5 Things We Learned In The Premiership: Round 3

Manu’s not rusty

Leicester Tigers welcomed back Ben Youngs, Toby Flood and Manu Tuilagi this weekend, and the young England centre showed no signs of his recent injury in his first competitive game since the Lions tour. He set up Graham Kitchener’s try by breaking through no less than five tackles before finally being felled, and he kept up that form all game, giving the Newcastle defence a torrid time and ensuring former boss Dean Richards had a miserable return to Welford Road.

 Injuries are going to take their toll

London Irish lost 29-23 to Exeter Chiefs despite being the better side for most of the game, but what might make Head Coach Brian Smith more depressed is the fact that his side suffered three fresh injuries. Topsy Ojo, Halani Aulika and Jebb Sinclair are the new players spending time in the treatment room, meaning that there is now an incredible 14 players out injured. At this rate, Irish’s lack of strength in depth is going to be exposed and with games against Bath and Harlequins coming up, they are going to struggle.

 Fans deserve a pat on the back

It’s safe to say that the weekend’s game between Gloucester and Northampton ended in controversial circumstances, but what has gone relatively unnoticed is the fan’s behaviour during all of this. In any other sport (or as has been the case in some international matches), Billy Twelvetree’s match-winning kick would normally come under an intense barrage of boos and jeers, but the Saint’s fans were so quiet you could hear a pin drop. For that they deserve praise and a huge amount of credit.
 

Robshaw is still the man

There has been a lot of speculation recently about whether Chris Robshaw deserves to be England captain or whether he should actually be playing at all, but on Friday night he finally got the chance to shut his critics up. He inspired his Quins side to an easy 37-13 victory away at Worcester with his dominance around the breakdown and many impressive turnovers. If he carries on this form, Stuart Lancaster doesn’t have a choice other than to start him at openside during the Autumn internationals.

 

Gary Gold’s no fun

Bath were well and truly out of the game by half time during their clash against Saracens, so could Gary Gold have afforded to keep Gavin Henson on the field just a little bit longer? Saracens PR team whipped up a cheeky little offer for Bath fans that if Henson scored at any point during the match, they could get their tickets refunded. Four minutes after Henson was substituted, Semesa Rokoduguni crossed for the visitors. Come on Gary! Do it for the fans!

5 Things We Learned In The Premiership: Round 2

Marland Yarde deserves to start in the autumn
The season’s barely just begun but already Yarde is starting to look like the complete package and chances are, he’ll be among the top try scorers come the final whistle of 2013/14. He took two tries in great fashion on Saturday, including a 40m run-in, and his finishing is lethal. He’s a big lad who is hungry for the ball and England can do a lot worse than the 21 year old who has two international tries after just one cap against Argentina in June. With fans unimpressed with Chris Ashton’s international form, maybe Marland is the answer. A special mention to David Strettle who also scored twice at the weekend and now has 10 Premiership tries in his last 12 games.
 

What a difference a week makes

After Sale’s surprise win at Gloucester last week and after Newcastle were dominated at home by Bath, most people would have had money on the Sharks being the victors when the two sides met on Friday night (including this writer). So the shock of the round goes to the Falcons who just managed to squeeze in a win, courtesy of four penalties by Phil Godman and one from Rory Clegg. Unlike their match against Bath, Newcastle were equal to their opponents upfront and managed to put the squeeze on them in the scrum, helping them to a narrow 14-15 victory.

 

Electrolyte drinks won’t help you win games

Wasps social media manager tweeted before the game against Exeter that the ‘boys were having a Maxifuel Viper Electro drink pre and post-match’, but it did a fat lot of good for the players as they lost out to the Devon team 30-26. They have now failed to beat Exeter in their last six games. Maybe you should stick to water and orange slices at half-time boys.

Saints are the team for all seasons

After destroying Exeter last week with an impressive attacking display on a firm pitch in dry weather, Northampton were then able to beat Harlequins on Friday with a streetwise display in the wet. They kept the ball in tight, sent in crash runners and used their strong scrum and rolling mauls to full effect. Just two games into the season, they are by far the most impressive team; they are structured and if they keep up this impressive form whatever the weather, they have to be favourites for the title.

New scrum rules mean new rules for props

Props were in the public eye quite a lot this weekend, most notably Nick Wood for stamping on Jacques Burger, but fair play to the guy, he looked distraught and couldn’t wait to apologise. Joe Marler was true to himself and looked like he wanted to fight every man in a Saracens shirt, but by far the biggest error by a prop this weekend was Davy Wilson. An error that will have every old-school prop rolling in his grave or spitting out his ale. An error that will ensure that every time Wilson props down this season, his opposite man is going to have a dig at him. What is this dreadful error you ask? Davy Wilson wore white boots. Need I say more?

