Lievremont Shows Johnson The Way

What a contrast last night’s France versus Italy game was. Not only did France play quite sublimely on occasions, the Italians showed a willingness and level of invention which has been missing from their game for some time. Indeed with the Italians playing in this fashion, the title for the 6 Nations ‘Least Inventive Team’ is a straight fight between Scotland and England. Considering the dynamism of the Scottish back row, we will plump for England.

For probably the first 20 of his 25 matches in charge, Marc Lievremont, has been heavily criticised for the manner in which he chopped and changed his squad. What has been interesting throughout this tournament, is that he appears to have finally settled on his core group of players who can take him through to the World Cup next year and he must be feeling a certain amount of vindication. When you consider, also, the quality of players not involved in last nights game, Cedric Heymans, Maxime Medard, Damien Traille to name but three, we feel that France will probably be the only northern hemisphere team capable of challenging for the World Cup title.

It might be early, perhaps, to compare his regime with Clive Woodwards highly successful time with England, yet there are parallels. Early in Woodward’s time in charge, he often plucked players out of relative obscurity who either thrived or often sank without trace after a couple of caps. The key was that he wasn’t afraid to pick a player on a hunch, perceived potential or even after only a couple of good performances. Lievremont, one feels, is cut from much the same cloth. Some of his selections have caused a collectively raised Gallic eyebrow amongst the French media, yet he has shrugged his shoulders and carried on anyway. Certainly we feel that Martin Johnson could probably learn a little bit from these attitudes although England’s well documented problems are as much to do with the way they are trying to play, rather than who is playing. You do feel though, that was Lievremont coaching England this season, players such as Lawes, Youngs and Ashton may have been given their head for a couple of games at least with the license to play.

Nick Mallett’s job, which involves attempting to create a competitive team from a very small pool of mediocre to good players, is not an easy one. He had also been roundly criticised before the start of the tournament as to the apparent backward steps, Italy as a team had been taking. Yet with victory over Scotland, a close run defeat to England and a spirited effort against France yesterday there is cause for optimism.  As we mentioned above, the two tries scored late in the second half were as good as anything the French produced. Yes the game was lost, but it showed that they are capable of scoring in more ways than the pack picking and driving. With Wales in disarray, the Italians must fancy their chances of pulling off a second win in the competition, or at the very least running them close.

Some Questions

It is hard to write this piece without it descending into a diatribe of epic proportions against England and particularly the England management. Nevertheless, we will try and provide a few opinions as objectively as possible regarding the game we have just watched.

Ending in a draw, which to our eyes seemed a fair result considering the sheer inadequacies present on both sides, it underlined the shortcomings mentioned ad nauseam in previous articles on this site. To a large degree we are willing to exempt the players from blame; not totally you understand as there is far too much experience within the team and poor execution in the game to do so, but on the whole we feel they are handicapped by poor selection and an atrocious game plan from the England management.

Before we go any further, and to attempt to stem the flow of negativity straining to unleash itself from our fingertips, let us have a look at Scotland. On the whole, Andy Robinson, will be relatively pleased with a draw although this still leaves Scotland likely wooden spoon winners. Yet this was a game that Scotland could, and possibly should have won. There were definite positives in several key areas; the 6,7,8 combo continues to impress with Beattie in particular vying with Jamie Heaslip for the title of the best number 8 in the home nations, and out wide Scotland again showed intent and variation. Unfortunately the final pass went astray too often for them to be truly effective but importantly the desire was there.

Despite results not going their way, Scotland have improved over these past 4 games. They remain hamstrung by a small player base which means they are always going to be a smaller nation, yet under Andy Robinson they have showed more structure and played more rugby. We hope that the Scottish board sticks with him as with a bit more luck and certainly a little more nous the results in this tournament could have been quite different. It was interesting to see the Scottish full back punching the ball into touch once Toby Flood’s attempted drop goal has been charged down, willing this time to settle for the draw. Lessons have clearly been learnt from the Wales game.

And so, back to England.

There are two overriding emotions present here at the Compulsive Hooker so let us deal with them one at a time. Firstly frustration. Here is a list of things in England’s favour which in theory should mean England should not be in this current malaise.

