London Irish 13 - Toulon 19

An away win for Jonny and les garcon from Toulon. And pretty comfy it was, too. Jonny ruled the roost, making Ryan look more Lamb than Sheep, and the home team failing to match up to the French fire at the breakdown. As it was, they can consider a losing bonus point as the best they could hope for, Toulon having crossed their line on 3 occasions, but allowing a try to go begging.

On the eve of World Cup year...

Do the Autumn internationals offer us any useful glimpses of form ahead of World Cup year ?
As usual, the All Blacks look sublime. As usual, folk will say that they always LOOK it, but blow it in the tournament proper.
Apart from the 10 minutes or so before Lee Byrne picked out their counter attackers with a woefully misdirected kick to touch, the Welsh had the best chance of beating them. Edwards will have been more than happy with the Welsh defensive line speed, and Gatland happier with their performance in the line out. The All Blacks were down to 14. But, but, but...Captain McCaw became the focus in this moment of crisis, taking restart and line out ball like an old fashioned lock. Once they got their hands on a counter attack ball, it was all going to end one way.
This All Black team is strong under pressure, and does the basics as well as more celebrated sides of yore. They are surgical in attack. And they'll be playing at home.
Let's start practicing for 2015...

Half Full ?

Thoughts on Meeting Dai Duckham

One of the Greats - known as "Dai" when he played at the Arms Park because he, alone amongst his red rose colleagues, would have been difficult to leave out of that dominant Welsh side of the early 1970's. Who could forget the high stepping, jagging side stepper from Coventry ? Take a longer look at THAT game between the Barbarians and the All Blacks in 1973 - beyond that luminous start ("What a score!") - Duckham was one of a handful of players NOT to figure in the move that started with Bennett's waltz and ended in the signature Gareth Edwards plunge, but a look at the whole game shows that he did as much as anyone to run the All Blacks ragged that day. Talking to him, he bemoaned the modern accent on defence, and the gym culture that has left our game in the grip of the big boys.

                      Backsides to Basics

The stereotypical image of the French playing with flair and the rest of us trying to squeeze them to death whenever we can was sent to the recycling bin with sundry other misleading rugby cliches over the weekend. The Biarritz and Toulouse forwards did a mighty job on the Irish challengers, splintering their front rows with a combination of canny technique and pure, undiluted brute force. Decent props - international players - such as CJ Van De Linde, Cian Healy and Jon Hayes were popping out of scrums, casting desperate looks at the refs in the hope that they would take a sympathetic view of things. All in vain, my brave boys. They'll return home to Dublin and Limerick and plot their revenge. Outfits as clever and determined as Munster and Leinster will learn their lessons.

Looking Back in Anger ?

Seems odd to me that the folk who cheered Jonno as English rugby's Great Redeemer seem to be frustrated by the team he is moulding. To appoint the gnarly Tiger, then expect a team shaped by him to be a free running force of rugbying bread from heaven is a bit like voting Labour and then complaining that we've got a big sweaty Scot as a PM.

England simply didn't seem to know what to do with the ball against the Irish. It was hatched from the back of the rucks so slowly, and Care needed an age to clear away legs and arms before delivering to Wilko, who sat so deep he might as well have been occupying one of those green seats. In contrast, when the Irish gor delivery of the ball in attack, they knew exactly what they were doing, their three tries born of rapid decision making and confident players.

Byrne, baby, Byrne...

The indiscretions of the Ospreys coaching team may cost Wales dear. Those responsible for fielding the Ospreys full back as part of a 16 man attempt to shut out the Tigers had best stay clear of Messrs Gatland and Edwards. They will miss his big left boot and dominant skill under the high ball for sure. Expect the English to pepper James Hook with aerial bombs - judging from the Saxons against Ireland A at the Bath Rec earlier today, the coaching team has clearly figured that the cross kick/box kick/hail mary is going to be their contribution to the tournament's excitement quotient. Perhaps they're hoping for a richochet off the roof to fox the Welsh back three.

Heineken failing to reach the English parts...

Post-war Welsh Rugby Union
So the Saints go marching on...alone.
The coaches have been quick to point the finger at the attritional nature of life in the Premership. More pertinently, the fact that super rich clubs such as the Ospreys and Toulouse are not salary capped is also a crucial factor. To survive the heavy casualty rate of a modern rugby season, you have to have covering players of real quality.
The Irish and Welsh teams play in the Magners League, which has a more sympathetic fixture list. It is also less attritional - but that does not make it a lesser competition - if it was, the Munsters of this world would find it impossible to step up the intensity. There is another factor at play here, too. The Irish and Welsh (and, of late, the Scots, too) seem to be able to develop their young talent in the Magners in a way that the results driven Premiership clubs find difficult. Hence - more quality cover that's been tested in game situations, and an eye on developing talent rather than buying in another "name" player.