomorrow, Davies would almost certainly be guaranteed a place, but come next year much may have changed. Roberts and Hook will occupy two of the centre berths and a lot depends on what the future holds for other contenders like Henson and Tom Shanklin.

The scrum-hatted back’s future is largely in his own hands but he might miss out if Gatland prefers experience over the exuberance of youth - though it would be a very tough call.

Boarding Pass - David Strettle

2010-09-13T20:33:00.000+01:00

Name: David Strettle
Club: Saracens
Position: Wing/Centre
International Honours: England (6 caps), England Sevens

Sometimes a change is good for the soul – and if David Strettle’s first 40-minutes as a Saracen is anything to go by, his move may prove to be the reigniting his career has been looking for.

He scored after his introduction at the weekend against Sale, and some of the pace and strength which won him his first six England caps and the 2007 Professional Rugby Players’ Association Young Player of the Season was back.

But since then, two injuries have hampered his development which saw him miss the World Cup in France and then pull out of the Six Nations a year later, and the fear was another English talent had gone to waste.

The signs from Saracens’ 28-13 victory looked extremely positive for the winger and there were glimpses of his old best. At 27 he is not the spring chicken his looks would lead people to believe and he has an awful lot of competition to wrestle his place back into England’s starting XV.

Though he was selected in Martin Johnson’s Elite Performance Squad, he still has Mark Cueto, Chris Ashton and Matt Banahan to contend with along with the likes of Ugo Monye and Tom Varndell breathing down his neck.

Chances of flying to New Zealand: 7/10 – As long as Strettle stays fit, his jinking running akin to Jason Robinson should see him easily make his long awaited trip to the World Cup. Unlike the more direct and powerful runners also on offer for England, he is a different option which could unlock some of the world’s best drilled defences with his unpredictable lines and squirming knack to find his way over the whitewash.

Southend teach Hinckley lessons about National rugby

2010-09-12T13:50:00.000+01:00

Southend continued their perfect start to the season as they again picked up maximum points in a 10-53 victory away at Hinckley.

The visitors were clinical in their attack and devastating with quick offloading out of the tackle to see them run in eight tries to the Leicestershire side’s one.

Hinckley are still awaiting their first win after returning to the National leagues for the first time in 10 years and will not look back on this game fondly as defensive lapses, especially around the tackle area, and being slow to react and reorganise after turnovers proved decisive.

“We were beaten by a better side” said Hinckley Director of Rugby Paul Walsh.

“We are still learning at this level. Today we leant if you miss touch from kicks and miss tackles you are going to get punished.”

Southend’s captain Chris Green was pleased with his side: “We got the five points we came for today and put in a professional performance, but we have to get better for next week and improve on every game.”

Despite their 125-mile journey, Southend rushed out the blocks with full-back Andrew Frost scoring and converting his own try with just four minutes on the clock, after several quick phases were directed by the electric Samuel Arnott. The scrum half bossed his forwards around the field creating quick ball all afternoon from which his side were able to capitalise.

Despite Frost knocking over a penalty the young home side continued to try and play an expansive brand of rugby.

Tenacious scrum half Spencer Eke was rewarded for his enterprise, capitalising on Frost’s mistake under the bouncing ball to collect his own kick and score under the posts.

Guy Swalding converted and kicked a penalty off the cross-bar, but the remainder of the game belonged to Southend.

Hinckley flanker Benjamin Avent was sin-binned as the Essex side scored 14-unanswered points in the subsequent 10 minutes.

The defensive frailties of Walsh’s side, especially around the tackle area, and slow reactions after turnovers were exposed by Southend as they secured their try bonus point going into the break 10-27.

The second half was one-way traffic. The visitors relentlessly punished Hinckley’s mistakes, doubling their try tally of the first period.

The pick of the tires came after 47 minutes, as outstanding recycling out of the tackle, which summarised Southend’s play from both backs and forwards alike, gave centre Christopher Vaughan a walk over score.

Star Man: Samuel Arnott (Southend)

Referee: Will Halford

Attendance: 200

HT: 10-27, FT: 10-53

Scorers:

Hinckley

Tries: Eke 11

Conversions: Swadling 11

Penalties: Swadling 33

Southend

Tries: Frost 4 61, Guess 22, Boughtwood 32, Billings 37, Vaughan 47, Waring 52, Cleare 55

Conversions: Frost 4, 22, 48, 53, 62

Penalties: Frost 8

Boarding Pass - Ryan Lamb

2010-09-07T13:07:00.000+01:00

Name: Ryan Lamb
Club: London Irish
Position: Fly-Half
International Honours: England U21, England Saxons

With 12-months to go until the World Cup in New Zealand, players across the planet are fighting it out to secure themselves a seat on the plane to the competition.

To begin what will be a weekly look at men who are making a claim and demanding their selection, I turn to London Irish’s Ryan Lamb.

At just 24, the fly-half has appeared to be around longer than his young age suggests while not always enjoying an entirely glowing career - arrested and charged for assault last year before being dropped by his home town club, Gloucester.

He has always showed glimpses of promise but has not been able to put a streak of form together and his kicking has been unreliable. Indeed last year he was not always first choice in the number 10 jersey for The Exiles, often finding himself on the bench behind Chris Malone.

However, under the tutorledge of Mike Catt, Lamb may well have a guide who can transform him into the player he has threatened to be. He has impressed during Irish’s pre-season, especially in Wales against the Newport Gwent-Dragon and continued his form through to the opening weekend of the Aviva Premiership.

Against Saracens at Twickenham, Lamb kicked 13 of his side’s 33 points and provided a perfect cross-field kick for Sailosi Tagicakibau to touch down in the second half. His passing created dangerous opportunities for the free-running and free-flowing London Irish backs, and he wore a cheeky smile of confidence throughout the game as he outshone another contender – Alex Goode.

With the departure of Danny Cipriani to Australia –seemingly knocking the Melbourne Rebel out of England reckoning – there are greater possibilities at 10.

But with the likes of Jonny Wilkinson, Toby Flood, Charlie Hodgson and Shane Geraghty all with more international experience and currently ahead of him in Martin Johnson’s pecking order, Lamb is going to need to put in some very strong performances if he is to break into the side and make his full international debut.

Chances of flying to New Zealand: 3.5/10 – Lamb needs to put months not minutes of form together and hope his attacking play is helped by powerful finishing from the team-mates around him, but he may have to rely on injury and poor performances from his competitors if he is to get his chance.

London Irish staff fear French dominance

2010-09-06T17:31:00.000+01:00

Northampton’s appearance as England’s only club in the quarter-finals of last season’s Heineken Cup may be a less of a blip and more of a trend according to London Irish’s coaching staff.

With the wage cap in England topped at £4million a year,Toby Booth is concerned the larger budgets and squad sizes in France will facilitate them to perform more consistently in both domestic and European competitions.

He said: “Dave [Ellis] and I had a little chuckle last week about operational budgets in France compared to the Premiership. There is Bayonne, I believe, who have just increased their budget by €4.3 million - they have increased their budget by the wage gap that we actually work on, so from that point of view it certainly isn’t going to get any easier, and makes things tough.

“It is going to make it harder to compete on two fronts across the board, not just for use but for anyone in the Premiership. Because there is only so many players that people have got and it’s about how you deal with dents, sometimes you don’t have options to rotate the players and sometimes it is just about getting a team out, and that puts different pressures onto players, staff and management.”

Defence coach Ellis, who also works with the French side and has been at Brive and Castres, issued similar words of concern. He said: “You will find more and more top French teams dominating the quarter-finals of the European competitions.

“A team I know quite well is Agen, who have just been promoted from the French second division and their budget is €9 million, as an example.

“The top two or three teams from England will always be in with a shout at winning the competition, but you just have to look at Toulouse, and clubs like Toulon and Racing Metro – with the amount of players they have got in their squads they can play a team for their Top 14 matches, then also have a second team available to play in the Heineken Cup – and you can say that about five or six of the top French sides.”

Despite this, Booth is in buoyant mood about Irish’s chances in the coming season: “We find ourselves in a situation where we are here to win every game, and if we win every game we have a chance of winning silverware.

“The Heineken Cup draw has given us an opportunity to mark ourselves against the big teams: the teams which have performed year on year, but also the new boys on the block with the financial muscle who are staking a claim [Munster, Ospreys and Toulon].

“We, as a group, are in a position where we believe that we can win every game, that we can win the Heineken Cup, that we can win the Premiership, that we can win the LV Cup – if we didn’t then we would be wasting our time.”

Hard grind needed for Exiles' success

2010-08-29T17:31:00.016+01:00

Printed above the door to the weights room at London Irish’s Sunbury training ground are the words: ‘Earn the Right’, and Toby Booth, his players and his staff know it is only hard work which will reap any rewards this season.

The Exiles kick off their Premiership campaign against Saracens at Twickenham on Saturday, but training for the season began on June 15 with players returning to get physically primed for the season ahead.

“We are looking to increase the physical levels of the previous season and are always trying to take a step up,” Irish’s Head of Strength and Conditioning Allan Ryan noted as the key aims for pre-season. “It is important to try and make sure the players get through injury free and are prepared for the season ahead.”

After a promising 2008-09 season which saw the club reach the Premiership final, injuries took their toll on Booth’s small squad last year, finishing outside the playoff spots and failing to progress through their group in Europe.

Ryan and his team are responsible for designing a programme to ensure the players are individually ready for the physical demands of professional rugby through a combination of general weights and team skills sessions, with additional tailored gym regimes, fat burners and skill development.

“You have to try and make training as specific to the game as possible,” Ryan insisted. “A 40 minute jog isn’t the best way to spend 40 minutes training - the intensity isn’t there to get the body ready for what is going to come.

“If you try and be as lean as you can and as strong as you can it goes a long way to keep you injury free through a hard season whether you are a professional player or someone who plays at the weekend and has a job to go to on Monday - the last thing they want to do is go in with a pulled hammy or a busted shoulder.

“The senior players are the same as they want to be available for selection as often as possible throughout the season and that’s the most important part of what we try to do - to make Toby’s [Booth] job difficult by giving him a full selection of players to choose from.”

Despite a small blip, Toby Booth is happy with where is squad is at this stage of the season. The head coach said: “We had a little disruption with the Leinster game being called off - that means not everyone will have a competitive fixture in the squad before we play the first game, which is disappointing because we like to give people opportunities. But there are 18 games in the first 10 weeks so people are going to be getting plenty of game time to get match fit.

“We did go to the French national training camp in Paris, where the facilities were fantastic, and that has allowed us to springboard on. There was no doubt in my mind after that we were in a much better place than we had been for some considerable time.”

Booth also stressed the difficult yet vital balance required between giving players enough contact time to be ready for the demands of the months ahead, while not hammering them into the ground during pre-season: “We have trained with London Welsh, as we have a partnership with them, so instead of battering all 32 players at once, we can work just 15 at a time.

“The players still need to be battle fit and they still require the same levels of contact, but it’s about how you can protect each other and work a bit smarter.”

One of the players who is hoping to hit the ground running and shine this season is Jamie Gibson. His fledging international career took significant strides this summer as part of the England team which reached the semi-finals of the U20s World Cup in Argentina.

The 19-year old back-row forward is now very much focus on helping his club fulfil their ambitions, and has been enjoying the build up to this campaign: “From a players perspective we go into pre-season with mixed feelings.

“Playing rugby in the hot weather gives you an opportunity to experiment and see how it is all going, so that is a good bit of fun, and especially after a break you are just looking forward to coming back in and building up to that first game.

“But then you also have the side of it where pre-season is quite tough, can be quite brutal, but you feel good after it is done. I’m happy to do it and it is worth it.”

One of the latest products of the London Irish Academy, Gibson was allowed an extra few weeks off because of his international exploits and returned back to his club later with this summer’s other tourists. “The Argentina tour was pretty tough and I had a lot of game time, but I have been eased back into it quite nicely.

“Obviously I was still feeling it a little bit despite the two to three weeks off but that has all gone now and I’m raring to go.

“Sometimes I feel a little bit tired because of the tour but otherwise I can’t really complain - if anything it gave me a boost coming into the pre-season which is a good thing.”

Gibson’s individual goals for the season are to cement his place regularly in Irish’s match day 23 and make the starting line-up in some of their big Heineken Cup games against Munster, Toulon and the Ospreys. “I still have to put a bit of weight on,” he conceded, “that is one of my main aims as well as generally staying fit, getting stronger and improving on the physical side of things through gym work and nutrition.

“As a team we have been looking at the season’s plan, making a couple of changes from last year, and we’ll see how that all goes when it starts to come into place now.”

Booth has emphasised his desire to fight with his London Irish side on all fronts, but prioritised the Premiership as the key target. To achieve these aims his side undoubtedly need to be fortunate by avoiding injuries, and as they build up to the first game, Allan Ryan emphasised the final week of training is about getting mentally prepared and ironing out any creases: “The training intensity may go up but the volume will drop a bit.

“You tell the players all the extras that they have to do, the coaches may still feel they have certain aspects of the game they need to look at and if the players themselves don’t feel something is quite right, then they have the chance to change it.

“You just try and focus their attention on the game in hand.”

With the work done in the gym and the training paddock, all that is left to be seen is whether Irish can continue their hard work through the season, stay injury free and still be competing for trophies come the business end of the season next May.

Manchester City’s second-rate millionaires will not bring medals

2010-08-21T14:32:00.002+01:00

An awful lot has been made about Manchester City and Sheik Al-Mansur’s Middle Eastern millions, but the fundamental flaw is the calibre of player they are bringing in.

Criticism has been levelled at a number of clubs in the Premier League for favouring the import of cheaper, foreign talent at the detriment to home grown kids - not least Manchester City. This summer alone they have welcomed through the doors Aleksander Kolarov, Yaya Toure, Mario Balotelli and James Milner at a huge expense, though it is the capture of David Silva which highlights their failings.

As soon as the Chelsea players’ hangovers were kicking in after lifting the Premier League trophy in May, Roberto Mancini was being linked to all number of players including the Spanish winger, but also his national and club counterpart – David Villa.

Silva is a good player – he has just played an important part in winning the World Cup – but it is Villa who can make things happen by himself and win games and trophies almost single-handedly.

Looking at the Man City squad, it is full of good players, but not the level of talent needed to take them to the next level.

Balotelli picked up a Champions League winners medal last season, but it was Wesley Sneijder who made the difference. James Milner has been the stand-out player at Aston Villa and deserved his England call-up, but was only overshadowing the likes of Nigel Reo-Coker, John Carew and Luke Young.

