Sunday 26 February 2012

SIX-NATIONS, WEEK 3

Ireland took on Italy in Dublin in a well-contested if not very brilliant match. Yet again, the Italians put in plenty of effort but simply couldn't make it pay. They had their chances and led 10 - 3 shortly before half-time, but missed kicks and a failure to convert pressure into points eventually cost them dear. For the best part of an hour, Ireland never looked truly comfortable and certainly never looked in control, but they did enough when it mattered and did take their chances, three times spurning kicking opportunities in favour of 5-yard line-outs and twice turning these opportunities into converted tries. As the game wore on, though, the Italians clearly tired, gaps appeared in their defences, they gave away more penalties and the Irish prospered; tries resulted and Jonathan Sexton's kicking made the most of almost every chance. In the end Ireland were deserved, if somewhat flattered and uninspiring, winners by 42 - 10.

Wales started very strongly at Twickenham and could have had a try in the opening seconds but for a fantastic last-ditch tackle by Strettle.  Despite having the better of the play, Wales found the English defence a hard nut to crack and it was England that took the lead with a penalty after 23 minutes. This was quickly countered by Wales but England then produced some terrific play in the Welsh 22 that led to another penalty and their lead was restored on the half-hour. Suddenly, England were on fire with some more great play and the Welsh were under pressure, but it was Wales who equalised the score with yet another penalty. England, though, carried on throwing the ball around, with Tuilagi awesome, and gained their reward with a penalty towards the left touchline :  9 - 6 as the nerveless Farrell slotted it over.

The second half saw a third charge-down in 3 games by an Englishman, this time Botha, and not just a resultant penalty and 3 points, but also 10 minutes in the bin for Wales' Priestland. England, though, were unable to take advantage of the extra man as Wales kept possession for most of the penalty period and even gained 3 points from a penalty of their own. The match carried on at pace with much toing-and-froing until, with 8 minutes left, Wales gained a penalty under the English posts and the scores were levelled. Then, with 4 minutes to go, Lawes lost the ball in midfield and Scott Williams raced in to give Wales the only try of the match and victory by 19-12. England all but scored a try in the last moments of the match and might feel a little agrieved but, in the end, it was Wales who scored a try and just about deserved the win and the 'Triple Crown'. England, though, have nothing to be ashamed of and this is a team that is growing in stature with every match. This was the best match of the tournament so far, by miles.

On Sunday, France visited Murrayfield. Scotland started well, piling pressure on the French defence and gained their reward with a well-worked try followed by a penalty, to lead 10 - 0. The French hit back, rather against the run of play, to score a try close to the half-hour, but it was definitely Scotland that looked the better side at this point. Towards half-time, France came a bit more into it and equalised the scores with one penalty and could have taken the lead with another just before the break, following a clumsy Scottish tackle. Even so, the Scots had looked pretty good and at least a match for the Frenchies. Early in the second half the French did take the lead with yet another penalty and they also began to take a much greater part in the game. All of a sudden, Scotland won a turnover and raced away; a couple of pieces of great handling saw them score a second try to regain the lead 17 - 13 with a little under 25 minutes to go, but this was countered almost  immediately by a French breakaway and try under the posts. France continued to be put under pressure but they held firm and increased their lead to 6 points with a dropped goal with not much more than 10 minutes to go. Despite decent Scottish effort, France held on and would have extended their lead but for another missed penalty. Scotland weren't bad but the French didn't look that impressive either, just good enough.

The Championship now looks to be between France and Wales and my money is on Wales. England might well sneak third in the table, which wouldn't be a bad result given the upheavals they've experienced in recent months. The wooden spoon looks destined to be decided on the final weekend when the 2 main contenders, Scotland and Italy, meet.

Sunday 12 February 2012

SIX-NATIONS : PART 2

Week 2 of the Six-Nations is proving a mixed bag. While the conditions in Paris were bad enough to cause the postponement of the match between France and Ireland, no doubt much to the annoyance of the full-house crowd, England finally showed a bit of form in Rome.

For the first 50 minutes, Italy's clash with England looked much like the Italy-France game last week. Italy looked decent but had no cutting edge; England took a couple of opportunities and led 6 - 0 without really doing much either. Then it was all-change. Two lapses from England and the Italians had 2 tries and a 12 - 6 lead at half-time; it was all a bit weird but England were staring at a humiliating defeat.

