Hook, Line and Sinker

So this week confirmed the final details of Wales’ biggest export. James Hook had previously stated that he’d be leaving The Liberty Stadium at the end of the 2010/11 season, but his final destination had yet to be established. He had originally been linked with the Cardiff Blues in the summer after their outside-half berth had been left vacant when Sam Norton-Knight(mare) moved from the club having (extremely) unsuccessfully deputised after the departure of Nicky Robinson in 2009. When talks amounted to nothing within Wales, clubs outside of the land of the leek showed their interest. Leicester, Harlequins, Toulouse, Biarritz and Toulon all expressed their want for him, but the likely winners were always going to be Perpignan. With Nicholas Laharrague, Thomas Bosc and Manny Edmonds sharing the number 10 shirt in the South of France, Hook has been promised regular rugby at outside-half, a position he has publicly spoken of his desire to play at the Ospreys.

The mule-like stubbornness of the Ospreys coaching staff has essentially cost them their most skilful and all-round footballer. Sean Holley and Scott Johnson have reiterated their beliefs that Hook is better suited to the 12 or 13 shirt, which has riled many rugby fans in Wales and further a field. The constant selection of Dan Biggar at 10 is somewhat similar to a fire alarm singing its tune when you’re trying to butter your slightly browned toast. The Ospreys academy product is an undoubted talent for a 19 year-old, but nevertheless, he is still a teenager. Hook had barely turned 24 when the Ospreys management began looking for a fresh-faced number 10 to replace him. It’s a mystery to many why he hasn’t been employed at 10 more often for region or country. Of his 44 Welsh caps, only 13 of them have been at fly-half and the ratio is even less compared with this season’s statistics with his region.

The fact that James Hook isn’t playing regular rugby at 10 has sparked comment from a number of past and present players. Phil Bennett stated:

“James has had to move with Wales and the Ospreys into the centre or sometimes to full-back and has become a bit of a utility player. I think he needs to be the star man. When you look at the recent great international teams, who are their star men? For New Zealand it's Dan Carter and Matt Giteau and Quade Cooper for Australia (playing at outside-half).”

This lack of game-time at fly-half is made all the more staggering by the fact that he was the 1^st choice 10 when Wales won the grand slam in the 2008 Six Nations Championship. Scoring 44 points along the way and only missing with one kick, the then 22-year-old was already being hailed as the latest product of the ‘Welsh Outside-Half Factory’. Staggeringly barring Marty Holah, Justin Marshall and Filo Tiatia the remaining 13 Ospreys took the field in the opening game of the tournament against England at Twickenham. At this time, he was starring for the Ospreys at fly-half having made a big impression playing for in the Principality Premiership with Neath RFC. Since then, the boy from Baglan has found himself out wider at 12, 13, 15 and sometimes in the distant, bitter 21 and 22 shirts. His versatility has probably cost him at times, but his class cannot be argued and is the first name on the team sheets of Messer’s Gatland and Johnson the only decision to me made is where to play.

In recent years, French rugby clubs have developed themselves into real driving forces in the European game, reflected in the fact that 4 of the 8 Heineken cup qualifiers ply their trade in the French Top 14 Championship. These powerhouses of club rugby boast squads jam-packed with internationals and produce some truly thrilling rugby. However, this doesn’t come cheap. The wage bills of Welsh regions compared with their French counterparts are miniscule and in reality, if a French club wants a player, they’ll get that player. It’s a reality that rugby fans have to deal with that careers are short and players can’t make the fortune that footballers can make in the same time. The Ospreys have had their wicked way with every player they wanted from within Wales, but now, players are being attracted elsewhere to gain more money and experience rugby outside of the goldfish bowl that is South Wales a la Andy Powell, Gavin Henson, Nicky Robinson and Stephen Jones.

For those that will argue “well look what it did for Stephen Jones’ career”, here’s a short summary of why you are wrong. Stephen Jones went to France and developed his skills tenfold. James Hook is the most skilful ball-player in Wales and his skills will remain at the level they are regardless of where in the world he plays rugby. Stephen Jones came back galvanised and had added a running game and unnerved kicking to is armory, both of which James Hook has in abundance. The thing that James Hook needs is regular rugby at outside-half to develop him as an outside-half (ground-breaking stuff isn’t it?) again regardless of where in the world he does it.

Fundamentally, the move will do him a world of good as a stand-off, for the simple reason that that is the position he will be selected. From an Ospreys point of view, it’s a dark day, but for all other Welshmen, it’s a great day. Why? Because finally, the likes of Barry John, Phil Bennett and Jonathan Davies have a chance of being joined by another great Welsh fly-half as opposed to a great Welsh utility back.