• England are blessed with one of the largest player bases of any senior test match rugby nation.
• Even despite the recent economic downturn, the financial status of the RFU and most English clubs has remained healthy.
• The facilities available throughout these clubs and at headquarters remain some of the best in the world.
• The wealth of the clubs has been able to ensure that the majority of the star players stay in England and are not tempted overseas for more lucrative rewards creating a player drain. The recent strength of the Euro and the wage caps imposed in the UK, has made this a greater challenge than before, yet France is hardly far away….
• The ability to attract foreign talent for the financial reasons above. This of course can be argued both ways, but really and truly the standard of the Guiness Premiership would not be half as good as it is without many of these players playing. (There are some exceptions to this rule but not many).

Yet despite all these compelling reasons (and we are positive there are many more) why England should, from a support point of view be one of the best teams in the world, yet come to naught when you look at results.

The second emotion is puzzlement. To explain this we have composed a list of questions below which go some way to elucidating this feeling. (In no particular order….)

• Where has Riki Flutey disappeared to? We know he’s a good player (3rd test of the Lions tour, France and Wales matches in last years 6 Nations are all examples of his abilities), yet in the last 3 games he has been extraordinarily innocuous and totally invisible. Did he touch the ball before the 57th minute today? We missed it if so….
• Steve Borthwick? Really?
• Louis Deacon? And Steve Borthwick? Together?
• Will Steve Borthwick ever fail to use the adjective ‘fantastic’ in relation to another dreary England performance? We haven’t seen the post match interviews with him but we’d be willing to bet he said the word somewhere….
• Delon Armitage? Which dastardly character has stolen his mojo?
• Why the aversion to exciting and dynamic young players? (Dan Coles excepted). Ben Foden, Courtney Lawes, Ben Youngs? It’s as if they have been put on the bench as a token gesture to appease the angry press and near to rioting fans but nothing more.
• Why does Jonny stand so deep? Is it really the game plan ‘so lay off him’, as Johnson told the media earlier in the tournament, or was he simply protecting his talisman?
• What does Rob Andrew do for his exorbitant wages? (This is a very interesting point and one which we will tackle at some point in the near future).
• Does Rob Andrew possess big enough ‘cahones’ to sack the man he appointed to be England’s saviour?
• Will Martin Johnson admit defeat and resign, therefore saving him the trouble?
• Who can sack Rob Andrew? Why won’t whoever it is that can do so?
• Where has Mark Cueto’s pace gone?
• Where can we apply to join the England back room team? It’s well paid, amazing job security with almost no performance related targets to hit and on top of that masses of great England gear…..
• Above all, England have good players. We know this. But why, oh why, can they not play rugby together?!?!
• Etc
• Etc

There are many, many more questions where these came from. There are also answers to many of them, but somehow the men to whom all these frustrations and performance issues come back to, appear to be supremely oblivious to the either the problems, solutions or both.

Please Johnno! We loved you as a player and as a fearsome man of iron; but please don’t ruin your reputation or tarnish our still (but only just) pure adoration for you. It’s time to get out whilst you still can…..

Newsflash: Cusiter Is Johnson’s Secret Agent!

Well done Martin Johnson. He has managed what many people previously would have thought to be impossible, and placed a spy, or ‘mole’ if you will, in the Scotland rugby camp.

There is no other explanation for Scotland scrum half Chris Cusiter’s comments yesterday. As England fans, we are used to the England management talking the team up at every opportunity, even in the face of yet another dreary loss, but now the opposition are at it too.

Cusiter is worried about ‘the huge physical challenge’ and the ‘pace they have with the guys out wide’. One thing that England can claim to be is ‘physical’ so no problems there. The amount of time they spend in the gym means that any rugby side described as anything different to this needs to worry. It is the ‘pace out wide’ bit that made us laugh though.

Undoubtedly with no one in front of them and no pressure to deliver a final and telling pass, England’s back three are quick enough with the exception these days of Cueto. Ironically, Cueto is the only one currently that has the ability to out think any defenders in front of him, yet due to his lack of cutting edge pace, can’t put this into practise.