5 Things We Learned From Round 1 Of The Premiership

George Ford made the right move

There was a lot of speculation this summer as to how 20-year old Ford will do in Bath colours after moving to The Rec after spending five years at Leicester Tigers, but Friday night might have silenced some doubters. The young fly-half was the star of the show as his new club travelled to Newcastle in torrid conditions. He kicked 11 points and played the elements superbly, constantly putting the Falcons on the back foot and making them play out of their own half. If he keeps this up, Ford will be in prime position to join England’s EPS squad in the near future.

New scrum laws will come good eventually

It’s safe to say that there has been a lot of controversy over the new scrum laws and whether they will make the game better or worse, but over the weekend there were promising signs that the laws will have a positive outcome. A few scrums needed reset as players adapted to the new rules, but the majority turned out ok. Saracens were one team that took full advantage of the quick ball to send Billy Vunipola crashing over the gainline.

Dylan Hartley is atoning for his recent mistakes

To say Dylan Hartley has a chequered past when it comes to discipline is a bit of an understatement, especially after his sending off in last season’s Premiership final,  but there is no doubting that he is a talented captain and player. He led from the front on Saturday’s dismissal of Exeter, scoring his team’s first try and covering the whole pitch to make an inspirational nuisance of himself.

BT Sport have started well

BT Sport made an impressive debut during the opening round of the Premiership. They have a whole host of talent to fall back on and offer insightful views, including; Martin Bayfield, Matt Dawson, Lawrence Dallaglio, Austin Healey and Ben Kay, and whether you love them or hate them, there is no uncertainty in the fact that the new pitchside interviews and camera angles offer the rugby fan something they’ve never been able to get before.

 

It’s going to be a mixed season for the northern teams

Dean Richards and Newcastle received a harsh reminder of what life is like in the Premiership as they conceded 21 unanswered points at home to Bath. They were dominated upfront and they are going to have to improve before Friday, when they head 150 miles down the M1 to face a Sale team who caused the upset of the round after defeating Gloucester 22-16 at Kingsholm. Sale themselves looked solid enough upfront and had enough about themselves in the backs to cross the line twice and concede only once.

Interview with Austin Healey

After a career spanning 10 years and with over 200 caps, Austin ‘The Leicester Lip’ Healey is considered something of a stalwart at Welford Road, so it may come as a bit of a surprise that he doesn’t believe his old club Leicester will be able to defend their crown this coming season.

“I think Leicester may have a difficult year ahead,” states Healey. “Teams normally gun for them anyway but now they’re champions, people will be gunning for them even more so. It’s going to be hard for them.

“I can’t look much further than Saracens to finish top. They have a good home advantage and they’ve made good signings; Billy Vunipola is a gainline player that they missed last season and because of the new laws, James Johnston is going to make the scrum rock solid and absolutely destroy opposition.

“[Northampton] Saints have made some amazing signings and Bath or Gloucester will manage to force their way into the top four. At the other end of the table, I expect Newcastle will go straight back down.”

Austin is also excited at the prospect of watching Englishman battle each other for a place in Stuart Lancaster’s international side. He knows that competition is fierce, especially for the openside flanker spot.

“[Chris] Robshaw has to have a big season and he has to have re-invented himself over the summer. There’s a lot of players who want that seven shirt and I just can’t see him getting picked over Tom Croft, but Matt Kvesic also has the potential to take it.

“I’m also really looking forward to watching Luke Cowan-Dickie for Exeter. He looked amazing for the England under-20s, he’s a pinball that’s impossible to stop!”

New signings are something that rugby fans love to watch to see what impact they can make at their club, and Healey is no exception. According to him, it’s been an amazing season for new players.

“Everyone talks about Alex Corbisiero and George North to Saints but Kahn Fotuali’i is a great player. Kvesic to Gloucester is a huge signing and if Andy Saull manages to stay fit all season, he and Mike Blair could keep Newcastle up. Matt Garvey at Bath is another massive signing, literally, and Bath have now got real attacking flair in that backline and they’ve got it in quantity as well as quality, but is their tight-five strong enough? We’ll have to wait and see.”

Since retiring from rugby, Healey has tried his hand on a number of TV shows including Strictly Come Dancing, Hole in the Wall and presenting a game show called The Fuse, but now new channel BT Sport has come calling, and as their new rugby analyst, Healey is hoping to do more than just present.