Law Variation is Huge Success

Finally, the new law interpretation introduced by the bigwigs of the International Rugby Board has had a positive effect on the game of rugby, almost making up for their recent failings to do so. As such, the law hasn't been changed, but re-enforced by the IRB in order to speed up the play of the ball at the ruck. Rule 15.4(a) reads:

“When a player tackles an opponent and they both go to ground, the tackler must immediately release the tackled player. Sanction: Penalty kick”

Last season, the tackler was given free reign to compete for the ball, whether he'd released the player or not. Anyone who has played any rugby this season will have noticed how much the referees have been ordered to keep an eagle eye on this particular area. Formally, law changes or experimental law variations have been met with grumblings from the players, coaches and spectators, but this time, it seems to have been a breath of fresh air for everyone. What the board committee members have done, cleverly, is eradicate to the best of their ability the grey area in the breakdown. Whereas before, it was a battle of interpretation, one team might see the law as one thing, their opponents another and crucially, the officials had a completely different stance on it. Everyone involved in a tackle is now aware of exactly what is expected of them. If you are in any way involved in the tackle as a tackler, you must return to your feet and make it clear that the tackled player has been released before competing for the ball. The tackled player, once released, has no excuse but to place the ball, thus releasing it from his possession. This has given the attacking team a greater opportunity to retain possession from the breakdown and therefore the rewards are much greater for keeping the ball in hand as opposed to kicking possession away to gain territory.

This has resulted in a much more enjoyable spectacle, with considerably more running rugby and substantially less kicking. The aerial ping-pong that dominated the game post ELV's was something the viewing public had become accustomed to because of the perceived fear of losing the ball in the ruck. At that time, Scrum V pundit and BBC commentator Jonathan Davies made an extremely valid point of saying that no team is forced to kick the ball, if both teams want to go out and play rugby they will, similarly, if they want to go out and kick the ball for 80 minutes, they'll do that too. Whether it's the law variation or just teams consciously going out to throw the ball around remains to be seen, but the evidence is that the IRB have at long last found the right balance.

If we take the most recent English domestic game, that of London Irish versus Gloucester, as an example, the statistics make for pleasant reading:

London Irish			Gloucester Rugby
2008/09	2009/10	2010/11	2008/09	2009/10	2010/11
Kick : 37	Kick : 28	Kick : 18	Kick : 36	Kick : 23	Kick : 18
Pass : 77	Pass: 109	Pass : 152	Pass : 113	Pass : 88	Pass : 136
Run : 71	Run : 68	Run : 108	Run : 86	Run : 53	Run : 85

It's clear to see the changes that are evident from as little as 12 months, the corresponding fixture from last year saw 15 more open play kicks, 91 fewer passes and 72 fewer runs with the ball. A further 12 months previous again, there were a staggering 73 kicks in open play. Bearing in mind the ball is in play for roughly 44% of the 80 minutes (35mins 12secs), staggeringly that means that in the 2008/09 season, the ball was being kicked over 2 times every minute. These changes aren't only evident domestically. The recent Tri-Nations competition was rugby in it's purest form, a fluent, fast and beautiful game. The matches left spectators In awe of some truly electrifying skill and physicality. Again, taking the penultimate game from the tournament, Australia against the All Blacks, the changes are equally visible:

Australia			New Zealand
2008/09	2009/10	2010/11	2008/09	2009/10	2010/11
Kick : 38	Kick : 33	Kick : 20	Kick : 27	Kick : 32	Kick : 22
Pass : 69	Pass: 118	Pass : 119	Pass : 103	Pass : 101	Pass : 117
Run : 70	Run : 55	Run : 94	Run : 74	Run : 113	Run : 106

From these statistics and just by watching rugby in general, it's plain to see that there is less kicking, more running and passing and therefore a much more enjoyable experience. The breakdown is a vital part of the game, but the chances of the ball coming back on the attacking side has been increased significantly by the emphasis of the laws by the officials. There are of course exceptions to the rules, players such as David Pocock is a master craftsman at the ruck, and his technical and physical capability shouldn't be outlawed. His ability to turn ball over almost at will is a phenomenal sight within the game, with the odds stacked up against him he achieved some incredible feats during the Tri-Nations. That said, rugby is better for these feats being achieved less frequently.

However, coaches aren't idiots (apart from Martin Johnson that is), and the fear is that some coaches will completely neglect the breakdown and commit no numbers to it. That will mean 15 players defending the width of the field leaving virtually no space for attacking teams to penetrate, leaving little option but to kick. Hopefully though, this won't be the case and all teams will buy into the current brand of pure rugby, possibly even the men who wear the red rose.

Corruption and Conspiracy

The ugly face of corruption in sport has shown itself once again in the world of cricket and it’s been greeted with anger and frustration by all the sports’ supporters, players and officials. During the 4^th and final test between England and Pakistan at Lords the News of the World published a front-page story on Sunday including intimate details of spot betting involving four of the Pakistani players. Immediately there was an arrest made by the metropolitan police believed to be the middleman in the scandal. He was allegedly paid £150,000 to guarantee that no balls would be bowled at specific times during the England innings. The video and audio released by the national newspaper prove almost inconclusively that the allegations made are completely true. The balls that were highlighted and guaranteed by the 35 year old middleman were indeed no balls on the day and were probably the most obvious over-stepping you will ever see in a test match in your lives, especially the deliveries bowled by Mohammad Amir, who released the ball from a healthy foot over the popping crease (pictured) and was noticed at the time by the sky commentators as unusual.

