Flannery is doubtful for 6 Nations campaign.

Munster’s Jerry Flannery is doubtful to be fit in time for the 6 Nations in February.

Flannery is set to undergo exploratory surgery later this week on his achilles. He was unable to participate in Munster’s victory over Perpignan last weekend.

Ireland coach Declan Kidney’s selection issues will become far harder than ever before harder after his other experienced hooker, Rory Best, has been ruled out for the season after sustaining a chronic disc injury from the summer tour to America.

Jerry Flannery is such a dynamic hooker ad will be an incredible loss to the irish team if it is announced that he cannot play.

Connacht's Sean Cronin looks to be in pole position now after making his debut off the bench against Fiji during the autumn internationals. Cronin is a player that I personally dont know too much about, His debut against Fiji failed to make a lasting impression on me.

To be fair to him, he replaced Flannery in the 73rd minute, it would take quite a player to make a lasting impact on his debut in 7 minutes. But this will be his chance to prove himself on the international stage if Flannery is ruled out, he has had a huge impact for Connacht this season and it will be intresting to see new faces within the Irish team.

The uncapped Fogarty brothers John, 32, and Denis, 26, appear to be next in line behind Cronin.

John Fogarty has been keeping Bernard Jackman out of the Leinster team for most of this season with his excellent form, while Denis Fogarty has been getting regular action for Munster because of Flannery's international commitments and injuries.

Jerry Flannery was unable to participate in the Lions series, after sustaining a series elbow injury in training. I hope that these injuries do not affect Flannery's career too much, as it would be such a shame to see such an influential player retire due to injury.

Ireland open the defence of their Six Nations title against Italy at Croke Park on 6 February before facing France in Paris a week later.

The best tries of 2009 - who's your winner?

TheIRB, has come together with the International Rugby Players Association (IRPA), and has announced the contenders for the IRPA Try of the Year 2009.

This exclusive list comprises of 15 tries split between the June internationals, the autumn series, the British & Irish Lions tour of South Africa, the Tri Nations, and from the Six Nations.

Shane Williams is the only player on the list to have two tries featured, for Wales and for the British & Irish Lions.

Last year, Brian O’Driscoll won the Inaugral IRPA Try of the Year Award with inspiring try against Australia.

But for the first time in the history of this award, it’s the public who will vote for the winner.

Here is how you can vote to decide your winner. Just send an E-mail to votetry@irb.com with the number (1-15) of the try you think should win.

You can vote until December 31 and the winner will be announced in early January 2010.

The Contenders are:

1. Berrick Barnes Vs New Zealand, July

2. Lee Byrne Vs France, February

3. Gonzalo Camacho Vs England, June

4.Jaque Fourie Vs British and Irish Lions, June

5.Imanol Harinordoquy Vs Ireland, February

6.Jamie Heaslip Vs France, February

7. Cedric Heymans Vs New Zealand, June

8.Rob Kearney Vs South Africa, June

9. Ma'a Nonu Vs Australia, August

10. Isaac Ross Vs South Africa, August

11. Shane Williams Vs South Africa, July

12. Alexander Yanyushkin Vs Uruguay, June

13. Vincent Clerc Vs South Africa, November

14. Shane Williams Vs Argentina, November

15. Mils Muliaina Vs France, November

Understandably you won't remember each and every try from memory so here is two videos showing the contenders.

The first video comprises of tries 1-10, and the second shows the 11-15 contenders.

Personally, my favourite try has to be Lee Byrne's, I keep watching the clip over and over again, and he just seems to come out of nowhere. He runs a fantastic line and just cuts the defence in half to allow for a brilliant try.

What's your favourite?

Baa-Baa’s conquer the All- Blacks, but what’s the history?

What a fantastic fast paced game of rugby we saw at the weekend, the Barbarians came out victorious over the All-Blacks with a hat-trick of tries from Bryan Habana.


I absolutely love watching the Barbarians play rugby, and it’s a fixture I look forward to every season.

There is a certain way about how they play, that brings great family fun and entertainment to rugby and it's a chance for world class players from across the globe to play with each other in game that can be viewed as just a bit of fun, while still having a huge competitive nature.

What I found interesting at the weekend specifically, was after Habana crossed over for his third try, Matt Giteau and Joe Rokocoko ran up to Habana giving him high fives, hugging and celebrating, when just 2 months ago, they were tearing each other to shreds in the Tri-nations.



Players like Tendai Mtawarira(The Beast),Victor Matfield, Jamie Roberts and Andy Powell who were in the centre of the bruising Lions series were playing alongside each other.

In the midst of this fixture I decided to look back at the history of the Barbarians and see how an invitational team of players formed to take on international teams and provide such entertainment in a unique fixture.

In Brief, the Barbarians are a rugby club, whose members play through invitation only. They have no home ground and play with an attacking platform with no pressure on winning.

The Barbarians team was brought to life by William Percy Carpmael, who was inspired by his playing experiences at Blackheath and Cambridge University, as well as the culture he experienced during rugby tours.



Carpmael was fascinated by the idea of regular fixtures involving players of the most elite level.

In Leuchters Restaurant, Bradford, the Barbarians idea was thought over dinner in 1890. The idea took off, and the club's spiritual home became the Esplanade Hotel, Penarth, where the future Barbarians would always stay.

During the off season in 1890 Carpmael invited a group of players to join him on a tour to the north of England. This provided Carpmael with the opportunity to play alongside people who would normally oppose each other and become friends. This proved to be a big success and he formed the Barbarian Football Club. During their first tour, they played against Huddersfield and Bradford.