It is telling Spain striker Villa chose to go to Barcelona – despite the fact he surely could have commanded a much larger wage than Yaya Toure who is on a reported £225,000-a-week at City – the top players want to go to the top clubs.

Take Milner as an example. He has been around the Premiership for a number of years at Villa and Newcastle and there is a reason Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger haven’t brought him to their respective clubs. He had a breakthrough year last term, but he wouldn’t make a significant difference in the Old Trafford or Emirates dressing rooms.

This isn’t too say Milner is out-of-his depth amongst the likes of Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie but he would simply be another player.

For Manchester City to start being a force in English football they need to stop paying over-the-odds for good players and focus on growing their reputation as one of the biggest clubs on the pitch rather than off it.

It is left to be seen whether Balotelli – a young player with undoubted potential – will turn into one of those game-changing players like Lionel Messi, Didier Drogba or Fernando Torres, but Manchester City have to develop their youth team - the likes of Joe Hart and Micah Richards - to create a generation a-la Beckham, Butt, Scholes and Giggs to be able to justify a place at football’s head table.

Chelsea, the obvious comparison, for all their millions sill rely on two players who have been nurtured at the club – John Terry and Frank Lampard. The number of kids coming through at once may not occur again at the same level of Fergie’s kids, but there must be a core, before the Ronaldo’s and Kaka’s start calling.

Three to push for World Cup stardom

2010-08-11T12:06:00.000+01:00

With the World Cup just over a year away players across the planet are looking to the coming season as an opportunity to secure, or in some instances snatch last minute tickets to New Zealand.

Martin Johnson, Warren Gatland and company will hope to go into the Autumn Internationals with a settled squad - the majority of which will form the core of their party to launch their challenge to be World Champions.

But changes are inevitably with injury and loss of form, and three players who will hope to capitalise and wrestle their way to the top are featured after the jump – Dave Attwood, Jason Tovey and Jon Clarke.

Dave Attwood, England, Lock

The Bristol born forward is a man mountain, standing at 6’7” and just over 18st. After his home town club were relegated he moved across the West Country to Gloucester which propelled his international credentials.

Two caps for the Saxons earlier in the year was topped by a place in the full England squad for their summer tour, and although he didn’t make the Test side, his impact in the mid-week side against a strong Australian Barbarians outfit did not go unnoticed.

Last year all the attention was focused on the dynamic Courtney Lawes as England’s future in the engine room. But with Steve Borthwick falling out of favour and injuries catching up with the ageing Simon Shaw, Johnson needs to find a combination to drive him forward where he excelled for so long – and if Attwood continues to improve, the 23-year old could demand selection ahead of Lawes, Tom Palmer or any of the other contenders.

Jason Tovey, Wales, Fly-Half/Centre

Gatland was accused ahead of their summer tour of shunning the players from Rodney Parade, but Jason Tovey may be an outside bet to be Wales’ future creative spark.

With Stephen Jones the wrong side of 30, James Hook settling into the centre and the heir apparent Dan Bigger yet to stamp his authority on the international game, given the chance, Tovey could glide up the blindside to take the converted Welsh number 10 jersey.

He was voted Young Player of the Year at the Welsh Professional Players Awards in May, and has helped conduct the Newport-Gwent Dragons’ improvement against other Magners League sides with much greater budgets.

Yet to win an international cap, he is composed and skilful with ball in hand, has a reliable boot and should not be too far from the minds of the Welsh management.

Jon Clarke, England, Centre

Clarke has been a key part of Jim Mallinder’s revolution at Northampton, which has transformed the Midlands club after dropping out of the top flight in 2007, to be title contenders led by some of the most exciting, young England prospects.

Teammates who have already made the grade included club captain Dylan Hartley, Ben Foden, Chris Ashton and Courtney Lawes but the likes of Clarke along with scrum-half Lee Dickson and Phil Dowson could be the next to step up.

England have never managed to replace the creativity and lethal finishing of Will Greenwood in the centres which was crucial in their 2003 success. His Kiwi competitors Riki Flutey and Shontayne Hape coupled with Mike Tindall seems to be the management’s favoured option at the moment, but if Saints improve on the Heineken Cup quarter-final and Premiership form, with Clarke again punching holes in opposition defences he may well form a large Northampton contingent travelling to New Zealand in just over 12-months time.

All Blacks run riot as Australia look back on basic errors

2010-07-31T13:09:00.001+01:00

Australia vs. New Zealand
July 31, 2010
Docklands Stadium, Melbourne

HT: 14-32
FT: 28-49

Experience and cool heads ruled over the youthful enthusiasm of Australia as New Zealand ran a mockery in Melbourne, winning 28-49.

Australia were trying to build on a strong start against South Africa last week, but handed the opportunity for the All Blacks to continue their unbeaten streak in the 2010 Tri-Nations through lack of discipline and failure to perform the basics. Their opposition were clinical in their finishing and oozing confidence as they extend their streak of Bledisloe Cup wins to 14 in 16 attempts.

Drew Mitchell was sent off due to two questionable yellow cards issued by South African referee Craig Joubert just inside the second half which scuppered Australia’s chances, but embarrassing mistakes at the restart in particular is what coach Robbie Deans will be most worried about.

Australia started as they did last week by keeping the ball in hand, playing six phases in their own 22 before a glorious step from stand-in stand-off, Matt Giteau, left Richie McCaw behind, as he broke in the third minute and feed James O’Conner. The winger was held up by a scrambled All Black defence, but the pressure told as the hosts won a penalty which was converted by Giteau to put them in the lead.

Dan Carter instantly levelled from just inside the opposition half, before the next two phases of play resulted in 12-remarkable points. First, Carter was charged down by Mitchell who gathered beautifully to score the first try of the game. The All Blacks fly-half instantly rectified his mistake by charging down a Berrick Barnes clearance from the kick-off to run in and give his team an 8-10 lead after nine minutes.

The Kiwis’ brilliance in attack saw offloading from two of the front five – Thorn and Mealamu – before a beautifully weighted chip kick from Israel Dagg bounced up into Muliaina hands who ran in easily for his team’s second try of the match five minutes later.

A further penalty for Australia brought the scores to 11-15 as the All Blacks went down to 14-men when Owen Franks shoulder charged Richard Brown in the 22nd minute. But despite this, the visitors continued to attack with the vigour of the side with three extra men. Captain McCaw swooped onto a loose ball which popped out of the back of a ruck after mistakes from Australia’s kicking and line-out. Carter duly converted to open an 11-22 lead.

Things went from bad to worse, as Drew Mitchell was binned to even the numbers on the field, again for tackling without use of the arms – which perplexed a full Docklands Stadium.

A penalty each maintained New Zealand’s lead who lost Jimmy Cowan to injury, and was replaced by Piri Weepu, who some thought should have started the game, and who almost moved to France in the Spring because of fears his international career was over.

The All Blacks ensured their dominance and a try-bonus point going into the break as Cory Jane scored in the channel where Mitchell would have been defending, which was converted, leaving the Wallabies with an 18-point deficit.

The second half went from bad to worse for the Australians as Drew Mitchell was sent off after a second, harsh, yellow card from Joubert, for knocking the ball out of Smith’s hand who was trying to take a quick line-out after a smart kick forward by the All Blacks forced Adam Ashley-Cooper into touch ten meters from his own line.

Muliaina scored his second try of the game, as Rocky Elsom tried to restore some drive into his side but was met with a black wall and a television match official who ruled out a try David Pocock was adamant he had grounded.

Eventually Adam Ashley-Cooper broke through an attempted Smith tackle after collecting a poor pass from Giteau, who added the extras.

There was a glint in the eyes of the Australians that a comeback was on the cards, but New Zealand’s most capped winger, Joe Rokocoko, scored his 46th Test try, as he closes down on Doug Howlett’s record of 49, and restored the lead to 21-44.

Elsom scored a third try for Australia as New Zealand cruised in the last ten minutes of the game, with focus firmly on next week’s return fixture in Canterbury.

Giteau, who did well to cover for the suspended Quade Cooper, was replaced with minutes remaining by Anthony Faingaa, who made him and brother Saia, the third set of Australian twins to play Test match rugby together.

New Zealand top the Tri-Nations table with a maximum 15 points from their first three games and look set to claim another title, with Australia and South Africa both requiring a lot of soul searching if they are to stand any chance.

Australia
Tries - D. Mitchell, A Ashley-Cooper, R Elsom
Pen - M Giteau 3
Con - M Giteau 2
Cards - D Mitchell (yellow) 28th min, D Mitchell (2nd yellow -Red) 43rd min.

New Zealand
Tries - D Carter, M Muliaina 2, R McCaw, C Jane, J Rokocoko, C Flynn
Pen - D Carter 3
Con - D Carter 3
Cards - Owen Franks (yellow) 22nd min

Cheating... Or a great penalty? The latter

2010-07-28T00:03:00.000+01:00

This is just simply insane... Ezequiel Calvente for Spain U19s v Italy U19s, July 24, 2010 at the European U19 Championships.

McCartney tasked with making Britain shine golden

2010-07-15T19:58:00.000+01:00

It has been announced fashion guru Stella McCartney will be designing the Great Britain 2012 Olympic kit for London.

Working with Adidas who have kitted out British athletes since 1984, she has the rather difficult task of taking men and women of all different sizes with a limited canvas to work from.

Blue, white and red are her palette and once the number and iconic three strips have been added, there isn’t a lot of room left for the catwalk queen.

She has already had gold medallist Victoria Pendleton model for her, and she kitted out Danish tennis player Caroline Wozniacki for Wimbledon, but this should be an interesting experiment.

It could be brilliant, or like these examples of sporting shockers, it could turn out to be a bit of a nightmare.

Pictures after the jump...

1 - Stade Francais

Pick any of the recent examples, Paris may be a world center for fashion but Stade perhaps need to check their proofs before ordering their kit (note also Adidas)

2 - Mexico '94

The powers that be decided to let goalkeeper Jorge Campos design his own kit for the 1994 World Cup in the USA - no one surely could have known what he was going to come up with.

3 - Marlybone Cricket Club

Strictly speaking not a sporting kit, but the MCC colours are symbolic of English cricket - could we possibly discuss a redesign?

4 - Newcastle United 2009-10 Away Shirt

The story is that there were more people at the kit launch from NUFC and the media than there were punters wanting to buy the kit. Worst effort ever in the Premiership... oh hang on!!

5 - Shorts in the 1980s

To criticise a decade may be unfair, but in all sports in those 10 years the shorts were, well, short. Kylie would be proud of them! They may have looked better on outside-halves but on the front row...

Has England’s World Cup proved club triumphs over country?

2010-07-01T12:12:00.000+01:00

It cannot be denied England performed abysmally during their four matches in South Africa. They lacked spark, creativity, basic skills but most importantly passion.

The depths of despair came against Algeria, when the ability to pass a football ten yards or control it escaped players of the calibre of Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard - simple technical points one would expect from those who earn upwards of £100,000-a-week.

It was unexpected, these men just don’t perform that way when they are at their clubs playing in the Premier or Champions League – but perhaps this is just the problem.

The latest generation of English players seem more committed to their paymasters than the Three Lions which was once proudly sewn onto white or red shirts. Rooney failing to trap a ball into feet on the edge of the Barcelona penalty area in a Champions League final is unfeasible, and he would most likely make the opposition goal keeper make a half-decent save.

The comments of Harry Redknapp demonstrate how the opinions of professionals have changed. He has had a long and testing managerial career and for the first time has the opportunity to test himself against the greatest clubs in Europe after guiding Tottenham into fourth spot. However, he has already publically expressed his desire to take the reins of England if the FA board decide to part ways with Fabio Capello.

Mr Capello himself is in a rather unfortunate position and the calls for him to go are quite harsh. There were arguably question marks over his choice of formation, but the desperate way his star men performed meant he could have organised them in any pretty pattern on the pitch and they still would have been as incompetent.

The players have no excuse as, almost to a man, they did not show up at a tournament which has been earmarked for a while as ‘England’s Time’.

Perhaps England need a native manager to stoke the fires of desire in the players bellies – but surely the chance to win a World Cup, to be only the second English team to ever achieve this feat, to be heroes of a nation forever and adored by fans irrespective of the club side they follow week-in-week-out should be enough drive.

But then again, they don’t get paid £150,000-a-week to turn out for the honour...

Power, Points or Pride?

2010-06-15T17:16:00.001+01:00

England struggled to their first win on their tour of Australia without scoring a try for the second game in succession, while the Saxons in America are scoring for fun.

I am not suggesting the standard of opposition is comparable – Martin Johnson’s men are clearly fighting a much harder battle than the second-level competition in the Churchill Cup – but what confuses me is the mentality of the backlines who line-up with Red Roses on their chests.

Almost all of the Guinness Premiership sides were lambasted this season for negative play – tries were coming at a premium and tennis-like-kicking was a virus infecting the core of the game.

Coaches and players blamed the laws at the breakdown, and indeed when these changed and the sun came out at the beginning of the year, some exciting rugby returned to our domestic game.

The very same players who had flourished at the end of the season, whether to win titles or keep their teams up, must have carried this form onto the planes. However, it seems somewhere between London and Perth this was sucked out.

Shontayne Hape has clearly been ear-marked by Martin Johnson, and the England management, as the man to unlock opposition defences. The rugby league convert showed a powerful step and devastating lines for Bath, yet the rest of his England team mates apparently don’t see the need use him or play with the ball outside the fly-half’s channel.

This leaves the possibility of the ball reaching the Premiership’s highest scorer - theoretically England’s greatest threat - almost nil, as Chris Ashton is reduced to a defensive role against the well-supplied Australian wings; while Ben Foden has either been told to kick whenever he gets the ball or he is too intimidated to jink into Jason Robinson-esque runs which he has built his reputation on.

Meanwhile the Saxons are running from deep, expressing themselves and providing a much better brand of rugby to create a better spectacle.

Yes, they clearly have less pressure on them, and yes the defences opposing them are more prone to leaking, but explain 19-year old James O’Conner or Quade Cooper who won his 11th cap at the weekend, as well as the other Australian up-starts who appear to play with the freedom of park-touch rugby on the ultimate Test stage.

It is not a problem which has suddenly emerged this summer but has been a consistent issue for England. Jonny Wilkinson, Charlie Hodgson and now Toby Flood do not play flat as they do at their clubs, and consequently the rest of the midfield is nullified.

Whether this is fear of defeat or the team orders of the management, we cannot be sure. Though what is certain is unless something changes fans will switch off and England’s current run of hardly being able to scrape together a Test win, let alone a series or competition victory, will continue indefinitely.