These are indeed only allegations at the moment, but the evidence available for all to see does not bode well for the players in question; Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif & Kamran Akmal. The former has been omitted from the investigations but the other three will have to pluck some information out of thin air to clear their names such is the potency of the proof supplied by the News of the World. Alarmingly, the middle man boasted that he has been involved in this sort of thing before, recently throwing the test match against Australia gaining a profit of $1.3m and there were plans in place to defraud the bookmakers once more during the upcoming one day international series against England. You only have to look at the Pakistani Cricket Board’s track record to make your mind up on whether or not there is a conspiracy, and unfortunately for them, it’s not a good one.

Their history in recent years has been nothing short of embarrassing. In 2006, The Oval test match was forfeited by Pakistan following ball tampering witnessed by on-field umpires Darrel Hair and Billy Doctrove. Then-captain Inzamam Ul-Haq refused to take the field after the tea break which effectively ruled them out of the test match and the game was ended there and then. Earlier in 2005, Shahid Afridi was banned for a test match for pitch tampering when he was caught by cameras pirouetting on the Faislabad wicket and even more bizarrely, he was banned for two twenty20 internationals for ball tampering in a match against Australia where he bit the match ball in order to gain an unfair advantage. In March 2010, Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan were banned indefinitely from international cricket for fighting within the squad and causing rifts within the playing and coaching staff and Rana Naved and Shoaib Malik were handed one-year bans and huge financial fines for similar offences. These bans were laughably thrown out of the window as soon as the Pakistan middle order came under scrutiny and Mohammad Yousuf’s ban was lifted and he was recalled to the squad.

The Pakistan Cricket Board is nothing short of a disgrace and their handling of players and staff is a stepping-stone to the situation it finds itself in currently. In recent years, they have single-handedly brought the game of cricket into disrepute with one ridiculous story after the next and frankly, there is only so much the viewing public can take.

Let’s forget that players are innocent until proven guilty, these players are as guilty as a fat girl at an empty buffet table. How they can justify their actions is beyond everyone, none less so than 18 year old Mohammad Amir, who won Pakistan’s player of the series and is a bowler who should have been challenging the great Wasim Akram after becoming the youngest player on the Lord’s honours board and the youngest player to 50 wickets in test cricket. That record is likely to be all he achieves in the game when he is banned (hopefully for life) by the ICC along with his counterparts in the spot-fixing scandal when proven guilty by the police report.

For a nation in turmoil, Pakistan hold one thing dear to their heart and that is cricket, but even the most passionate of supporters surely cannot cheer in the same vein as they once did following the conspiracy. The matter of a no ball on the face of it is an extra run and an extra ball, but if on the said ball the bowler happens to take the wicket of someone, what is that telling the people that have paid in excess of £45 to support someone wearing their nation’s emblem?

For the time being, Pakistan should be banned by the ICC and the MCC from competing at any level and the players wages to be frozen by the PCB. If the appropriate powers that be don’t take action, then it should be up to the individual authorities such as the England and Wales Cricket Board to refuse to play in a series against such a corrupt establishment. It’s hard to see how the Pakistan team can regain the trust of anyone, because of the sheer number of players involved and in the loop of what is happening. They have tarnished the game for far too long now, and it’s time that the game of cricket stood up against the cheats in the sport in order to salvage its integrity, otherwise it’s going to be very difficult to decipher whether the action being watched is real or whether it’s a money-spinning furore by the greedy fraudulent black sheep of the game.

Another Day, Another Football Story

Is there a day of the year that football doesn't have a 'groundbreaking' story to sell to the world? Probably not. This year in particular has been as droning and monotonous as the sound heard at the world cup, the voice of Adrian Chiles. All year round there have been footballers plastered on the front pages of tabloid newspapers under the headlines "poor footballers' wives" and "crash bang wallop" in reference to adultery and car accidents. Unfortunately, the nation has become celebrity-obsessed with 7 out of 10 people wanting to become famous 'by any means necessary' and this has leaked into the world of sport. Football is a worldwide phenomenon and one of the most powerful marketing tools on the planet, but does it really matter in Phil Neville has been texting his neighbor (understandably a bit farfetched that there would ever be two women interested in him at any one time) or that Jermaine Jenas has crashed his kitted up Saxo in an ASDA car park? Again, probably not.

The culmination of the world cup (and a terrible one at that) should have resulted in some respite for the general public and a chance to moan about the weather and don the classic t-shirt suntan look. Predictably however, this was not the case as we turned to channel 405 only to find the latest score of Grimsby's pre-season friendly against third-tier Bulgarian opposition. Ironically enough, the 74 people across the globe who actually cared about the game were inside the stadium, so what's the point of telling us? It's only now that the echoes of "we wuz robbed" have started to subside into a murmur, but for the past two months it's been a painful ordeal even for the neutrals of Britain. To sum up the English season, no English teams qualified for the Champions League semi-finals and this was deemed a disaster. Every Englishman and woman became a Fulham supporter for the day, until they lost, then they were a disgrace. The English Premier League avoided a Welsh intruder (which is still a bitter pill to swallow) and invited humble Blackpool into their hierarchy. Fabio Capello named Emile Heskey in his world cup squad. England were average in their world cup warm up fixtures and continued on a downward spiral to their eventual tournament exit to a hammering by old rivals Germany. Every Englishman and woman became a Howard Webb supporter for a few weeks, who refereed as badly as England played, then he was also a disgrace. Everyone in English football retreated to the Caribbean somewhat embarrassed leaving the public and the media to turn every one's lives into hell on earth.