However, with Johnson’s man Cusiter working his magic from within the Scottish camp, lets hope that the Scottish defence focuses on these wide areas, allowing England’s loose forwards to carry it all the way up the middle of the park.

Possibly of course, Cusiter’s comments come straight from page 1 of the ‘Rugby Players Guide to Press Conferences: 101 Non Controversial Things to Say’, but we have been doing a bit of Johnson bashing recently and would like to give him some credit for something…..

Martin Johnson Loses His Marbles

The England team has been announced for Saturdays 6 Nations match against Scotland. With what is now disturbing regularity, Johnson has surprised most people by making 2 changes which, in our view, are verging on the ludicrous.

Firstly Lewis Moody has been replaced by Joe Worsley at 7, which quite frankly is a bizarre decision. We all know what Worsley offers, lots of tackling and hard work but also silly penalties and very little ball in hand. Moody, however, has been one of the few England players to have shone over the recent past and despite a quiet game against Ireland, it seems a strange decision. Worsley is a very fine defensive player and as such represents a negative pick.

Louis Deacon has come in for Simon Shaw forming what must be the most extraordinarily dull lock pairing we have ever seen. Both Deacon and Borthwick are players of much the same type, solid, dependable, slow and as far from the description ‘dynamic’ as it is possible to get. The only sliver of light showing here, comes in the form of Courtney Lawes, who has been moved up to the bench. Lawes shouldn’t hold his breath however as the last time he sat on the bench he wasn’t trusted with much actual game time.

Now and again in life you come across people who are contrary. We all know the sort, people who will disagree with even the most sensible argument simply for the sake of being different and are often stubborn and irritating individuals. It could be argued that Johnson could be one of these types given his selection policies. Every single critic, both English and not, including such coaching luminaries as Sir Ian McGeechan, have identified England’s failings and all broadly agree, although it must be said not everyone is on the same wavelength with regard to the cause of these issues. We won’t list them for the umpteenth time here, yet it appears the only man who doesn’t understand what is wrong, and therefore can hardly be expected to fix it, is Johnson himself. By ridding England of Moody, ignoring Foden and bringing in Louis Deacon to partner Borthwick (a case in point himself) he is reinforcing all that has been wrong up until this point and quite frankly, we don’t understand it.

The one change we, and many better informed commentators, feel should have been made has been ignored. Despite being clearly the only England back to have injected any pace and intent into the attacking game against Ireland, Foden has been ignored once again. In some ways we appreciate Johnson’s loyalty to Armitage, yet he has been such a stuttering presence it seems an opportunity missed to not give Foden his first start.

A second option which we feel would increase England’s potency, is by throwing Ben Youngs, Leicester’s flying scrum half, into the mix. Despite many media experts giving Danny Care qualified praise for his performances in this years competition, we at the Compulsive Hooker believe him to be a flawed player and actually the cause of some of England’s problems.He is quick and has the ability to break upfield, but his decision making is frequently poor and his passing slow due to the extra steps he takes each time he passes. Giving Youngs his head would have been a bold and brave move by Johnson, although it is hardly surprising he stopped short and only included the young 9 on the bench.

So there you have it. In our eyes, incontrovertible proof that Johnson is not the man for the  England job. We have said it before and we’ll say it again no doubt, but living legend and world cup winner though he is, coach, selector, manager, whatever you want to call him – he is not.

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It is getting to the point where we at the Compulsive Hooker, are considering not watching the game on Saturday. Up until now we would never have even contemplated such a boycott, yet the levels of frustration incurred by watching the drivel dished out by this current England side are so high that we would probably be better off focusing on the hockey for example. At least they can play.

Through chatting to many people over the past few weeks, we know that we are far from alone in this. We are from a situation where Twickenham will have spare tickets for a game, but England need to be careful. The fantastic work in promoting and widening the profile of this brilliant game done by England in the late 90′s and early 2000′s is being undone. At this rate, no 12 year old child is going to dream of being the next Steve Borthwick or Delon Armitage.