Westwood needs to show his Major credentials

2010-05-11T17:36:00.001+01:00

Lee Westwood missed out on another key title after a poor final round at the Players Championship which cast further doubts over his nerve and temperament.

The 37-year old lost an overnight lead going into the final day, as he did almost a month earlier when Phil Mickelson claimed his third green jacket at Augusta.

This time around Westwood led from the second round and looked set to land golf’s unofficial Major at the turn on Sunday. But a bogey on 14 before finding the water on 17 to card a double bogey dashed his hopes once again - Tim Clark taking advantage with a five-under 67 to secure the win.

The Nottinghamshire golfer began his career encouragingly, but it has been since winning the Dubai World Championships at the tail end of 2009 where he has discovered the form he has always promised.

His ranking of number four in the world is remarkable for a golfer who not so long ago was languishing 256th in the world. He has had great consistency of late, finishing in the top ten more often than not – on 18 occasions in the last 24 to be precise – but has failed to be on top of the pile come Sunday evening.

This is a curse which also plagued Europe’s Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomery, who has finished second on no less than five occasions in Major championships – but should Monty be concerned the top-ranked European is unable to close out tournaments ahead of the bi-annual clash at The Celtic Manor in October.

Of the world’s current top 20 golfers there is a fairly even split between Americans and Europeans – but the number of Major victories is weighted heavily in favour of the former. Will this ability to take major silverware – or claret – back to their trophy cabinets prove to be decisive for the USA at the 38th Ryder Cup.

Europe have overcome the odds stacked against them in the rankings and major titles to win six of the last eight tournaments since 1995, due to an incredible bond and sense of camaraderie.

The captain this time around in Newport is a perfect example who will hope to sprinkle some of his Ryder Cup magic on his team. Despite failing to never hold his nerve at the Majors, when representing Europe he has never lost a singles match and sank the winning putt at Oakland Hills in the 2004 event.

Likewise, Westwood has been a key player in five winning Ryder Cup sides and Montgomery will look to him to lead Europe at Celtic Manor in spite of never winning a major.

The Ryder Cup has brought the best out of Europeans while the Americans seem unable to contend with the various egos and fail to fuse a strong team ethos.

Ian Poulter showed glimpses of his class at the Masters before falling away, and with Rory McIlroy becoming the youngest winner on the US tour since Tiger Woods who still has question marks hanging over his game, the stage is set for Europe to reclaim the title they lost two years ago – even though the individuals have failed snatch the Majors.

Richard Hill cycles for charity

2010-04-19T10:50:00.005+01:00

Ex-Lions, England and Saracens star Richard Hill is beginning to rediscover the passion which made him such a menace on the rugby field with the help of a custom made bike.

It is a slow road to fitness after major knee surgery as he trains for The Lexus Great British Bike Ride, but Hill’s desire for competition soon reared its head again when he came up against some fellow cyclists: “Cycling was all new to me, and I was overtaken by an elderly couple when out on the road.

“But it was when I got over taken by some more, that the competitive edge came back and I followed their route to see if I could keep up with them.

“I have just had a specialised bike delivered. It has the framework of a normal bike but it makes the most of the movement that I have and looks after the quality of the knee – so it helps generally with efficiency and comfort.

“I have had to be careful with my rehab, but this is a great opportunity to raise money for some worthy causes and look after my own health.”

Hill is set to embark on a 313-mile cycle ride to raise money for a number of charities.

The journey will begin on September 1 from Land’s End and take in some of southern England’s most beautiful countryside before ending at Twickenham three days later during the Guinness Premiership’s double header on September 4.

Hill said: “Last summer I had a major knee operation which I didn’t really want to have in my thirties, let alone in my forties or at any time.”

Hill is hoping to be joined on the four day journey by 300 other riders at a time, either for the whole trip or just one of the stages. Each night they will stay at a different local rugby club where a tented village, food and showers will await them before arriving at HQ during the Guinness Premiership double header on September 4.

“There are going to be activities planned in the evenings at the clubs we stop off at,” the flanker who retired in 2008 added. “But I can’t imagine it will be a case of putting the bikes away and rolling into bed each night.”

The main charities who will benefit from the ride are the RFU Injured Players Foundation, the RPA Benevolent Fund and Help for Heroes, but Hill was keen to stress his keenness for people to raise money for additional charities once they have obtained the necessary £300 of sponsorship per entrant (or £150 if only completing one stage).

And as for his beloved Saracens, Hill hopes that when he cycles into Twickenham on September 4 it will be his old club who are the team everyone is trying to snatch the Premiership title off: “We are in a strong position and we would love to get one of the home semi-finals.

“We had a kicking and territorial game which worked extremely well in the first half of the season but in the last couple of weeks we have had some really good performances and scored lots of tries.

“In this position anything can happen in knock-out rugby and we will have to take our chances.”

More information on The Lexus Great British Bike Ride which will take place from September 1 can be found online at http://www.greatbritishbikeride.com/.

Dallaglio on St George's Day prospects

2010-04-19T08:30:00.002+01:00

When Wasps host Bath at Twickenham next weekend it will not only be a great celebration of Englishness, but an opportunity for some to seize a summer tour boarding pass.

As two of the Guinness Premiership’s most decorated sides fight in a must-win match for the last playoff position, England head coach Martin Johnson will be keeping a close eye on a number of the players on show.

Lawrence Dallaglio who captained his country thinks there are still a number of opportunities in the inaugural St George’s Day game. He said: “We are now in the business end of the season and you can prove yourself in these types of games – and it’s not just for the younger players.
“From a Wasps perspective there is Tom Varndell, Dominic Waldouck and lots of others who are looking to get on the plane to Australia and New Zealand.

“It is a huge opportunity with 55,000 tickets sold already and possibly a further 20-25,000.”

Waldouck has been a regular in Wasps’ midfield this year, and with England failing to break through opposition defences during the Six Nations his direct running should put pressure on the centres in possession - Riki Fluety and Matt Tait.

Varndell has found a new lease of life at Adams Park and with other youngsters coming through like 21-year-old Joe Simpson and soon-to-be Tiger, George Skivington, the England management should be eagerly looking on.

The game will be another opportunity for skipper Tom Rees who has made a sensational return in recent weeks. Dallaglio said: “Tom was out for the best part of a year and you tend to just ease your way in, but his return game against Northampton was one of the best comebacks I’ve seen.

“His leadership qualities have been a real fillet for Tony Hanks and his staff, and have given everyone a massive lift.

“There is no doubt a fit Tom Rees playing well is a great asset to Wasps and England.”

Wasps have signed a three year deal with the RFU to host The St George’s Day game at Twickenham and it is the latest in a line of rugby initiatives to support the armed forces.

From every ticket sold, £1 will be donated to the Help for Heroes charity, and the Ticket for a Troop scheme invites fans to buy an injured serviceman a match ticket for £10.

“It is an incredibly worthwhile cause,” said Dallaglio who recently completed a cycle ride from Rome to Edinburgh raising £1 million in part for Help for Heroes.

“There is a unique bond between rugby and the armed services.

“Sports men and women are often put on a pedestal but the true heroes are those on the front lines and battle grounds putting their lives on the line.”

Stade rise to beat Clermont and dent their title ambitions

2010-04-03T17:37:00.003+01:00

Next season’s Stade Français coach Michael Cheika was in the stands to watch his future side claim a moral boosting victory against Clermont Auvergne today in the Top 14.

Coach Jacques Delmas described Stade’s season as a “black year” but this result showed signs the side is capable of pulling off good results and should ease Cheika’s mind somewhat about the task he faces beginning in the summer.

An exciting first half, which initially looked like Stade were in for a long afternoon, was not matched in the second, as the razzmatazz of cheerleaders and a Jean of Arc imitation riding on horseback across the Stade de France prior to kick-off fizzled out over the 80 minutes.

Clermont started the game the brighter, with French Six Nations star Morgan Parra directing his forwards through multiple phases to the Stade line, which succumbed to Tomas Domingo to give the visitors the lead. Parra converted, but soon after gave away a penalty allowing Stade to kick for territory and national team-mate Dimitri Szarzewski went over to level the scores, after the extras were added by fly-half Lionel Beauxis.

Anthony Floch, the Clermont full-back, turned defence into attack, as he intercepted a pass meters from his own line and strode down the field, but a tremendous try-saving covering tackle by Beauxis brought the full-back down and just into touch with the try line in site.

Pressure continued from the side who were sat in fourth place before the game, but a loose pass from Mathieu Bastareaud found its way to centre partner Mark Gasnier who crossed the line and allowed Beauxis to kick his second conversion of the match within 20 minutes for Stade.

A Parra penalty reduced the deficit to 14-10 but although Clermont had more of the ball in their opponents half it was the Parisians, roared on by a packed Stade de France, who looked more potent with the ball in hand as the sunshine and hardening pitch complemented their expansive game.

Their adventure was rewarded when Beauxis decided to kick a penalty, 10 meters from the Clermont line, out for a line-out with just two minutes to go of the first-half. A well worked set-piece saw an unstoppable driving maul trundle over with hooker Szarzewski’s name credited with his second try of the afternoon.

Stade went into the half-time break leading 19-10.

In the second forty minutes the score stayed the same as neither side could add to their first half totals.

Without the likes of Juan Manuel Leguizamón, Sergio Parisse and the banned David Attoub the Stade pack may have expected to falter, but they dominated with their speed, efficiency and directness. One of the brightest lights was England international Tom Palmer who shone in the loose and continued to impress after his selection in the same stadium two weeks earlier against France.

Bastareaud, as he did for his national side, was a constant problem for the opposition. Even without the ball he attracted two defenders leaving spaces for his team-mates to penetrate and he tackled ferociously.

This was a rare positive in a disastrous season for Stade who look to be the number two side in Paris behind Racing Metro come May – a unthinkable scenario for most associated with the club.

For Clermont their title push is far from over, but a sever dent has been inflicted to their challenge because of this result.

Scores:
4 – CA try Domingo, converted Parra
9 – SF try Szarzewski, converted Beauxis
17 – SF try Gasnier, converted Beauxis
33 – CA pen Parra
38 – SF try Szarzewski

HT 19-10
FT 19-10

The Great British Cricket Tea

2010-03-30T18:23:00.000+01:00

As the rain begins to fall all over the country, it must mean it is the cricket season. But whenever water falls from the sky while you people are in their flannels it means they have another opportunity to nibble at the highlight of any cricket match - the tea.

Dear friend, and extremely talent food-journalist Fiona Roberts has written us a few words on why it is such a vital cornerstone of British society.

For most sports, food means fuel. Whether it be protein shakes, dubious muscle-building powders or, for the Olympians, three fried-egg sandwiches and a five-egg omelette for breakfast, none of the scientifically-proven meals eaten by today’s athletes would find their way onto a Michelin-starred menu.

Nor, of course, onto a cricket tea table. With its day-long matches and meal breaks, cricket is the one exception to sport’s food is fuel rule. The cricket tea is a centuries-old institution, and without it club cricket – or its players at least – would crumble.

Although there’s no hard and fast rule for the perfect cricket tea, a lot rides on its quality. Your club will soon be blacklisted if away teams are greeted by nothing more than a curled-up marmite sandwich and some lukewarm squash.

Up until recently, most clubs either had an official tea lady or an unofficial squad of teamakers – the players’ wives, who get a starring role in a Yorkshire cricket heritage project. Although some still do – Lisvane Cricket Club are currently advertising for a cricket tea caterer, at £60 a time – more and more teams have had to enlist the players themselves as chefs-in-chief.

But whoever makes it, the teatime staples haven’t changed much over the years. For sandwiches, egg and cress, cheese and cucumber and tinned salmon are all favourites, usually accompanied by pork pies and sausage rolls. Some more adventurous clubs have even introduced young pretenders like cold pizza and samosas.

Tacky is usually the order of the day. Buy-one-get-one-free Mr Kipling cakes, doused with icing sugar and nestling on a doily, are a must, and a huge multipack of Walkers crisps (with the prawn cocktail left until last) is a given.

And of course an urn should sit steaming in a corner, ready to make umpteen cups of PG Tips. It’s all very 1950s, and no-one – least of all the old-timers who are more interested in the tea than the score – would want to change it.

But the best teas, the really memorable ones, the ones which will make away teams squabble over who gets picked to travel to your club, take the kitsch classics and transform them into a gourmet meal.

Sliced white bread will be replaced by fresh brown or granary straight from the baker’s. Fillings will be generous – creamy egg mayonnaise will ooze out of the sandwiches, plastic wafer thin “ham” will surrender to crumbly butcher’s ham smothered in English mustard and the sausage rolls will be warm, with flakey buttery pastry and peppery sausages.

But most of all, Mr Kipling will be abandoned in favour of homemade cakes. Light Victoria sponges, filled generously with buttercream and strawberry jam, will vie for space with rich chocolate cake and sticky brownies, and buttery scones will be served with clotted cream and tangy lemon curd.

At its best, a cricket tea encapsulates everything great about English cooking. At its worst, it will look like you’ve gone to Kerry Katona and asked her for her Iceland leftovers. Know which side your bread is buttered on, and make sure your team rises to the challenge this season.

Prydie to Become Youngest International Ever for Wales Against Italy

2010-03-16T14:09:00.000Z

WALES coach Warren Gatland has reacted to last weekend's defeat to Ireland with five changes which will see Tom Prydie become the country's youngest ever international.

The wing will come in for Cardiff Blues's Leigh Halfpenny against Italy on Saturday, while Martyn Williams who led the side last weekend has been dropped from the match day squad altogether and has been replaced by Sam Warburton. The other changes see a return for Lions trio Ryan Jones, Gethin Jenkins and Mike Phillips with Paul James and Gareth Delve dropping to the bench.

At just 18 years and 27 days of age, Prydie will trump Norman Briggs, who was 23 days older when he was capped in 1888, and Gatland said of his latest debutant:“Tom has been with us for the duration of the campaign.

"He was one of two youngsters - brought in alongside Kristian Phillips – who we wanted to have a look at and we’ve been impressed with him."

Prydie's inclusion will certainly shock many, especially as the young Osprey has only made three appearances for his region and it is a huge step up from the Wales under-18 side.

But Gatland's selection policy is grounded in sense: “We are not sure if Leigh Halfpenny is going to be able to tour this summer because he may need an operation.

"We also need to look at our options for the future and find someone to push the incumbents for the World Cup."

This also explains the inclusion of Warburton ahead of 34-year old Martyn Williams who won his 95th cap at Croke Park. Wales have had a very disappointing Six Nations so far and need to experiment.