It wasn’t until January 1948 that the first international fixture was arranged with the Barbarians. The home union tour committee invited the Barbarians to play a match against Australia which would raise funds for their home journey.

45,000 people were present in the Cardiff Arms Park to see the Barbarians beat Australia 9-6.

Since then, the Home Union Tour Committee has included a match wherever possible for touring teams.



There have been numerous games that have cemented their place in the history books, since that first fixture. In 1973, the Barbarians played against the All-Blacks in Cardiff Arms Park. This match is notable for what has been voted the greatest try ever scored.



The try by Gareth Edwards was started in the New Zealand 22, a succession of 7 passes allowed Edwards to score in the right corner and send the Arms Park wild.

Another famous victory occurred in 1961, when the Barbarians played South Africa. The Springboks were unbeaten on their tour of Great Britain and Ireland. In their last match of the tour the Barbarians held on to a 6 - 0 lead.

For a player to receive an invitation from the Barbarians they have to play rugby at a high standard, while having exceptional composure both on and off the field. Since 1890, players from over 25 different countries have worn the famous black and white jersey. Once invited a player becomes a life member of the club.



One thing that I find interesting is that the Barbarians wear the socks of their respective club or nation. I recently found out that it’s an old tradition used to show the different nationalities and cultures of the 15 men playing together.

It’s a huge experience for young players such as Leigh Halfpenny and Jamie Roberts, because let’s face it, there isn’t going to many times that you can beat the All-blacks, so to be part of a team who as beaten the likes of Richie Mccaw, and Luke Mcalister is a real confidence boost when lining up against them in future.

We next see the Barbarians play in May 2010 when they take on England.

Here is a video, showing the best bits of the Barbarians in recent times. There are many recognisable faces, such as Lawrence Dallaglio, Jason Leanord, Brian O'Driscoll, Carlos Spencer, Jonah Lomu and many many more.

Who will win the 6 Nations 2010?

The autumn internationals have finished and they produced fantastic international spectacles, from Scotland beating Australia, to the Irish defeating South Africa in a foggy Croke Park.

Within the next few months we will be looking forward to more action in the Guinness Premiership, the Heineken Cup and the Amlin Challenge cup.

However just on the horizon is the prestigious 6 Nations tournament. The question is, who is going to win come the end of the 20th March next year?

Having looked at the fixture list, I have come up with a quick preview about what to expect.

In my opinion, I think that Ireland will come out victorious for the second time in a row. However the decisive test in my opinion will fall on the second weekend, Ireland travel to Paris to face the French at the Stade de France.


The French are dangerous at home, but if the Irish get under the French early on then the fickle home crowd will quickly turn against ‘le blues.’

The tournament is about being consistent, Ireland have shown this throughout 2009 and the autumn internationals. However I do not believe this will be a grand slam year.

England travel to Murrayfield in the Calcutta cup, this fixture holds a special resemblance not just because of the history between ye olde enemy, but England have not won in Edinburgh since 2004.

Andy Robinson was in charge of the England squad who lost in 2006 and it will be interesting to see what happens when he faces the team that put a black mark on his career for a few years.

Wales have the potential to do well, but will need to improve on their recent form for their trip to Dublin, as do England when they travel to Paris. There are many positives that Andy Robinson has brought to Scotland, however, we are still yet to see Scotland score tries.

The Scots will struggle if they fall back on their old game plan of relying on Phil Godman or Chris Paterson to kick their way to victory.

Italy are constantly the under dogs, but teams can never underestimate them as in the past, the Italians are known for causing an upset.

My prediction for the 6 nations table is:

Ireland
France
Scotland
Wales
England
Italy

What do you think?

Here is video highlights of last years 6 nations tournament, where Ireland won the Grand Slam after a 61 year wait.

Mc Caw awarded with IRB player of the year

All Black Richie McCaw has become the first player to receive the prestigious IRB player of the year award twice.

McCaw was presented with the title after the All Blacks’ 12-39 victory over France this weekend. He previously won it in 2006.

He shrugged off competition from Ireland’s Jamie Heaslip and Brian O'Driscoll, South Africa's Fourie du Preez and Francois Steyn, Australia's Matt Giteau and England's Tom Croft.

Do you think the award went to the right person?

You can’t argue that McCaw is one of the best players in the world, but has he been the best in 2009?

He has been sidelined for the majority of this season through injury, and was involved in three straight defeats to South Africa. Personally, after an incredible season for the men in green, I think the award should have gone to Brian O’Driscoll.

Here is a man who has won the Triple Crown, a 6 Nations Grand Slam, a Heineken cup and earnt his place on the Lions tour and managed to be captain for a game. This weekend, O’Driscoll and Ireland secured a victory over the Springboks.

In my opinion this should have been the award to top off a phenominal year for the Leinster man.

Also with the awards, World Champions South Africa won team of the year, while, Irish boss Declan Kidney received coach of the year.

Save the game bring back the ruck!

Elite rugby needs to be assessed as is it becoming in jeopardy of being considered a non spectator sport unless the current rules are not sorted out.

Some people hold the view that it’s not how you win, at the end of the day a win is a win. Some people do not view the game of rugby as a main entertainment provider.

But the current game, is well, kind of boring. In the Guinness Premiership and international level, teams are forced to senselessly kick away possession, and initiate an extreme game of ‘rugby tennis.’ After about five or six kicks, everybody in the stands switches off.

The game should encourage attack to result in tries. It should be an entertaining sport, a fast paced game that is exciting for any spectator. But somehow the balance has switched, and the defending teams have the upper hand.

