Rugby - New Year, New Coaches, New Laws

[Havak]

Yes - we are playing Wilkos mob next I think....or did you mean the 6N?

[finbar]

Obviously the latter. The former only beckons more drivel here.

[finbar]

J. Flannery cops eight weeks. Fair enough too. Very nasty piece of tap dancing on someone's head.

[Havak]

It's not my fault that Falcons only produce drivel.

Because of injury problems there now seems to be a real chance that Tom Croft could get his first cap against Wales.

[finbar]

Good thing too. He can't come to any harm against a rabble.

[Havak]

A rabble that don't fear England apparently - and that feel they can end their 20 year drought at twickers.

That confidence can only have come from Gatland as Wales abject failure at the RWC was second only to Irelands amongt the 6N sides (as an aside the Irish coach is living in cloud cuckoo land and seemingly dismissing the RWC as a blip!).

Gatland does have a great record at Twickenham - but that was achieved with teams I consider to have been far superior to his current welsh charges.

We will find out in a little over a week if my confidence is misplaced.

[finbar]

Highly unlikely. A better coach might help them develop beyond a team that can sometimes cut you to pieces with kamikaze running rugby. I'd like to see it. I'd like to see Ireland pull their collective finger out. I exclude Scotland from these wishes on the basis that they're always going to be hopeless.

D. Vickerman off to England at the end of this S14 season. A lifestyle decision, apparently, with thought of a degree at Cambridge in 2010. Now a great start for Robbie Deans. On top of C. Latham nicking off, the knives will be out in Australian rugby for the likes of P. Howard, whose job as High Performance Manager at the ARU is to hang onto the important players.

[finbar]

Sale puzzle me. They have enough good - some even very good - players to be a top, winning team. Yet they somehow manage to make life difficult for themselves. Last night they should have buried Quins who fluctuated between rabble and try-hard. They couldn't and didn't. It's beyond me.

First time I've seen Quins' Tom Guest. I'm impressed. Looks to be stronger than T. Croft if not as quick. With the young Leicester #8, England have some terrific young back rowers coming through.

The Quins #8, the Tongan, should be dealt with by someone. A swinging arm on S. Chabal went unnoticed and the video judiciary should have a close look at his boot connecting with C. Hodgson's head when Hodgson was defenceless on the ground. Looked deliberate to me.

[Havak]

Yes the back row doesn't look like a problem area for a few years at least. Jordan Crane for example had a super game yesterday.

My main reflection from yesterdays game is that Hayman must be asking the rugby gods just what he has signed himself too. Falcons have a talented back line but they do not have the pack to secure the possession that back line needs to feed on.

I've seldom seen Tigers blow so many clear cut chances and still win at a canter.

[finbar]

Yes, I thought Hayman was a one-man scrum last time I saw Newcastle play. Still, if they can build a pack around him ...

The other strange thing for me out of the Sale match was the size of their ground! It's a postage stamp. The in-goal areas are tiny as to be dangerous.

Sarries -v- Bath was entertaining enough. Sarries will always score a lot of tries and leak a lot. I'm not sure that's the way to continued success. Brett Russell at full back needs to score about three times a match to offset the tries he lets through. The Sarries #9 needs a kick up the kyber. The #10 was sitting waiting to pot a drop goal at the end - to cost Bath a bonus point - and the #9 hoofed the ball straight into touch.

[Havak]

You are seeing more Premiership than I am these days Finbar - I only caught a few minutes of Sarries v Bath and none of the Sale game.

Sale play at a football ground - Stockport. Footy grounds don't need extra space for in goal areas I guess.

More observations from the Tigers game. Firstly Jamie Noon's contribution to the match seemed to be one big tackle on Seru Rabeni - why Noon is back in the England senior squad is a total mystery to me.

More worringly for an England fan was the sight of Tait being hauled along by Corry as the latter scored the opening try. Still Wales haven't got any big powerful loose forwards have they? We had better hope not anyway.

[finbar]

I get one match on Sky per weekend, sometimes two, very occasionally more. Curled up on the couch on a frigid Italian winter weekend afternoon watching rugby isn't a bad life.

Shame about M. Tait. I've seen the same thing - clinging like a limpet to someone bigger and stronger, unable to bring him down. If his body strength matched his skills and endeavour he'd be a winner.

Someone who impressed me over the weekend was D. Strettle. He has all the speed and skills of his winger contemporaries but he also reads the game very well, 'specially defensively. Very bright player. Deserves a chance.

I have no idea what anyone sees in J. Noon either. I imagine he's seen as the next M. Tindall.

Where are on earth are Sarries finding the money to pay all these new signings?

[Havak]

I think Nigel Wray is still underwriting Saracens - they have spent big since the mid-nineties really (when Lynagh and Pienaar closed their careers with them).

I think there is only a year between Noon and Tindall age wise. Not exactly a case of forward looking team building by Coach Ashton.

[Joe Kick Ass]

A little surprised by the English pluck on here, - guess that's what a run of three matches and one try does for a team...



Oh, and Ponty knocked Llanelli out of the cup this week. Hah.

[finbar]

Put it this way - it takes pluck to follow a team like England.