There are only a limited number of internationals left before the Welsh kick off their World Cup against South Africa in Wellington, on September 11, 2011, and the coaching set up need to test new players if they have any chance of being only the second nation from the northern hemisphere to lift the Webb Ellis trophy.

Richie Rees has been one of the few positives for Welsh rugby over the past four internationals and will feel hard done by after his exclusion, but Gatland is adament he is still in their plans as they try to blend experience with youth: “Ryan Jones returns to lead us as captain, Gethin Jenkins joins the pack and re-forms the all Lions front row for the first time since that tour, and Mike Phillips adds his considerable experience and talents to the backs.

“At scrum-half we are conscious that we need three players to all be pushing each other for a starting place and we have been happy with what we have seen from Richie Rees this tournament.

“Dwayne Peel is being given another chance. We want him to make an impact from the bench and improve on his showing last time out.”

Team to face Italy on Saturday, March 20:
L Byrne; T Prydie, J Hook, J Roberts, S Williams: S Jones, M Phillips; G Jenkins, M Rees, A Jones, B Davies, L Charteris, J Thomas, R Jones (capt), S Warburton.
Reps: H Bennett, P James, I Gough, G Delve, D Peel, A Bishop, T Shanklin.

England's Starting XV for the 2011 Rugby World Cup

2010-03-14T18:34:00.001Z

As England put out the latest inept, impotent and uninspiring performance I want to offer a challenge to Martin Johnson.

He was a fantastically efficient player who did all the jobs asked of him to the top level, but he must throw off the shackles and put out an England team which will show life and excite England fans.

So for the first match of the 2011 World Cup against Argentina on September 10 in Christchurch, this is the 15 I believe Johnson should put out:

1 – Matt Stevens
2 – Dylan Hartley (capt)
3 – Dan Cole
4 – Courtney Lawes
5 – Nick Kennedy
6 – Steffon Armitage
7 – Tom Croft
8 – James Haskell
9 – Danny Care
10 – Shane Geraghty
11 – Ugo Monye
12 – Riki Flutey
13 – Matt Tait
14 – Chris Ashton
15 – Ben Foden

The pack needs dynamism, power, pace, skill and agility to perform in the modern game. If Stevens continues at Saracens as he did before his ban, along with Hartley and Cole, England will have a front row which could equally double up as extra flankers – though they may lack at scrum time.

Kennedy and Lawes in the second row will provide a fantastic platform from the lineout, and the back row mixes powerful running, with commitment and passion.

At half backs I think we need to move on from 2003 and leave Wilkinson out. He hasn’t repeated the form he shows at Toulon, and so we should throw in Geraghty and give him his international chance at his normal position.

The centre partnership has not had a chance to demonstrate its full running potential because of England’s slow ball during the Six Nations. Given the chance they certainly have the chance to cause devastation.

Foden has shown brilliance at full back for Northampton, and during his limited England opportunities, while his club team mate Chris Ashton has an unbelievable try record and there is no reason why he can’t carry this over for England. Monye has been one of the only half-decent performers for England over the past 18-months.

Bright Spark Bale Excites for Wales’ Future

2010-03-01T13:18:00.000Z

WELSH starlet Gareth Bale's recent club form should give Wales manager John Toshack some hope going into tomorrow's friendly with Sweden, as well as the 2012 European Championship qualifying campaign.

The Tottenham Hotspur left back has been in startling form in the Premier League this season.

His recent first-team opportunities have come as a result of the injury to Benoit Assou-Ekotto, culminating in a match-winning performance at the weekend in Spurs's 2-1 victory over Everton.

This will hopefully brighten up the mood of Welsh fans after the horrific injury Aaron Ramsey suffered last Saturday.

After some scintillating performances for Southampton, Bale moved to White Hart Lane for £10 million in June 2007. After some promising performances, which included three goals in his first four games, he suffered ankle-ligament damage after a heavy challenge by Birmingham's Fabrice Muamba.

The injury ended his season and pushed him down Spurs’s pecking order.

Bale also had the unenviable record of not being involved in a winning-Tottenham side in the league for his first two years at the club, a fact which did not change until his 25th appearance against Burnley as a substitute.

He failed to establish himself at White Hart Lane and questions over his ability to fulfil his potential began resonating on the terraces. But Assou-Ekotto's injury at the end of 2009 gave the Welshman his chance in the first team and he has improved game-on-game, playing a pivotal role in Tottenham's attacking play.

His defensive game has also improved dramatically, progression which is beginning to justify the huge price tag and attention he received three years ago.

Spurs manager Harry Redknapp is delighted with the way Bale has been performing recently, and with the return to fitness of Assou-Ekotto, Redknapp faces a difficult selection problem.

He said: "It's a massive dilemma - two great left-backs, but what a smashing dilemma to have.

"Gareth has done brilliantly, but Benoit is also a top, top player. We're very lucky in that position."

Bale quickly graduated from the Wales under-21 side to become the country's youngest full international when he came off the bench against Trinidad and Tobago in June 2006, aged just 16. Since then he has won a total of 23 caps and is expected to start again tomorrow.

With Ramsey sidelined indefinitely, Bale will need to impose himself on the international scene along with other youngsters like Sheffield United's Ched Evans, Chris Gunter and Simon Church if Wales has any genuine hope of qualifying for only their second major-international competition and their first since the 1958 World Cup in Sweden.

Wales' Nathan Cleverly Is a True Contender

2010-02-17T10:55:00.000Z

Wales’s Nathan Cleverly became the country’s only European boxing champion when he beat Italian Antonio Brancalion in five rounds.

The fighter from Cefn Fforest added to his growing list of titles, which include the British and Commonwealth light-heavyweight belts.

Cleverly, who won by technical knock-out at Wembley Arena on Saturday night, said: “I’m really pleased with the win and absolutely ecstatic to pick up another championship belt, and with it move up another level to the European stage.”

Brancalion never looked comfortable against the smart combinations and superior fitness of the opponent 12 years his junior. “It was quite a comfortable fight,” said the Welshman, “it was a matter of being patient and taking the chances when they came.”

The 22-year old picked his moments and did not rush to try and secure an earlier victory, as he took his professional record to an undefeated 19 bouts including nine knock-outs.

Cleverly is a very bright prospect, and along with the likes of Kevin Mitchell – who fought on the undercard on Saturday – is among the next wave of potential British boxing champions.

David Haye, Carl Froch and Amir Khan currently head the list, though Cleverly thinks he can match them: “At the moment we have a couple of good world champions, but I’m certainly the youngest and I think the most exciting champion at the moment.

"I think I’m ready to take the step up and soon be the best and most exciting world champion in Britain.”
Welsh boxing on the other hand is in a poor state and in stark contrast to two years ago when Joe Calzaghe, Enzo Maccarinelli and Gavin Rees were at the pinnacle of the sport.

Many have inevitably drawn comparisons between the student and Calzaghe, and he is certainly showing potential of emulating him.

But Cleverly may have to wait for his chance to collect his next belt. He has his final exams in May as he works towards his maths degree at Cardiff University – he is currently on a second-class degree – and he admitted: “I will relax for the next couple of weeks before talking to my management and discuss plans about maybe the first defence of the European title or the WBO belt.

“I might be able to get a fight in before my exams, but realistically it is going to be a month or so after they finish.”

The WBO light-heavyweight belt is an option for the student. Bernard Hopkins is currently the number one contender to take on Juergen Braehmer for the title, but he is likely to favour a fight with a bigger pay packet as his career draws to a close. Therefore Cleverly could well be called upon to take on German Karo Murat for the chance to battle against Braehmer, who vacated the European belt before Cleverly emphatically won it at the weekend.

The light-heavyweight division is currently very competitive with a lot of dangerous fighters. The likes of Chad Dawson and WBC champion Jean Pascal are young and highly talented competitors from North America, while perhaps a couple of fights away lie the big money pay days against Hopkins and Antonio Tarver.

Whatever is to come, having tasted the bright lights on a Calzaghe undercard, the United States is somewhere Cleverly hopes to crack: “Once I’ve got my degree boxing will be my life and I will be more than happy to go to Las Vegas to fight.

“It will be a dream come true to go there and headline in what is the boxing Mecca.”

Promoter Frank Warren, who is caught in a legal battle with his last Welsh light heavyweight superstar, seems to be keeping Cleverly happy: “It’s working well with Frank.

“He is getting me the fights, keeping me boxing and we are going in the right direction.”

The undefeated champion has the skill, potential and charisma to reach the top and wow the boxing world. Talent does not always get you to the top, though Cleverly seems able to tackle the growing media pressure and attention on him.

What the rest of 2010 and beyond will bring is yet to be seen, but if managed well, and if he continues to develop physically and mentally, he is certainly a fantastic prospect for Wales and Britain.

Byrne to Discover his England Fate

2010-02-02T13:36:00.006Z

The Wales team for the first Six Nations match is expected to be announced tomorrow after the ERC confirmed the decision on Lee Byrne’s ban will be made this evening.

Byrne was banned for two weeks after the Ospreys had 16 men on the field for a brief period of play in their crucial Heineken Cup group match against Leicester Tigers. The full back and Welsh coaching staff are hoping the ban will be overturned so he is available for selection against England in the Six Nations opener on Saturday.

It has been quite a selection headache for Wales as they hope to claim their fourth win over England in as many years to kick start their campaign.

Neil Jenkins said: “It’s not always easy, but we fully support Lee. It would be nice to get him off and if he is ready to play on Saturday then that would be great. But if not James [Hook] has been playing particularly well at 15 and we are lucky to have such a quality player of his standard to come in if that’s the case.

“Lee brings everything – he is a fantastic kicker, a communicator, brilliant under the high ball and hits great lines. He is an excellent rugby player.

“He is a British Lion as well so he brings an awful lot to us as a player. He is a big player for us and it would be nice to have him in.”

Teammate and likely starter at open side flanker, Martyn Williams said: “We trained Saturday with two back lines, it’s not ideal but hopefully it will be sorted as soon as possible.

“You feel for Lee because he is a good footballer – if you lose your place in the Wales side you won’t necessarily get it back.”

If not available Wales look set to play Hook at full back while the autumn centre partnership of Jonathan Davies and Jamie Roberts will remain. If he is made available, Warren Gatland will have to decide whether to move Hook to inside player or leave the unsettled Osprey on the bench.

England Six Nations Preview

2010-02-02T12:00:00.000Z

Tournament Background/Pedigree – Despite reaching the last two World Cup finals, England have failed to win the Six Nations since 2003.

Indeed since their all conquering year seven seasons ago they have been in a continual limbo, and unable to shake off the successes of the Woodwood-era and create another world beating team to move forward with.

This time around England are far from tournament favourites, especially with three of their matches away from Twickenham.

In 107 editions of the tournament – beginning in 1883 with just the Home Nations – England have been the most successful side winning 25 which has included 12 Grand Slams and 23 Triple Crowns.

Key Man – Jonny Wilkinson: The hero of 2003 is a rejuvenated player after his summer switch to French Top 14 side Toulon.

He has been plagued with injuries since dropping the winning goal in Sydney, but so far this season he has managed to stay on the pitch and kicked his goals.

In the Autumn he played far too deep. Whether this was under international management’s orders this is not how he has been playing for his club, and England’s backline lacked penetration as a result.

He is still one of England’s few genuine ‘world class’ players and his country have won 54 of the 73 games he has featured in.

He still strikes fear into opponents not only due to the potency of his boot, but when ticking and fully fit, his attacking play and tackling is devastating.

One for the future – Dan Cole: Although only selected in the England Saxon’s squad initially, the Leicester loose head has already been called up to the full squad due to injury, with David Wilson the only other specialist number one in the squad

At just 22-years old he has shown fantastic form for Leicester, with the prop’s seminal game during his club’s 34-8 victory over Wasps at Welford Road. He dominated current England tight-head Tim Payne at scrum time, winning numerous penalties, and showed his fitness with a last ditch try saving tackle against the same opponent.

Manager/Coach – Martin Johnson has had a baptism of fire over the last 18-months, taking the Head Coach role of England as his first coaching position. The lack of experience is supposedly remedied by the coaching set up he has implemented around him – though this has received criticism from many quarters.

Equally the 2003 World Cup winning captain has been accused of favouring those he played alongside seven years ago and players from his old club Leicester.

Particularly in his own position, the second row combination of Steve Bothwick and Louis Deacon – the former as captain – has generated widespread condemnation. Simon Shaw will certainly start if fit, while Northampton’s young upstart Courtney Lawes has also been receiving a lot of popular attention.

The 20-year old has shown dynamism and passion in the Guinness Premiership this season, and Nick Kennedy – currently in the England Saxons squad – continues to show brilliance at the line-out and is unfortunate to miss out on the full squad.

Johnson’s management has been overly conservative, and only time will tell if he allows the free-flowing footballers in the squad such as Ben Foden, Riki Flutey and Matt Tait to demonstrate their running rugby abilities.

Why They Will Win It – England will always provide competition up front – Lewis Moody will disrupt the opposition’s access to quick ball and be a constant nuisance to opposition half-backs. Strong back row running will allow quick ball for Danny Care to feed Wilkinson, flat on the gain-line to unleash the side’s undoubted attacking potential.

Why They Won’t Win It – The unimaginative, static and sterile form shown in the Autumn will continue into 2010. Johnson will not have the confidence to give some of the unproven though certainly more daring options he has at his disposal a run, resulting on an over reliance on an injury prone Wilkinson’s boot.

Prediction – There are truly two ways the 2010 Six Nations could go for England. Option one – perhaps the most likely – will see continued conservatism from the management and flat performances across the board, with the team ending up towards the foot of the table.

Or secondly, Johnson puts faith in some of the younger flair players the fans are calling for with a view to the 2011 World Cup. This will still not see them win the competition but will create a much more positive atmosphere around English rugby.

If they were a celebrity they would be... – Tom Cruise: Confident with a whiff or arrogance, they feel they deserve to be eating at the top table but all too often uninspiring and come up short.

Neil Jenkins Supports Wales A Team

2010-02-01T19:30:00.000Z

Welsh legend Neil Jenkins has hinted he would be in favour of a Wales A team.

The current national team kicking coach said: "It would be nice to have an A team.
"I know England play so many games a year with it, and go to the Churchill Cup. Its up to the WRU to decide."

All of the other nations who make up the Six Nations field A teams, including the Italians, and it gives players an extra stepping-stone before entering the caldron of senior international rugby.

Johnny Sexton is the latest success story to emerge from this level. He had a fantastic season last year with his province, helping Leinster lift the Heineken Cup with a decisive penalty in the final to defeat Leicester. In the summer he was called upon by Ireland A as they went onto lift the Churchill Cup.