For 10 minutes in the second half, it was as before, except that Italy extended their lead with a penalty. Then, Charlies Hodgson charged down a kick and scored a try, exactly as last week; Farrell, a find for sure, kicked the conversion and the English were back in it but, again, without really doing anything very great.

Now came the magical stroke as Coach Lancaster started making changes and England were suddenly a different side. Full of energy and invention, they began to dominate and put the home side under huge pressure. They still didn't look a particularly strong side, but they looked much better than previously and, in the end, were good value for a 19 - 15 victory. The poor old Italians tried hard but they missed a couple of very kickable penalties and simply had no penetration. Their chances of avoiding this year's wooden spoon don't look good.

As for England, they've negotiated the 2 easiest games of the tournament and won both; they now have to look forward to games against Wales, France and Ireland, in that order, and they'll have to improve a lot more if thery're not to lose all three.

Wales then took on Scotland at the Millennium Stadium. The first half followed a predictable pattern though perhaps not what I'd expecetd. Neither side was able to penetrate the other's defence and it was rather a dour affair, though a good game nonetheless. There was genuine effort and enterprise from both sides though the Scots were probably more on the back foot than the home side. As the second half progressed, things became a bit more fraught and the Welsh began to dominate; the successive dismissal of 2 Scots to the sin bin for 10 minute spells proved decisive as Wales took full advantage and gained a good lead, crossing the Scottish line 3 times. Once back to full strength, the Scots were much more of a handful and even threatened to reduce the deficit dramatically; sadly for them, the Welsh defence held out and, despite considerable pressure and one try, it ended as a 27 - 13 victory for the home side.

In the end, the Welsh were not as good as they'd appeared in week 1 and/or the Scots were better. The Scots still lacked a real cutting edge but their defence was good and they showed promise; the Welsh defence was also good and their attack was probably slightly better, but not as good as might have been thought.  Wales may have deserved their win but it was on the back of the Scots playing for 20 minutes with only 14 men; on a level playing field it would have been much closer.

Given that we have yet to see what the French and Irish can do against each other, things are pretty confused. England beat a Scottish side that performed very creditably against Wales, possibly suggesting that they may yet prove to be better than they appeared at first viewing. The Scots are certainly no mugs and the Welsh don't look as good as first thought. Quite a melting pot, as the teams prepare for the next round of matches in 2 weeks.

Friday 10 February 2012

MANAGER WANTED; SUCCESS OPTIONAL

England's football team has been a national disappointment for decades, in fact, since its one and only major triumph in 1966. Since that time, its had umpteen managers many of them proving disastrous. Now, with the departure of the unlamented Fabio Capello, the FA is again hunting for a new mug to take charge.

English fans believe that we have the best football in the world and yet they are regularly proved to be wrong. We may, or may not, have the best top division, but that is populated by a vast number of grotesquely overpaid foreigners who cannot play for England. Once these players, including the Scots, Irish and Welsh, are removed from the pool, what's left is the rump of Englishmen of whom there are usually an insufficient number to cobble together even a half decent team.

This is what the England manager is confronted with and expected to produce a world-beating side out of. His chances of success are not quite zero but the odds against him succeeding must be about the same as the milkman's horse winning the Derby. Over the years, the FA has appointed what must now be dozens of managers, almost all of whom have been greeted as being the 'right man for the job' or 'the man who can do it' or given some other moronic description; every single one has failed.

From Walter Winterbottom, who managed the team for 16 years following WW2, England has had a further 14 managers :
Alf Ramsey
Joe Mercer
Don Revie
Ron Greenwood
Bobby Robson
Graham Taylor
Terry Venables
Glenn Hoddle
Howard Wilkinson
Kevin Keegan
Peter Taylor
Sven-Goran Eriksson
Steve McClaren
Fabio Capello

Surprisingly, Capello has the best record of this bunch though one may need to question the quality and / or application of the opposition in many of the non-tournament games played. The much vaunted Bobby Robson had what was probably the poorest record, the side winning less than half the matches when he was in charge.

Since 1990, there have been 9 managers, a record that even many league sides would find embarrassing. Since 1974, the average length of tenure, excluding the 2 stand-ins, Wilkinson and Taylor, has been a little over 3 years - is this really long enough for a national team manager to work his magic, even if he is 'the right man for the job' ?

