Rugby - The Game They Play In Heaven II

[finbar]

So that's why J**** quit. They had already approached Mr Mallett. Who declined the job. And so it goes.

Saw the press conference on the news last night. That Teflon truly is a despicable little piece of slippery sh*t.

[kittenOFchaos]

Right, so who we left with for England Manager?

Sven-Göran Eriksson, he is available...

[finbar]

Eddie Jones has - as the cliche goes - put his hand up for the job. Be afraid, be very afraid.

[Havak]

Not only has the cunning little hooker put his hand up but in doing so told the BBC that England have the quality of players that with the right structure can win the next RWC. With his brutal experience of the Australian media you would have thought he would have more sense than that?

Doesn't he hold the record for the most consecutive test losses by a Wallaby outfit (eight?).

I agree with you Finbar that Martin made no progress as a coach. It started with his stubborn refusal to accept making Borthwick skipper was a disasterous call and progressed through picking players out of form and out of position and sticking with players like Easter for perceived strengths when alternatives like Dowson were in red hot form for their clubs. I am sure he was seeing things we cannot from outside the setup but even so as players failed time and time again in Tests the loyalty to them started to become a credibility issue for him.

He had strengths outside the coaching - he handles media very well, speaking calmly and honestly (even if one queried what he was saying he believed it*) and non-emotionally. He can still motivate players - that comes across very clearly from his squad. But as a coach he did come up short and that makes me sad as he was one of the best players I have personally ever seen live and his reputation is now tarnished by his attempt at coaching.

But now then Warren Gatland has lost more Tests this year than Martin, didn't win the 6N and doesn't speak anywhere near so well to the media. Wales are below England in the rankings last time I checkled and yet the Beeb are still lauding them as a fantastic world class side and labelling England as disasterous. There is a lack of perspective here and hopefully the Wallabies will soon show Wales where they actually stand?

*Whereas with turnip I always got the impression he too believed he was talking rubbish.

[finbar]

It's about relative expectation. English rugby, with all its resources, its millions in the bank and its player pool, has stagnated since 2003. The reasons are fairly obvious, just about all stemming from the top - the RFU and its knack for getting nine out of ten decisions wrong. End result: massive underachievement. Wales, with relatively fewer resources, the perceived underdog by contrast with England, will always have a rosier glow because of its (underdog) status. In statistical terms, there's not much between the two teams' results. In fact, England at least have a couple of wins over a SH side, something Wales hasn't achieved. So you're right. It's not fair. But such are the twin bugbears of expectation and perception.

English rugby now has an opportunity to get its act together from the top down, to begin to address the malaise of the last eight or nine years. Whether it takes the opportunity is another matter.

Elsewhere, Saints have now made life very hard for themselves in the HC. I'm surprised. Their effort -v- Scarlets wasn't shown here last night. I had Clermont -v- Aironi. It really showed up the folly of statistics. Aironi, statistically, had much the better of the territory and possession in the second half. Yet they didn't once - not once - get over the gain line. Every time Clermont invaded the Aironi half they scored with ease.

[kittenOFchaos]

Wonderboy O'Gara...and I'm not just talking about his ability to win tight games using the drop-goal for Munster.

Well, just need Ulster to upset Leicester and my accumulator will pay out VERY, VERY well

Oh yes, did anyone else see Nwenga's try today? Pace, accept no substitute.

[kittenOFchaos]

Damn Leceister

I saw so much awesome action. The Heineken Cup always brings the best games of the year - and we're only in the pool stages.

[finbar]

Yes, the HC produces some great rugby. Better Leicester effort in that they managed not to lose the plot this time. TTE was very effective, almost out-Ferrising Ferris. Just a shame Ulster's single avenue of attack was the crash ball.

[kittenOFchaos]

Well, after Leceister messed up my accumulator on Saturday, something interesting happened to my accumulator today on the football.

All going well after Liverpool win, followed by Roma and some Spanish club. The final game is being lost by the team I needed to win - enter some fan who throws an object that hit the referee. Game ended and I get a payment out on the first three games

Result - a profitable weekend ultimately, I watch countless hours of rugby and the wife is pregnant, not bad

[Havak]

And that all happened this weekend?

Congratulations.

I'm not hugely sorry Tigers messed things up though - wanted that win quite badly myself.

TTE does look very impressive at times doesn't he? A bit more consistentcy and the boy could do really well for Country as well as club.

Interesting to see Ian Humphries visiting - looked really solid initially only for the control and concentration to slip away - exactly what plagued him in his time with us really.

Hard to argue with your point of relative expectation Finbar. I also acknolwedge that the Province system (breaking the old clubs) has moved Wales forward. That idea is even more controversial in England unfortunately as no clubs fans trust the RFU to get that kind of reorganisation right (and with good reason I feel). It was controversial to combine Neath and Swansea but can you imagine the creation of the East Midlands Saintly Tigers?

[LDiCesare]

Couldn't see many matches this week-end. I was in Toulouse drinking playing rugby myself. I heard most of Castres/Munster, though, since our pitch was quite near the stadium where they played. The roars from the crowd could be heard from far away, it must have been quite fantastic inside the stadium. We were too busy watching our girls play "touché" to get a chance to look at the match, though. While the French results have been quite poor so far in the HC, with the exception of Toulouse, at least we won our match .

[finbar]

The win aside, a French club trip to Toulouse sounds an awful lot like an England WC trip to New Zealand.

[LDiCesare]

I honestly can't compare, as I've never drunk beer in NZ.

[finbar]

You ain't missed much, mon ami. And obviously I posted yesterday prior to The Big Leak from the RFU. I thought goings on at the RFU had already reached the level of farce. There truly are some who are utterly determined to wreck English rugby in their pursuit of personal agendas. It beggars belief.

[Havak]

Well they don't make beer in Australia - event the dark stuff is fizzy pop lager rubbish. Do NZ brew actual beer?

I struggle to think of many things lower in business than to promise individuals participating in a review that their comments will be confidential and to then leak them 'accidentally'. Whoever did this should be sacked summarily.

I do wonder though Finbar if it gives you a clearer insight into why, when the game went Professional, it was the clubs that organised and issued contracts and made the game Professional rather than leaving it to the rank amateurs in Twickers. Frankly any coach would be insane to take up the reigns now (and insane to do so before someone can force the teflon oik out).