The breakdown has become, let’s face it a mess. The penalty counts for ill discipline come ruck time have soared through the stadium roofs.

Teams are scared to take the ball into contact, the ball is played back to the fly-half who puts an up an under for his team-mates to chase. The opposition do the same after they recycle possession.

I’m looking forward to seeing the Barbarians run out at Twickenham against the All-Blacks this weekend.

I love the way the barbarians play, because they experiment well with possession, they have nothing to loose so they play what’s in front of them with a minimal game plan.

I don’t think they will beat New Zealand, but they certainly will give them a run for their money. I was at Twickenham this time two years ago to see the World champions, South Africa being defeated by the baa-baa’s. So it shows that sometimes the ‘barbarians’ style of rugby can be the best.

Don't fancy a game? try Domino's pizza instead

As I’m sure you are all aware, the weather recently has not been great at all. I’m struggling to think of the last day it hasn’t rained.

I have been used to all sorts of conditions on a rugby field, from the blistering sun during 7’s tournaments to being stuck out on the wing in the winter time and the only action that I seen of the match was the pelting of razor sharp hail stones on my face.

The weather conditions are what make rugby, it’s a factor on what type of style you should play and it can be a way to excuse a bad performance “the weather was against us, it didn’t allow us to play.”

However Wasps had a different Idea on Friday when they turned up to play Sale in Stockport.

The team got off the bus from and deemed the pitch unplayable over safety concerns with the conditions of the water logged pitch.

Wasps coach Tony Hanks believed that when it came to scrummaging, it would be unsafe, and he felt that it was not the conditions to play professional rugby. Well tell that to all the Sunday league clubs whom I have played for in mud so thick you had to wrestle with the ground to retrieve your foot. Because there would not be many rugby games played if the conditions in Stockport where deemed unplayable.

What is so surprising is that both Sale Sharks and the referee David Rose deemed the pitch playable and had no problems with safety concerns.

Personally I feel sorry for the fans, both Sale and Wasps. They dedicated their Friday evening to see their team play. They battled the extreme conditions and made it fine.

Can you just imagine, you walking up to the ground, and seeing the players leaving and boarding their coach. You would have to question yourself and your time keeping at first, but after you realise that not everybody is late you would have to raise your eyebrows.

However, Wasps are fully within their right to call off a game, a law within the game allows a team to refuse to take the field of play if they deem it unsafe. Do you think this law is fair enough?

Think of the financial loss that Sale incurred on Friday night. I think it would be fair to say, if this game was being showed on Sky Sports, Wasps wouldn’t have dreamed of cancelling it.

But for the time being Wasps were happy with their delivery of pizza and 4 hour coach journey back to London on Friday evening.

Have Wasps been out of order here? Or do you think it was a sensible decision by Tony Hanks to avoid adding to English rugby’s long list of injuries.

Also should i point out, that the Stockport game was cancelled on Saturday due to the conditions of Edgeley Park

Bloodgate Williams returns

Tom Williams marks a bloody comeback.





So unless you have been living under a rock and avoiding any sporting news over the summer, chances are all I’ll need to reference is "Bloodgate" and you will all know what I mean.

Well, Tom Williams, the capsule biting culprit had done the crime and served his time of four months and made his return. Harlequins were away to Northampton Saints last weekend. May i just point out Harlequins boss John Kingston's clever tactic with regards to his selection of Williams. The team announcement was delayed until late in the week. Also, Northampton's kick off clashed with the England All blacks game, so all media attention was diverted from Franklin's Gardens to the home of english rugby.

But the Harlequins wingers return involved a chilling reminder of the recent past. Just after Half-time Williams had a clash with Saints’ winger Chris Ashton, which lead to the Harlequins physio running onto the field needing to deal with a blood injury, you just couldn’t have written it. Blood was coming from Williams(this time real), the physio managed to plug some cotton wool into Williams’ nose to stop the bleeding, it didn’t really work and after 20 mins, a replacement was made. However I don’t think that this replacement was as tactical as that of the events at The Stoop in April.

Harlequins have been haunted with reminders of Bloodgate since that fateful day, the referee against London Wasps during the London double header ironically was Dean Richards whose namesake is the coach who planned the blood capsule, and now in a cruel twist of fate, on Williams’ return he needs treatment for a blood injury. I was at the London Double header at Twickenham and there were many fans dressed up as vampires, which added comic effect to the day.

Who would have thought it? What do you think, is this karma coming back at Williams?

Should Bloodgate be forgotten of now? Should we all move on and just occasionally give their supporters a bit of jip when they begin to irritate us. I think this Scandal will forever be cemented in Rugby’s history but for now I think it should be left alone and let’s just let the rugby do the talking.

Familiar image? Tom Williams at the beginning of the Bloodgate scandal

Scotland secure a heroic victory over Australia

Two wins from two for Andy Robinson and Scotland.

Matt Giteau missed a last minute conversion to reward a heroic Scottish performance, to beat the Wallabies for the first time in 27 years.

I have not seen Scotland play that well in a long time! In the last ten minutes their attacking play and defence was solid and inspirational.

My emotions were taken on a roller coaster ride. After Chris Paterson’s drop goal I was certain that was the victory sealed, but how wrong I was and a quick break from Australia’s James O’Conner seen them threatening the Scottish line. I thought that Scotland would hold off. But Ryan Cross managed to cross over the line to bring the Aussies within a point!

It was now down to Matt Giteau, who had left his kicking boots in Australia, to kick for the win. All he needed to do was kick from the left of the posts out on the 22 and a win would have been in order. It was a sure bet, I would have put my student loan on him securing it, but thank god I didn’t, and thank god he missed.