It is of course very easy for us to comment on England from the safety of our couches and not being responsible in any way. Yet something MUST be done and it must be done soon.

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Oh and a prediction for the match itself….. England to snatch a low scoring and pretty dire affair. 15-9 perhaps? It would not come as a surprise to us though if that scoreline is reversed. So far on this website we have been wrong probably 60% of the time. We would dearly love to be forced to write a piece on how amazingly short sighted we have been so far and of course if they can play like that, Johnson is clearly the man for the job… Somehow we doubt we’ll need to though!

Irish Competence, Same Old England and Journalistic Difficulties

An English Perspective

Writing on this website has given the Compulsive Hooker an insight into how difficult it has been for English rugby journalists to earn their crust over the past few years. There are only so many ways to skin a cat as the saying goes, and with England’s hopelessness continuing game after game, each article is simply a repetition of the last with only a few minor variations.

Normally a journalists repertoire of potential articles would consist not only of match build up (how the team can win, who the key players will be etc), match reports, player ratings and what the team need to improve on for the next game. However in England’s case, with the build up being what England need to do and the match report and post game verdicts on what they didn’t do being virtually the same article, albeit in the past tense, it makes it hugely difficult to maintain the readers interest.

The other stock page filler is the interview/homage/profile of any established legend or up and coming hero. This was shown to be impossible in the current rugby climate when the Times ran two pieces side by side on the two Danny’s, Care and Cipriani. Care’s piece could be placed in the ‘young upstart becomes central pillar of English rugby’ category and Cipriani’s was firmly in the ‘wronged up and coming hero’ category. All these pieces served to underline was the levels of rugby poverty England are going through. Cipriani has long been hailed as the up and coming star of the next generation, yet this article was misplaced as subsequent reports of childish behaviour during England Saxons Italy game has shown. The article on Care, however, defied rational belief in that whilst he has had his good moments in the 6 Nations, the key flaws in his game remain and in another era would not be receiving this current run in the team. A quick glance at the newspapers comments section of either article backs this up convincingly.

Therefore and with this all in mind, we are not going to rewrite for what is already the 4th or 5th time about England’s or more particularly Martin Johnson’s failings, as by simply clicking here you can see everything that needs to be said has already written.

Regarding the match in particular only a couple of specific points are worth mentioning with regard to next weekend:

• Foden to start at 15 next week: We are big fans of Armitage but he is a faltering presence this season, his injury perhaps still affecting him. Foden looked threatening and importantly played with real purpose.
• Hodgson for Care: Quicker service, no unnecessary extra steps. We would actually prefer to see Ben Youngs given a go but this is unlikely considering Johnson’s innate desire to negate risk.
• 60% possession, England making only 40 tackles compared to Ireland’s 109, 2 scrums won against the head and home advantage should have translated to a comfortable win. Yet it didn’t.

An Irish Perspective

This was a pleasing and much needed win for the Irish. Wins at Twickenham are rarely easy (even recently) and considering the problems at scrum time and the levels of possession enjoyed by England, this was a win to be proud of. Where Ireland won the game was the effectiveness of their defence and the frequency with which they turned the ball over, 13 times in total.

Despite Jonny Sexton’s off day with the boot he showed exactly why he was preferred to Ronan O’Gara, providing a genuine threat and pivot for all Ireland’s attacking play. Whilst they could hardly be accused of setting Twickenham alight with brilliant running rugby, Ireland played a more balanced game than England, moving smoothly between different facets of the game.

The Compulsive Hooker has always been a fan of Geordan Murphy and it was pleasing to see him come back and play with such good effect. Whilst he is very unlikely to displace Kearney completely, he is a good back up and with Ireland building to the World Cup in 2011 strength in depth is key. Keith Earls also showed glimpses of his running ability with a couple of scintillating breaks.

All in all Ireland should be pleased with the win although the problems with the scrum remain. John Hayes and Cian Healy is a partnership hardly to be feared in the front row and with Hayes having reached his 100th cap yesterday perhaps it is time to put him out to pasture.

