Will Worsley get a starting spot?

OK of course he will get some starts, but how many?
I saw today that Wasps are picking Hart as captain until Dallaglio recovers. I believe O'Connor and Rees are better players than Worsley and don't expect him to get many starts. Obviously Wasps will rotate their squad, but in the big games at the end of the season?
Unless fitness intervenes I expect Wasps to play
6 O'Connor
7 Rees
8 Hart (until Dallaglio recovers)

Pre-season games have seen Hart at six and Worsley at eight, and also Rees and O'Connor together.

South Africa vs New Zealand review

Australia had 70% possession, South Africa made 121 tackles to Australia's 48. Powerful stuff. The South Africa defence has again proved supreme, having disrupted the All Blacks, they now contained the Australians superbly. Eventually they will have to add an attacking platform, perhaps they have one but haven't been allowed to show it. On the plus side their counter attacking is possibly the best ever. The speed of thought and excellent execution, first from Burger and later from Jaco van der Vesthuyzen, suggests a real belief in themselves. And of course they have Habana to finish, I just love to watch real speed on a rugby pitch. When you add the intercept tries they have produced this season we know that South Africa's defence will put the points on the board. It remains to be seen whether they need an attack.
Australia have a lot of regrouping to do, they are becoming a little predictable. George Gregan puts the pass out to a runner coming back in, then when space is available they spin it out. All very correct, but when you are constantly going backwards there will never be an opening. They still have good players on the pitch, they just need to add a little bit more dynamism to match South Africa and New Zealand. A new coach and fresh legs on the European tour could do them some good.

Andy Farrell

It has been interesting to note that most former players think their position is too technical. Forwards think he should be in the backs, backs think he should be in the forwards!
I personally think Steve Diamond has it spot on, yet another reason for me to think Steve Diamond is a great coach. League players usually have basic passing skills that are far superior to the average union player, but recently the likes of Burger and Collins have been setting the standard for forwards as link players. If Farrell can match these guys at the break down, or even if he stays in the centre and can offer what Traille and Jauzion do then I will be happy.
Watching Farrell develop should be one of the highlights of the season.

England Squad

A never ending entry on my latest thoughts for the England squad.

Props
Sheridan, Stevens and Vickery
We have Rowntree, White and Bell in reserve.

Hookers
Thompson, Titterell and Mears
I still think Thompson has a lot of work to do, Titterell needs to be given a decent run, and Mears could overtake them both if he continues advancing as he did last season. Behind these three I still like Cairns at Saracens, I will look to see how he compares to Byrne. At Leicester, Chuter is still a fine hooker and I like the look of the youngster Buckland. Bath also have Ward as a good back up to Mears.

Second Row
Shaw, Palmer and Hooper
I have given up on Grewcock. Kay and Deacon still have a lot to prove, although Kay has shown class in the past he hasn't developed the leadership I had hoped to see. Borthwick is still young, but I am not happy with last seasons efforts. The other potential is Jones, if he isn't in the back row.

Back Row
Rees, Moody, Corry, Jones
I have real problems in this area, mainly due to the high quality of the New Zealand and Springbok back rows. I have opted for Rees as I think he is real class and expect him to show it early in the season. I have omitted Worsley until he learns to pass, I would give him videos of Burger and Collins. Forrester is one of the best line breakers in rugby, but he just doesn't fill the role as a back row, I would love to see Gloucester continue with last seasons experiment in the centre, but I expect to be disappointed. Hazell will be in the mix, I rule out Pat Sanderson after his appalling summer tour, but I still rate his brother Alex who returns from injury. Dowson has hinted at talent, and needs to be watched and Vyvyan will always be close to getting a game.

Scrum Half
Ellis, Richards and Dawson
I look forward to any youngsters, and I hope these three all find form.

Fly Half
Wilkinson, Hodgson and Goode
Ouch this is weak, I am thinking of placing Wilkinson in the centre and getting Hodgson on the pitch. Hodgson has shown me this season that he needs a very quick pass to really perform, we don't have a scrum half to deliver this! Barkley could still shine, he has many pluses. I think Broadfoot at Leicester has all the technical attributes, but he is still young and doesn't command a game.

Centre
Abbott, Smith and Tait
We could get this right, I prefer a second five-eighth's style of play, but that requires Wilkinson or Barkley. So I think we should play to the strengths we have. I would go with Abbott inside, he was doing some very subtle stuff before his injury and if he gel's with Smith they could really confuse the opposition with good lines, strength and speed. I would also consider Lewsey and Simpson-Daniel, but I will save them for the back three for now. Tait is class but still young, Robinson was mad to throw him in so soon, he needs lots of game time from the bench. Farrell could be an option here, but he hasn't played a single game so I will wait to see him before I pick him. I am on the side of those who think he could be very good, but he has a lot to learn. Tindall, hmmm, He has all the basic attributes, he also has a great attitude I could even imagine him making a good captain. But. He runs to the touch line not the try line, he kicks when he should pass, and while I'm on the subject his passing needs work! At the paralympics the blind sprinters can have bleepers in their ears to help them run straight, if we can get him running forward, hitting the mark on time. Play inside not outside centre. If all this works at Gloucester then, maybe, he will be back in. Finally, Noon is a safe option, Erinle is to good to ignore. I haven't seen much from Bell but I know he is in the mix. I have retired Greenwood.