The endless football phone-in's on talk radio stations were completely taking over the usual slots of discussing how best to clean the insects from your windscreen and which biscuits are the best accompaniment for afternoon tea, which in itself is an outrage. Instead, English fans up and down the country were once again proving the common stereotype of a football fan to be an accurate one, that of a brainless, trilby-wearing lager lout. The issues raised were vast and varied, but on the whole ridiculous:

• Wayne Rooney didn’t ‘want it enough’.
• Theo Walcott should have been there.
• The ball was too round.
• England would have won if Frank Lampard’s goal had been allowed.
• Rob Green cost England the world cup.

These are just very few of the topics discussed, at length, during prime-time talk radio hours where the general listening public would usually be treated to a debate on ways to utilise the elastic band to its true and magnificent potential.

From the neutrals point of view, the world cup was very predictable. Every advert on television would somehow be related to football and Terry Venables, John Barnes, Graham Taylor and other such has-beens would be reeled out to re-invent the spirit of 1966. Once the actual playing began, it was obvious, England would struggle through the group stages, then crash out in the knockout stages. Why is this obvious? Because any side boasting such talents as Emile Heskey were never realistically going to achieve a thing.

Some things to come out of the world cup from an English perspective?

• Don’t play Steven Gerrard on the left.
• Don’t play 4-4-2.
• Gareth Barry probably isn’t the answer to all your problems.
• Matthew Upson isn’t very good.
• Don’t leave it until 2 hours before kick off to select an already nervous team.
• If you need goals, don’t send on Emile Heskey.

Now all that is done, it should return to the blissful calm of a cricketing summer, British Open Golf, Tour de France, Wimbledon and their summer sporting counterparts. Yet, already the countdown has begun to another football season which is somehow a mere matter of hours away once more. Every football fan worth his salt will be keeping a keen eye on transfer news, upcoming fixtures and injuries at their respected clubs and rightly so. Lower league supporters will undoubtedly be looking forward to seeing their boys compete again after a few months under the radar. But for the premier league and internationals, has there really been a summer break? From August 2009 to now, it’s been a cacophony of football and the game is threatening to become as tired and limp as Harry Redknapp’s face. But once the rain sets in come late September and away days to Rochdale and Scunthorpe begin to materialise, the world will once again firmly be in football mode minus the phone-in congestion with any luck. Maybe one day there will be a football-free summer, but for now, it’s time to keep dreaming. H’away the Bluebirds!

Warming Up For The World Cup

The buzz of the World Cup is upon us. The population of a nation crazy about the sport are set to flood the turnstiles in their tens of thousands to grab a slice of the action. Adrenaline-fuelled players are already preparing themselves for what is set to be a gruelling few weeks in the southern hemisphere. The goldfish bowl environment will take its toll on the management and the unforgiving nature of the media means the players must call upon all of their professionalism in order to conduct themselves in a manner that isn’t detrimental to the game. Last, but certainly not least is the 48 action packed games where players will crash their bodies through their physical boundaries and beyond in a sport where commitment is absolute. I am of course talking about the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand 2011.

With the northern hemisphere teams currently touring the merciless backyards of South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, there is a devastating reality that has hit the European rugby world. The three games today have unfortunately shown once again that the southern hemisphere nations are on a pedestal and seemingly out of the reach of the six nations. The signs aren’t great with this being the last opportunity the teams will have to experience rugby in this part of the world before the seventh tournament to decide the Webb Ellis Cup.

The first match saw Ireland take on the All Blacks at New Plymouth, home of Taranaki. The visitors were well in the game until Jamie Heaslip’s rush of blood to the head. The Leinsterman was contesting a ruck on New Zealand’s 5-metre line following a flurry of attacks by Declan Kidney’s men. With Richie McCaw over killing the ball (shock!), Heaslip in the words of official Wayne Barnes made 2 “deliberate knees to the head”. Although anyone who plays rugby outside of New Zealand would probably greet Heaslip with a firm handshake, a wink and a “thanks mate”, the same can’t be said of his Irish team-mates or management. With the game just 15 minutes old, it was the beginning of the end for the land of the shamrock. The All Blacks ran in 6 tries in the first period which ended 38-7. Tries from Dan Tuohy (Ireland) Kieran Read, Ben Franks, and Jimmy Cowan grabbing a brace was the end result of an impressive showing from Graham Henry’s outfit. Kieran Read’s 21^st minute touchdown was arguably the most significant of the evening because the subsequent conversion from Daniel Carter saw the fly-half surpass the 1000 point mark in international rugby. In doing so he became only the 4^th man to do so following in the footsteps of Neil Jenkins, Jonny Wilkinson and Diego Dominguez. The playmaker was instrumental in the success of the All Blacks as they romped to a nine-try victory. Graham Henry had experimented with his side looking to expose his younger players to the atmosphere and intensity of the test match environment with half an eye on next year’s world cup. Ireland won the second half 28-21 with further tries for the home side by Conrad Smith (2), George Whitelock and giant prop Neemia Tialata and Brian O’Driscoll, Tommy Bowe and Gordon D’Arcy hitting back for the Irish, but the game was effectively over as a contest when Heaslip saw red and when Ronan O’Gara was sent to the sin-bin after holding back Kiwi flyer Cory Jane.