After appearances against the likes of England Saxons - their equivalent to an A team - and the senior sides of Argentina, USA, Canada and Georgia, Sexton ended November in possession of the full Ireland outside-half spot, ahead of Ronan O'Gara, aided by his experience in international rugby’s second tier.

Kristian Phillips has had to drop down to the Wales under 20 team having been released by Warren Gatland, alongside players who have yet to even feature for their province.

Meanwhile Shane Geraghty, who has been dropped by Martin Johnson after some unconvincing displays in the autumn, has the opportunity to impress and re-establish himself in the Saxons squad - an opportunity he took with 12 points, including a try in the win against Ireland A in Bath last Sunday (Jan 31).

Wales last put out an A side in 2002 and scraped it in 2003 due to financial reasons.

Why the 2010 Six Nations may be the key for the 2011 World Cup

2010-02-01T19:15:00.002Z

The inclusion of a number of exciting youngsters in this season’s Six Nations squads proves coaches are looking forward to the 2011 World Cup in just over 18-months time.

It is the last real chance for players to put their hands up and gain the required international experience necessary to compete at the pinnacle of their sport.

Wales head coach, Warren Gatland, said: "We are now at the beginning of our countdown to the World Cup and this slightly larger squad reflects that.

"We have brought in some youngsters to put some pressure on some of our senior players and to help increase the depth we have in certain positions.”

Victory in his home country is certainly at the forefront of his mind, as he has named four previously uncapped players – Saracens prop Rhys Gill, Cardiff scrum-half Richie Rees, and Osprey pair Kristian Phillips and Tom Prydie.

Captain Ryan Jones has noticed the management looking with one eye to the battle for the Webb Ellis Trophy: “From a coaching point of view they certainly have one eye on that World Cup.

“There is certainly an exciting bread of youngster coming through like Alun Wyn-Jones who is in his early 20s, vastly experienced, and then at the other end of the spectrum we’ve got Jonathan Davies. These guys will be making an impact in 18-months time when they are going to be peaking, experienced and physically ready to make a big impact on the big stage.”

Wales have quietly been assembling a squad capable of peaking when they take on current champions, South Africa, in their opening match of the World Cup in Wellington.

Looking through the squad Wyn-Jones is just 24 but has already collected 35 Welsh caps and three for the Lions. James Hook is the same age as the lock forward and has 37 caps to his name, while Jamie Roberts at 23 and regarded as one of the world’s leading centres and was player of the Lions tour last summer for many.

Along with the likes of Scarlet Jonathan Davies who made his debut in the November internationals, and coupled with some old heads like Gethin Jenkins, 2008 IRB Player of the Year Shane Williams and evergreen Martyn Williams, Wales have certainly built a side capable of causing serious damage in New Zealand and shock the larger rugby nations.

The Six Nations is a fantastic opportunity to blood some of the pretenders to the Welsh side, and with a summer tour planned to New Zealand Gatland and his coaching team have a chance to look at certain players and create a ‘club squad’ atmosphere within the international set up.

It could be argued the process began last February, and Ireland have done a particularly good job of blending youth and experience with their Grand Slam victory in 2009.

Declan Kidney has continued to add to the squad with nine uncapped players making up a large 44 man party. Stephen Ferris and Luke Fitzgerald shone in last year’s competition as both earned calls up to the Lions squad and Jonny Sexton, after Heineken Cup glory with Leinster, is set to battle it out with Irish legend Ronan O’Gara for the number ten jersey.

But with key players like captain Brian O’Driscoll, Paul O’Connell and prop John Hayes all upwards of 30, the World Cup could come that little bit too late with the core of the team arguably peaking during their success last year.

Meanwhile England and Marin Johnson don’t seem able to plan their next hot meal let alone a third final in three World Cup campaigns. Although the squad possess a number of exciting, young prospects like Northampton duo Ben Foden and Courtney Lawes, and front-rowers Dan Cole and Dylan Hartley Johnson seems to have a bias over those he holds allegiances to from the 2003 World Cup winning squad and those from his old club, Leicester.

It has been England’s failure to leave their successes in the past which has seen seven poor years for the team. If the selection policy remains, it seems without another miraculous rallying cry which occurred in 2007, England will be found wanting during this Six Nations and even more so when it comes to New Zealand next year.

Ex-England coach Andy Robinson leads a Scottish side in a state of transition. Having found themselves languishing at the bottom of recent Championship tables along with Italy, they are not expected to cause much of a threat.

However, a valiant 9-8 victory at Murryfield over Australia in November proved they are resolute in defence and appear to be developing some interesting prospects.

The Scottish regions are performing exceptionally well in this year’s Magners League and in the Evans brothers, Ross Ford and fly-half Phil Godman the Scots have a side who may well continue to develop during this campaign and beyond to the World Cup to give other Group B colleagues – Argentina and England – a serious problem for quarter-final qualification.

Although the door to the World Cup isn’t completely shut after this Six Nations, if players don’t emerge during the next two months they will find it very difficult to adjust to international rugby from their clubs or provinces. This is why coaches have taken the opportunity to name new faces – and expect more to be introduced during the course of the competition – as nations begin to confirm combinations ahead of rugby’s biggest challenge – the 2011 World Cup.

Wales Hope for Success in the Six Nations and Beyond

2010-01-30T12:37:00.001Z

After an autumn of discontent for Welsh rugby, Warren Gatland will be hoping to repeat the successes of 2005 and 2008 in this year’s 6 Nations Championship.

Wales were unfortunate against the All Blacks, uninspiring against Samoa and Argentina, and embarrassed by Australia; though it is should not be all doom and gloom for Wales in the upcoming 2010 Six Nations.

The Welsh start their campaign against England at Twickenham (Sat 6Feb) having dropped to eighth in the world rankings, behind the likes of their hosts and Argentina. There is no doubt they will have to improve their standard of play as they look to recapture their Grand Slam winning form of recent years, but there are a number of positives for the Welsh.

They will welcome back some key Lions who were sorely missed in the autumn – the dynamic Lee Byrne and Adam Jones while Mike Philips seems to be losing the battle to be fit.

The free-running Byrne should add a cutting edge which was lacking, and will be hoping his Ospreys’ team-mate, Shane Williams, will rediscover the form which made him IRB International Player of the Year in 2008 and has seen him notch up 50 Test tries.

Wales captain Ryan Jones is certainly positive: “Expectations are high. We live in an environment down here in Wales where everyone expects us to win, and wants us so dearly to do so.

“As a group of players we have been working extremely hard behind the scenes. The Six Nations is a competition we love, and we hope to thrive in. Our goal, I suppose, is to go out and win all our games.”

Omens do bode well for the Welsh. Their last Grand Slam win two years ago began with a 19-26 victory at Twickenham, tries from Philips and Byrne.

Going into 2008 Wales were unfancied having just lost to Fiji and failed to advance from the groups of the 2007 World Cup, in France, while England had rallied to reach the final, before narrowly losing to South Africa.

This time around the two sides are those in greatest disarray ahead of the Championships. Both had torrid Novembers, though with home advantage, England will once again be slight favourites.

Ryan Jones looks forward to the challenge: “They don’t come any bigger, physical, or faster than Tests against the likes of England at Twickenham.

“It’s a great place to go and play. I experienced it for the first time two years ago it is a pretty daunting place - there is an awful lot of history there.

“The England team are on the up and it will be a hell of a challenge, but that’s why they are called Test matches - when you test yourself against the best and see how good you are.”

Martin Johnson’s men do not possess the formidable scrum which has been key during their success during and since the Woodwood-era. Gethin Jenkins and a fit Adam Jones can cause the English pack problems, and if Wales turn up with a reinvigorated back-line, a marker and base akin to 2008 could be set.

Wales will then enjoy back-to-back home matches, first against Scotland on Valentine’s Day weekend, and secondly, in what will surely be an extra-special match, against France on the night of Friday 26 February.

Ex-England coach, Andy Robinson, has breathed new life into a whaling Scottish side, which culminated in their gritty 9-8 victory over Australia. It is the two Scottish franchises – Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby – who are dominating the domestic game by topping this season’s Magners League.

The Scots are beginning to create an exciting blend of experience and youth: on the one hand record points-scorer and the country’s most capped player Chris Paterson continues to turn out performances, while the exciting young wing, Thom Evans, has been scoring for fun.

The French are one of the form sides in world rugby along with New Zealand and Ireland. Their attacking game is a delight to watch and their 20-13 win against the Springboks was one of the rugby highlights of 2009.

Against France, Wales will need to produce a special performance to win under the lights. Despite a 20-13 win over World and Tri-Nations champions South Africa in November, the French are renowned for not showing up for matches, and particularly away from home.

Wales’s toughest test will be the trip to Croke Park to face 2009 Grand Slam champions Ireland. It was against this opposition last year where Wales came within a kick of winning the Championships themselves, leaving them fourth in the table, a false position according to captain, Jones: “We finished fourth but we were one kick away from finishing first.

“There comes a point where you have to put everything on the line and risk it really, and we did that - unfortunately we came off second best. I don’t think that was a true reflection of the way we actually performed.

“Of course we were bitterly disappointed, you want to be at the top end of the table, because people only remember the teams that win it.”

The midfield battle in this game will be intense and engulfing. The Lions centre partnership of Jamie Roberts and Brian O’Driscoll - one of the highlights of the South Africa tour – will line up against each other. Indeed they could play directly opposite if Gatland chooses to play James Hook at inside-centre with the return of Byrne ousting him from full-back.

Wales will hope their final game at home against the minnows of the tournament, Italy, will prove to be a stroll to their third Grand Slam in six attempts. Although continually improving since their introduction into the Six Nations, and the prospect of a franchise entering into regular competition in the Magners League on the horizon, the Italians do pose a threat.

Despite a poor autumn there does seem to be a great amount of confidence surrounding the Wales camp in the run up to the Six Nations and invariably the 2011 World Cup. The likes of Alun Wyn-Jones and Jamie Roberts are still very young, but vastly experienced and should be looking to be physically and mentally ready to tackle the biggest challenge in 18-months time.

Jones concluded: “Leading up to the Six Nations we are targeting and looking forward to playing. We have three home games, which are key to a successful campaign.

“They are the biggest games you can pay in. It’s just a great challenge, every year we pit ourselves against the best and were getting closer and closer I think.”

Will the African Nations Cup Help Africa in the South Africa 2010?

2010-01-09T22:11:00.001Z

The African Nations is yet to kick off but it has already been marred in controversy after the Togo team bus was attacked and the side subsequently withdrawing from the competition.

However, if we assume the tournament continues terror-free will it, so close to the World Cup give the African continent a huge advantage going into South Africa 2010.

England managers from Capello to Keegan have continually complained they do not have enough time with their players – and when they do their most important assets are withdrawn by their clubs through injury, but are remarkably fit the following weekend to play in the Premier League.

The last competitive game England will play before their first World Cup game is the 3-0 victory over Belarus on October 14.

Ivory Coast, Ghana and Cameroon though now have at least two weeks to train together, in a competitive environment, with their likely World Cup squad.

Coaches will be able to give their first 11 a good test and tweak tactics before football’s biggest challenge.

Of course the European nations have an opportunity to try out new tactics and personnel in the March friendlies – but it is at that time of the year where Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea stars get mysterious injuries which stops them playing at Wembley, but allows them to play in the next match of the Champions League.

There has been hushed murmurings of a physical, well organised and increasingly skilful African nation winning the World Cup in the first edition of it being hosted in that continent – and I think the tournament starting in Angola tomorrow will be a huge boost to that possibility.

Matt Prior: England's Un-Hyped Hero

2010-01-04T20:27:00.004Z

Since succumbing to just 51 in the second innings at the beginning of the year against the West Indies at Kingston, England have gone from strength to strength.

They failed to win the series in the Caribbean but claimed victory in the return two-Test series at home, before famously claiming the Ashes for the second time in three attempts.

Continuing on, the first two Tests against second in the world South Africa have seen Andrew Strauss’ men take a lead and set themselves up fantastically with one-and-a-half games remaining.

Much of the media attention has been focussed on Andrew Flintoff, Stuart Broad, Jonathan Trott, Graeme Swann and the captain Strauss – while Matt Prior has been largely overlooked.

The wicketkeeper position since the retirement of Alec Stewart in 2003 was a huge problem for England. Chris Read and Geraint Jones swapped gloves, with neither cementing their place nor performing with much certainty.

Prior got his chance in 2007 before Tim Ambrose took the hot seat for most of 2008 – however the Sussex man regained his spot during the winter and hasn’t looked back.

He averages just over 42 in his 25 Tests and after initial question marks over his glove-work, he has improved significantly to be a reliable figure behind England’s stumps.

His batting for the calendar year 2009 was at an average of 43.52, which included one century and six half-centuries at the bottom of the England order.

Helped with the likes of Broad and Swann who can hold a bat, England’s tail which traditionally never wagged has been as lively as a hamster on speed.

The situation tomorrow (Jan 5) in Cape Town sees Prior needing to lead the England batting as they trail South Africa by 50 runs with three wickets remaining.

The improved ability and reliability at the bottom of the England order has been crucial in their success – notably hanging on the draw at Cardiff against the Australians.

A lot of off-spinner Swann’s success can in some part be put down to Prior’s improved form as a wicketkeeper. The Nottinghamshire player has gone from near-international obscurity at the beginning of 2009 to be the tormentor of Australia and having success currently in South Africa.

Prior has been performing quietly and confidently, and as England strive to get to the top of the Test hierarchy their wicketkeeper will surely be key to their success.

Should Ian Bell be in the England Team?

2009-12-26T19:36:00.000Z

Should Ian Bell be in the England Side?

Going into the Second Test between South Africa and England, much of the media attention was on the selection of Ian Bell. The Warwickshire batsmen has been criticised for not scoring enough runs, and so I used the vast database ofCricInfo.com to see if the condemnation was justified through facts.

Since making his debut in 2004 against the West Indies, Bell has notched up 50 Test caps at an average of 38.90 runs per game. He has a highest score of 199 and has made eight centuries and 21 fifties.

His average is the key stat, and is probably a little short of what itshould be for a top-class middle order batsman. He undoubtedly has talent, but is often criticised of lacking discipline and temperament while batting.

He is currently tenth in the England average chart (minimum 20 innings) for the Noughties, in-between two who have captained their country: Mark Butcher (40.45) and Mike Atherton (36.87)

Bell Burst Onto the Scene With Runs Against the West Indies in '04

Player	Ave
Thorpe	53.30
Pietersen	50.18
Strauss	44.27
Trescothick	43.79
Collingwood	42.83
Cook	42.09
Vaughan	42.02
Prior	41.56
Butcher	40.45
Bell	38.90
Atherton	36.87
Stewart	36.07
Hussain	34.70
Flintoff	32.83
Key	31.00

So know we have a wide sense of Bell’s contribution since 2000, lets narrow it so it focus more on his career and immediate teammates around him.