I've heard this morning that Lord Sugar has reportedly said that the job of England manager is a poisoned chalice that should be shunned by all; if this is a true comment, he couldn't be more correct. Expectations will always exceed preformance and every manager's tenure will end in failure. The morons at the FA seem to have no idea about how to run or control English football, but seem to be full of grandiose plans that rarely, if ever, come to fruition

Can they not see that appointing a manager for 3 or 4 years can never work ? Can they not see that appointing men in their 60s is idiotic ? What is needed is a younger man who can be given real time to succeed; a man who either is English or speaks English like a native; a man who knows and understands football and is more interested in the game and the team than in his own position; a man who is respected by the players and can communicate effectively with them, at all levels. 

We don't need a current superstar, we need a man who will become a superstar over a decade; who had ever heard of Alex Ferguson before he became Manchester United manager, or Arsene Wenger before he took over at Arsenal ? The trick the FA has to achieve is to find the 40-45 year old who will win us the World Cup in 2018, 2022 or 2026, starting from scratch. Forget 2014, it's a lost cause and should be used as a springboard for the next generation of players to learn and develop for later tournaments.

When the FA draws up its shortlist for the job, what's the betting it will be populated by no one less than 50 and no one who isn't a currently successful club manager ? They are so ingrained in their thinking that they cannot see beyond the ends of their collective noses and will end up picking yet another 'wrong man', while paying him a small fortune, more than enough for a very comfortable and happy retirement in 3 or 4 years time. And then we'll do it all over again.

Tuesday 7 February 2012

FINALLY, RUGBY IS BACK !

The first weekend of the 2012 6-Nations' Rugby tournament has produced nothing to frighten the horses.

France defeated a lacklustre Italy with very little effort and barely got out of second gear. The Italians started brightly enough but had none of their usual aggression either in the scrum or the tackle; they proved pretty toothless and all the French had to do was take the opportunities given to them. How good the French are will only become clear later in the tournament.

The Calcutta Cup match at Murrayfield saw an 'all-changed' England take on the Scots in another disappointing game. The Scots were all effort, but huffed and puffed to little effect; England defended well enough when called upon, but showed little imagination or penetration themselves. The match could probably have gone either way, but England had the benefit of an opportunist try when Hodgson charged down an ill-judged kick by Parks; this proved decisive in an otherwise drab match and England came away with the spoils. Neither side seems likely to challenge for the 6-Nations crown though.

The final match of the weekend was an entirely different affair. From the kick-off, Ireland and Wales showed far greater enthusiasm and determination than had been apparent in either of the first 2 games.This was a hard fought match, with the score, and the tide, see-sawing throughout. In the end, a foul tackle less than a minute from the end proved decisive as Wales' Leigh Halfpenny sent the penalty kick through the posts for his side to finally take the lead and win 23-21. It was a good rugby match and it seems certain that these sides will be the ones to challenge the French as the tournament gathers pace. Wales were, perhaps, marginally better, but the Irish have nothing to be ashamed of in their performance.

Roll on week 2.

Friday 3 February 2012

PUT FOOTBALL BACK IN ITS BOX.

Why is it that John Terry being 'stripped' of the captaincy of the England football team is considered of such importance that it is headline news ?

Being captain of a football team seems to have very little real significance these days, with every important decision being made by the manager and his assistants. Terry has previously 'lost' the captaincy for misdemeanours of some sort that I can no longer recall; whether or not he is a good captain, he has 'previous'.

It appears that being captain of the England football team carries a particular kudos and is a status to be protected both by the appointee and those who appointed him. Surely, it is the reputation of the game that needs protecting, not that of any specific player. Regardless, being captain of any national team is not quite the same as being Prime Minister; it is of very little consequence outside of the sport concerned.

I really couldn't care less who is captain of the England football team, cricket team, rugby team or marbles team; what I want to see is a team that has some ability and spirit, led by someone who truly believes in sporting principles and, preferably, has half a brain and is able to lead his or her side in a meaningful way.

Football has become a national obsession and all else has been pushed to one side. The world, in England, stops for football; every word of the England captain or manager is recorded, analyzed and repeated, ver batim, and ad nauseam. Indeed, it has become such an obsession that vast acres of the national media will be wasted on discussing the matter tomorrow.

Is it not time that we put sport back where it belongs, on the back rather than the front pages ? Sadly, our political masters seem to believe that sport is a great way to garner support and the forthcoming abomination of the Olympics is a prime example. Will the sane people ever be able to regain control of the asylum ?