Peace and Disharmony

Hurray! News is slowly filtering in about peace coming through from Wales. The Welsh Regions and the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) are close to finalising their participation agreement for the foreseeable future, and with the Guinness Pro12 due to start in a week's time, I imagine that everyone will be breathing a sigh of relief. Some will say the accord has come too late, with some of Wales' biggest stars leaving for more stable opportunities in France and England over the last two years, but with the World Cup just over a year away, there's no better time than the present.
Details are still thin on what the agreement has come to, but the gist of the whispers are about contracts and playing times. Specifically, the introduction of duel registration between club and country, and the agreement to release the Welsh national players for tests outside of the IRB test window. The duel registration suggestion appears to be modelled after the agreement the Premiership holds with the Championship in England, where the parent club (e.g. Northampton or Saracens) loans the player to the other club (e.g. Mosley or Bedford) who then pay the salaries, with top ups from the parent. As a result, the parent club has some say over when the player plays. They cannot force the player into the match day squad, but they can withdraw the player to come back home to play for them instead. It works in England to strengthen players on the fringe of making the Premiership and develops their skills. Indeed, it's worked brilliantly for players like Marland Yarde and Mako Vunipola. The provision that seems to be written into the Welsh structure though can stop a player from playing at all for the club, even when the national team isn't playing. This has annoyed the regions in the past, hence the stubborn refusal to play any centrally contracted players and the reason Sam Warburton has not played for Cardiff during the pre-season friendlies. Would the Welsh be better to emulate the Irish structure which has worked fantastically well for the Provinces and the Irish Rugby Union over the professional era? For those who are unsure about what the Irish do, here's the basics.
The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) set down guidelines for each of the provinces, which changed in 2013. The provinces of Ulster, Leinster and Munster are allowed one player per playing position (total 15) that is not Irish qualified. The rest of their squads must be qualified to play for Ireland, or be potentially allowed to play for Ireland by being uncapped by any other nation. Further, any injury replacements  must be eligible to play for Ireland. This allows for the constant development of Irish talent in the provinces, particularly in key positions, like the front row, and means that players all have a chance of making the Irish national team. The most important aspect, though, is that all players in all provinces are centrally contracted to the IRFU. Now, as for why Connacht is exempt from the foreign player policy, my guess would be that historically, Connacht has been used as a breeding and blooding ground for Irish players who are then snapped up into the other three provinces. They therefore would need more positional cover and would need to look outside of Ireland to fill their squads. However, the structure for the Irish provinces and the Irish national side is hugely positive, and that is because the IRFU and the provinces work together, under a single umbrella marked "Irish Rugby."
If the Welsh Regions were ever able to work together with the WRU, they could have had a very similar structure to the Irish and therefore kept most of their recently emigrated players out of England and France. But sadly, they have been at loggerheads for so long now, any peace at all would be a huge relief. Perhaps the biggest restraint the Welsh have put on themselves is the salary cap. None of the other nations in the Pro12 have a salary cap, or at least one that is made public, and this, I think, is a reason why the central contracts annoyed the regions so much. They couldn't afford to keep their stars from leaving, and with the Union waving their cheque books around, but only targeting six players, it would have grated against anyone who is trying to run a business. Hopefully though, we should see something come of the year long spat, and we can finally put it all to rest.
Now, the disharmony. Reports have come out from various sources saying that the Premiership will play on during the World Cup in England next year if the Premiership clubs are not compensated for the time the clubs are shut during the tournament. Premiership Rugby have asked for £14 million from the Rugby Football Union (RFU), to be divided between the twelve clubs in the Premiership at £1.2 million each. The RFU have responded with a reported offer, as published in The Rugby Paper, of £6 million. Now, this has all come about because the IRB and the RFU did not consult with Premiership Rugby over the bid for the World Cup. Is it just me, or is this all a bit ridiculous?
The IRB guidelines state that no elite club rugby will be played during a World Cup, in a bid to make the World Cup itself the biggest rugby showcase being played. And damn right, it should be. The Saracen's chairman, Nigel Wray, has said that "There is no question that we would ever stop a young man playing for his country in a World Cup but what the RFU shouldn't do is take advantage of that fact." This is a good point, but it seems to be making things awkward for the players. Because whilst they're away on international duty, if summoned by their respective countries, the squads left behind are weakened. Nowadays, this isn't as much of a problem, as some squads are so rich in depth with academy players, they can support two teams. But if we look at Northampton as an example, and use last years Elite Playing Squads as a guideline, we will see that a squad of 42 players, academy included, at a minimum 13 of them will be called into their country's team, with at least four others on the injury shortlist. This would make the Premisership so much less of an inviting prospect whilst the World Cup is going on, with thousands of fans already booking their tickets for the big event. Three of the pitches regularly used in the Premiership are being used to host international games (Sandy Park, Kingsholm and Twickenham) and how will the fans feel if, whilst at the Stoop, for example, they can hear the roar of Twickenham with England playing against Australia or Wales?
There are three possible solutions, as I see it.

1. The RFU pays the Premiership what they want, there's some harmony, with undertones of annoyance, everyone gets on with what they're doing.
2. The RFU refuses to pay the compensation and the Premiership goes ahead. Audiences will be lower, and when the RFU comes to address the new agreement with the Premiership, nobody is particularly happy with the other party.
3. (And this is my suggestion) The RFU and the Premiership compromise. If the RFU are unwilling to pay the full amount, then the Premiership supports the compensation given by the RFU with the LV cup, which is played during the week. 