New Zealand’s eerie dominance sent shockwaves to the rest of the world of rugby, but will it carry to the world cup? The land of the silver fern has an infamous knack of peaking too early with regards world cup years. One thing it did do, however, was assure the demanding New Zealand public that their squad are heading in the right direction.

The rugby universe then switched its attention to Perth, where Martin Johnson’s England took on the Australians. Much of the talk before the game was of the scrum and England’s expected supremacy, which is a talking point in itself with the English pack featuring the utterly dreadful Tim Payne at loosehead. The Wallabies lead 14-0 at half time with tries from the sublime Quade Cooper and Rocky Elsom. The half was all Australia’s, with a blend of power, panache and unforgiving accuracy. Many pundits have already tipped Robbie Dean’s men as favourites to lift the World Cup in 2011 and this performance did nothing to prove them wrong. The second period saw England begin to press home their advantage in the scrum. The Australian front rowers were under constant pressure in the tight and referee Nigel Owens ended up with his arm raised under the Wallabies posts twice having lectured the men in gold for their “unwillingness to scrummage”. Eventually, tighthead Salesi Ma’afu was sent to the sidelines with the Welshman sending him on his way saying that “he had probably been too lenient” on the Brumbies Product.

It was an exciting enough game (when the Australians had the ball), but it was always going to be two sides of complete contrast. England looked to take the ball up the guts of the Wallabies, while the home side looked to counter-attack and run the ball from any position they found themselves in. England were, in short, abysmal. They looked laboured, they kicked poorly and they lacked physicality. Even Wasps strongman Simon Shaw struggled in a Ryan Jones-esque manner to cross the gainline, only managing 11 metres in his 8 carries before leaving the arena on 59 minutes. Quade Cooper finished off a move he started having released the immense Digby Ioane, following his pinpoint pass and receiving the offload from his winger to touchdown in the corner. The Queenslander then slotted a 78^th minute penalty goal in a manner that reflects his unique way of playing to extinguish any faint flame of an English comeback in a perfectly rounded game. Question marks were asked of Cooper following the late withdrawal of the Australian midfield genius Matt Giteau whether he would have the same effect without his partner in crime. He answered these questions with aplomb and blasted his name up in lights on rugby’s Broadway as he stole the show.

Martin Johnson’s men came up short with a very limited game plan. Johnson himself told journalists prior to kick off that a scrum won’t win you a test match, yet this was the only tactic that seemed to have been employed by the world cup winning captain. He also relied heavily on his kicking strategy, which makes the omission of Jonny Wilkinson all the more astonishing. Toby Flood had an average afternoon, while Shontayne Hape had a debut to forget. The midfield Martin Johnson had selected suggested the ball would be in the hands of the centres running hard and straight, but these scenarios were far and between. The English were not in the same league as their illustrious opponents who were missing some key players in important positions. Despite their endeavours, England were never really in the game and certainly never looked dangerous even with the likes of Chris Ashton and Ben Foden who seemed to have had their rugby flair sucked out of them by the sour-faced Johnson. England are undoubtedly a worldwide rugby force when they are at full strength. The problem seems to lie with the director of rugby (whatever that means). He has built his side on the same principles Sir Clive Woodward swore by with the class of 2003. The difference is England and indeed the game of rugby union is not that type of game in 2010. England don’t have Dallaglio, Johnson, Vickery (pre-“beasting”) or the under-rated Hill. They have Cole, Croft, Haskell, Lawes, Moody and the like who are all very mobile runners. Johnson however is persisting with the same gameplan of keeping the ball tight and going through endless, droning, insomnia-curing phases of play with the desired result of a scrum or penalty. If England are going to want to be considered genuine title challengers come New Zealand 2011, they must change their ways, or change their personnel.

Europe’s hopes lay in the hands of the grand slam champions France as they took on World and Tri Nations champions The Springboks in Cape Town. With another competition in town (the football world cup for those of you who have been on the moon for the last month), could South Africa focus in the hype surrounding their country at present. The answer to that is yes they could, and very convincingly. The lineout maestro Victor Matfield was in full force again for the Boks as they pick-pocketed 5 of France’s 11 lineouts. Giant back-rower Pierre Spies crashed over for a hattrick and loosehead prop Guthro Steenkamp capped an impressive showing with two tries. Rougerie and Andreu claimed the tries for the French but they were completely outplayed and outclassed by Peter De Villiers’ team who were ruthlessly clinical in a razorsharp showing at Newlands.