England, Wales & French Teams Named

England

We have all breathed a sigh of relief here at the Compulsive Hooker, with the news that Martin Johnson has named an unchanged side to the one that disappointed so against Italy. Jonny retains his place in the team and the only Hodgson in sight is an altogether better one, in the shape of London Irish’s Paul, who retains his place on the bench. Foden has come back into the subs line up replacing Matt Mullan of Worcester, and Joe Worsley for Steffon Armitage.

Johnson’s strange attraction to average and low impact locks continues with Deacon retaining his place, presumably as not to upset the balance of the team if Borthwick was to be removed.

With Ireland still to name their team we’ll hold off on the customary predictions at this stage….

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Wales vs France

Encouraging news for rugby fans in the hulking shape of Mike Phillips, who takes a place on the Welsh bench after playing only 40 minutes since coming back from injury. Wales who have been in something of a scrum half crisis without him, have named Richie Rees as starting 9 but be assured Phillips will come on at some point. Ever since the Lions he has been one of our favourite players here at the Compulsive Hooker.

Other than that Jonathan Thomas comes in in place of Andy Powell who is banned. Thomas will relish this opportunity to resurrect his Welsh careers after some time on the periphery and should not be underestimated by any means.

For France Benjamin Fall and Julien Bonnaire start. With the French there is always a slight question mark over how well they travel, yet the feeling is building that Lievremont has now got it right. Our feeling is that if they play even half as well as against Ireland then they will have too much for the Welsh.

For the Championships sake however and to attempt to maintain excitement to the end, we wouldn’t mind seeing the Welsh pull through and win this one. Certainly if they play like they did against Scotland  in the last 10 minutes of that game they will both have a chance and provide what would in all likelihood be a fantastic game for rugby connoisseurs.

Prediction: 32-21 to France.

Charlie Hodgson? Are You Joking?

News this morning that Martin Johnson has called up Charlie Hodgson. To the Compulsive Hooker, this decision sums up why Johnson is the wrong man for the job and demonstrates the innate conservatism that limits his selectorial policies.

Hodgson, whilst a fine attacking fly half, has always been a confidence player and someone in and out of the England squads of the last decade.. We remember watching him make his debut against Romania in November 2001 when he collected a record 44 point haul and being highly impressed. However, over the intervening years he has been shown up by his inconsistent kicking, defensive errors worthy of Ronan O’Gara on one of his dreadful days and a general inability to run a top level game.

Johnson, who it should be remembered has not picked him once in his tenure, has now seemingly gone back to players he knows rather than giving one of the young breed of fly halves a go. According to the Daily Telegraph he is ‘one of the form fly halves in the Guiness Premiership’, yet Sale are lying in 10th and with Leeds beating them at the weekend, are deep in their own relegation trouble and we are unsure how well he can actually be playing if Sale are as deep in the mire as they are.

This willingness to pick older players who had been tried, tested and discarded was a strong feature of Andy Robinson’s time in charge which was widely derided. Johnson appears to be going down the same route here and as England fans it is highly frustrating and disappointing.

Fortunately Jonny Wilkinson’s ‘muscle tightness’, which was the reason for the call up is apparently expected to subside so the likelihood is we won’t see Hodgson at 10. Yet the argument stands and as far as we can see we need new blood at the top.

The Jonny Debate

Flood Dangers Retreat for Wilkinson

With further column inches by the dozen being given over to the ‘Jonny debate’ over the past week since England’s poor showing against Italy, Toby Flood was deemed to have been given an opportunity to play himself into the team by playing well for Leicester yesterday. Solid and dependable, he showed once more that he provides nothing to England that Jonny doesn’t. He kicked his goals, was reas0nable out hand (although a few kicks went astray) but did nothing particularly exciting in open play.

The whole debate surrounding the fly half position is a bit of a non argument in our minds. Let us look at the options starting with Jonny:

Jonny Wilkinson
Incumbent and a legend. He would be the first to admit he has hardly played as well as he would have liked but still provides a (usually) reliable boot, the best defence of any 10 in the world,  and showed signs in the Italy game of greater positivity in attack. He has always played better with a good 12 outside him and with Flutey now fit and looking like he could be the man, Johnson may and probably should let them play a few games together before making a further call.