This table shows England players selected as batsmen/wicket-keepers/all-rounders since the beginning of the 2005 (calendar year).

The chart shows Bell to have the ninth best average over this period, though with his number of caps shows a level of consistency. Jonathan Trott for instance has only played two Tests this year, with great success (average 64.25) to make him an anomaly at the right of the chart.

Bell is above Ashes 2005 heroes Michael Vaughan, Andrew Flintoff and Geraint Jones and also Ravi Bopara, who earlier this year was being hailed as the next great England batsman.

These records do not reflect too badly on Bell. He does not have the average he perhaps ought, but he is there-or-there abouts; has produced over many matches; and is surrounded by names of recent England ‘legends’.

Critics would further argue another batsman could have done a better job from county cricket. This argument is of course valid, but unproven. Who is to say what Mark Ramprakash might have averaged for his country over the last five years or Michael Carberry – but Bell has been wearing the Three Lions and scoring some runs.

However, if we then look at stats for the calendar year 2009, the results are not so kind on the under-pressure batsman.

As is quite clear 2009 has not been a good year for Bell. He has only scored two more runs than opening bowler, James Anderson, and is behind county team mate Trott despite batting five more times. He is also behind all-rounders Stuart Broad and Flintoff – the latter batting in 2009 on one fit leg – as well as off-spinner Graeme Swann.

Statistics are very fragile things, and must be used with great care – there are many comedy sketches which dismiss the use of them as they can be used to prove anything.

This look at Ian Bell does not give any certainty as to whether he should or should not be selected – but gives an extra piece of information for Andy Flower and Andrew Strauss to potentially use.

The beauty of cricket statistics is they do tell a story, but not always the whole story. Bell may have had to go in and hit out to score an extra few runs before a declaration arranged for an hour and given away his wicket for the team; he may have had a few horrible umpiring decisions go against him – none of which are given as an aside in the statistics.

How Accurate was MoreThanBalls Twelve Months Ago?

2009-12-26T16:21:00.003Z

Twelve months ago I made some comments about what I would like to see happen in the sporting calendar of 2009. Looking back some of the results are quite interesting and some more accurate than others.

Although the original post was to be less of a prediction but more of a wish list, I thought I would look back and see if my wishes came true...

The Lions in South Africa:

Wish – 2-1 Lions victory with the pack being the key.

Reality – Saying the pack is going to be key in a rugby Test Series is rather obvious in retrospect, though it was crucial in the 2009 tour to South Africa.

Phil Vickery was embarrassed in the First Test by Tendai ‘The Beast’ Mtawarira, which gave the Boks the penalties and the platform to take a crucial lead.

The second Test was one of the most exciting and brutal in recent memory, and for a rush of blood to the head of Ronan O’Gara, the Lions would have had the opportunity to draw the three match series against the World Champions.

Accuracy – 3/10 (but who cares, it was a fantastic series)

The Ashes:

Wish – A repeat of 2005 with the emergence of Stuart Broad to win the urn.

Reality – Fairly spot on. Australia did lack the personalities and world class ability of 2005, though Ricky Pointing and Michael Clarke did fill these boots and Ben Hilfenhaus in particular shone. With Andrew Strauss and Andrew Flintoff bowing out for England in Test cricket, they managed to scrap a series win with equal drama to the last instalment.

Stuart Broad did come of age in the series, and with Flintoff’s retirement will need to continue.

I think the next series in 2013 being broadcast on terrestrial television speaks volumes as 2009 did not grab the public’s hearts as much as 2005, despite the drama of Monty Panesar holding on with the bat at Cardiff.

Accuracy – 9/10

British Boxing:

Wish – Calzaghe to retire, Hatton to fight Oscar de La Hoya, Carl Froch to slowly grow and Haye to fight the Klitscho’s.

Reality – Calzaghe retired while Hatton has (perhaps) been forced to retire after he was humiliatingly dismantled by Manny Pacquiao.

Froch however, has become a much bigger name on the world stage this year. He went to American and defeated the previously unanimous world middleweight champion, Jermaine Taylor, and won his first fight in the exciting Super Six Series against American prospect Andre Dirrel.

David Haye has had the most successful year though. It seemed to be all doom and gloom after his fight with Wladimir Klitschko was cancelled after Haye injured himself at his training camp in Cyprus. However, he came back and defeated Nickolai Valuev on points to become world heavyweight champion.

A fight against one of the brothers he has been shouting about should come about next year.

Accuracy – 5/10

I also asked for the England football team to become less like pre-madonnas. I was feeling a larger sense of pride in the side, but after the revelations about John Terry earning money from giving businessmen tours of Stamford Bridge, it is obvious their desire for money is omnipresent.

2009 was a great year for sport and ended a fantastic decade. I cannot wait to see what transpires over the next 12 months, but it should be exciting!

Total: 17/30

Happy Birthday MoreThanBalls

2009-12-25T16:13:00.000Z

MoreThanBalls is now one year old having started on Christmas Day 2008.

I hope you enjoy reading the blog, and please give any feedback/comments you may have

The Greatest Sporting Icon of the Noughties

2009-11-19T21:10:00.002Z

An online debate was sparked by Josh Pettitt in the Cardiff Journalism School newsroom which has spread across WordPress and Twitter flaming debate.

The Greatest Sporting Icon of the Noughties is the issue, and personally I feel there is only one possible choice.

Men such as Michael Schumacher, Lance Armstrong and Ricky Pointing have all been hugely successful since 2000.

Though Michael Brown’s suggestion of Usain Bolt raised a very valid point, and one which goes straight to the crux of the issue.

Bolt, since blasting onto the sprinting scene with his blistering world-record times at Beijing of 9.69s (100m) and 19.30s (200m), has seen the Jamaican become a sporting icon: as an example to youngsters; a remarkable and unique physical specimen; but also with his trademark bolt stance.

Usain and his trademark Bolt

Icons

Cathy Freeman was iconic at the Sydney Olympics. In her head-to-toe suit she carried the hopes of Australia and her Aboriginal heritage.

Freeman iconic at Sydney in 2000

There are many images of Andrew Flintoff during the 2005 Ashes, from celebrating wickets to consoling Brett Lee at Trent Bridge after the Australian tail-end almost pulled off a remarkable victory.

There are many other examples but frankly only David Beckham can really justify the tag of The Greatest Sporting Icon of the Noughties.

The Player

For a start: the cornrows, the shaved head, the mohawk and now the mullet.

Beckham’s hair alone and the attention it has received and inspired others to follow is probably enough to give him this accolade, but his actions have been far more important over ten-years.

Since scoring from the half-way against Neil Sullivan’s Wimbledon on 17th August 1996, he was an instant superstar.
His last-gasp-goal at Old Trafford against Greece in 2001 shattered the ill feeling the nation felt towards him after that incident against Argentina in 1998.

Steve McClaren’s decision to leave him out of his teams for the failed qualification campaign for the 2008 European Championships was later seen as a huge factor in England’s poor performance; and the reinstatement of Beckham to win a record number of caps for an outfield England player (109) by Fabio Capello – a world renowned manager and judge of ability – shows the class the man oozes.

He has played for four of the most glamorous clubs in the world: Manchester United, Real Madrid, AC Milan and LA Galaxy and enjoyed success at all (the Galaxy having just reached the final of MLS).

Although the latter may not be the most famous or decorated club, the money they spent on Brand Beckham put previous feeble attempts by US franchises to promote the sport with the likes of Franz Beckenbauer, Pele, Johan Cruff and George Best – some of the greatest players to have ever played the game – into perspective, and demonstrate the importance the man carries as an icon and player second.

He has been BBC Sports Personality of the Year, inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame and twice runner-up in FIFA’s World Player of the Year.

The Brand

His marriage to Posh Spice propelled him even further into superstardom in 1999, for a decade which was to see Beckham move the attention on footballers from the back pages to gossip columns and magazines.

He has fronted multi-million pound advertising campaigns from Police, Calvin Kline, Gillette to even Sharpie pens, and was even reportedly bought by Real over Ronaldinhio because of his ability to sell shirts as a world-wide sporting icon.

He was one of football’s pioneers to negotiate image rights into his contracts: simply, put a picture of David Beckham and any other sports star to anyone in the world – and Beckham will be recognised considerably more.

He was named in the Time 100 last year, has been recognised by the Queen with a CBE and has been a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF.

***

Beckham may not be the most loved, or may not have won the most amount of football’s prizes since 1st January 2000, but as a sporting icon, he is light-years ahead.

Though he may not be the sharpest knife in the draw

The other contenders:

Ireland Call for FIFA to Maintain Principles

2009-11-19T16:23:00.006Z

Well Done is Better than Well Said

John Delaney, President of the Football Association of Ireland has summed up the issue perfectly. FIFA must adhere to this and replay the World Cup qualifier if they wish to maintain their integrity.

The France captain, Thierry Henry, clearly handled the ball in extra time to give France an equalising goal on the night, and a winning score in the tie to qualify for South Africa 2010.

FIFA talks constantly of fair play, sportsmanship and ambassadors in the game, but to allow France to qualify for the World Cup in South Africa through such an act of cheating would be a travesty, and would destroy all trust and confidence in the organisation as well as the integrity of the game.

Johnson Takes One Step Forward and Two Steps Back

2009-11-04T19:47:00.005Z

The England team to face Australia on Saturday is a bizarre mix of a positive, forward thinking backline behind a dull Leicester dominated pack.

Shane Geraghty who has been in fantastic form for Northampton since his switch from London Irish is named along-side 2003 superstar Jonny Wilkinson - named for the first time in 18-months. Dan Hipkiss at outside-centre offers a powerful yet quick and thoughtful runner; while Matt Banahan on the wing will be a key member of England’s future.

World Cup winner Steve Thompson makes a miraculous start – a fit Dylan Hartley surely would have got the nod. But it is behind the front row where questions should be asked, as Leicester and conservatism dominate.

Martin Johnson clearly sees something in captain Steve Borthwick. He is by no means world class, though he must offer strong leadership off the pitch, and he does act as some stability in the England side – a side which has been constantly changing since Johnson took the helm.

Partnering Borthwick is Leicester lock Louis Deacon. He is a solid Premiership player, but does not stand out and does not suggest he is ready to make the grade at international level.

With the mysterious shunning of Nick Kennedy, putting faith in 20-year old Courtney Lawes – named on the bench – would at least have shown some ambition.

Lawes is young and will be a staple in the England team in years to come. He is dynamic around the park, and although inexperienced – he can only gain this and improve with game time.

The back-row is less controversial. Lewis Moody secured his place by winning the 7-shirt off Steffon Armitage during Leicester’s win over Harlequins last week; and Tom Croft is one of the few certain starters given his performances in South Africa during the summer.

But it is Jordan Crane’s selection over James Haskell which is largely Johnson trying to prove a point. He stated in the summer those who left to ply their trade in France would be overlooked for national selection.

Haskell, who learnt from the best in Lawrence Dallaglio at Wasps, is probably the team manager’s attempt to save face after injury, necessity and ability has forced him to name two regular starters in France’s Top 14 in his starting XV.

The game kicks off at 2.30pm (GMT) at Twickenham and is live on Sky Sports 2.

England Team to face Australia on Saturday, November 7 at Twickenham, London

U Monye (Harlequins); M Cueto (Sale Sharks), D Hipkiss (Leicester), S Geraghty (Northampton), M Banahan (Bath); J Wilkinson (Toulon), D Care (Harlequins);

T Payne (Wasps), S Thompson (Brive), D Wilson (Bath), L Deacon (Leicester), S Borthwick (Saracens, capt), T Croft (Leicester), L Moody (Leicester), J Crane (Leicester).

Replacements: D Hartley (Northampton), D Bell (Bath), C Lawes (Northampton), J Haskell (Stade Francais), P Hodgson (London Irish), A Goode (Brive), A Erinle (Biarritz).

New White Hart Lane

2009-10-28T22:32:00.004Z

For all Tottenham Hotspur fans the pictures released yesterday of the new stadium are mouth-watering - and credit must be given to Daniel Levy and the board for listening to the fans!!

The capacity may have been reduced, but the aesthetics are dramatically improved since THFC's last plans.

Rugby Players Become Walking Wounded Gym Monkeys

2009-10-26T21:12:00.003Z

With the weekend seeing Nick Easter and Julian White both picking-up injuries, 26 of the 64 men in the England Elite and Saxons squads are unavailable or serious doubts for the Autumn internationals.

This at a time where Simon Shaw – recovering from a broken metatarsal himself – criticised the standard of rugby by churning out “gym monkeys”; and Lions doctor Gary O’Driscoll admitting he is “terrified about rugby” due to the modern player’s size, in the October 25th edition of The Rugby Paper.

Shaw is no whippet at six-foot eight-inches and just over nineteen stone, but the 36-year old Lion has a strong point, especially given he is one of the few left in pro-rugby who experienced the amateur days.

“There is an argument that people are spending too much time in the gym, creating more of an athlete than a rugby player," Shaw said in an interview with the BBC, "but there is a limit to how far you can stretch your body.

“There's a lot of pressure, especially on the young guys coming through, to be fitter, stronger and faster.”

Forwards have always been big, but now they are massive.

The difference in the backs is perhaps more evident and dramatic.

Take latest French sensation Mathieu Bastareaud. At 21-years of age, the six-foot centre is close to 17-and-a-half stone.

Compare this to England World Cup winner, Will Greenwood, who stood three inches taller and weighed just under two-and-a-half-stone less in his World Cup winning prime.

Stats from official club websites and the IRB 2003 RWC website

Now Arsenal doctor, Gary O’Driscoll, said: “Before the tour [Lions ’09 to South Africa] got underway we expected to send 10-11 players home which in itself is perverse. The rate of attrition today is simply frightening.”

After the Second Test of the summer, five Lions ended up in hospital, including O’Driscoll’s cousin – Brian.

Gary O’Driscoll believes, “people in charge need to act quickly because the unknown is the long-term damage this is doing.

“I would say weight limits are a possible solution.”

It is certainly an unknown force. Another of England’s 2003 heroes, Richard Hill, now uses a walking stick largely due to the impact he took during his career; though are we ever likely to see teams having to adhere to a weight limit?

It perhaps makes sense, though it would be more dangerous to include a light-weight forward to compensate for a centre such as Bastareaud. The sacrifices which may have to be made could leave a weaker front-row and thus creating an increased risk of injury.