There were a number of notable performances that stood out within this near perfect performance. Alex Grove is fantastic in defence he seems so comfortable on the international stage, although he has only earned his second cap, he looks as comfortable as the most experienced men on the field.

Rory Lawson had a notable performance coming on for an injured Chris Cusiter. His tactical kicking was effective and played well, with good distribution to Phil Godman. It really has enhanced my view at how competitive the Scrum half position is within the Scotland team. Mike Blair failed a fitness test and had to miss the game which allowed Lawson to bench even though he is considered third choice.

It was seriously the best defensive performance I have seen from any international team, never mind just Scotland. Scotland made 129 tackles and missed just 5, which just shows the effort and defensive technique that went into the performance, Scotland have always impressed defensively, even under Frank Hadden Scotland would always tackle well.

The only worrying thing, and I’m not taking this win away from the Scots, but they were rarely given an opportunity to attack the Aussie's line. Alex Grove, although fantastic in defence, has not yet shown his creativity in attack, something I’m eagerly awaiting. Graeme Morrison had a few spills under pressure, but was replaced by Nick De Luca at half time who made a couple of good runs. The Scottish scrum held up well against an Australian pack who are fast becoming famous as one of the best Scrummaging sides in the world.

Once again it was a fantastic win for Scotland, even if Giteau had converted the try, I would have still been pleased with the Scottish performance. Andy Robinson is doing something right. However I’m not getting too ahead of myself, Scotland still need to face a tough Argentine side and the whole 6 Nations campaign is yet to follow. I think then we can have a fair assessment of how well Robinson is doing.

Another crazy kit introduced to the world of rugby

If I was to pose the question to you, who has the most extreme playing jersey within rugby? Your answer would probably be Stade Francais, and rightly so.

They have been famous over the last few years with their extreme kit designs, including the Andy Warhol inspired florescent multi colouring of Blanche de Castille, the wife of Louis VIII on their shirt. Not forgetting the flowers printed on the front of their shirt and also their electric pink jersey.

Some of these have been pretty extreme, however put your sunglasses on….. squint your eyes…… now get ready for one the most extreme kit I, rugby and Scotland has ever seen!

This kit, which looks like some one has given a child a paint set and said, do what you want, is noticeable to say the least.

It has been designed to celebrate the 1872 cup derby matches as Edinburgh take on Glasgow on both the 27th December and 2nd January, it will certainly prove to add a bit of colour to the festive season. The kit has been designed by Rhino and will become a valuable collector’s edition in the future. However priced at a steep £60 it will take a lot of saving if I’ll want one.

But this is the question is this kit nice? Would you buy and wear it? I’d recommend this kit to anyone who feels that they walk down the street and fail to be noticed. Because well lets be honest, you could stand a mile away on a foggy day and we would still see you. What do you think? Would you buy it and wear it?

Nick De Luca shielding his eyes from the brightness

"The French disrespected our anthem" - Peter De Villiers

What a rendition of “Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika”

Ok, so you’re a South African professional Rugby player. You get selected for South Africa, you run out onto the pitch in front of thousands of fans packed within the stadium cheering for you. TV cameras fix on you and beam the pictures far and wide across the earth.

Here’s you moment, to sing your national anthem, to unite with your nation and team mates and get quite patriotic. It’s a chance for you to get fired up for the game. So you line up on the half way line and you begin to sing “Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika”(God Bless Africa).

Well that’s how it should go down anyway. But there has been heavy criticism of the rendition that Reggae singer, Ras Dumisani blasted out on Friday night infront of the French crowd.

I honestly believe that Jedward could have done a better job of this. I have heard the South African national anthem at Twickenham and (when sung properly) it is a very emotional anthem. However this version (below) is utterly appalling at its very very best. It’s sung out of tune out of time and the South African team quite rightly feels insulted and disrespected by it.

Have a listen for yourself…………





Unbelievably Dumisani was under the impression he sang ‘beautifully.’ Let’s be fair to him he did sound like an angel….being strangled.

"No one told me they were upset with the singing," the Durban native said. "In fact, someone just came up to me and told me how beautifully I had sung."

(They were probably drunk)

“Everyone at the stadium told me I sang well, even after the match. The Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika has been my tune since a baby," he said. "How can I not know the words?

(Okay fair enough he did know the words, his problem was putting them in the right places)

"There are four languages: Zulu, Sesontho, Afrikaans, English. It's just four bars, always saying the same thing," said Dumisani, now based in Paris where he currently records is music and from where he is about to embark on a tour.

"I am the biggest reggae man in South Africa and the Springboks are my team.

"Everyone has their own tastes and you can't always account for that but most people find my music so beautiful."

Sorry mate, just give up music, that was awful!

Now some of the South Africans have came up with the excuse, that the terrible anthem, resulted in them loosing 20-13 to France. Okay lads steady on I wouldn't go that far!

What are some of the best excuses you have heard in sport?

Fast, furious and physical Samoa almost got the better of an inconsistent Wales

My god what a game, so tense and exciting, those last few moments I was on the edge of the seat and I apologise to all my Welsh friends but I was rooting for the men in blue.

Samoa stated that they will be playing for the souls of the deceased from the tsunami, and they seriously did their nation proud this evening in front of an impressive 58,900 crowd. While the sun had set in Cardiff it was just rising in Samoa as a nation born and bread for rugby woke up to see the Samoan team, who only come together four days ago, give Wales a scare nine years after their last fixture.