Statistically, there’s not much to pick from the contests apart from the English game. England kicked the ball 33 times in contrast to Australia’s 24 and made only 86 passes to their victorious opponents’ 126. England only made one less carry with the ball than the Wallabies (86-85) but the difference in metres gained is quite staggering. England struggled their way to 216 metres while Australia used their 86 carries to glide over 461 metres of the Subiaco Oval’s turf. On reflection the southern hemisphere teams just look better on the ball than their opponents from the other side of the world. There is always the talk of the draining seasons and a prolonged Lions tour hangover, but is this really justified? The tri-nations look sharp and penetrating while the Europeans look lacklustre and seriously out-of-sorts. If the world cup were to start tomorrow, the odds of a six nations team winning or even coming close would be slim.

There is still plenty of time to turn this grim situation around with Wales’ two-match tour to New Zealand starting Saturday, England have another shot at the Wallabies in Sydney, Italy have the impossible task of facing South Africa on a two-match tour and Ireland have a week to recover from the humiliation to face Australia in Brisbane. You’d be a brave gambler to bet on an away win in any of these games, but they absolutely must find a way to do so, otherwise the Northern Hemisphere teams will be faced with a monumental psychological struggle when they come to playing their southern hemisphere counterparts next, which will be in the ruthless surroundings of a World Cup Competition.

Still, it’s not all bad. Dan Parks registered all 24 points for Scotland against Argentina in their 16-24 triumph over the pumas. So there will be at least one European side with their heads held high. Perhaps when the football world cup is over, the European rugby world could benefit from Robert Green as a skills coach in preparation for 2011, no?

Too Little, Too Late. Again

Welsh rugby fans were once again taken through the same routine on Saturday afternoon. The game looked to be in favour of the home side after 25 minutes, leading 16-3 and depicting the flow of play. Predictably, awful spells immediately before and after half time saw the South Africans score 28 points in the game’s 2^nd and 3^rd quarter to move the score-line to a more familiar 19-31. As we’ve come to expect from Wales, a late flourish threatened a late comeback ala Scotland in the Six Nations, but it was not to be, with Peter De Villiers’ team running out 31-34 winners claiming their 22^nd win in 24 meetings against Wales.

The first 25 minutes was a step in the right direction, the lineout was functioning, the scrum was solid, defence was impenetrable and the forwards were making hard yards (even Ryan Jones!). The highlight of the period was when James Hook was the grateful recipient of an interception pass via the hesitant John Smit. Hook beamed post-match that it was usually him giving those passes, but the Springbok hooker had a moment of madness where he shaped to kick, then sidestepped before throwing a looping pass to the left which the Ospreys man plucked and raced triumphantly under the posts to the glee of the Millennium Stadium faithful. Stephen Jones added the extras as well as a couple of earlier penalty goals, and James Hook was again on target with a drop goal on 11 minutes.

The restart following James Hook’s try was the beginning of the end for the boys in red. Immediately from the kick, Jonathan Thomas was penalised for a foolish challenge that maybe should have resulted in a yellow card, but Irishman Alan Lewis deemed a penalty alone was sufficient punishment, and indeed he would be proved right. Ruan Pienaar added the 3 points to go with his 16^th minute effort and the deficit was reduced to 10. From that moment through till halftime, the Springboks mounted siege after siege of attacks on the heavily defended Welsh try-line, all to no avail until the half-hour mark. The ball was turned over on the Wales’ 22m line and a golden opportunity presented itself to Stephen Jones to clear his lines who by his own standards had a torrid afternoon. He scuffed his kick to debutant Gio Aplon who danced his way in behind the red defence. Quick possession at the ruck gave the Boks ample time to ship the ball to the left flank where Odwa Ndungane touched down and the try was given via supervision of the TMO. A further soft penalty saw Ruan Pienaar finish the half with the score at 16-14 and it seemed half-time had come at a perfect time for Wales as the Southern Hemisphere unit gathered momentum on their revival.

Whatever Warren Gatland said at half-time hadn’t worked because in the 42^nd minute they were once again behind their own posts having conceded a try. Danie Roussouw had broken the line in the same manner that Bradley Davies had done time and again in the first half, however a neat offload to the charging Dewald Potgieter had been missing in the Wales ranks, not so from a South African perspective and the hosts trailed for the 1^st time in the contest as the blonde Blue Bull dived over for his first international try.