“If I have one achievement over the next few years, it would be to help more people watch the game, understand it and appreciate it. I hate sitting in a bar and hearing the conversation ‘I love watching football but I just don’t understand rugby.’  I want to change that.

“It’s a huge responsibility. Lots of people who have never watched the sport will be, and my main job is to try and demystify issues within the game and increase the novice watcher’s knowledge of rugby.”

BT Sport are introducing a whole new range of coach and player interviews and new camera angles for this season’s coverage, and speaking from past experience, Austin knows that it could turn into some interesting viewing.

“You always try and compare it to when you were a player. It’s going to be dependent on how the first half has gone. You’re going to see raw emotion – either someone who’s in full control or someone who’s totally wicked off and just wants to get back to the changing room to speak to the coach.

“It’s going to be fascinating, especially when we speak to someone who has just been subbed off. From a broadcaster’s view, we should get some good stuff.”

And since he got to the quarter-finals of Strictly, Healey has some words of advice for fellow player and friend Ben Cohen who takes part in the new series.

“He’s a quiet character and he’s going to have to come out of his shell if he wants to do well. The secret to dancing is counting so he needs to learn how to do that!”

The RaboDirect PRO12 Top 5 Signings Of The Season

The Pro12 is a league that is just starting to blossom. You may not think that due to the number of players heading to France, but attendances are at an all-time high, exposure is increasing through T.V deals and a number of big names have headed to Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Italy this season. Here we take a look at five of the best.

 

Zane Kirchner

In Kircher, Leinster have found a like-for-like replacement for Ica Nacewa. He has scored over 100 points in Super Rugby, been capped 24 times by South Africa and would be considered the biggest attacking threat in most sides. The fullback is a deadly counter-attack runner and the rest of the league will have to be wary when they send high balls over his way.

He has big boots to fill at Leinster but he will surely become a fan favourite at the RDS Arena like his other Southern Hemisphere comrades; Brad Thorn, Rocky Elsom and of course, Nacewa. At 29 years old, Kirchner still has a few years left in him and when he returns back to South Africa, Leinster will have certainly exhausted all the skill and finesse out of him.

 

Gethin Jenkins

After spending an unhappy season in the south of France with Toulon, Gethin Jenkins is back in his rightful Cardiff Blues jersey. He comes back with his reputation somewhat tarnished after being injured for most of his time abroad, and people may have forgotten that he is Wales’ most-capped front-row and a Lion on three separate tours.

So the rest of Rabo better watch out as the big man will have a point to prove and any team who attempts to say otherwise will probably find out the hard way. He is one of the best scrummagers in the league and is a huge asset to a team that finished in a disappointing ninth place last season. Gareth Baber and Cardiff Blues fans will be hoping that the 32 year olds talent hasn’t diminished since leaving and that he is still the big ball carrier and influential figure that he once was.

 Craig Clarke

The signing of Craig Clarke shows just how far Connacht have come and highlights the damage they may inflict on other teams this season. With back-to-back Super Rugby titles, not just as a player but as captain, Clarke brings a wealth of experience and talent to an Irish province that needs just that.

He is considered one of the best locks of his generation and is unlucky never to have made it to the senior All Black side, despite being a Super Rugby regular for the last eight years with the Chiefs, Crusaders and Hurricanes. At over six-and-a-half foot, Clarke will be the main man in the lineout and hopefully he will bring his Southern Hemisphere offloading and flair to Ireland.

 

Jimmy Gopperth

It’s safe to say that Jonny Sexton has left some pretty large boots to fill after leaving Leinster for France, and Matt O’Connor will be hoping that Jimmy Gopperth is the man to slip into them with ease. The Irish province have been sensible in their recruitment of the Kiwi; he’s a solid kicker and has the passing ability to give Leinster’s exciting backline a chance to fulfil their potential.

Gopperth has been excellent at Newcastle for the last four years, scoring over 700 points in 70 games including two years as top-scorer in the Premiership and he also has a wealth of Super Rugby experience to call upon. No doubt he will be among the points this season with his new club and with his inability to fluster and his calm influence, Leinster will be hoping for successive league titles.

 Brendon Leonard

Maybe not the biggest signing that springs to mind, but Brendon Leonard is a huge coup for Zebre, who finished bottom of the pile in their first season in the PRO12. The Kiwi scrum-half has been capped 13 times by his country and has scored twice. He is still only 28 so there is plenty left in the tank and he will be looking to prove a point that the Italian side aren’t there to just make up numbers.

Another player with heaps of Super Rugby experience, Leonard too has helped the Chiefs to successive league titles and has scored 80 points over six years for them. He loves to run with the ball and exploit weak defences and Graham Henry once described him as “the best attacking scrum-half in Super Rugby”. Quite a compliment. 