It was expected to be a physical encounter. And to describe this game as a physical encounter is an understatement. Henry Tuilagi laid down the law within the first minute running straight into Gethin Jenkins and Alun Wyn Jones, leaving quite literally a crater in the earth.

Moments later a late challenge on Dwayne Peel by Lolo Lui left the Sale Sharks scrum half in a daze for a few moments. And it didn’t stop their Tuilagi was a man on a mission throughout the whole game, to top is previous tackle with an even bigger hit!

The Samoans played with real fire and provided a great source of entertainment for a neutral fan.

Wales however, well that is just a different story. They started very strongly, Dan Biggar introduced himself to the international rugby stage with a pin point accurate cross filed kick, which found Leigh Halfpenny who crossed over for his fifth Welsh try, this happened moments after Biggar put the home team 3-0 ahead.

However signs of Wales’ inconsistency shown last week began to creep in again. A few of their early attacks were ended due to lack of discipline and precision at the break down.

Wales did though; defend brilliantly against such a physical opponent. Let’s be fair if all 17 stone of Henry Tuilagi runs at you on your own, chances are, you will come off second best. Therefore Wales committed two men to one attacker, which ensured that the Samoans could be stopped easier without making too much ground. One player would take the legs while another would wrap around so the option of an offload was impossible, therefore slowing the Samoans game down and putting Wales in control.

The Samoan’s tactical kicking wasn’t up to scratch and it allowed Wales, specifically James Hook to counter attack easily as the defensive line was almost none existent.

And this is where the problem lays, Wales dominated the game. On the day, Wales were the better team, they had the majority of possession and the majority of territory. However they didn’t take their chances. Hook had a number of breaks as well as Warburton, but something would always bring the attacking phases to an end, either a turnover, a knock on, or poor discipline.

It’s something Wales needs to look at. All that needs to be tweaked is their precision, and possibly a slight element of luck. If that last pass is made, or if the last pass is caught, it’s a guaranteed score, but that’s just not happening at the moment.

Samoa had two players sin binned, therefore Wales were playing against 14 men for a quarter of the game. During the second sin binning (H. Tuilagi) Seilala Mapusua managed to score an interception try, and I was off my seat cheering him on.

After this interception, in a point in the game where the match should have been put to bed and where Wales should have been fairly in control, the panic buttons where frantically being pushed.

Wales were playing at 100 mph and where making the wrong decisions, they seemed to panic in attack in the last quarter. It seemed to me they didn’t know what to do with the ball as they looked up and seen blue jerseys wanting to slice them in two.

Wales discipline could have cost them the game. However, Samoa missed a penalty that would have brought them within a point. Wales had completely lost all their composure toward the end of the game.

Samoa’s golden opportunity came when Mapusua grubber kicked the ball into space which just dribbled into touch. Three or four inches to the left, and Samoa would have been victors.

Although this wasn’t a great performance by Wales, we have to remember it what a young side that was fielded, 1/3 of the team that played the All Blacks was missing. Debutants like Biggar, Warburton and Jonathon Davies can learn from this game and this ‘victory’ will develop them into better players.

Persuade Santa to bring you something Rugby down the chimney this Christmas.

Yes it’s growing ever closer, the ad’s are on TV, the shops are starting to decorate and town centres are switching on the lights. It’s almost Christmas. However it is my opinion that it’s never truly Christmas until Coca cola release their advert.

Anyway, for all you organised folk, who are currently making lists for Saint Nick and thinking of what to get friends, siblings and parents, here are a few rugby presents that might go down a treat this year.

First of all I shall start with what went straight to the top of my list to Santa.
The Lions 2009: Living with the Pride.

In this compelling documentary we follow the Lions from the pre-tour training camp all the way to the final test, with exclusive access to every player and backroom staff member, management and selection meeting and training session, giving us an insight into the life of a lion, through the highs and lows of winning and loosing. The DVD is out now to buy in a two-disc set. Not persuaded quite just yet? Well have a look at this preview!




Next on the list comes from, undoubtedly one of the best referees in world rugby at the moment, Nigel Owens with his book “Half time.” This Autobiography outlines the highs and the lows that Owens has experienced in his life, ranging from bullying and bulimia to Bloodgate and his attempted suicide before coming out as homosexual.

Next is the Autobiography of Kenny Logan titled
“Just for kicks.” I was lucky enough to get a signed copy of his book when I went to Twickenham earlier this year for the London double header.

Logan discusses his life growing up in a rural farming community. Earning his first Scotland cap at 19 and winning the 5 nations in 1999. He reveals at the age of 30 he was still unable to read or write, until his wife Gabby pushed him to confront and battle his Dyslexia. Also included is how he wowed millions on BBC’s strictly come dancing and his successes with London Wasps.

My final book to offer you is current USA head coach and ex-Ireland coach Eddie O’Sullivan. His book, “Never die wondering” reveals how a Galway Women’s Basketball coach went on to lead Ireland to three triple crowns, while almost choosing the route of becoming a Christian brother. O’Sullivan, who won 64% of his 78 games in charge, is widely known as the coach who laid the foundations for Ireland’s success before quitting early last year. It’s an enjoyable read from a man who extended the possibilities of rugby coaching.

Hope this has given you some ideas and made cristmas presents this year slightly easier. Hope santa is good to you.

England will do very well not to underestimate what the Pumas are capable of!

The Pumas although underdogs will take tha game to England, this will be no walk over!

England after tomorrow will be halfway through their autumn international campaign and thinking a fixture against Argentina will be an easy, England has another thing coming.