Stephen Jones and Francois Steyn exchanged penalties in the 45^th and 55^th minutes respectively taking the score to 19-24. A period of kicking followed with an air of nervousness falling over the players in Cardiff. Wales were the first to buckle under the pressure and as James Hook tried to run the ball from inside his own half, support was inadequate and possession was turned over. The ball presented itself to rookie test centre Juan de Jongh which saw him ignore his overlap and step inside a drifting Stephen Jones and showed his Scarlet counterpart Matthew Rees a clean set of wheels as he motored over the line untouched. Pienaar added the conversion and the margin was 19-31 with 21 minutes to play. As expected, Wales mounted a final burst in the final 20 minutes that would save their blushes. First a record-breaking try for Tom Prydie that sees him become Wales’ youngest ever try-scorer over his namesake Tom Pearson, a record that had stood for over a century when the Newport and Cardiff winger scored against England in 1891. The 18 year old was the recipient of a deft pop pass under pressure from his Ospreys team-mate James Hook in the left hand corner on 72 minutes.

The mood was tense in the capitol as memories of Scotland and France echoed around the ground, which was it to be? It took one moment of familiar mediocrity from Ryan Jones to answer the question. Having taken the restart cleanly (somewhat surprisingly given his earlier blunders) he trundled into contact without making any yardage, he then fell to ground in a typically bad position and presented the South Africans with the turnover on a plate with bread and butter on the side. If that wasn’t bad enough he then got to his feet (slowly) and wandered offside at the ruck in a feeble attempt to halt Ricky Januarie. These 30 seconds summed up the skippers afternoon, once again uninspired.

As Ruan Pienaar prepared to take his match tally to 16 points, Peter De Villiers rang the changes making full use of his resources. One of which was Zane Kirchner who flapped at a high ball just moments after entering the arena allowing Leigh Halfpenny to pounce. He offloaded to Sam Warburton who took the ball up to the 5-metre line and unselfishly popped the ball to replacement Alun Wyn-Jones who scored close to the posts to cause alarm in the South African camp with just 3 minutes remaining. They needn’t have bothered, because soon after Stephen Jones’ conversion the ever-present leader of the red army Ryan Jones was once again on hand to present possession back to the Boks who humped the ball into the middle tier to the sound of Alan Lewis’ whistle and Wales were left to rue another missed opportunity.

With Warren Gatland this week labelling the game as the beginning of a “Golden Era” of Welsh rugby that could see the same successful side be together until the 2015 World Cup (apart from 3 older squad members), what does it prove? It proves a lot of things, but not many are positive.

The place of Robin McBryde must come under scrutiny. The forward’s coach works alongside Warren Gatland in analysisng and perfecting the lineout. Seeing as this is a full-time role of employment, would someone care to shed light on the fact that the Wales could only manage a success rate of 73.7% (14 from 19) on Saturday compared with South Africa 100% (3 from 3)? Understandably, the Welsh pack had a hell of a lot more lineouts than the Boks, but is that really an excuse for over-throwing or not timing the lift? It’s easy for the coach to say that they won 14 lineouts against arguably the world’s best lineout code-breaker in Victor Matfield, but the coaches should have identified that the Welsh lineout is targeted in every game, regardless of opposition. Take the six nations for example, throughout the tournament the Welsh lineout was tested a total of 71 times. Wales tested their opposition’s lineout 48 times in their 5 matches. This gives a clear indication that opposing coaches see the lineout as a weakness, and rightly so. Against Scotland, Ireland and England; the success rate of the lineout was 75%, 66.7% and 58.3% respectively. With this amount of possession squandered, is it really any surprise that the boys in red are struggling for results. Even more importantly, with the troubled area so seemingly clear to everyone in world rugby that even saw the Italians target the set-piece, why isn’t it clear to the men who matter?

Wales once again lacked the nous and fierce clinical edge that the Southern Hemisphere giants seem to possess. Given a 16-3 lead at home, do you see New Zealand letting Wales back into the game in the following weeks? I think we all know the answer to that.

It’s not all doom and gloom as we head down to the land of the Silver Fern. In the initial 25 minutes leading up to James Hook’s try, it was difficult to find a fault. The forwards carried well and Wales looked like a team capable of beating the world champions (minus their world champion players). Bradley Davies was immense throughout, but lacked the support when he crashed and barged his way over the gainline. Sam Warburton was a revelation turning over ball, tackling well and carrying like a Trojan horse and all this with a broken jaw sustained in the first half that will unfortunately see him miss the trip to New Zealand. The centre pairing of James Hook and Jamie Roberts is flourishing with the combination of brute, brawn and bone-crunching hits at 12 with the deft, delicate and deception at 13. Tom Prydie looked every part an international player and Mike Phillips was looking back to his physical best despite a few wayward passes letting him down.

The win would have sent us to New Zealand full of optimism to take on Dan Carter and the rest of the star-studded All Blacks. A repeat performance will see the Kiwi’s record a whitewash series win, of that there is no doubt. It is with caution we tread, but never underestimate the wounded dragon.

The Great Underachievers

The term underachieve is becoming as popular in the world of sport as average sportsmen and women are referred to as 'legends' (a discussion for another day) but who are the true underachievers in the modern era?

The world of football is a bizarre one, and one that I try not to take literally, for personal health reasons more than any with the risk of high blood pressure when premier league managers complain of “insufficient funds” (again, a discussion for another day). With no English teams reaching the semi-final stage of the premier European competition for the first time in 6 seasons, the first final without English presence since 2004. This has seen the column fillers of The Sun, The Daily Mirror, The Daily Star and the like scuttling with displeasure to condemn the English Premier League and its failings to prepare the teams for the Champions League.