 Honourable mentions go to; Kris Burton, Matthew Rees, Gerhard van der Heever, Leone Nakarawa, Andrew Conway and John Barclay.

England's Elite Player Squad Analysis

"Twelve England players were part of a victorious British & Irish Lions tour, eight others won their first caps in Argentina, a number of rested senior players will have benefited from their break and the future looks healthy after our Under 20 side won the Junior World Championship for the first time."

All in all a fairly successful summer for England then, so surely Stuart Lancaster et al had some hard decisions to make when the Autumn's 33-man EPS squad was announced yesterday.

In fact six changes were made to the squad, with all but one of these players earning their first caps in Argentina. Here, I look at the notable inclusions and exclusions.

David Attwood - Lock (Bath)
"David Attwood adds a physical presence to the second row." Attwood certainly does that, having been cited for stamping on more than one occasion including a nine week ban during the 2010/11 season. Chances are he won't start matches due to the international form of Joe Launchbury and Geoff Parling but Lancaster likes his forwards to provide a physical impact off the bench, and that is Attwood's forte.

Dylan Hartley - Hooker (Northampton)
"I had a long hard think about it....he needs a strong start to the season with Northampton as changes can be made." By all accounts, Dylan is an extremely lucky boy. Tom Youngs had the summer of his life with the Lions and Rob Webber put in a couple of solid performances in Argentina and Hartley must be thanking the gods that he is still in the EPS squad. There are no doubts about his ability but his discipline has always been an issue and many are surprised that Lancaster hasn't punished him further by dropping him to the Saxons.

Chris Robshaw - Flanker (Harlequins)
Come on. Who really thought that Robshaw wouldn't be in the squad. One of England's main men during the Six Nations and can count himself extremely unlucky not to have gone to Australia with the Lions. Didn't travel to Argentina, not because Lancaster fell out of favour with him, but because he wanted to try new options. I have no doubts that Robshaw will be starting in the Autumn but as captain? Well that's a different matter entirely.

Matt Kvesic - Flanker (Gloucester)
Gloucester's new man is considered to be Robshaw's main threat and quite rightly so. He won his first caps in Argentina and put in some great performances including a stunning effort of 29 tackles in the first test. He's an out-and-out openside and has deservedly pushed Calum Clark and James Haskell out of international contention. While I don't think he will start in the Autumn, expect him to come on and try his hardest to put doubts in Lancaster's mind over Robshaw.

Billy Vunipola - No8 (Saracens)
One of the most exciting players to come onto the scene in years, Billy is a man-for-man swap for Thomas Waldrom. He came off the bench twice against Argentina but impressed so much that he's been called up and not many people would have bet against it. A natural try-scorer including a seven minute hat-trick against the CONSUR XV, woe betide anyone who tries to stop him when he picks up off the base of the scrum.

Tom Wood - Flanker (Northampton)
When Stuart Lancaster names his captain in October, expect many people to have put money on this guy. A brilliant captain's performance in Argentina and a man-of-the-match display against New Zealand have thrust Wood into the limelight. A natural in the lineout and in the tight, Wood has kept Tom Johnson out of the EPS squad.

Chris Ashton - Wing (Saracens)
On his day, there is no doubt that Ashton is an outstanding support player with an eye for a try. The only problem is, his day doesn't come around too often anymore. He's scored just twice in his last 17 internationals, and his defence is seen as a major weakness of his. Lancaster must have serious belief in Ashton to keep the likes of Jonny May, Ugo Monye, Tom Varndell, Charlie Sharples and David Strettle out the squad.

Kyle Eastmond - Versatile Back (Bath)
In my opinion, Eastmond is England's most exciting player to come through in many a moon. The ex-rugby league star has fitted effortlessly into his new code and when his first caps came calling in the summer, so did his first try, an outstanding individual effort. He has pace, agility and an eye for a defensive gap and if Lancaster wants to switch things up, swapping him for Brad Barritt wouldn't be the worst thing he's done. He comes into the EPS squad at the expense of his new team-mate, Jonathan Josephs.

Christian Wade - Wing (Wasps)
People have been calling on Wade to join the international setup for some time now, and he did just that in the summer, making his debut before being called up by the Lions. An instinctive try-scorer, last season he scored 18 tries in 26 tests and won the Premiership player's player and young player of the year awards. There were doubts over his defence but they seem to have dispersed and I'm sure he will be starting in the Autumn.

Marland Yarde - Wing (London Irish)
Ear marked by Brian Smith as a player with the potential to win over 50 caps for England, Yarde is a young player with a growing reputation in the game. Another winger with an eye for a finish, the 21 year old has one cap and two tries.