Currently the South Americans don’t have the same status within rugby that can match the South Africans or the All blacks, but their physical and competitive nature can match anyone.

If I’m honest Argentina deserve far higher status and respect than they get. Currently above England in the IRB world rankings, the Puma’s have won two of the last three encounters with England. Their heroic victory at Twickenham two years ago seen the end of Andy Robinson’s reign at England.

Argentina are in a similar situation to England, They are missing a number of key players like Juan-Martin Hernandez, Jaun leguizamon and the illustrious fly half Felipe Contepomi. However their biggest lost is scrum-half and captain Agustin Pichot, who lead Argentina to a unpredicted third in the 2007 world cup shrugging off France and Ireland, while giving South Africa a scare in the semi’s. Pichot was also at the front seat of Argentina’s climb up the rankings these past years.

However, one thing that is of concern to me, is that Argentina’s squad is currently scattered all over the globe eight players have joined the international team from amateur clubs back in Argentina. While the other 21 in the squad have regular appearances in the Guinness Premiership, the French top 14 and the Magners league.

Although Argentina will suffer without players like Pichot, Contepomi and Hernandez, the prospect of playing at Twickenham as underdogs is no worry for Captain Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe (Jonny wilkinson’s team mate at Toulon), who views Twickenham stadium as the pinnacle of rugby.

The puma’s as ever, will defend fiercely and attack creatively so Martin Johnson’s squad will have to treat the underdogs as if they are the favourites.

(oh yeah, and keep you eye out for England’s new purple kit, I think it still needs to grow on me)

Television match officials, good or bad?

Tell me I would like to know..........should they stay or should they go?

There has been a lot of discussion recently about the use of the TMO in rugby. Many questions have arisen, such as: is it used too often? Are referees scared to make a decision on impulse? Should the video ref be forgotten?

This comes in the light of the Wales New Zealand game, where referee Craig Joubert went upstairs, not once, not twice but three times. Of which, every decision came back ‘No Try.’

Conrad Smith who crossed the line in the 62nd minute was positive he scored, despite the referee’s decision: “I thought I grounded the ball but who knows? I got up thinking they'd called a forward pass because that's all the Welsh fellas were telling me, so I didn't celebrate then they went upstairs... I'm not a fan of the video ref,"

"I'd love refs just to make the call. That's a big part of rugby. But there's a fair argument if they're big calls in test matches and video refs can help them, maybe there's a case for that but it's out of my hands."

Games can be won and lost based on a referee’s decision. So much pressure is on a referee within a game, when faced with a decision balanced between a match winning try or match saving tackle to prevent one, I don’t blame them for using the ‘cushion’ of the video replay.

Currently, I feel sorry for referees in sport, they are always wrong in some one’s opinion. Warren Gatland has slated Joubert for missing Dan Carter’s high tackle on Martin Roberts. Alex Ferguson in football seems to loathe referees currently. Any decision a referee makes, is always criticised. So how can anyone expect a referee to confidently make a 50/50 call?

There has been some criticism that the video ref was used excessively in the Welsh game. Why have the technology, if you will moan about it being used? It’s not like any of the game is being lost, the clock stops until a decision has been made. So I say; fair play to a referee who wants an extra opinion or a slower version of events to help make a decision.

I feel that if the video ref is scrapped, it will be quickly requested to make a return. Players and managers won’t have realised what they had until it was lost.

Possibly we could go down the route of Tennis and Cricket where there is a restriction on the amount of times Hawk-Eye can be used. However, the technology used in rugby is not as advanced as Hawk-Eye. Computer systems track the flight of a ball and make a very accurate estimation of where the ball landed. In rugby, the decision goes to another human being who may be exposed to different interpretation and could make an error under pressure.

I’m not saying Hawk-Eye is flawless but it is far more accurate that human judgement. It’s fair to say though, Hawk-Eye would have no place in rugby, it wouldn’t work. So if the technology for referees was to be adapted, something pretty sophisticated would have to come up.

Until then however, I say to referee’s, use the technology available, it’s there and it should be used.

All blacks too strong for a tired Wales

New Zealand kicked off their Autumn international campaign with a 12-19 win over an inconsistent Welsh team.

Wales started the game well, holding off a strong all black attack, but didn’t create many attacking opportunities. Wales in attack never seemed too dangerous, however both teams went into the half head to head at six each. My prediction of a second half All Black surge came up trumps though.

This time last year, Wales ended the half 9-3 ahead but the all-blacks came out and dominated for the final 40 minutes.

History seemed to repeat itself. Wales started the second half very poorly, loosing a lineout within their half, Full-Back James Hook buckled under a highball and then Wales conceded a penalty to allow man of the match Dan Carter to add three points minutes into the second half. It didn’t seem to get much better from here.

To sum up Wales’ performance they defended well for the majority. I was particularly impressed with their defence during the second half, there was a large period of time where the All-Blacks were camped in the Welsh 22 and after three unsuccessful television match official decisions, New Zealand eventually went over the white line.

Notable defensive players came in the form of Gethin Jenkins, who managed to make two very important saving tackles. Veteran Flanker Martyn Williams was very good within the breakdown while New Zealand pressurised the Welsh line.

The Welsh attacking platform was very weak in comparison to the All-Black’s. It seemed any attack they initiated ended in conceding a penalty at the breakdown or an All-black turn over. Which allowed Dan Carter and his flawless tactical and territorial kicking to advance New Zealand 50+ yards.