Toby Flood
Toby Flood is a man who appears to incite irrational dislike. Several of our friends and acquaintances admit to this strange phenomenon which is rendered extraordinary by the fact that Flood rarely does anything to make you despair or excited. Flood kicks most of his goals, is reasonable in defence and unexciting in attack. For Flood to be deemed England’s potential saviour and possibly the man to replace Wilkinson seems short sighted and frankly quite stupid. There is not one facet of his game that he does better than Jonny in our opinion and if Jonny is to be demoted – surely hisreplacement has to be a better player in come capacity?!

Andy Goode
On the subject of irrational dislikes, we at the Compulsive Hooker need to own up to one now. Whilst thinking rationally we are sure he is an eminently decent individual and exactly the sort of chap one would like to go for a pint with, but we have never ever been able to even slightly warm to Andy Goode. We would like to think that this is due to his extraordinarily limited skills as a fly half, his entire repertoire seemingly limited to the grubber and chip kicks, but it could equally be his hair. Shave it off for god’s sake – go bald gracefully! Seriously though, Johnson, through out his tenure, has shown a disturbing predilection for Goode’s limited armoury although we feel this is more to do with Johnson’s need to know what everyone on the field is likely to do at any given moment. Unfortunately this predictability is exactly the opposite of what is needed when playing at 10.

Shane Geraghty
Whilst recently having been dropped from the squad altogether, Shane Geraghty in our eyes represents the best option should Johnson decide to demote Jonny. Elusive, unpredictable and the possessor of a fine running game, he in many ways offers more than Jonny. Unfortunately, he is still likely to make a wrong decision and put his team on the back foot as he is to set them going forward. Ever since his effervescent debut against France 2 years ago, we have been fans of his but believe that his time has not yet come (at 10 anyway). Should Johnson make the decision to take England in a fundamental change of direction then his selection is potentially justified.

Danny Cipriani
The maverick on the list, Cipriani has of course removed himself from selection until probably after the 2011 world cup. Perhaps the most talented of the bunch, but like Geraghty prone to strange decisions on occasions, his move down under will in all likelihood benefit England in the long run. For those who remember his brilliant performance against Ireland 2 years ago, when he ran the game with a rare authority, it is clear he will be back.

In Conclusion
Essentially the question boils down to this: In a world cup knock out stage game, with 5 minutes to go and the game in the balance, who would you rather have at the helm? Jonny’s big match ability and calmness under pressure wins the argument every single time for us and with this in mind he should be given the opportunity to form a working relationship with Flutey at 12.

The debate as the whole seemed entirely contrived from the off to us and simply a method of filling the sports section of the papers. It was Flood after all who was released back to Leicester and Jonny who was wrapped in cotton wool – if Flood was being lined up to play as a key match winner against the Irish on Saturday, surely the players released would have been swapped around?

If Not Johnno – Who?

There are many reasons why England are faltering in this years 6 Nations competition. Without a doubt the players are not exempt from blame, uncertain performances coming all over the park and no one really standing out. However, one argument continues to rear its head from a variety of sources. This is one which has many facets to it yet all seems to boil down to the same man. Much as it pains us to criticise a living legend, Martin Johnson appears to be unable to get England going in the right direction.

Yesterdays game was a classic example; not only did there appear to be no ‘A’ game plan – but there was no B and C either. The players were clearly told to ‘have a go’, yet for much of the game appeared to be scared to play what was in front of them for fear of failure. Johnson has admitted that in the recent Autumn internationals he was probably a little ‘over prescriptive’ and such sage judges as Lawrence Dallaghio have stated that the England players are ‘in awe’ of him, and consequently to frightened to make their own decisions.

It is of course very easy to sit behind our desk 2000 miles away and make comments on the state of English rugby and we freely admit our opinions are based on others comments who are closer to the action. Yet what is apparent is the lack of progress and the succession of poor performances. We do not doubt Johnson’s effort, integrity or hard work yet we feel he is not the man for the job.