England senior EPS:

Forwards: David Attwood (Bath Rugby), Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers), Alex Corbisiero (Northampton Saints), Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers), Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints), Matt Kvesic (Gloucester Rugby), Joe Launchbury (London Wasps), Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints), Joe Marler (Harlequins), Ben Morgan (Gloucester Rugby), Geoff Parling (Leicester Tigers), Chris Robshaw (Harlequins), Billy Vunipola (Saracens), Mako Vunipola (Saracens), David Wilson (Bath Rugby), Tom Wood (Northampton Saints), Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers)

 

Backs: Chris Ashton (Saracens), Brad Barritt (Saracens), Mike Brown (Harlequins), Freddie Burns (Gloucester Rugby), Danny Care (Harlequins), Lee Dickson (Northampton Saints), Owen Farrell (Saracens), Toby Flood (Leicester Tigers), Ben Foden (Northampton Saints), Alex Goode (Saracens), Kyle Eastmond (Bath Rugby), Manusamoa Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers), Billy Twelvetrees (Gloucester Rugby), Christian Wade (London Wasps), Marland Yarde (London Irish), Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers)

Lions vs Waratahs Match Report

This was a very impressive performance from a Lions team that selectively, was as close as possible to next week’s first test match. Warren Gatland will be very happy the way his team played against a tough-ish Waratahs side.

The Lions set off ferociously and just 40 seconds in, recent call-up Simon Zebo nearly had the dream start he had been craving. The Lions countered from a clearance kick and Jamie Roberts sucked in two players to allow Zebo the run of the wing, but Drew Mitchell did well to get back and just force the Irishman into touch.

Leigh Halfpenny then kicked an early penalty as the Lions defence threw themselves at the Tahs, eventually forcing a poor kick from Mitchell, which again, the Lions were more than happy to run back. Zebo fed the ball out wide to Jonathan Davies who drew in the defence before offloading inside to Jonny Sexton for the game’s first try. Halfpenny converting.

Tahs eventually got themselves into the game though, and a quick lineout from their own five-metre line allowed Bernard Foley to show some southern hemisphere flair. His cross-field kick was gathered by Peter Betham who got past Sean Maitland, and a beautiful one-handed inside pass set up Tom Carter to score. Brendan McKibbin adding the extras.

Zebo was like a man possessed in the first half, regularly taking the ball in or standing at first receiver for the big players like Alun-Wyn Jones to run off him. Halfpenny scored another penalty before Tahs should have added a second. Another quick lineout, this time on the Lions five-metre line, let behemoth Will Skelton drive over but he ended up losing the ball in contact.

Just like Zebo, Foley was looking impressive, if Robbie Deans is searching for a new fly-half, then he just might have found him.

Halfpenny and McKibbin exchanged penalties before the Lions defence stood firm once more. Tahs went through the phases and spread the ball across the pitch but couldn’t get past the red jerseys who soaked up the pressure, Dave Dennis eventually penalised for holding on.

Before half-time, Lions got on the scoreboard again. A-W Jones, Paul O’Connell and Jamie Heaslip crashing through the centre of the opposition defence before the ball went through the hands for Halfpenny to go over, the Welshman converting his own try and taking the score to 23-10 at the break.

The Lions and Halfpenny started the second half just like the first. Roberts switched with Sexton before a nice little offload to Davies put him one-on-one with Mitchell and he simply gave it to Halfpenny for his second. Again, the Welshman converting his own try.

Tahs hit back from the off though, and it was the big man Skelton that led to the Lions conceding. A penalty allowed the Aussie team to kick for touch and from the resulting lineout, Skelton peeled off and fed it to Carter to crash over. McKibbin converting.

The Lions class started to show and they slowly edged themselves out of the Tahs’ reach. Davies intercepted a pass and it went through the hands for a typical Tom Croft try, handing off the inside defender then galloping down the wing. Halfpenny as faultless as ever with the conversion.

Davies then deservedly got the final try of the match. Ben Youngs got in behind the defence and Davies was unmarked on the blindside to stroll over. Substitute Farrell adding the conversion and leaving the final score at 47-17, the only sour note being Roberts leaving the field late on with a hamstring injury.

The Lions looked well-structured during the match. The set pieces functioned well, the backs flowed and they started to look, and play, like a real team.  Zebo looked extremely lively, Halfpenny and Sexton were as faultless as ever but it was Davies that ran the show and he deserves to be in that first test team.  In the forwards, Croft put himself in contention, O’Connell and Jones led from the front and Sam Warburton put last week’s game behind him.