Now, from my point of view, I'd say option three is the best option. And I realise how it sounds, seeing as I've just thought of it, but bare with me. The LV cup is a great way of getting the younger players experienced at playing fully competitive rugby, and by playing it during the week, Monday to Thursday, there is a great opportunity for the RFU, Premiership Rugby, the WRU and Regional Rugby Wales to make some more money. The World Cup matches are being played on Fridays, Saturdays and Sunday. So why not offer the rugby mad fans of the world something they all want to watch? More rugby! People are flying into this small island nation to watch the greatest game on earth being played in its native land. They're going to places like Cardiff, Exeter, Gloucester, Leicester and London, places which are steeped in rugby history. Even Birmingham and Milton Keynes is only a short drive or train journey to Northampton or Barnet. These people are here for rugby. So give them rugby. Give them a taste of Premiership standard rugby, at a discounted price, and let them see some derbies. Ok, there may need to be some fixture adjustments, but if you could arrange to see a Bath v Gloucester game at Kingsholm, wouldn't you want to stay in Gloucester a couple more days?  Or a Northampton vs Leicester game at Welford Road or Franklins Gardens? We broadcast these fixtures across the world, and now we could use the fact that people from across the world are here, in England, and they want to watch rugby. They will feed into the local economy, support the clubs, perhaps even arrange buses to take them on a tour of London to see the four London clubs play at home. It can be done, and frankly, it should be. Then we can all come to the table in 2016 happy and ready to do some sort of deal.

Media and Sport

This one is a bit of a moan, so bare with me if you are a regular reader and like my opinions on rugby. This is more of a look at the media surrounding the sport, with some rugby thrown in for good measure. 

This summer we have seen four events where England has competed in an international tournament. The Football World Cup, the Women's Rugby World Cup, the U20's Rugby World Cup and the Commonwealth Games. This isn't a dig at the Commonwealth Games, by the way. In fact, after this paragraph, I probably wont mention it again. Whilst I only watched the 7's, I still appreciate what an event it is, and how well the athletes all performed, and well done to England for coming top of the medal's table.

Now, back to the ball sports. My main complaints about the media relationship with rugby at the moment is there simply isn't enough of it. It's on the increase, I grant you, what with blogs coming up here, there, and everywhere, and other online formats coming into contention. But in the Sunday paper, (The Time's, if you're wondering) I was somewhat appalled to see what a relatively minute coverage of the Women's World Cup final being played that evening. Just one double page spread, and even that could've been purely on one page, had it not been for the short column about the Rugby Championship, and padded out with little articles about golf and cricket. Now, at this time of year, I don't mind seeing golf, tennis and cricket taking up several pages in the sports section. That's fine, it's their turn, we have the rest of the year. But even in the off season, we see feet of information and interviews about football. I can't really say inches, since it betrays the enormity of the thing. That's just not right. I appreciate the season was about to start, so that may have added to it. But I can pretty much guarantee that on the 31st of August, I wont open my paper to find a 6 page spread of a preview of the Premiership. Two, maybe. Three or four, if we're lucky. 

I appreciate that rugby is less popular in England than football, and that its players are less in the limelight than their footballing counterparts, but seeing such a miserly coverage of a World Cup final, whatever the sport, is just not right. Now, since England's ladies won on Sunday, and a hearty congratulations to them, there has been an increase in the media coverage, if anything, just to interview the players and find out more about what's going on. Great, it's what they deserve, and these women aren't even professional athletes. Unlike the Olympians, or men's rugby players, there is no professional league. Not yet anyway. I suspect that a murmur may be spreading through Twickenham to at least trial a semi-professional league for our women, and I hope we see that happening in the next few years. 

But my point, if there is one more I can make, is that English rugby teams are the most successful in their respective sports. I'm not talking about the Premiership vs Premier League, that wouldn't be a fair fight. I'm talking about the National sides. Ok, I'm being unfair to cricket. If we look at the rankings, our cricketers have risen to third in the rankings after their victory over India last weekend, and well done to those boys. England's men are 4th, and there may be some who say "well they still lost all their tests this summer." Yes, against the best team in the world! In their own back garden! Sorry, back on track. As I said earlier, we had three World Cup events this year. The Women's and the U20 rugby cups were won by England, both of them for the second time, and for the U20's in as many years. In fact, just once have the U20's failed to make the final four and the Women have NEVER failed to get that far. And who remembers the last time the footballers lifted the Cup? Yes, 1966. A team who are currently ranked 20th in the world and have floods of money being thrown at them. I'm sure you know how well they did in the last World Cup.

The ramblings of one person will hardly make much of a difference, but I hope I have made my point. Had the English footballers made the World Cup semifinals, there would have been countless pages of newspaper printed with profiles of every single player in the squad, with their career from foetus to man. The Women's team are the Champions of the world and are rightfully being praised for their achievements. Well done, ladies. You've done us all proud.

To end on a lighter note, congratulations to James Haskell for getting the captains armband for Wasps this coming season. Another strong leader and hopefully a strong season for them. 

