England, still smarting from a poor 6 nations showing, licked its collective wounds as its clubs exacted revenge on its closest rivals. In three matches over the weekend English rugby returned to its ‘route one’ comfort zone and bullied its way past stunned Irish and French teams. For the neutrals ‘route one’ offered about as much excitement as a root canal, but in an attempt to banish the demons of the past 6 months Wasps, Leicester and Northampton decided to resort to the slow drudge of nine man rugby sprinkled with an occasional penalty kick.
Harking back the days when the likes of Dean Richards and Micky Skinner were seen as the ‘creative force’ of English rugby Wasps barrelled past Leinster using its aggressive forward play at the base of the scrums and rucks to bash through poor Irish defence. Similarly on opposition ball, exemplified by old-timer Lawrence Dallagio, the Wasps backrow used every ounce of professional guile to out-box their opponents only being caught on camera once with the angel-faced Dallagio still protesting his innocence as he trudged towards the sin bin. In Tom Rees it is clear that the West London club has found an able replacement for the talismanic number eight and he has obviously been listening carefully - particularly during the tutorial on ‘lying on without getting caught.’
If I were Stephen Jones (of Sunday Times ‘fame’) I would be feeling rather smug as I supped my warm fizzy bitter in the clubhouse. An advocate of old style English rugby, he promotes the theory that England should return to its roots in the ‘Dark Ages’ when forwards softened up the opposition so the backs could twist the knife.
Frankly for the rest of us it casts a shadow over the tournament as so many varieties of attacking rugby have disappeared in one fell swoop. Sure the French and Irish have only themselves to blame and if they aren’t anxious yet by Monday morning both their accountants and national coaches will have given them enough reason to be worried.
Clearly the French returned to type deciding either that winning the six nations was enough exertion for one season or that they do rate their domestic trophy more highly than European honours. Either way it is short-sighted on their part, because their national players only have four or five games left to prepare for the World Cup, so a sustained stint in the Heineken would have been valuable for their players.
The problems for the Irish are even more accentuated. Shorn of Paul O’Connell and Brian O’Driscoll both Munster and Leinster looked rudderless. With so many other internationals on the park it must be of great concern to Eddie O’Sullivan that other senior players cannot step into the gap, because it is highly likely - particularly when opponents see how clueless the Irish are without them – that the lock and outside centre will come in ‘for special attention’ come the World Cup. Aside from the lack of leadership from other senior players the intensity was lacking, which again is concerning considering the national team will need to play eight games if they are to challenge for the World Cup. Ultimately the performances of Friday and Saturday leave the words of Brian Moore ringing in one’s ears and one can only wonder whether this generation of Irish players will ever lose the tag of ‘chokers.’
But back to the ‘resurgent’ English. While confidence levels must be far higher now (or is that just a deep sigh of relief?) is the return of ‘thugby’ a good or a bad thing? I would argue the latter simply because the game has moved on since the days when Will Carling could bore the opposition into submission. Our friends in the Southern Hemisphere would be more than happy to go toe to toe with nine man rugby. Sorry Stephen Jones, but brute force is not enough!
Having the physical presence only gets you a seat at the table – admittedly Leinster failed miserably on this front with Stephen Keogh and Jamie Heaslip doing their international chances severe damage. However, the difference at the top level must come from line breakers, those moments of inspiration that find the gap. Who is going to provide that inspiration for the English? Additionally, can these teams keep up the same level of intensity in the semi-final and final? The likes of Tom Rees were convincingly mugged at Cardiff Arms Park after putting in a strong performance against France, so can his ilk find consistency?
In the meantime I sink back into a slough of despondency at the prospect of an all English final. I’d almost prefer to watch WWF and have a root canal at the same time than sit through 80 minutes of Leicester and Wasps thumping into one another.
Harking back the days when the likes of Dean Richards and Micky Skinner were seen as the ‘creative force’ of English rugby Wasps barrelled past Leinster using its aggressive forward play at the base of the scrums and rucks to bash through poor Irish defence. Similarly on opposition ball, exemplified by old-timer Lawrence Dallagio, the Wasps backrow used every ounce of professional guile to out-box their opponents only being caught on camera once with the angel-faced Dallagio still protesting his innocence as he trudged towards the sin bin. In Tom Rees it is clear that the West London club has found an able replacement for the talismanic number eight and he has obviously been listening carefully - particularly during the tutorial on ‘lying on without getting caught.’
If I were Stephen Jones (of Sunday Times ‘fame’) I would be feeling rather smug as I supped my warm fizzy bitter in the clubhouse. An advocate of old style English rugby, he promotes the theory that England should return to its roots in the ‘Dark Ages’ when forwards softened up the opposition so the backs could twist the knife.
Frankly for the rest of us it casts a shadow over the tournament as so many varieties of attacking rugby have disappeared in one fell swoop. Sure the French and Irish have only themselves to blame and if they aren’t anxious yet by Monday morning both their accountants and national coaches will have given them enough reason to be worried.
Clearly the French returned to type deciding either that winning the six nations was enough exertion for one season or that they do rate their domestic trophy more highly than European honours. Either way it is short-sighted on their part, because their national players only have four or five games left to prepare for the World Cup, so a sustained stint in the Heineken would have been valuable for their players.
The problems for the Irish are even more accentuated. Shorn of Paul O’Connell and Brian O’Driscoll both Munster and Leinster looked rudderless. With so many other internationals on the park it must be of great concern to Eddie O’Sullivan that other senior players cannot step into the gap, because it is highly likely - particularly when opponents see how clueless the Irish are without them – that the lock and outside centre will come in ‘for special attention’ come the World Cup. Aside from the lack of leadership from other senior players the intensity was lacking, which again is concerning considering the national team will need to play eight games if they are to challenge for the World Cup. Ultimately the performances of Friday and Saturday leave the words of Brian Moore ringing in one’s ears and one can only wonder whether this generation of Irish players will ever lose the tag of ‘chokers.’
But back to the ‘resurgent’ English. While confidence levels must be far higher now (or is that just a deep sigh of relief?) is the return of ‘thugby’ a good or a bad thing? I would argue the latter simply because the game has moved on since the days when Will Carling could bore the opposition into submission. Our friends in the Southern Hemisphere would be more than happy to go toe to toe with nine man rugby. Sorry Stephen Jones, but brute force is not enough!
Having the physical presence only gets you a seat at the table – admittedly Leinster failed miserably on this front with Stephen Keogh and Jamie Heaslip doing their international chances severe damage. However, the difference at the top level must come from line breakers, those moments of inspiration that find the gap. Who is going to provide that inspiration for the English? Additionally, can these teams keep up the same level of intensity in the semi-final and final? The likes of Tom Rees were convincingly mugged at Cardiff Arms Park after putting in a strong performance against France, so can his ilk find consistency?
In the meantime I sink back into a slough of despondency at the prospect of an all English final. I’d almost prefer to watch WWF and have a root canal at the same time than sit through 80 minutes of Leicester and Wasps thumping into one another.
And suddenly I’m struck by blind panic…I’m going to have to support the Scarlets! Something else to blame English club rugby for!
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