“Whatever the sport, the British consider themselves to have a divine right to success.”

(http://dafpritch.blogspot.com/, 2010)

This statement is echoed around every corridor of English, Northern Irish, Scottish & Welsh sport, and if the desired trophy or medal isn't “brought home”, the individuals or teams are branded as underachievers. Predominantly, these labels are preposterous nonsense, such as the berating of the Premier League's sides failed conquests in Europe this term. Looking at the four semi-finalists in Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan & Lyon,with the possible exception of Lyon, they are all European Footballing Super-Powers, and unfortunately for Arsenal and Manchester United, they weren't drawn against the French outfit, were outplayed by their opponents over the two legs, and that should be the end of it, better luck next year.

However, sometimes the label of an underachiever is just. The sporting equivalent of a 14 year old not submitting his homework and playing up to the teachers to fit in with the cool kids at school are to be found in abundance in the world of rugby union. The New Zealand national team have had arguably the best crop of players to choose from in the professional era than any other nation (albeit done by raping South-Sea Islands of all their rugby talent to all intents and purposes) yet their solitary World Cup success came in the inaugural tournament in 1987. They are a dominant force in world rugby, but by their own standards, 2 unsuccessful finals in 6 attempts is nothing to write home about.

Yet, there is a side in the domestic world that blow the All Blacks out of the water as far as receiving C-'s when they are more than capable of A+'s across the board; The Ospreys. Much has been made in South Wales of the Regional system, but the 2 Grand Slams in 2005 and 2008 have answered all critics, still, the Regions themselves have achieved very little since their formation in 2003. The Cardiff Blues reached the semi-final or the Heineken Cup in 2008/9 losing in the most inhumane of fashions in a penalty shoot-out to the Leicester Tigers. The Scarlets were Wales' European flag-bearers once upon a time but since their move away from the Strade, the West Wales club have lost their panache. The Dragons have always been the “lesser economically developed club” and their results and honours reflect that, but on the other side of the coin are the Ospreys who are very much in rugby's “more economically developed clubs”. A squad packed full of internationals and quality overseas players and that have never reached even the semi-finals of the prized European tournament and the quarter-finals only twice in their brief history. Two Celtic League winners medals and an Anglo-Welsh cup medal is all the franchise have to boast which can be found in an embarrassingly empty trophy cabinet in Swansea.

The squad of 47 produced 8 Lions for the 2009 tour to South Africa, and is made up of a staggering 32 full internationals, 8 U21 internationals and 7 uncapped players. The region is an absolute hotbed of talent, yet this has yet to be utilized on the field with any significant results. The club could put out two competitive teams on the same day if injuries allowed:

15. Lee Byrne / Barry Davies

14. Tommy Bowe / Nikki Walker

13. Sonny Parker / Gareth Owen

12. Andrew Bishop / Gavin Henson

11. Shane Williams / Tom Prydie

10 . James Hook / Dan Biggar

9. Mike Phillips / Ricki Januarie

8. Filo Tiatia / Ryan Jones

7. Marty Holah / Steve Tandy

6. Jerry Collins / Tom Smith

5. Alun Wyn-Jones / Ian Gough

4. Jonathan Thomas / Ian Evans

3. Adam Jones / Cai Griffiths

2. Richard Hibbard / Huw Bennett

1. Paul James / Duncan Jones

With the exception of French giants Toulouse, no other side in Europe plays home to the sheer amount of international rugby players, not even the ever-dominant Leicester Tigers, London Wasps or Munster who since the Ospreys' formation in 2003 have won 8 domestic titles (Wasps 4, Leicester 2, Munster 2) and 4 European titles (Wasps 2, Munster 2). This makes Ospreys' conquests even more minuscule.

Something has been a permanent thorn in supporters' sides since the beginning of the South Wales regional era, and that is the inept coaching and the “cosy” atmosphere created by owners such as Peter Thomas of the Blues and Mike Cuddy of the Ospreys. With popular Aussie Scott Johnson now at the helm, it's left everyone scratching their heads as to where the problem lies. Unfortunately, ex-England fly-half and full time Susan Boyle lookalike Stuart Barnes has hit the nail on the head. The Welsh Gallacticos are a star-studded team of individuals, and this is exactly how they play. There isn't the bolstering presence of a Munster or Leicester pack or the cohesive flair of a Wasps unit. The Ospreys players seemingly are out for themselves, as harsh and unfair as it may sound. Although, “as a team” they want to achieve things, but not for the right reasons. They want to do it to boost their credentials, to hang a medal in their personal trophy cabinet, not fill the clubs and create an aura or atmosphere of that of Thomond Park or Welford Road.

Shane Williams' interview prior to the epic encounter with Biarritz summed everything up perfectly:

“It's nice having guys like Tommy Bowe and James Hook in the side because instead of trying to create something yourself, you can give those guys the ball and let them do their thing.”

Hardly screams “we are one” does it?