The question therefore becomes; who is the right man? This is Rob Andrew’s decision and we feel if by the end of the 6 Nations no further progress has been made then he will have to make a difficult decision. There are huge question marks over exactly what Rob Andrew does himself and one feels that this could ultimately bring both him and Johnson down. We will tackle the Rob Andrew issue at some other time – instead let us take a look at some viable alternatives:

The English Contenders

Richard Cockerill
Originally a hot headed member of the Leicester front row who played 27 times for England, Cockerill got his chance in the coaching world when he began life as forwards coach for his old club side in 2005. After first Loffreda and then Meyer left he had spells as Acting Head Coach before finally being confirmed in the role in April last year. With the Guiness Premiership title already in his trophy cabinet and a runners up medal in the Heineken Cup, Cockerill has shown he has got what it takes to develop a successful side. Probably a little youthful and inexperienced for the top job, he has also suffered set backs this season with Leicester’s exit from the Heineken Cup in the group stages.

Jim Mallinder
A much underrated player in his day and unlucky only to win 2 England caps, Mallinder has been coaching since 2001. Upon retiring as a player he was immediately appointed Head Coach at Sale Sharks and enjoyed success by winning the European Challenge Cup. Following this he had a sojourn at the National Academy before being handed control of England Saxons with whom he won the Churchill Cup, beating New Zealand Maori in the final. Following on from this Mallinder then became coach at the newly relegated Northampton Saints, immediately gaining promotion to the top flight with an undefeated season. With Saints the only English side to qualify for the second round of this years Heineken Cup he has proved that he has the pedigree needed to coach England. Every team he has coached has also played a particularly attractive brand of rugby which if he could bring to the national team would be a much needed tonic to England supporters.

The Foreign Brigade

Eddie Jones
Currently Technical Director at Saracens, one gets the feeling Jones is waiting for his next big opportunity. A successful coach for ACT Brumbies and for a period Australia, it is unlikely the world has seen the last of him as an International Coach. His verbal jousts with Clive Woodward were legendary and he is undoubtedly a shrewd operator. He would definitely be an outside bet but with his pedigree and probable desire to regain a top job he could not be ruled out.

Jake White
With Tri Nations and World Cup wins under his belt for the Springboks, there is little doubt that White has the necessary calibre to do the job. Already having been linked with the England job during Ashton’s tenure, he is known to be interested in the position should it ever become free and is highly respected. Of all the non English coaches around he is undoubtedly the favourite to get the job, if that is the route Rob Andrew was to go down. 

So who do you think then?

There are undoubtedly many candidates who could do the job of which the four above are possibly the favourites. Other potential appointments could include Brendan Venter, currently of Saracens and Toby Booth of London Irish. These remain outside bets only and have less of a claim than the four nominated here. The Compulsive Hookers vote goes to Jim Mallinder, not only for being English, but for consistently having the track record of turning poor teams into good ones. Importantly his sides  also play an attractive style which could only do good things for English rugby which is currently shedding supporters due to the attritional style of play employed and lack of positive results. From Rob Andrew’s view, Jake White could potentially be considered favourite however we hope that when the time comes (and it could be soon), Mallinder gets the nod.

Who do you think should get the job? Put your thoughts down below!

Six Nations Round 2 – Thoughts

England, England, England*.

This was supposed to be the game where, with all Johnson’s first choice players available, England would cut loose, throw off the shackles and prove to the rugby world they can play. A combination of a resurgent Italy and extraordinarily muddled game plan ensured that England struggled and Italy in many ways appeared to be the better side.

Italy did all that was expected of them, getting up into England’s faces and spoiling well at the break down. England, however, after a good start in which Armitage almost went over in the corner, retreated to the aerial kicking game that is all too familiar to England supporters.

The best sides in the world all employ a kicking game. These are built around other aspects of the game plan which in turn create space for them to kick to. By drawing players into contact situations and sucking in the defence this creates gaps behind into which kicks can be placed and territory gained. England’s kicking is mainly down to a lack of other ideas, which means that almost always the opposing team has players covering and any potential advantage is lost. Factor in the poor quality of much of the kicking and often England are simply handing back the advantage to the opposition.