He also had very precise chips over the Welsh defence line and debutant Zac Guildford (who had a fair debut) was always running to contest for the ball and apply pressure to Leigh Halfpenny and Hook. If I’m honest Carter was unlucky not to over take Andrew Mehrtens record points of 967. However Carter is now 1 point off the record, it’s probably fair to say the record will be his this time next week.

The Kiwi’s always looked dangerous from attack, whether from a set piece or in open play. Contrastingly to the Welsh attack, New Zealand always had a man in support looking for an off load, and this put immense pressure on the Welsh.

The Kiwi’s are famous for their defensive work as much as their attacking plays. They are very patient when it comes to defending, when they see that a ruck is lost, they fan out and line their defence. On a number of occasions the only black shirt present in their defensive ruck was that of the tackler.

However, when there is a glimpse of a chance that a turn over could be executed suddenly four or five players pile in and 9/10 times, they come away with the ball.

The reason Wales were turned over so regularly is that their players would always run into contact alone, their support was three or four seconds behind. Now that doesn’t seem a long time, but against a clinical side like New Zealand, those three seconds is more than enough for world class flanker Richie McCaw to regain possession for the Kiwi’s.

James Hook seemed to struggle at Full-back, he certainly felt the pressures from High balls. I wasn’t overly impressed with Gareth Coopers performance at 9. I noticed one aspect of his passing that really bugged me. He never seemed to pass the ball from the base of the ruck. Cooper would pick the ball up take two unnecessary steps back and then pass. This allowed the All-Black defence to come up and pressurise Stephen Jones far quicker than usual.

From this game it is still quite clear to see that southern hemisphere rugby is better than northern hemisphere rugby, although we cannot forget, New Zealand have been playing recently in the Tri-Nations and had an international test against Australia in the Bledisloe cup last weekend, this is the first International test that some of the welsh players had since the 6 Nations in March.

Wales will now hope to recuperate and look for a better performance against Samoa.

Blair and Cusiter to share Scottish captaincy

It has been announced that Mike Blair will regain his captaincy armband ahead of Scotland’s autumn tests. But interestingly, he will have to share the captaincy with fellow teammate and Scrum Half Chris Cusiter.

Cusiter, under Andy Robinson, captained the Scotland A team to success in the Nations Cup in Romania earlier this year. Andy Robinson while head coach at Edinburgh appointed Blair as the club’s captain and since becoming head coach of Scotland had made it very clear that both Blair and Cusiter would heavily contest for the role of captain.

How do you feel about the captaincy role being shared by players of the same position?

In my opinion, it’s tricky. Both players are of a world class standard and deserve the role just as much as each other. Robinson’s explanation for the decision is: “leadership is not about one person, it’s about developing a number of leaders.” And I just feel his comment doesn’t really make sense.

I feel that if a joint captaincy is to be deployed and to work effectively, both players should be on the pitch at the same time, obviously with two Scrum Halfs, this is impossible.

If you cast your mind back to the England squad of 2003, Sir Clive Woodward and Andy Robinson had a number of leaders who could easily be considered as captain on the field. Although Martin Johnson was captain, leaders like Jason Leonard, Phil Vickery, Lawrence Dallaglio, Matt Dawson, Jonny Wilkinson and Jason Robinson had a heavy presence within the starting team.

Scotland has the experienced players who could step up, Jason White and Chris Paterson could easily fill the role and each have experience in captaining the National side. It seems to me that Robinson should name just one captain, in my opinion, Mike Blair, and have influential players such as Cusiter, Paterson and White fulfilling a form of vice captain role.

Would it be right for the match day captain to constantly change? Should a team have a captain cemented long term rather than it inconsistently changing? Recently I have thought about the selection of captain. Why not let the players themselves decide? Each member of the squad votes and whoever has the most votes is assigned the role.

I am however looking forward to the competition between the pair of 9’s, it will be good for them and the contest will develop them into better players because of it. Both players are as good as each other and Robinson will probably have sleepless nights in deciding who will start. But make no doubt about it, just because one player will start doesn’t mean the other will not have a serious impact coming off the bench.

Wales team to face New Zealand

Prop Paul James earns a surprise call up to earn his second cap, six years after his debut.

James Hook will start at Full-Back, against speculation earlier in the week that Wales would be choosing him at stand-off.

Should James Hook play in his preferred position of Fly-Half? Or should he just accept his utility back status and be thankful that his selection is partly due to his versatility within a back line.

Dwayne Peel has not been included in the team. As this international fixture has fallen outside of the international window, Peel’s club, Sale where not obliged to release him to Wales.

Is this fair? Should a player’s international opportunity be jeopardised because of an international window? How will Dwayne feel as he runs out on Friday in Newport to play in the LV= Cup, knowing that he could be in Cardiff at that very same moment preparing for the All Blacks on Saturday?

What would seriously rub salt in the wound is if he didn’t get a starting position and if he isn’t included, livid would be an understatement.

But I however, am now focused on the game itself. Partly, the reason I look forward to any fixture with New Zealand is, I Love the Haka. It’s an iconic symbol that represents rugby, never mind New Zealand. I am yet to experience this ritual first hand, but I’m going to make sure one day I do. But these specific occasions have real significance to me.

This Fixture last year, Wales stood on their 10 metre line and faced the famous Haka lead by Piri Weepu. The crowd was electric as the famous war dance commenced.

The ritual ended and this, traditionally, is where teams would turn and set themselves for kick off. But the Welsh stood motionless and fronted up to New Zealand and for a good 30 seconds each man stood and starred face to face with the opposition. Referee Jonathan Kaplan was moving along the line telling the players to get on with it, but still no one moved. Eventually New Zealand turned away and the game commenced.

