Nick Wright previews this weekend's clash between York City Knights and Hull FC
Alex Reid looks at whether the once ever-present appearance of English clubs in the later stages of the Champions League is set to become a thing of the past
Craig Dobson looks at QPR's decision to sack Neil Warnock and replace him with Mark Hughes
James Tompkinson reviews an excellent pre-season victory for the York City Knights against Yorkshire rivals Leeds Rhinos
The game on Friday was one that I assumed would be an absolute trouncing of Wales. I could hardly see this one going any way other than a French victory. I was right (about the winner, not about the trouncing). France won (20-26), and they were without a doubt the more impressive team on the field. Take note that I say they were a better team. Wales did show flashes of ‘individual’ brilliance but nothing that amounted to any semblance of a team effort. France absolutely dominated the first half of play and they stayed in control of the game until the very closing minutes (even though the BBC would have had you thinking that Wales were set for some sort of a dramatic comeback!).
Scotland and Italy. This game was very equally matched ... both teams needed to prove a point. Following successive losses, they needed the win as much as each other. It was the Italians who eventually came away with the result (16-12). Scotland had the larger amount of possession but ultimately didn’t take any of their chances. Italy produced the only try in this largely predictable affair. Scotland tend to be unable to produce a win in Rome (only twice in the past ten years) and this game was no different.
I was so prepared for Ireland vs. England at Twickenham to be a fantastic game. It seems I’d somehow tricked myself into believing this would be an exciting game. The rain poured and the awful rugby was in large supply. Ireland secured the win (16-20), but in my personal opinion, neither team was even slightly impressive. The stats don’t make for good reading from the English perspective, 60% of the possession and only one try! There really isn’t all that much to be positive about as an England fan at the moment. Ireland showed an incredible defensive display but at the end of the day the game was decided on a small margin (I would say the end result was decided when England were penalised for yet another occurrence of Danny Care’s stupidity). The Irish just seemed to have more experience at closing out a game in poor conditions and England were left looking clueless.
Disappointingly, there’s another weekend without any games coming up. But, after that we get two weeks and the final two sets of Six Nations games ... This competition is shaping up to be a good one. Although in all honesty, I wasn’t that impressed with this weekend’s rugby.
To me England's problem is in the backline (hardly surprising given who's in charge!) - only Riki Flutey would put an ounce of fear into the opposition defensive line, because he's the only one who might do something a bit different. Without another Jason Robinson or Will Greenwood there's just no creativity there. (And IMO that's why the occasional calls for Cipriani to come back won't go away.)
And so we revert to the rugby equivalent of route one: keep it in the forwards and smash it up the park until we get within kicking range. Except that doesn't work any more, because Johnny is now apparently quite capable of missing a drop goal from 10 yards out in front of the posts.
Why on Earth England don't employ a dedicated backs coach is beyond me.
You're right with England's issues being in the backline. By the way, there's isn't the option of Cipriani anymore, as he's moving to Australia! Although I'm perhaps starting to wonder if Flood might be a better fit for this team than Wilkinson... With all the great rugby being played in the Premiership it's puzzling that England play so negatively!
I also don't get why Care still plays at scrum half, he always takes a couple of steps before his pass meaning the backs get slow ball and he frequently makes stupid mistakes.
I would say Brian Smith as attack coach is pretty close to a dedicated backs coach ... Surely throwing more coaching staff at the England team isn't a good move!?
Bit of Youngs-Flood magic to liven things up? There's no-one more likely than Johnson to bring in more Leicester players!
Granted, generally too many cooks etc., but Johnson understandably can't do much about the backs himself, and whoever is supposed to be at the moment leaves a lot to be desired!
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