Coaches need to win games to keep their jobs, and if this means optimising their players’ bulk and strength to achieve this, they will, even if more injuries occur.

It is not satisfactory to say ‘it is the modern game’, though unless something is done soon, it might not be too long before it descends into a human skittle contest, devoid of skills Shaw sees draining from the game.

Xavier Rush: the Unit

2009-10-11T21:39:00.001+01:00

Xavier Rush put in a man-of-the-match performance yesterday afternoon for the Cardiff Blues just days after an amputation.

After dislocating a finger during the 19-15 home victory over the Scarlets a few weeks ago, the Blues captain had surgery and 15 stitches to reattach the digit.

He had been expected to miss the first two rounds of the 2009/10 Heineken Cup, but he came back and helped rejuvenate his side from the lacklustre outfit which were defeated by Glasgow the previous week.

His work at the breakdown, ball carrying and direction were crucial as Cardiff were able to finish from positions which they butchered the previous week.

One of the Many Oddities in Football

2009-10-04T18:24:00.002+01:00

Laws in our country are laws and enforceable whenever and wherever, though those in football seem to change depending on when they are deemed necessary.

Every year there are new rules introduced which often just disappear. Remember the six-second rule for goalkeepers or moving the ball ten-yards forward for dissent.

One rule which has stuck has been to book a player if he removes his jersey. A bizarre decision and has since seen a number of players sent off after they have been booked later for perhaps a poor tackle.

However, after watching Chelsea’s victory over Liverpool, it puzzled me as to why footballers should be allowed to take their shirts off after the final whistle has gone?

Florent Malouda – to his credit – took off his shirt to give it to a ball boy after the 90-minutes and then went off to celebrate with the fans – but should he be booked retrospectively?

Team-mate Didier Drogba was banned after a fit of rage after the final whistle in last year’s Champions League Semi-Final against Barcelona; and if a player was to square-up to an opponent as they walk off the pitch, or in the tunnel, action would be taken.

Obviously Malouda should not be punished. The rule is a farcical one which does no one any harm, and only goes to spoil matches if the offender is subsequently sent-off later, or misses another crucial match for amassing too many bookings in the season.

However, it does raise an interesting issue as to why some rules apply all the time and others only sometimes.

Speeding, after all, is speeding whether driving to work or hurriedly rushing to dinner with your other-half.

Positives in Rugby as Argentina Join the Elite

2009-09-15T13:00:00.003+01:00

After the World Cup in France, 2007, the secret of Argentinean rugby was well and truly ousted; and as teams prepare for the next instalment in 2011 the Pumas have been given the recognition they deserve.

After years of campaigning from the UAR, journalists and fans across the world, SANZAR have extended the invitation to the South American powerhouse to compete in the Tri Nations from 2012.

After the likes of then captain Agustín Pichot and Juan Martin Hernández lit up France with two famous victories against the home nation, the demand for Argentina to join rugby’s top-table gained momentum. Indeed it has been Pichot who has fronted much of the demand for the Pumas to be given such an opportunity.

The alternative was for the Argentines to join the 6 Nations; but with an already overcrowded European season – as demonstrated by the late arrival of players who competed in the Heineken Cup final to the Lions tour – and the greater logistical problems in terms of travel and season, it made more sense for them to join up with the Southern Hemisphere sides.

SANZAR chief executive Andy Marinos said: "To have the Pumas join with the three top-ranked international teams in world rugby will be exciting for fans, players, sponsors and broadcasters across our four countries and beyond.

"They play a different style to the All Blacks, Springboks and Wallabies and their inclusion will see the Tri-Nations evolve to be a truly southern hemisphere championship."

Indeed after Argentina finished third at the last world cup, and after famous victories in Europe, particularly at Twickenham in recent years, they join the current Tri-Nations to form the top seeded teams at the head of each pool for the 2011 World Cup.

Without strength in their domestic game, Argentine top level players have had to ply-their trade in predominantly the French leagues. For this reason it was thought if they were to join the 6 Nations they would play ‘home’ matches in France or even Spain.

Much like the recent complaints coming out of the English and Welsh unions of players moving to foreign leagues, it has been increasingly difficult for the UAR to keep track of their players and also to bring them together. The option has often been for their stars to play in what would seem meaningless Test against Uruguay or Chile, or remain at their European club side to play at a higher standard, gain more recognition and earn more money.

If money could be generated and players attracted, it would seem the next step would be to try and include an Argentinean side into Super 14. The series, which is currently looking for its 15th franchise, would offer yet another opportunity for the South Americans to regularly compete and improve against sides from the established nations.

Despite rugby’s recent, well documented problems of ‘Bloodgate’, the Schalk Burger gouging and Bath’s drug scandal, on an international scale the game has taken monumental steps. Not only have Argentina been given the chance to develop, but the dominant force in the East, Japan, were awarded the 2019 World Cup – an opportunity which should see fans flock and interest boom like the phenomenon the football equivalent produced in 2002.

Why the Ashes 2009 Will Not Capture the Country as 2005 Did?

2009-07-20T01:02:00.006+01:00

As I write the Ashes are tied. We enter the final day of the Second Test at Lord’s with the possibility of England defeating Australia at the home of cricket for the first time since 1934; or equally Australia complete the largest run chase in history to win a test match.

We have already had the drama of Cardiff, as Paul Collingwood, Graeme Swann and then remarkably James Anderson and Monty Panesar gallantly gritted out batting performances inspired by Roy of the Rovers.

Remember Gary Pratt – the substitute fielder who ran-out Ricky Ponting and made the captain so irate in a series changing moment four-years ago. Well, Ponting has already blown-his-mouth off at England for disrespecting the Spirit of Cricket by bringing on the physio to waste time in Wales; his dismissal in the first innings at Lord’s; and at Ravi Bopara for not accepting Nathan Hauritz’s word after replays were inconclusive as to whether the catch had carried.

The excitement of 2005 is despite what many expected, being matched if not bettered this time around - and we still have three tests and a day left of the series. Though even if tomorrow we see Siddle and Hilfenhaus needing only three to win – as it was at Edgbaston – the level of celebration or despair will never match that of the triumphant victories four years ago because of its broadcasting.

The Ashes of Vaughan, Jones and Flintoff was the last test series to be shown live and on terrestrial television in England. This time all we have is a 36-minute highlights programme (once adverts have been taken into consideration) a day. Of course Test Match Special continues to offer delectable coverage. But for the next generation of Pietersens and Andersons the dulcet tones of Henry Bloefeld will not be enough to turn them from the much more accessible football or rugby, or equally their computer games and Harry Potter.

With tickets being sold out months before the series, and even then the cheapest ticket not offering much change for £50, if any, no-longer can cricket’s next generation be inspired by the stars of today, to replay scenarios in gardens or playgrounds across the county.

Sky aims to have 10-million customers by 2010 – which is still only reaching one-sixth of the population, and that being largely the wealthy and based in the south – not the demographic that has given rise to England’s most renowned Ashes winning heroes of the last 30-years – Ian Botham and Andrew Flintoff.

The newspapers are dominated by what interests their readership, and although the Ashes is prevalent throughout, the Open Championship has arguably overshadowed the cricket. Undoubtedly every year this is a hugely popular event, and with Tom Watson almost making history as the oldest winner of the championship it became even more romantic and intriguing.

However, one cannot ignore the impact of constant BBC broadcasting of the event. Since Thursday, four rounds of golf have dominated their daily schedules. Especially with the temperamental weather in many places, fans and those who have previously had no interest in the sport have been transfixed by what they have seen.

I don’t think that it will become apparent how important and significant the switch to pay-to-watch television has been for a few years when there may well be a dearth of talent. Many predicted cricket may well be in trouble at the time the government decided to remove home test matches from their protected list of sporting events to be broadcast on free-to-air television.

William Buckland in his book, Pommies, went further and looked at the rotten core of English cricket – the establishment and its administration. Many of what he says is quite extreme, but the general synopsis of English cricket facing major problems is certainly accurate.

Twenty20 cricket will not kill test cricket – but the fact that it has been snatched away from the general populous and only the rich are allowed to watch it from their debenture seats, supping their champagne will.

This Ashes is only the tip of the iceberg. However spectacular, it will not reach the heights of 2005 – because there aren’t enough people able to watch it to help lift it up.

Be Careful What You Wish For – The Dreamer that Makes Them Happen: Karina Hollekim

2009-06-09T00:54:00.006+01:00

Many choose to live life on the edge. Be it in work or leisure the thought of living an ordinary life is enough to drive people to seek out alternative thrills and entertainment – however, jumping off 1000-meters cliffs at 180-km/hour is perhaps closer to one’s nightmare than one’s ecstasy.

Though for Norwegian, Karina Hollekim, this was exactly what got her out of bed in the morning as she spent six of the most extraordinary years as a professional BASE Jumper. She is one of the most remarkable, inspiring and determined people one could possibly meet. Her story is one of beating the odds and accomplishing goals which all-but she believed to be impossible: first with childish ignorance and fearlessness; and then in the face of near death and all-but-certain disability.

Growing up in Norway she was immediately exposed to skiing, though it was not sliding down mountains that excited her most. When asked about her dreams by her school teacher she recalls: “I said I wanted to fly and told her about the birds, how free they were and how untouched they were by everything else. I wanted to feel that same kind of freedom and to be able to play in the sky. She told me that it was a nice dream, and I had to be more realistic in life because people can’t fly. But little does she know, because I kept that dream”.

Hollekim was a sponsored skier, though never lost that childhood vision to fly as she took a skydiving course at 23-years old. She advanced to BASE Jumping quickly, by combining the contacts she had made on the pistes and became a year-round athlete.

The sport took her to “some really magnificent, really remote amazing places. You can go to a huge city like New York and be captivated by the buildings and structures and you can jump off construction projects to hotels or anything in Downtown New York – which is pretty fascinating; and challenging because of the winds. But for sure I’m a nature girl, and I love to hike in the mountains and to climb. I have been to Africa, in Mali. In the glaciers of Alaska there is nothing but white and cliffs all over you – amazing! Even travelling in my own country, it was only when I started BASE Jumping that I began to explore and see Norway, because you seek out all those hidden valleys which you wouldn’t go to if wasn’t for jumping.”

What is fascinating about Hollekim’s language is her constant reference to flying – which is how she obviously views her sport. Particularly in the wing-suit she was able to defy her teacher and truly be as one with the birds.

In August 2006 everything changed. It was in the same outfit and accomplishing a dream for a further time – but this time led to disaster, and marked the beginning of another seemingly impossible journey for Hollekim. As she astonishingly recalls: “It was a World Cup in paragliding and I was invited there to do a show, and fly in my wing-suit. It was actually out of a plane, so it was like another day in the office. I wasn’t scared about it, or worried because it was an easy thing.

“I remember sitting in the plane and looking down at Switzerland and it was beautiful. I thought that I was a lucky girl, this was my work, this was my profession – how could it get any better than this? I was with good friends, I was laughing, and I was having a good time. I jumped out of the plane, and I was with my friend Geraldine. Just as I was about to open my parachute I heard the roars and clapping from the thousands of spectators that were below us – it was perfect.

“I pulled the parachute and realised immediately that something was wrong. Then 15-seconds later my life had changed forever. What I had was something called a tension knot, it isn’t an actual knot but a build up of tension, and as long as I am hanging below it can’t be undone. I spun into the ground at 100-km/hour. I fractured everything I have from below my waist down. I had 21 fractures on my right side, and they were all open fractures so I had more of my leg outside than I had in.”

Somehow her back and head were unscathed and she survived – though she had to deal with a situation she had never even considered. “Before I was very black and white about it, I knew that if I had an accident I would either survive and be fine, or be dead. But suddenly I was stuck in a wheelchair for an indefinite amount of time, and I was the one who had to deal with the consequences. It was much harder and much tougher than I had ever anticipated.”

She spent four months in hospital where she withered, losing muscle mass and almost a third of her body-weight and without the strength to sit up for an full meal. Told that she would never walk again, she not only had to rebuild physically, but also had to overcome the mental hammer-blow that she would be dependable on a metal chair for the rest of her life.

But little did they know, because she kept her dream.

A year later, after intensive gym, pool and physio work, the truly sensational woman was not only walking but wall climbing; and hopes to be skiing again this winter. She claims to understand the concepts of fear and defeat, though the evidence suggests otherwise.

Telling her story in a series of talks Hollekim is trying to spread the message that “people have to ‘dare to dream’ – because even if your dream is completely unrealistic and seems a little far off, I still believe that you can do it and you just need to believe in yourself.”

She learnt to fly, survived and recovered from a near-fatal and an almost certain crippling injury – something anybody can learn and take lessons from. Her film – 20 Seconds of Joy – logs her journey from ski-baby to BASE Jumper, including her injury and early stages of recovery. The personal spine of the 60-minute movie gives it an extra dimension to most extreme-sports documentaries, and left many at the premier in the Soho Hotel speechless and quite clearly moved.

Pre-Lions Tour Test Prediction

2009-05-30T09:54:00.017+01:00

On the brink of the Lions' first game in South Africa against the Royal XV in Rustenburg, I have selected who I think should start the First Test against the Boks on the 20^th June.

The decision is based on recent form and what is needed to beat the World Champions: passion, power and defence.

By the time the Lions’ land in Durban my idea I imagine would have changed significantly, as the warm-up games are not just for acclimatising, but are a battle between not only the opposition but against fellow competitors for places.

The Certainties: The Lions’ squad is hugely competitive though there are a few players who pick themselves. Captain Paul O’Connell, fellow countryman Brian O’Driscoll and Shane Williams are the key men for the Lions; and if fit will surely start.

The Front Five: Ian McGeechan makes no secrets that he believed it was crucial for the Front Five to stand up in 1997 for a Lions win, and the same will be true on this tour. Gethin Jenkins has been the most impressive prop this season in Europe, and should be partnered by the Scottish rock Euan Murray ahead of Phil Vickery. Lee Mears gets the nod at Hooker because of his very accurate line-out which will be crucial if they are to take victory. O’Connell is obviously one he will be looking for, along with Nathan Hines. At Perpignan he is often ignored in Britain, though in the 6 Nations he proved his credentials, and his massive frame adds to the Second Row intimidation. Simon Shaw is unlucky to miss out and takes his place on the bench along with Matthew Rees of Wales.