Lancaster's England - 55 men into 33 slots

This week, the men in white were summoned to Loughborough for a four day training camp so that Stuart Lancaster and his coaching staff could look over their squad and assess where they were in terms of their fitness, and generally to boost morale. I was actually in Loughborough on Sunday, and spoke to a few of the players about what was going on, but as it was the first day and most had just arrived, there wasn't really anything to tell. 55 fine English men made the journey to the training camp, which many expected to be the last before Lancaster selected his England and Saxon's squads. However, Premiership Rugby, the Premiership clubs and the RFU have allowed Lancaster to leave his selection until October, allowing for early season form and any (hopefully none) injuries. Below, I've listed the players that attended the camp.

Loose-head props
Alex Corbisiero (Northampton)
Joe Marler (Harlequins)
Matt Mullan (Wasps)
Mako Vunipola (Saracens)

Hookers
Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter)
Dylan Hartley (Northampton)
Rob Webber (Bath)
Tom Youngs (Leicester)

Tight-head Props
Kieran Brookes (Newcastle)
Henry Thomas (Bath)
David Wilson (Bath)

Locks
Dave Attwood (Bath)
Joe Launchbury (Wasps)
Courtney Lawes (Northampton)
Geoff Parling (Leicester)
Ed Slater (Leicester)

Back rows
Calum Clark (Northampton)
Tom Croft (Leicester)
Will Fraser (Saracens)
James Haskell (Wasps)
Tom Johnson (Exeter)
Matt Kvesic (Gloucester)
Ben Morgan (Gloucester)
Chris Robshaw (Harlequins)
Billy in Vunipol (Saracens)
Tom Wood (Northampton)
Jackson Wray (Saracens)

Scrum-halves
Danny Care (Harlequins)
Lee Dickson (Northampton)
Richard Wigglesworth (Saracens)
Ben Youngs (Leicester)

Fly-halves
Freddie Burns (Leicester)
Danny Cipriani (Sale)
Owen Farrell (Saracens)
George Ford (Bath)
Stephen Myler (Northampton)
Henry Slade (Exeter)

Centres
Anthony Allen (Leicester)
Brad Barritt (Saracens)
Luther Burrell (Northampton)
Kyle Eastmond (Bath)
Jonathan Joseph (Bath)
Henry Trinder (Gloucester)
Manu Tuilagi (Leicester)
Billy Twelvetrees (Gloucester)

Back-threes
Chris Ashton (Saracens)
Mike Brown (Harlequins)
Ben Foden (Northampton)
Alex Goode (Saracens)
Jonny May (Gloucester)
Jack Nowell (Exeter)
Chris Pennell (Worcester)
Marland Yarde (Harlequins)
Christian Wade (Wasps)
Anthony Watson (Bath)

Injured
Dan Cole (Leicester)
Sam Dickinson (Northampton)
Ollie Devoto (Bath)