Delon Armitage had a second poor game and seems to have lost confidence since his stellar performances last year. An important facet of his play was his ability to run the ball back, often beating two or three men and putting England on the front foot. In the last two games he has been fallible under the high ball and then, more often than not, simply put boot to ball in a fairly aimless fashion. England need the old Armitage back as otherwise Ben Foden provides an attractive alternative.

On a positive note, Wilkinson stood a great deal flatter and several times initiated wide attacking moves with Monye twice and Flutey making lengthy breaks down field. The extraordinary thing was that despite a clear demonstration that this tactic was working, for much of the first and second half England reverted to type and the boot. Variety is the spice of life and England just keep getting it wrong by doing the same thing again and again.

Coming into this game Flutey was supposed to be the man who could set England’s backs alight. As noted above, whilst there were instances of this (more in this one game than the entire Autumn series combined), Flutey needs the ball in hand (and his in particular) to do this. After a couple of deft touches in the opening minutes, it was the 38th before he touched it again, at which point his lovely angle cut open the Italian midfield. It was telling that England’s best moments came with him involved and should be something Johnson considers over the next fortnight.

In many ways Italy were the better team on the day and had clearly set out to play with some invention themselves. Their backs, which previously had been impotent, burst into life and genuinely threatened on a couple of occasions. Mallett would be a great deal happier after this performance than Johnson, although he is no doubt ruing the missed opportunity to take what would be a serious scalp in world rugby.

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France have been reaffirmed as favourites to win the championship and potential Grand Slam winners. Indeed if they play as they did against the Irish in Paris there is little chance of anyone even competing and we would have backed them against any side in the world. Dominant at the breakdown, brilliant in the backs and with Parra and Trinh-Duc playing probably their best games for France, Ireland stood no chance.

Despite odd individual moments of brilliance from Darcy and O’Driscoll the Irish found themselves repeatedly hitting what appeared to be a solid blue wall, such was the French defence. Coupled with set pieces that achieved parity at best and the Irish back row being second to the break down on most occasions it was always unlikely once France had gone into the lead. Ronan O’Gara was also poor, missing kicks and tackles which when combined with his insistence of standing 15 yards behind the gain line when receiving meant that the Irish backs had little chance of making any impressions. Jonny Sexton will likely return for England at Twickenham which for both teams is a must win game and having Sexton’s superior attacking ability will help unleash Ireland’s undoubtedly talented backs.

It is important Ireland regroup to win the remainder of their games as with only 18 months to go prior to the next world cup, it is crucial they keep their momentum going. France, on the other hand, appear to once more have an embarrassment of riches and with Lievremont appearing finally to be settling on his preferred combinations they are going to be a genuine threat to the southern hemispheres superiority.

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Having sat down to watch the Wales Scotland game with some trepidation at the prospect of a low quality game we were pleasantly surprised by what turned out to be the game of the tournament so far. Despite suffering injuries to Thom Evans and Chris Paterson Scotland stormed into the lead and with only 6 minutes remaining were 10 points clear. Wales however produced a fantastic period of play to deny Scotland what would have been a cathartic win for Andy Robinson’s team.

When Wales play like they did in the final minutes they are seriously dangerous and it must be a huge frustration to Warren Gatland that they cannot do it over an 80 minute period. Shane Williams looked like he is back to his best, creating two on ones and worrying the Scots every time he got the ball. Likewise Jamie Roberts had his best game since the Lions and was the main focal point for Wales going forward.

For Scotland the back row were brilliant, particularly in the first half, with Barclay and Beattie carrying well and competing on the ground. A second positive was back play which looked more full of initiative and threat than it has done for quite some time. If Scotland can carry this form over to Rome they should be fairly confident of winning.

The major frustrations of course come from losing a game that they should really have won. It seemed an extraordinary decision by Blair to restart the ball into play with the scores level at 24 all when a simple kick into touch would have brought the end of the game although equally you could applaud them for gambling and going for the win.

*Our frustrations are probably all too apparent in this article and so we apologise if we sound bitter – its just so appalling being England rugby fans at the moment!