Back Three
Simpson-Daniel, Cueto, Voyce, Lewsey
For a while I had given up on Simpson-Daniel, I was looking at Rokocoko and Tuquiri and deciding Simpson-Daniel was not the right type. Now I have had a rethink, England's best back play was in the 2000-2003 period. During this time Catt and Greenwood were playing great rugby, Cohen was charging, and then Balshaw and Robinson joined in. The often overlooked factor was Healey. His link play was fundamental to the success of every piece of possession. He would step in at scrum half and fly half, his basics on the wing were excellent, rarely did he take a wrong option or make a mistake. Now whilst watching the recent Boks games I have watched Paulse playing a similar game, he was key to much of the continuity the Boks had. When Simpson-Daniel played his first few games for England, this linking skill was in great shape, and it is for that reason he is in. Cueto is on the money every time, usually I would pick Robinson but for now I am content to let him recover from injury and find form. Voyce can break the line, he needs to be rewarded. Lewsey will play somewhere somehow, I think I would pick the team and then put Lewsey in for the weakest part. Outside of this we will always have Balshaw, if he ever has form and fitness. There are a few good youngster out there, and I will watch and wait.


England has some very serious work to do before they can move back up the charts. I also think that the quality of play in the premiership was poor, Tigers , Wasps and a full strength Sale apart.
The players I list are the ones I think should be used to take play forward, although I am not convinced Robinson is the coach to lead them.
There are some squad players in there, and a few youngsters that I think will make it but haven't proved themselves yet. I particularly worry about the fly halves, yes Wilkinson has been the best, but until injury and form are in the correct amounts we will have to wait. Hodgson has weakness amidst his greatness, and Goode I pick not because I think he is great, but because I like the way he plays and I need someone experienced to step in if the other two are injured. If more youngsters come through we can look, until then we have to work with what's there, international quality or not.
The French were very dominant last season, and I expect the Welsh to be stronger this season. What I hope, is that the English teams have learnt from the Lions tour.

Australia v New Zealand preview

I am expecting another good game!

Over the last few years Australia have proven to be the most intelligent rugby team in international rugby. They always maximise there own strengths and emphasise the oppositions weakness.
New Zealand are the stronger team, and they will be looking to recover from last weeks defeat. In the long term I expect New Zealand to win their two home games at the end of the tournament, so the next two matches in Australia will probably decide the tournament.
What Australia need to do is control possession and pressurise the New Zealand attack. To win possession I am looking forward to a great battle between Smith and McCaw, remembering that during the Super 12s these two neutralised each other fairly well, even though I felt McCaw edged the battle. The rest of the backrow should be in New Zealand favour as Australia don't put the same pressure on the opposition as South Africa do. The second row should be even, and I don't expect New Zealands lineout to be bad as against South Africa.

Out wide Turinui will be tested, and found wanting, by Carter and Mauger, but it won't be easy for New Zealand. I look forward to seeing Rokocoko and Tuquiri, I hope that Rokocoko has recovered some speed. I know little about Mitchell so I will have to wait and see. Weepu will have a better game here, his biggest strength is his strength! His powerful runs from the base of the scrum were not as effective against South Africa, but here I think he will be more dangerous.

South Africa V The All Blacks

Great game, they played themselves to a standstill after 30 minutes.

Simple strategy, prevent the All Blacks from getting any momentum.
I am worried because I am starting to like Jerry Collins. The "back five" forwards on both sides were terrific. So big and athletic AND skilful. When you look at our big forwards getting in the way of the back line and then look at the passes Burger and Collins were giving, we really need to improve.
The Boks have added hard hitting to the Harum Scarum defence they had last year.

I am sure the All Blacks will have plenty to offer at home. The only concern I have about NZ is that they have a self selecting team, not good if you have injuries or need to change style.

Watching the few games I have, I make the French the favourites (they were playing three different 2nd XV this year) followed by the All Blacks and the Boks, with Australia still the smartest outfit but not quite able to compete.

And Percy, such a good player but also a precious flower, I do worry about him. He seems to have worked so hard on looking tough, I expect a head shave next.

In memory of the Lions

OK it was a superb series, the All Blacks not the Lions.

As the result of the test series sank in, there has been a lot of blame thrown at Clive Woodward. I would agree with the most of the detail of those criticisms, but it was not Woodward's fault we lost.
If we are to progress we must understand there was no combination of players, or coaching techniques available, to make up for the fact that the All Blacks were better than us.

Rugby requires three attributes Strength, Speed and Skill. The Lions gave the impression that they can match the All Blacks in the gym, but they are not as quick and not as skilful. The scary thing is that the All Blacks were not capable of a performance like this a while ago. They have always had the basic attributes, they are fast , they are skilful and they are strong. What is new this time is that there has been a great coaching effort to translate those attributes in to the game we saw.

Up North in the forwards there are lots of big lumps, but they are too
slow and plenty of quick guys who are too light. Gethin Jenkins and Ryan Jones are in the right mould but they seemed to struggled for fitness in the later stages of the matches.

I hope the Leicester guys go back and change the way they play, McGeechan can do the same at Wasps. If they do it right the rest of the Premiership will follow. If we don't get it right we are going to struggle for the next world cup, if we do the the All Blacks have peaked too early.

Why Second?

Everybody wants to be first?
I am hoping anyone who reads this will have something in their life more important than rugby.
I also hope that rugby will come before any team, even if it is the Lions or Tigers.