Looking at this squad, there will be some names that we would immediately ink into our team sheets. Chris Robshaw and Tom Wood have been there in every test for the last couple of years, aside from when the former was rested last summer, and the later was caught up with the Premiership Final. Both of them are fantastic leaders of the squad and are constantly making nuisances of themselves in the loose. You wouldn't want either of them out of the starting XV, with the level of commitment they put in every game, but with Tom Croft now back in contention, there will be competition for the starting flanker shirts. One option they do have is to play Wood at 8 with Croft in his usual 6, but that would mean exchanging with Vunipola or Morgan. In New Zealand, Morgan played better than Vunipola, but he also had an extra test to get back into the rhythm and Vunipola was recovering from a seemingly minor injury in the final. Croft needs to prove himself fit and ready, since he is seriously lacking in game time from the last two seasons with his neck injury then his knee blow out just minutes into the new season following a second Lions tour. Haskell is another man willing to go above and beyond for his team, and I do hope that we see him in an England shirt again this season. Matt Kvesic is the last man to consider. His season at Gloucester was unfortunately not what we expected when he switched from Worcester, and especially after the performances he put in in Argentina. We shall have to see if he, along with Morgan, can rise again at Gloucester with the new forward dominated signings.
The other inked in name that many would have considered would be Mike Brown, who had a phenomenal season for both club and country, but he was outclassed in the third test by Ben Smith and looked a little tired towards the end of the year. Who can blame him for his dedication throughout the year? I expect with some rest, he will be back with a vengeance in the Premiership, clearing Ben Foden, Alex Goode and Chris Pennell from his shirt. Stuart Barnes said in the midweek clash against the Crusaders that if Foden was to continue with an international career, he may have to consider a swap to the wing, and with the fantastic try he scored in the seventh minute, you might have thought the same.
Speaking of wings, this is a wide open field. Two slots, six wingers, and three full backs who can play on the wing. If we were to go purely offensively, the obvious choices would be Yarde or May, and Wade on the opposite side. These three are among the fastest of the Premiership, and Wade will be desperate to prove himself after a long lay off from injury. Yarde will be hoping to keep his shirt from the contest of May, and some of the lines he ran in the test series were sublime. I suspect though that Yarde and May will have interesting starts to their season, with Yarde changing clubs to Harlequins, and May with all the changes at Gloucester hopefully getting him onto the front foot to let his pace out. Defensively, I would consider Foden and Yarde. Yarde's bulk means he is more stable to tackle the big runners from the Southern Hemisphere, and Foden is used to making a nuisance of himself as a full back, meaning he can read the plays as well as the best of them. It also means if Brown goes on one of his barn storming runs, you have the covering support without drawing the fly half out of position.
Moving inside, we come to the centres. Let me start this off by saying, Tuilagi is a centre. Not a winger. The experiment wasn't a total failure, but it wasn't such an success that it warrants a repeat. The centre partnership of Burrell and Tuilagi in the third test improved the English defense against the All Blacks, but I think that Eastmond was unfairly targeted as a scapegoat for the faults in the defense. The whole third test was set off from an awkward start from Burns, and with Burrell coming on after halftime, the team settled to how they were in the first two tests, unfortunately after the damage had been done. The autumn combination was Twelvetrees and the now returned to League Joel Tomkins. The Six Nations showed Twelvetrees and Burrell being massively superior. Then the tour showed three different centre partnerships: Eastmond and Tuilagi; Eastmond and Burrell; and Burrell and Tuilagi. We've seen Twelvetrees and Tuilagi play together before, and with Lancaster's preference for selecting a second playmaker as his inside man, I doubt we'll see many more new combinations before the end of the season. This is, of course, not allowing for injuries.
Now we step into the complicated world of the half backs. Danny Care and Owen Farrell were cemented in from the Six Nations, with only the Premiership Final (Farrell) and an apparently hilarious shoulder injury (Care) stopping them from playing in the whole test series. Lee Dickson had early season form last year, which led him to start all three of the Autumn tests. Care came into strong form later in the season, and Youngs grew stronger after recovering from an injury on the Lions tour. Richard Wigglesworth has been Mr Consistent for Saracens this year, but he hasn't been able to transfer that form to the England squad and is fourth on the scrum half list. Care spoke out this week about there not being any consistency with the half backs and the combinations not yet having been figured out fully. Farrell is the starting fly half, and has been for a couple of years now, except when injury hasn't allowed. Now his shirt is under threat from two youngsters and two older gentlemen. Cipriani showed that he was ready to come back into the England set up, following a fantastic season with Sale, and contested well for his shot in the test series. Ford and Burns have so much potential, but last year, Ford might have overtaken Burns in the pecking order. The Golden Boot award probably would have helped, and with Burns unsure of his place for the new season (despite everyone knowing where he was going) he struggled for form at Gloucester. And then there's Myler. The Northampton favourite and the man of the match for both finals last year. He was arguably the best fly half in the Premiership last year, and for an injury in the midseason, probably would have gotten the Golden Boot from Ford.  Henry Slade is also involved but I suspect he will be looking to work his way up from the Saxons, with so many obstacles in his way. He is young, so we shall have to wait and see. In terms of getting the 9 and 10 shirts against the All Blacks in November though. Well, I suspect that, baring any injury, ban or dramatic loss of form, we will see Care and Farrell back in their shirts at HQ. As for the 21 and 22 shirts, well your guess is as good as mine. I know who I'd like to see there, but so much depends on the start of the season. As I've written before in my Pre-season preview, Burns needs to take his chance to cement his shirt at Leicester whilst Owen Williams takes his ban. His combination with Youngs will be crucial for both of them to get the shirts for the bench. Similarly, Dickson and Myler will restart their long standing partnership at Northampton, and I reckon, if they, along with Burrell, play as a unit, there will be overwhelming evidence to get the three of them set as a unit in the England squad.
Second row is a hotly contested area. In a match day 23, there is usually three second row players, and in Lancaster's overall squad, there is room for four or five, depending on how he arranges his back row. So lets start with the main three. The ones everyone predicts will be in the squad. Courtney Lawes, Geoff Parling, Joe Launchbury. In the absence of Parling, Lawes took over lineout callers, presumably taking lessons from one of the best, Christian Day, at Northampton, and helped by having to call at a domestic level as well. More convenient was the selection of Dylan Hartley at hooker, so the club axis kept its strength. Launchbury is a warrior, who will fight fiercely at breakdowns, and at scrums to secure the ball for his team. Parling has been recognised by the Lions, and is a strong leader of men. It's very easy to interchange these three players, despite having such a difference in playing style. Lawes has stood out this past year as having matured and developed from his usual "Hulk Smash" approach. Don't misunderstand, he still has the in club competition with Samu Manoa to get the big hits in. (Incidentally, if you want to watch some of these hits, you can watch them here.) But the timing of his hits, and his linespeed are enough to panic any flyhalf who doesn't get the ball away quickly enough, or who's scrum half has passed it too slowly. Launchbury is a steady workhorse who very rarely lets his teammates down and Parling is a clever man, reads plays well and contests strongly at lineouts. These three work strongly together, and the advantage of having all three in the squad is Lawes and Launchbury can both play in the back row, so they can cover for injuries to Wood, Robshaw or Morgan. I feel sorry for Attwood and Slater. Both men work incredibly hard in their respective teams, and over the last season, they have proven to be dependable. But as credit in the bank is always helpful, the other three men have so much that it would be expected to see them playing again for England this year.
To the front rows, a position I know little about playing in, but one which causes so much discussion between referees, players and general punters. There is little discussion over who is the best loose-head prop in England, and it narrows down to Alex Corbisiero and Joe Marler. Of those two, the Lions prop has the advantage, but he has had such injury issues over the last two years, he needs to have a clean season to get himself back into the starting shirt. And he has to do it whilst looking over his shoulder at a challenger domestically and, potentially, internationally: Alex Waller. The young match winning try scorer has proven over the last year that he is able to scrum with the best of them. He, with Mike Haywood and Salisi Ma'afu, demolished an Ospreys scrum full of Lions tourists. So the pressure is on for him at home, and Joe Marler now has the added weight of captaincy at Harlequins. Mako Vunipola is a good player, but he's not as strong a scrummager as his two comrades. Matt Mullan is an up-and-comer, getting ready to pounce should his senior colleagues fall to into slumps of form or suffers injury. He's got experience now of touring with the test side, and he has the full confidence of Dai Young. Back to Waller briefly. His Saxons and stint in the England shirt against the Crusaders will see him boosted in confidence, and the fact he's had so much first team experience for Northampton last year means he will be ready to take the challenge to Corbisiero. He himself though has another challenger, his younger brother Ethan. There is one thing that may soothe his mind and that is the rumoured attempt to switch Ethan to the tight-head shirt. It's only a rumour, but I'd like to see it come about.
So over we go, to the tight-heads. Only three selected, and this is the one position where Lancaster has a very narrow selection. His best option, in Dan Cole, is injured, and out for the foreseeable. Leaving three. David Wilson, Henry Thomas and Kieran Brookes. Two of the three are now plying their trade at Bath, so the challenge will be for them to get the starting shirt at the Rec. Newcastle will play Brookes whenever he is fit and able, so that means Mike Ford will need to rotate Wilson and Thomas to allow Lancaster to see both of them as frequently as he might like. Lancaster's other tight-head options, for those who are interested, are:
Scott Wilson (Newcastle)
Paul Doran-Jones (Harlequins)
Will Collier (Harlequins)
Tom Mercy (Northampton)
Gareth Denman (Northampton)
Of these five, the most likely to be called up is Wilson. He already has Saxons experience, and at the age of 19, is a very strong long term prospect. Mercy would be next on the list, what with his recent stint at Saxons level this February, but he plays currently second fiddle to Ma'afu, with Denman behind him. I'd still reckon Cole would rapidly return to the England set up once he recovers from his neck injury, but Wilson was jumped back in in the Six Nations, so I would expect him to start above Brookes or Thomas.
At last we come to the hookers. Dylan Hartley is the first name on the list, and has redeemed himself marvellously after his ban at the beginning of the season. He thrived under the pressure of potential exclusion from England's set up, and has settled as the number one quite nicely. Tom Youngs is often thought of as as good as Hartley, certainly by Richard Cockerill, but his biggest flaw is his lineout throwing. He is far less successful than his two main rivals, and it's a flaw that needs to be sorted. Rob Webber is the bigger challenger for the England shirt, having shown his skills admirably in New Zealand. He was also the first choice hooker in Argentina and selected as Captain against the Barbarians at Twickenham before the test series against the Pumas. Cowan-Dickie is still improving, but improving fast at Exeter. His youth will be his advantage as he goes into the internationals. Plenty of time to get himself test ready and keep within the England camp to learn the ways.