The Back Row: Against Schalk Burger, Pierre Spies and Juan Smith, whoever is picked to combat the agile, fast and powerful threat really needs to stand up. Jamie Heaslip and David Wallace have had a season of success and will need to carry this through into the Lions. Martin Williams is also selected for his experience, loose play, and knowing what the referee can and cannot see. Tom Croft to come off the bench offers vast amounts of pace and something different to the three already on the field, as well as another option as a Lock.

Half-Backs: 9 and 10 combinations are all about partnerships, and therefore one would be forgiven for selecting the Welsh pairing of Mike Phillips and Stephen Jones. After the injury to Thomas O’Leary, Phillips is the obvious choice at Scrum-Half but Ronan O’Gara offers something much more exciting and daring than Jones. His place kicking is consistent, and his vision exemplary. Scottish captain Mike Blair is a more than adequate replacement at 9 while James Hook can cover 10, 12 and 15.

Centres: Brian O’Driscoll needs to be partnered by someone who can unleash the talent that made him a household name in his early career and has been rediscovered to some extent this season. Luke Fitzgerald could soften up the midfield, but if Riki Flutey can continue his improvement in Test rugby like, he did from an unimpressive Autumn to a successful 6 Nations, then he could be the ideal foil to put the Irishman through gaps.

Back-Three: The Ospreys Back-Three are devastating at club level, and with their understanding could be sensational for the Lions. Williams is selected undoubtedly, while Lee Byrne has been the outstanding Full-Back over the last few years. Tommy Bowe’s burst onto the scene also gives him selection, and his fantastic finishing could be the difference. Rob Kearney on the bench offers a bit more bulk and could be introduced to help close off a game.

Lions’ Squad for the 1^st Test vs. South Africa, 20^th June 2009

15 – Lee Byrne (Wales/Ospreys)

14 – Shane Williams (Wales/Ospreys)

13 – Brian O’Driscoll (Ireland/Leinster)

12 – Riki Flutey (England/Wasps)

11 – Tommy Bowe (Ireland/Ospreys)

10 – Ronan O’Gara (Ireland/Munster)

9 – Mike Philips (Wales/Ospreys)

8 – Jamie Heaslip (Ireland/Leinster)

7 – Martyn Williams (Wales/Cardiff)

6 – David Wallace (Ireland/Munster)

5 – Nathan Hines (Scotland/Perpignan)

4 – Paul O’Connell (Ireland/Munster)

3 – Euan Murray (Scotland/Northampton)

2 – Lee Mears (England/Bath)

1 – Gethin Jenkins (Wales/Cardiff)

16 – Matthew Rees (Wales/Llanelli)

17 – Phil Vickery (England/Wasps)

18 – Simon Shaw (England/Wasps)

19 – Tom Croft (England/Leicester)

20 – Mike Blair (Scotland/Edinburgh)

21 – James Hook (Wales/Ospreys)

22 – Rob Kearney (Ireland/Leinster)

Lions Squad Profiles

2009-05-24T16:02:00.015+01:00

After the domestic season ended with Leinster’s fantastic Heineken Cup victory over Leicester yesterday afternoon, and all Lions coming through the game unscathed, it seemed like the right moment to evaluate the 37-men Ian McGeechan is taking to South Africa.

Paul O’Connell (Captain/Lock) – A towering beacon in his Munster and Ireland sides, and with McGeechan wanting to select a captain who could physically intimidate the opposition, O’Connell was the obvious choice. He is in the same mould to previously successful captains in South Africa, Willie John McBride (1974) and Martin Johnson (1997). The Irishman is guaranteed a place with his strong line-out work and tireless contribution at the break down – one of the key men for a Lions victory.

Mike Blair (Scrum-Half) – For me unfortunate to miss out in the original touring party. The Scottish captain has shone in an often ordinary side, and I would have thought the opportunity to play behind a strong pack and exciting back-line which is always moving forward could well bring the best out of him.

Tommy Bowe (Full Back/Wing) – Since Declan Kidney took over the reins of Ireland, Bowe has demonstrated his class. Playing in Wales, the Osprey could team up with his fellow team mates to form the back three for the Lions.

Lee Byrne (Full Back/Wing) – Has been solid for Wales in their recent success. He hasn’t attracted the attention that the blistering Shane Williams has, though is equally important. Solid in defence and under the high ball, he also has a great boot and can cut a devastating line.

Tom Croft (Lock/Flanker) – The fastest man in the Leicester squad, he optimises the athletic 21^st Century forward. He still has the bulk at 6”6’ and 16st 5lbs, though will need to work hard and impress in the warm up games to break into the test team.

Keith Earls (Centre/Wing) – Arguably the biggest surprise in the Lions squad. At just 21-years old and with only one-international cap, the Munster-man has impressed in the Magners League and in his province’s march to the Semi-Finals of the Heineken Cup. He will probably have to use this tour to gain experience for four-years time.

Harry Ellis (Scrum-Half) – Second choice at his club, Leicester, behind Julien Dupuy, Ellis call-up surprised many – especially given Blair’s initial omission. His temperament has been called into question this season while representing his country. He does offer a darting run like 1997 Scrum-Half, Matt Dawson, but needs great form and luck to impose himself on this tour.

Stephen Ferris (Flanker) – Played every game of Ireland’s Grand-Slam 6 Nations campaign, he does have a strong case for a place in the Test squad. Although he was in the eye of Eddie O’Sullivan, Kidney brought the man from Ulster into his side where he has thrived.

Luke Fitzgerald (Full Back/Wing) – Another young, Irish, Grand-Slam winner, Fitzgerald has performed well for Ireland this season. The son of former Irish prop, Des, at just 21 it is likely that it will be 2013 when his time will come.

Riki Flutey (Centre) – The Kiwi convert had a poor international start for England, though during the 6 Nations grew with his team-mates. He has continually demonstrated his class at club level for London Irish and now Wasps, and could create a potent midfield along with O’Driscoll.

Ross Ford (Hooker) – Called into the squad as the beneficiary of Jerry Flannery’s injury – who was surely the favourite for the No. 2 shirt. After switching to Edinburgh Rugby after the 2007 World Cup, Ford cemented his place in the Scottish side this year which came close to overturning the Springboks in the autumn. He will be fortunate to make the test side.

Leigh Halfpenny (Wing) – The Cardiff Blues’ winger has had a meteoric rise in the rugby world this year. Will miss the start of the tour due to a thigh injury, and will therefore have to prove his fitness as soon as possible. The call-up of James Hook to cover his injury highlights that McGeechan picked the Welshman as kicking cover; and this added to his youth, trickery and pace may make him an ideal player to bring off the bench and make a difference.

Jamie Heaslip (Number 8) – Pivotal for Ireland in winning the Grand Slam, and inspirational in Leinster’s Heineken Cup win, a Lions series would cap a sensational year for the 25-year old born in Israel. He matches the big, athletic stature of his South African counterparts with pace and line-out abilities. He is the likely candidate to counter Pierre Spies.

Nathan Hines (Lock) – Playing at Perpignan, away from the media spotlight of either the Magners League or Guinness Premiership, Hines’ abilities are perhaps not appreciated by the British media and fans. However, the Scottish lock – who grew up playing Rugby League in Australia – combines his massive frame with great ball skills and could be the man who combines McGeechan’s desire for brawn with the footballing skills needed to overcome the line-out battle against two of Botha and Matfield.

James Hook (Fly-Half/Centre) – Hook’s late call up as cover for Halfpenny will probably see his trip as more of a sight-seeing tour rather than the difference between the two sides unless injury strikes. The initial squad only named two recognised fly-halves and so he has a chance. Despite his versatility across the backline, the fact that he fell behind Stephen Jones in the pecking order for the Welsh 6 Nations campaign does not bode well for the Osprey.

Gethin Jenkins (Prop) – Played in all three Tests in 2005 and has grown as a player ever since. Close to the complete Prop forward, Jenkins is a solid scrummager, a forceful ball carrier and committed in defence. Jenkins would need to do a lot wrong to lose his No. 1 shirt to Andrew Sheridan after a fantastic 2008-9 which saw him lift the EDF Energy Cup with the Cardiff Blues and narrowly miss out on a Heineken Cup final.

Adam Rhys Jones (Prop) – Has become a stalwart of the Welsh side, having been involved in the two Grand Slam winning sides (2005 and 2008) and amassing an impressive 56 caps for his country. He is relatively small, which does have its advantages, and is strong in the loose; though is down the pecking order one would have thought as they land in South Africa.

Alun-Wyn Jones (Lock) – Will surely one day be a Welsh captain, though with O’Connell guaranteed one of the second-row birth’s the young lock will have a tough time in fighting off his more experience opposition to the shirt. He is athletic and versatile but whether he will have the mental and physical game to counter the South Africans in one of the key battle-grounds of the series is yet to be scene.

Stephen Jones (Fly-Half) – Utterly reliable with boot and distribution, Jones has a decade of test rugby experience and a full complement of test caps from the 2005 Tour. He has the advantage of having played with the likely Scrum-Half – Mike Phillips – though lacks the flair of O’Gara. He must impress in the warm up games to be in with a chance of starting.

Rob Kearney (Full-Back/Wing) – Has done well to make the squad ahead of the likes of Delon Armitage in particular, and has very many more challenges ahead to make the starting XV. He only became a regular at 15 for Ireland during their Championship winning 6 Nations campaign, and has the potential to be a game winner from off the bench.

Lee Mears (Hooker) – Passionate, spirited and committed. Mears is one of the major driving forces behind Bath, and for England demonstrates his darting runs and his ball carrying importance. His set-piece work is second to none in Europe, and he acts like an extra back-row forward in the loose, but he will need to prove his physicality in the early games to make the test squad.

Ugo Monye (Wing) – Monye has pace and a grounded temperament which has seen his club – Harlequins – enjoy an immensely successful season and has seen him slot into the England side with ease. May have been a surprise call for some, Monye is also solid in defence and hitting the ground running in South Africa may see him secure a test spot.

Euan Murray (Prop) – Murray is more in the traditional mould of a Prop forward – scrum, lift and tackle. He may well be selected on this basis alone, as his scrummaging prowess will be necessary to hold the Lions’ set-piece firm, and allow the Back Row to worry about fancy loose play.

Donncha O’Callaghan (Lock) – A Heineken Cup, Magners League and 6 Nations winner, O’Callaghan’s partnership for province and country with Lions captain, Paul O’Connell made him a near certainty for the touring party. However, his form has dropped in the last few years and his Test selection is far from confirmed. He is passionate and committed, though has less bulk than his competition, and could also perhaps have his temperament questioned.

Brian O’Driscoll (Centre) – Despite losing out on the captaincy, O’Driscoll is one of the few certain starters. Many thought the great Irishman had lost his magic, though two tries in a 41-11 victory over Wasps in October set Leinster on course for their Heineken Cup success. Greater form in the 6 Nations proved to any doubters who were still left that the captain four years ago was ready to forget the disappointments in New Zealand and help capture a Lions series win.

Ronan O’Gara (Fly-Half) – Since breaking into the Ireland test team at the turn of the Millennium, O’Gara has never looked back. He is a reliable kicker, with great vision when punting for territory or to put those either side of him into gaps. He has perhaps been unlucky on the 2001 and 2005 Lions tours to sit behind Jonny Wilkinson and only claim one Test cap, though this will give him invaluable experience this time around.

Mike Phillips (Scrum-Half) – At 6f”3’ and just over 16-stone Mike Phillips is not your typical Scrum-Half. He is determined, having fought off the competition from Justin Marshall at the Ospreys; and his physical, bullish and confrontational game makes him ideal starter for the Lions. However, he will have to make sure that the Boks don’t take advantage of these traits and tip him over the edge.

Andy Powell (Number 8) – Powell has been fortunate to be picked above his Welsh captain, Ryan Jones, and England Number 8, Nick Easter, and it is probably largely due to the form he showed in the autumn against the South Africans. He managed to shift Jones to Blindside Flanker, though couldn’t repeat his heroics in the 6 Nations. His bullish attitude and strong running may well be a threat off the bench.

Matthew Rees (Hooker) – With Flannery’s injury, the Number 2 shirt is anyone’s to grab. Rees is strong in the loose, though his set play does sometimes let him down which will be important against the solid South African line-out. History is also not on his side as a Welshman hasn’t started in his position since the tour to New Zealand in 1977.

Jamie Roberts (Centre/Wing) – His versatility to also play in the back 3 will help Roberts, though it is his direct running from 12 which is most recognisable when playing for Cardiff and Wales. The early tour games will be key as it needs to be seen whether he gels better with certain started O’Driscoll outside him than his nearest rival Flutey.

Simon Shaw (Lock) – Is the only playing member from 1997 to be returning in the same capacity this time around – though despite this is yet to win a cap for the Lions. He has matured and improved with age, often missing out on international duty behind Martin Johnson. Tough and experienced, Shaw could well be the man to conquer the South African Second Row if he carries the form that has seen him help Wasps lift two Heineken Cups and England reach the World Cup Final in 2007.

Andrew Sheridan (Prop) – Is not the player that devastated the Australian scrum so well, and wound up Julian White to such an extent that it saw him see red. Consistency is a major problem for the Sale prop, and moving ahead of Gethin Jenkins in the queue is unlikely unless he performs in the warm-up games.

Phil Vickery (Prop) – His experience, guile, strong running and huge tackle count since returning from a career threatening back injury which saw him miss the 2005 Lions tour all count massively in his favour. He is also a leader on and off the park, as he enters into a battle with Murray for the Tighthead spot.

David Wallace (Back Row) – Wallace is big in defence and exciting in attack. Encapsulated in the Grand Slam winning match against Wales his bursting try and nullifying of his opposition Back Row is exactly what Ian McGeechan and his team want and need.

Martyn Williams (Flanker) – Not the largest, Williams will have to hope that McGeechan opts for a more balanced Back Row rather than bulk to match the South Africans. His experience and ‘game-play’ which Kiwi – Richie McCaw – executes so efficiently could see him add to his solitary Lions test cap.

Shane Williams (Wing) – At the beginning of his career he was constantly questioned over his lack of size; though since braking onto the international scene in 2000 he has answered all challenges put in front of him spectacularly. Like Bryan Habana, he has raw pace, as well as the ability to break tackles and slither through gaps. He is one of the few certain starters, and certainly a match-winner.

Joe Worsley (Flanker) – Many would have thought his international career was over before Martin Johnson recalled him for the 6 Nations. He was arguably the stand out man in his position over the tournament, with his ferocious and uncompromising defence. He will not let the South Africans over the gain-line, but does not offer as much as his competitors in attack.

Those who have fallen:

Thomas O’Leary – Broken Ankle

Tom Shanklin – Dislocated Shoulder

Alan Quinlan – Suspension

Jerry Flannery – Chipped Elbow