The North Will Rise Again

Sure, you’re pretty so y’are.

The Northern Hemisphere's glamourpuss event rolled out over the weekend - the Heineken Cup final between Leinster and Northampton in Cardiff - and it really was a fantastic 80 minutes of rugby, deserved of all the column inches and blogshite its generated in the days since it was played.

If ever the old cliché of rugby being 'a game of two halves' could be embossed in gold, under a framed image of a single match, this was it.

The opening whistle saw ploddy huge Saints steam into the Irish, and chuck it wide ... Ben Foden returning kicks with big runs especially.  The end result was that it ended up 22-6 to Northampton at halftime. Game over.

Surely the Leinster dressing room was the setting for one of sport's most rousing half-time talks? Their riposte was to take the field for the second 40 minutes and score an unchallenged 33 points, led by fly half Charlie Sexton's personal haul of 28 points. He really did steal the mantle of the best No. 10 up there in t'North ... this was his game, like Carter stole the second Test against the 2005 Lions. Magic.

Poor old Saints just did not have any gas in the tank, and their replacement cupboard was bare. They reverted to good old fashioned English 'killing it' and cynicism I thought, with Dylan Hartley as the poster boy.

As Eddie Butler pointed out in the Guardian: Leinster have now won the HC twice in three years, Irish teams have now won four of the last six, and Ireland spanked England last time out in the Six Nations. If this Irish momentum can last through summer, and get off the plane intact, they pose a threat to Australia at RWC. They will certainly target the Wallabies with confidence now, and who could blame them? With a 10 like Sexton, BOD recovering his form, and a battery of second rowers prepared to smash away all day, they could cause an upset.

Awesome atmosphere (again) for the Heineken Cup. Constant screaming and flag waving from both sets of fans, except for almost silence when kickers are lining up shots - you could hear a pin drop over that respectful hush. Nice.

I only hope we get to see even half that sort of atmosphere recreated here for World Cup games, though with the Fun Police out already, who knows.

2011: It’s all kickin’ off!

Yep, we are underway ... and not due to all these petty Super warm ups. I'm talking about the Six Nations kicking off last weekend. Test rugby again: England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France & Italy have taken their first baby side steps for this calendar year, and giving us our first glimpse of where they just may be in terms of readiness for a RWC down under.

Friday Night Footy came to Cardiff (have I ever mentioned how much I hate Cardiff?). England showed glimpses of intent during their all too easy win over Wales by 26-19, and to be fair they deserve a teaspoon of credit for fronting up in the Millennium Stadium and getting the win. However, Wales were simply rudderless. Mike Phillips had a howler, and Stephen Jones looked to have his thinking scattered by a tackle in the opening seconds. The pack and backs never got going, and all Gatland's bluster in the weeks before just looks embarrassing now. If England could actually pass the ball with real confidence they would have won by more, but their ball skills are still way behind any of the Southern teams.

Ireland’s blushes in Rome were saved in the dying minutes by a Ronan O’Gara drop goal to win 13-11. Italy were 1 point up with minutes to go thanks to a steadily built try (by Aussie Luke McLean). The conversion was missed and soon after the wee pale pins of the recently subbed on O’Gara sunk the 3 pointer. What’s Italian for “Shite!”? Ireland were lucky ... they looked every bit a clueless & pedestrian as a two point win over the Azzurri would suggest. [Sorry, Italy ... but a wooden spoon is always handy for stirring pasta.]

Last up, France v Scotland. What would happen? Gallic flair? Hebridean pride? Or a messy, flaky mix of deep fried offal? Well, Les Bleus pulled out a class act on attack, scoring four tries (three run in, one a penalty try) to Scotland’s three, winning 34-21, and in the process purging some traumatic memories of getting mowed by the Wallabies late last year. Coach Leivremont had rejigged his backline substantially (longstanding centre Jauzion was out, and Damien Traille returned to his RWC 07 spot at fullback), and the counter attacking produced by the work of Mermoz, Medard, Traille, and new Test centre Rougerie looked like the Frenchies we love (and hate). Defence? Well, lets just reiterate that they ended up with more points than Scotland at the final whistle. I think had the Scots gone up the guts a bit more, like the play which got Sean Lamont his try, they may have turned things around. The French were too good, too quick this day, but I think that massive Scottish pack may yet prove one to watch, especially on the break.

After one round? Who knows? I can’t see a Grand Slam in the offing, or even a Triple Crown ... no one team looked complete yet, though England might be happiest. Next round they play Italy though, and this fixture has been their stumbling block to gaining real momentum in previous years.