So there we are. A long pondering look at the 55 Englishmen who took part in Lancaster's training camp. Below, I have compiled the players likely to be selected into the Elite Players Squad in October. Those in red are the suspected match day 23 based on history, and assuming that there's no injuries between now and November.

Loose-head	Hooker	Tight-head	Lock
Corbisiero	Hartley	Wilson	Lawes
Marler	T. Youngs	Thomas	Launchbury
M. Vunipola	Webber	Brookes	Parling
			Attwood
Flankers	No 8	Scrum half	Fly half
Robshaw ©	Morgan	Care	Farrell
Wood	B. Vunipola	Dickson	Ford
Croft		B. Youngs	Burns
Haskell
Centres	Wing	Full Back
Tuilagi	Wade	Brown
Burrell	Yard	Foden
Twelvetrees	May	Goode
Eastmond

Whilst I have you though, the Saxons. The problem with the Saxons is that they never get any game time. It also means that players on the cusp of making the England squad, like Kvesic and Myler, are chosen instead of players who are fighting for a starting place like Haskell or Eastmond. So there does need to be a change to how the Saxon players are selected, rather than releasing the EPS players back to their clubs. The other thing that needs to change is the game time the Saxons get. There is only two games on the Saxon calendar. Both in February against Scotland A and the Irish Wolfhounds. Wales did have a second string, but they've since demolished that squad. So here is my suggestion for games for the Saxons. Invite the Maori All Blacks and the Barbarians to play the Saxons during the Autumn internationals, as double headers with the first two tests. That way, Lancaster can look at more of his squad in depth, and keep them match fit for the possibility of an injury. Then suggest to the IRFU and the SRFU that the Wolfhounds, Saxons and Scotland A play home and away during the Six Nations. Failing that, take the Saxons on tour. Play the Premiership clubs, or the Irish provinces or the Welsh regions during the LV cup weekends. Give them a purpose again, and let them play more frequently, lest they not reach their potential. Still, we look forward to seeing the men in white again, but in their club colours. Good luck to all!

European Champions Cup - Fixtures and Feelings

And so the light of day dawns on a new competition. At 2pm (BST) on Thursday, the fixtures for the European Champions and European Challenge cups will be announced. Earlier today (Tuesday), Twickenham was announced as the venue for the finals. There was talk early on of the finals of this inaugural tournament being held in Italy, long overdue, but actually I'd struggle to think of many who would object to going to London for finals day. Well, alright, I imagine that the other five unions might be slightly miffed, but I suspect the overwhelming sense of  using the home of rugby to finish the tournament may have weighed in heavily. Particularly with the overwhelming force of the English clubs in the formation of this tournament, and the imminent World Cup. I look forward to heading to Twickenham at the beginning of May, but before we get there, we have six rounds of knock out rugby to come. The best way to look at this is pool by pool, so here we go!

European Rugby Challenge Cup
Pool 1
Cardiff Blues
London Irish
Genoble
Rugby Europe 1

A new feature of the European Challenge Cup is the introduction of teams who qualify from a third tier competition, supposedly played during September. These two teams will take their place in pools 1 and 3, and may hail from Italy, Romania, Georgia, Spain or Belgium. In their debut season, I don't suspect the new additions to win through their pool stages, but not knowing anything about them yet, it's unfair to rule them out completely. Remember when Saracens had the shock in Connacht last year? Stranger things have happened, and we may be pleasantly surprised. In the past, the five winners of each pool qualified, and the 9th, 10th and 11th placed Heineken cup teams dropped down for the knock out stages. This year, with such and emphasis on meritocracy, I hope that we will see a change in what is familiar. All will be revealed on Thursday, but I hope that we will see the top 8 from this competition going through to knock out stages. If that is the case, I will say that Pool 1 will have a duel qualification of the Blues and the Exiles. If we are sticking to the old ways, then I would say London Irish will just be edged out by the Blues, the difference being the artificial pitch at the Arms Park, giving consistency for their home games, even if the traditional Welsh weather kicks in.

Pool 2
Exeter Chiefs
Bayonne
Connacht 
La Rochelle 

This is an unfortunately straightforward pool. Exeter, by a long way, are the favourites to push through. One of the strongest clubs to have been placed in this competition, and I can't see the Sandy Park faithful letting their boys down. The LV cup winners will back themselves all the way, with the expected resistance from Bayonne and Connacht. The later two have both had Heineken cup experience in recent years, but Exeter have really come along in recent years. Bayonne and Connacht will fight each other all the way to get second place, but I can only a single qualifier from this pool. At a push, I'd say that Connacht would just edge out on the Bayonne boys, but it would only be by a bonus point here or there.

Pool 3
Stade Français
Newcastle Falcons
Newport Qwent Dragons
Rugby Europe 2

This is the toughest pool to predict. Stade Français fought with Wasps in the play off spot at the end of last season, only to have the home leg leading to their ultimate demise. Still, 7th place in the Top 14 is no laughing matter. Newcastle will have their new home pitch and the experience of the newly arrived Tuilagi brothers to build their fortress. Newport will be out to prove themselves as actual contenders this year, and will fight all the way. Our second unnamed European team will also want to prove themselves worthy of contention, but I would still wager that this is another pool of duel qualification. Stade will lead the way, with Newcastle close behind them, I suspect each winning the home leg against the other. Newport will fight hard, but I fear in vain.

Pool 4
London Welsh
Edinburgh
Bordeaux 
Lyon

This is a tricky one, since I know very little about each of these squads and how well they contest. London Welsh is a mystery for everyone, with twenty five, (yes, twenty five), new players in position to contest for shirts. Edinburgh will be looking to restore some reputation and pride after a poor few years, but will ultimately have their Heineken Cup experience to fall back on. Bordeaux and Lyon both had relatively poor seasons last year, and will be desperate to gain some ground on their counterparts in the Top 14. French clubs are always a mystery, and the old cliché of not knowing which team will show up is unfortunately based on fact. With everything in consideration, I would say our final duel qualification pool will finish with Edinburgh and London Welsh on top, with the Exiles marginally ahead.

Pool 5
Zebre
Gloucester
Brive
Oyonnax

Finally, Pool 5. Based on recent history, Zebre should be the forerunners for this pool, what with their Heineken Cup experience and their desire to not seem as the last men standing. However, the Cherry and Whites will absolutely dominate here. Like Bath did last season, Gloucester will forge ahead and thrive in this new competition, perhaps using it as a launch pad for confidence when their Premiership form dips slightly, or if they hit a bad streak. They will need the confidence for their new coaching staff and players to truly challenge for a place in Europe's top table next year.

European Rugby Champions Cup
Pool 1
Clermont
Saracens
Munster
Sale

So our first pool is the traditional "Pool of Death." Unusually, we appear to have three "Pools of Death" but that's the meritocracy coming into effect. Pool 1 hosts the beaten finalists from the Premiership and Top 14, Saracens and Clermont, who will square up in a mouthwatering clash as they did in May in the semi finals. Hopefully for Clermont, they will avoid the defeat they had last season, and push Saracens further. Munster will be looking to reassert Irish dominance in Europe, and they will want to set a big red stamp on the contest, whilst avoiding the big red stamp of Saracens. This pool will be the toughest for anyone, and I feel sorry for Sale. Newly back in the top table, and they've been drawn into this pool. Don't get me wrong, on their day, Sale will tangle with the best of them, and they may even win one or two matches, but I can't help but feel Saracens and Clermont will be fighting tooth and nail for dominance in this group, Munster not far behind them. Our double qualifiers probably wont come from this pool, and I would just edge Saracens to take the top seat.