I can't help but feel the SANZAR nations (especially us and Aussie) have an advantage this World Cup in terms of our playing calendar this time around. The Tri Nations teams get a time of year, kick-off times and even venues that are all far more familiar, while the 6N teams that have burst out of the blocks in January are surely going to have to scrape their teams back off the Premiership Beer Barons and Top 14 Telco Moguls, and organise some warm up games come August.

Naturally that means we can potentially lose someone to injury in the heat of the 3N this year, but with the spectre of rotation (hopefully) being long buried, its worth the risk to have your team truly battle hardened come September 9th this year.

Oh, and how shit is it that Sky NZ see fit to put the effing Six Nations on ESPN? The only reason I kept the bloody Rugby Channel was because last year it showed the Six Nations. ESPN? Don’t make me laugh. They cropped the picture tighter than Sonny Bill’s fringe.

Anyway, in conclusion, this past weekend I saw nothing that should worry 2011’s All Blacks.

Except Wayne Barnes with a whistle (shudder).

Tweet

Six Nations, Tony Veitch and the silly old Super 14

More rugby on both sides of the hemisphere this weekend with the six nations bringing out a list of predictable results, although still quite spicy all the same. Particularly with the Welsh getting a bit of a scare from England. The sweet chariots (am I allowed to call them that?) even outscored those tricky welsh by two tries to one! What? Old Twinkletoes Williams (although thanks KLK - I didn't see the game so didn't realise that Williams wasn't playing) getting sidestepped by Armitage? Very impressive and I’m sure that will give Warren Gatland something to chew over before next weeks’ matches.

Ireland are sounding on form although we need to keep in mind they were only playing Italy so maybe it might pay not to get too excited yet. I mean, It’s all very well to look impressive against the probably wooden spooners of the tournament.

Even though Scotland were pipped by France this weekend, I’m still picking them to upset the apple cart this tournament. Don’t ask me my logic for this – it’s just a feeling.

Meanwhile, down south and the super 14 has started triggering the usual ‘it’s too early’ cries of woe in all the national newspapers. I’m not a huge super 14 fan. This might be because my team (Hurricanes), always seem to play quite ineptly, especially considering they've got so many supposed All Blacks representing them. I wasn’t surprised to hear on Saturday that they’d been beaten by the Warratahs (again). I think poor coaching might have something to do with it although for some reason, everyone in Wellington seems to think Colin Cooper walks on water. This baffles me.

One last thing. I began to think I was going mad when I heard that Tony Veitch was being brought back to television through Murray Deaker, another grumpy old rugby fart (are there any other types on New Zealand television?). But that was just the tip of the iceberg. Veitch has also been nominated in New Zealand’s media awards for top sports presenter! I guess all this goes to prove (not that we needed it proven anyway) that the New Zealand media is right down there at the bottom of the dung pile of world television. If you’ve never heard of Tony Veitch – lucky you. If you have– here’s an article from the Dropkicks site that sums up my feelings too.

Ireland down, Doug Howlett's Munster to go

It was another good day at the office for the All Blacks when they took on Ireland at the magical Croke park on Saturday night.

Not such a great night for Ireland who had hyped the game up quite considerably beforehand - which is not surprising as the talk-ups between test matches - particularly in the NH - seem to be part and parcel of tests nowadays.

Unlike the rest of the critical New Zealand rugby public, I thought the All Blacks showed a lot of heart. To restrict both Scotland and Ireland to tryless final scores says a lot about this team’s excellent defensive structure. And the backline looks exciting when it gets a bit of space.

Star player for me was Ma’a Nonu who made Brian O’Driscoll and co look ordinary. An easy looking fend flicked O’Gara into a green heap at one stage and the Wellington man ran some great lines – especially leading up to try he built with Joe Rokocoko.

New Zealand was a bit selfish when it came to releasing the ball. Particularly – and surprisingly – from Mils Muliaina. There were at least three passes that he didn’t release on potential overlaps and I’d like to think that will be picked up by the coaches and remedied come Cardiff. There’s no "I" in team Mils!

Meanwhile the All Blacks prepare for a midweek test against Doug Howlett’s Munster. Whether the Munster men will turn in a haka to challenge the Abs is anyone’s guess. I hope they do – it will make a good spectacle.

Highlights of the weekend

The polite Irish crowd remaining silent during the penalities - unlike us uncouth colonials who heckle and boo to our hearts content when the opposition kick for goal.

Australia taking it to England’s forward pack. Dingo Deans must be laughing smugly after the way the British media has harranged the Aussie scrum.