Pool 2
Harlequins
Leinster
Castres
Wasps

"Pool of Death" number 2, though this one is not quite as vicious as the previous one. Leinster stand out as the clear forerunners, having won the Pro 12 last season. However, with Harlequins keen to take a stand as a true contender for silverware again, I would see them push the Boys in Blue all the way. Wasps and Castres are by no way the pushovers we might believe. The former champions of their respective leagues have pushed their way back into contention, Wasps having had further to climb. Castres will fight at home, as they always do, but their longest flaw has always been their away form. I certainly see Leinster qualifying as a top seed, with Harlequins perhaps being the second qualifier.

Pool 3
Ulster
Toulon
Leicester
Scarlets

Our third and final "Pool of Death." Fallen champions Leicester, double trophy winners Toulon and Irish giants with a new home, with the Scarlets thrown in for good measure. The Tigers will be sore after being kept out of the Twickenham fun last year, and they always bite back harder. Toulon will be without their talisman of Jonny Wilkinson on the field, but they wont let their legacy fall this year. They will definitely qualify as a top team, barring some mass outbreak of plague in Toulon in mid October. That just leaves Ulster and Leicester to fight it out for a second place qualifier. New stadium vs old fashioned Tigers determination. I see Cockerill's men to push on the knockout stages, but only by a slim margin.

Pool 4 
Bath
Glasgow
Montpellier
Toulouse

Though not a "Pool of Death," certainly a tough one to call. Glasgow are the beaten Pro 12 finalists, and baying for blood again to prove to the new Scotland coach that they are worth it. Bath lost their way at the back end of the last season, but I can't imagine Mike Ford's men will allow the same thing to happen again. Toulouse will be looking for an opportunity to become a new force majeure in Europe, and their recruitment of experienced men, like Toby Flood, will certainly help them on their way. As for Montpellier, what their preseason loss to London Irish might lead us to believe is there is a team that may struggle this year, but never rule out a French side looking for pride. I tip Glasgow to press out of the pool stages, with Toulouse or Bath coming second behind them, narrowly cutting in to top 8 qualification.

Pool 5
Ospreys
Northampton
Racing Metro
Treviso

Finally, we come to perhaps the easiest of the pools to predict. A first glance would say the Premiership champions will rise happily into the top 8, and probably with the largest points difference what would see them as one of the top seeds with a home quarter final. Still, it would be remiss to not remember that the Ospreys and Racing Metro have a host of Welsh and Lions stars between them, more than willing to take the scalp of a Premiership giant. But last year, Northampton showed that Lions pedigree is no deterrent for them. Even with Alex Corbisiero and Dylan Hartley out injured, Alex Waller and Mikey Haywood led the pack to dominate the Ospreys scrum. Treviso are by far and away the underdogs here, but let's not forget that the Italians have packed a few surprises in their suitcases in the last five years. The Ospreys and Racing will inevitably get close to contest for second place, and I imagine, like Bath and Toulouse, they will narrowly miss out.

So in summary, if we are to take the winners and runners up of the pool stages, our knockout weekends will be contested by:
Cardiff Blues, London Irish, Exeter Chiefs, Stade Français, Newcastle, Edinburgh, London Welsh and Gloucester in the Challenge Cup.
Saracens, Leinster, Harlequins, Toulon, Leicester, Glasgow, Bath/Toulouse and Northampton for the Champions Cup.
I cannot wait for the season to get underway, and as is the case when it comes to the European contest, to quote Game of Thrones, "Winter is coming." Game on.

Why we should all love rugby

I make no apologies for how much I love rugby. That's the whole point of this blog. But the last few weeks, in the middle of the off season, have reminded me how much I love and respect the game, and those who play it.
I start with a realisation I made during the Women's World Cup. We live in times when rugby is one of the fastest growing sports worldwide, and the evidence follows. Every year, since last summer, there is a major rugby event. Starting from 2013, there is a Lions tour, then the Commonwealth 7's and Women's World Cup in 2014. 2015 gives us the World Cup, something we all should be looking forward to, and finally in 2016, we see rugby return to the Olympic Games. Thus the four year wheel of rugby is set in motion. Who could ask for more?
Well now that you mention it, yes, we could ask for more, but let's not be greedy! These men and women give us so much entertainment throughout the year and then you meet them. And they are just brilliant. I've written before about my meeting with Chris Robshaw, and getting his autograph after a knockout defeat whilst I'm wearing the winning teams shirt. That is just class from anyone you meet. The pessimists amongst you would say "well that's the England captain. Of course he's going to be polite, and not tell you to sod off." I'd accept that, and counter with the same circumstances, thought later in the evening, and asking Joe Marler and Connor O'Shea for their autographs, and getting a very friendly (though surprisingly gruff voice from Marler) reply of "Yes of course mate." Wonderful. Truly wonderful. All through the season, I got little glimpses of how players interact with their supporters and their community.
All through the season, the Saints were working hard, supporting a young man, Luis, who was battling cancer. Tom Wood spoke how Luis inspired the team through the later stages of the season, including the two Amlin and Premiership finals. In turn, Alex Corbisiero talked about how Luis helped him recover from his injuries by inspiring him to carry on. One of the events they held back in April was a cinema takeover. The idea being the players would, whilst being supervised, take on the jobs of the cinema staff, then all go and see The Amazing Spider-Man 2. I turned up and spent the next two hours before the film wandering about and watching the players. The first obscure sight was watching Alex Corbisiero and George North sat behind the ticketing desk. Corbs was being instructed on the computers, but North was left to his own devices, not aloud to touch anything. So he pulled out, and to this day, I don't know where from, a duster and started dusting away merrily. Ethan Waller and George Pisi wondered about, offering free samples of chocolate coolers from the Starbucks upstairs, and Cam Dolan, in his first outing out with the Saints, was acting the tradition baseball snack vendor at the ice cream stand. He acted the part well, giving out free samples. Much to the distress of the two regular staff members, since it wasn't so much the traditional small plastic spoonful and more the whole scoop. Delicious by the way! Shortly afterwards, and rather contradictory, I decided I needed dinner, and ambled over to Callum Clark and Alex Day for a hot dog. I think the best way to describe what happened was mild comedic bullying into getting the large meal instead of the regular size, not that I was particularly bothered. I happily munched away when a quiet "excuse me, is anyone sitting there?" wafted over from in front of me.
I looked up, and was surprised to see Khan Fotuali'i with his own hot dog in hand. I of course invited him to sit down and we proceeded to chat about the season, Samoan duty, his move and family, the return to the Ospreys and where was good for a walk when he had some time off. It remains one of my highlights of the season, to see such a genuine human side to someone who is heralded as one of the best players in the world. When it came to time to watch the film, I had the joy of watching whilst sitting with Samu Manoa, and again, we chatted about family life (his wife was pregnant at the time), his time at Saints, the USA qualification for the World Cup and the Pacific nations cup. Again, just lovely to chat to someone who dominates on the field and find his personality to be so cool and relaxed.
Two weeks ago, I went to the Premiership 7's at Franklins Gardens and promptly sat myself down next to where I was told the players would be sitting, and shortly found myself surrounded by Wasps, Harlequins and Saracens supporters. It took about three minutes before the final was brought up and cheerfully bantered about. That's something we have to embrace about our sport. We can happily drink, chat and mock the opposition supporters. We can clap and cheer when they score a brilliantly worked try, and groan with them as a massive tackle comes in, flooring the key man. What's not to love? And whilst all this was going on, the players and coaching staff of the Saints were sitting pretty close by, and it was unusual to see them not in playing kit, or what Ben Foden and Christian Day have dubbed "match day tweed."  But this brings back the humanity of these men, and for people who are such large parts of our lives, it's wonderful to see them family men with girlfriends and in Foden's case, dad duty. Whilst I'm at it, thanks to Ben, Luther Burrell, and James Wilson for taking the time to autograph my ball. As I was headed home after an evening of fantastic rugby, which incidentally got me out of a family BBQ, I looked up and spotted a now bearded Cam Dolan, who recognised me and we chatted like mates about the new season.
Most recently, I went to Loughborough to take part in the O2 Ultimate Fan finals with the England squad. Ten players, five competitors, and Alex Payne, plus a film crew and some representatives from the organisers. This was a completely different day out, since it was a selection of players from around the country, Ben Morgan, Freddie Burns, Foden, George Ford, Dave Attwood, Billy Vunipola, Jack Nowell, Matt Kvesic, Dave Wilson and Christian Wade. I can now happily say that I've received passes from Wade and Vunipola and made a smoothie with Ford that beat one made with Burn's help. He used to work in a smoothie shop, don't you know? The whole day was incredible and I cannot thank the players enough for their time and effort to making the day. They let us into their world and we listened intently to their horror stories of initiations, pre season training, their trips with the team and general background of each player. We heard about the general feeling in the clubs, particularly for Gloucester with all the new players and coaching staff.
It's nice to think that we are part of a sport where the players are perfectly happy to pose for a selfie (god, I hate that word, but there's no alternate when you're photographing yourself and the player), sign an autograph, and actually will remember you if you take the time and decide to say hello. From what I've seen, they really appreciate it. They get generous too. I have a friend, Megan, who has been raising money for the Young Minds Anxiety charity by auctioning memorabilia from players, generously donated for her. (If anyone is interested in donating, please feel free to tweet me for details.) The fans are true fans of not just their team, but the game. I once chatted tactics for Owen Williams vs Toby Flood in Leicester's starting line up with a true blue Tigers supporter, and we actually agreed. You go to the Premiership Final, and there are fans from everywhere. You could point at twelve different people and find they support eight of the premiership clubs. Generally, they gang up one way or the other, and it's fun to watch which way the supporters lean.
And before anyone says I'm biased towards Northampton and England, yes I am. However, I am completely aware that other clubs do do charity and community work that is phenomenal, but this post is based on personal experience, and I'm yet to experience those clubs myself. But I seriously look forward to it.
Coming soon. Preseason friendlies.