Lowlights

Ireland’s lack of guile, often getting pinged for offences when they were right in front of the ref. What was up with that?

Ireland taking up to five minutes to come onto the pitch before each half - keeping the crowd, the world and the other team waiting. Maybe a little prima donna-ish perhaps boys?

Rugby World Cup: Ireland pasted by triumphant France

France 25 - Ireland 3

It seems the luck of the Irish has finally run out. In a lacklustre display against a hungry French team they were reduced to just three points off a Ronan O'Gara drop goal. From here, it was bleak for Brian O'Driscoll's men. The big question is who is the most disappointing of the Super 6 in the Northern Hemisphere? England or Ireland? And was France that good or was it just that Ireland were completely abysmal?

Back again tomorrow for match analysis of South Africa V Tonga and England V Samoa. My heart says PI but my head thinks England can't play worse than last week and the South Africans are hitting gears like there's no tomorrow. We shall see.

For now now, I leave you with a scrumbag exclusive and the Wallabies ploy for derailing an All Black campaign (if either team makes it as far as a semi, that is). Ka kite.

Ireland 32 – Namibia 17

I was pleasantly surprised to receive a couple of lovely comments from a generous person (I have a suspicion s/he may be from Ireland) in my inbox today. He was inspired to leave some highly original remarks about New Zealand being a nation of sheepshaggers in reply to a couple of my recent posts implying that the Irish rugby team were on the decline. Well my dear friend ‘Muttoneater’, I’m afraid to say that after Ireland’s average performance against an impassioned Namibia side today, it appears my gloomy comments about your team may have some element of truth in them.

Eddie O’Sullivan and his men need to do something and fast to pick up their World Cup campaign as it looks very much at this stage on current form that they are the main contenders for elimination in Pool D –before the quarter finals even kick off. I hope this is not the case. I am a huge fan of the Irish and would hate to see them out of the competition, especially considering they have been one of the top teams in world rugby for the last few years.

Rugby World Cup Blogwatch: 3 Days To Go

The quiet before the storm. As office workers world wide start rolling out their Rugby World Cup sweepstakes, the traditional pre-match rugby reports start trawling out with the same old mundane rugby ‘news’ when there isn’t any rugby to watch:

Robinson and Wilkinson injured … again. Who will be the centre All Black pairing? The All Blacks resort to astrology and technology to end their twenty year curse. The English, Scottish and Azzurri are all hopeful. The French even more so; and the Portuguese not at all. The Cherry Blossoms (a most unrugby name for a team if ever there was one) are quaking in their boots about their first match with the Wallabies. The Tongan rugby team have shocked Bournemouth locals with the amount of food consumed during a gentle pub lunch. Steven Larkham doesn’t have a home to go now that Edinburgh has been bought out (and is rather worried). Plus, the Springboks are threatening to unleash a haka of their own (the mind truly boggles).

In the blogosphere, MiramarMike continues with a great blogwatch round up (which I have shamelessly drawn inspiration from). Total Flanker surmises that the Canterbury rugby brand is a lucky one and the Irish, Wallabies, Scottish and Springboks should have it over the lycra clad pretty boys with their scientifically enhanced shirts, sweaty ions and all (even if the Canterbury brand does mean those hardened Aussies and South Africans are wearing kiwis on their chests). Allez les Noir – my pals in the action have a good list of World Cup songs (particularly if you’re an All Black supporter) to get everyone in the spirit.

Roll on Saturday.

Are the wheels coming off the Irish Wagon before the Rugby World Cup?

Ireland 23 - Italy 20

How can this be? Was this the luck of the Irish coming into play? Ireland dubiously won against a fired up Italy in the dying minutes of Saturday’s ‘friendly’. Some parts of the British media are saying the Azzuri may feel aggrieved the TMO Derek Bevan awarded Ronan O’Gara a fumbled try off an alleged forward pass as the clock ran into full time.

Eddie O’Sullivan must be slightly worried that without Brian O’Driscoll, the Irish team appear to be faltering on the home straight – just under two weeks now before the Rugby World Cup kicks off. The Italians shunted the Irish pack around the field, had superior defence and disrupted a disjointed Irish backline (missing the centre magic). In what was expected to be a walkover, the Irish stumbled but didn’t strive against the underrated Italians.

Some are saying Ireland’s weak showing in these build up games is a blessing, because resting on their laurels they will not be when the crunch games kick off next month. I think they have reason to panic. Without BOD they are looking increasingly one dimensional and Eddie O’Sullivan and co must consider themselves lucky to get away with this win over the weekend.