Wales lost that fixture but you have to respect their daring edge and defiance to be dominated, Saturday is round 2. Wales have not beaten the All Blacks in 56 years.



It seems the Millennium Stadium has a strong defiance against the All Blacks. During the 2007 world cup New Zealand faced France in the quarter finals. As the Haka was commencing, the French moved ever forward towards the All blacks and the routine finished with both sides touching noses almost. Within the Clip you can see Chabal growling at the opposition. Front up rugby at its best.

It’s memorable moments like that which make me proud to be a rugby fan. I seriously cannot wait to see what will happen as Wales line up to face the Haka again.



Wales face the All Blacks at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday, Kick off is at 5.15 on BBC 2

Wales Team:

James Hook (Ospreys); Leigh Halfpenny, Tom Shanklin, Jamie Roberts (all Cardiff Blues), Shane Williams (Ospreys); Stephen Jones (Scarlets), Gareth Cooper; Gethin Jenkins (both Blues), Matthew Rees (Scarlets), Paul James, Alun-Wyn Jones (both Ospreys), Luke Charteris (Newport Gwent Dragons), Andy Powell, Martyn Williams (both Blues), Ryan Jones (Ospreys, capt).Replacements: Huw Bennett, Duncan Jones, Bradley Davies, Dafydd Jones, Martin Roberts, Jonathan Davies, Tom James.

England unveil new Rugby Kit

Get ready to sit down in front of your TV on November the 14th. You turn on Sky Sports and you see Argentina run out at Twickenham in their traditional blue and white striped kit. As they stand in a huddle on their half of the pitch you eagerly await the arrival of England. So here they come, lead by skipper Steve Borthwick. England run out onto the field………..in PURPLE?


Yes that’s correct England today launched their second kit, which will be on display for the first time when they play Argentina next month. England have thrown away their traditional red and white kit combination and decided to go with purple.

Nike combined with the RFU to design the kit and so far it has been warmly welcomed, partly because of the traditions that the colour purple associates with the English rugby team.

In the 1970’s 80’s and 90’s the English team would traditionally enter the field wearing a purple tracksuit to line up and sing the national anthem, so this is were Nike and the RFU received their inspiration for designing this new kit.

Personally I’m not a fan. I think it’s too different. For me, Purple is not a colour I would associate England with at all, never mind the rugby team. It would be like Scotland wearing a yellow kit in Murrayfield or Ireland running out onto Croke Park or the Aviva stadium in Orange. It almost doesn’t make sense and I just don’t really understand it. I have found myself just completely confused by it.

However I was not a fan of the Ospreys jersey for this year and I’ll be honest, it’s grown on me now, I don’t mind it now. Maybe i'll have the same feelings for the new English kit.

What do you think?
Is purple the new red and white?
Will you be rushing out to get one?

French reveal Autumn International Squad to face South Africa

Silly Bastereaud should have apologised sooner!

Last night Marc Lievremont announced his 31 man squad ahead of the Autumn Internationals against South Africa, Samoa and New Zealand. The most notable member to be left out is Stade Francais’ centre, Mathieu Bastereaud.

Lievremont said he had no choice in leaving out the centre after the Parisian fictionalised an assault during a night out in Wellington over the summer after the French lost to the All blacks. It had taken until Tuesday for Bastereaud to apologise to the coach for his actions in Wellington. Do you think his apology is far too late? Is it right that he has been omitted from the squad?

I completely understand why Lievremont left him out, Bastereaud seriously damaged the reputation of French rugby, and possibly rugby as a whole. The whole situation was incredibly embarrassing, the French Prime Minister even wrote an apology to the New Zealand Prime Minister for wasting police time and effort, should someone like that deserve a place back in international rugby?

However, this is not the end for Bastereaud, Marc Lievremont did reveal that water will pass under the bridge and he will select the centre if he is consistently playing well for his club. So we may see the centre back within the six nations early next year. But I would recommend him to stay clear of alcohol if the French win a match.

On a slightly more positive note, France is welcoming back one of my favourite Fly Halfs, Frederic Michalak. Michalak hasn’t played for France since March and was handed his place after an injury to Lionel Beauxis. He is one of 10 Toulouse stars to compete for places against the world champions on November 14th.

The captaincy armband has been given to Flanker Thierry Dusautoir, he has taken the role from Racing Metro’s Lionel Nallet.

Would you give a sorry Bastereaud a chance?
How do you think the French will cope against the World Champs?

France squad as follows:

Forwards: Fabien Barcella, Thomas Domingo, Nicolas Mas, Sylvain Marconnet, William Servat, Dimitri Szarzewski, Alexandre Lapandry, Romain Millo-Chluski, Pascal Pape, Sebastien Chabal, Lionel Nallet, Luc Ducalcon, Thierry Dusautoir, Antoine Burban, Louis Picamoles, Fulgence Ouedraogo, Imanol Harinordoquy.

Backs: Julien Dupuy, Morgan Parra, Francois Trinh-Duc, David Marty, Yannick Jauzion, Maxime Mermoz, Maxime Medard, Cedric Heymans, Vincent Clerc, Benjamin Fall, Yann David, Frederic Michalak, Damien Traille.

Declan Kidney introduces nine new caps for Ireland’s Autumn Internationals

Kidney has opted to name his squad without veteran players Malcolm O’Kelly and Girvan Dempsey. However he welcomes debutants in the form of Leinster’s John Fogarty, Cian Healy, Fergus McFadden, Sean O’Brian and Jonathon sexton, Connacht’s Sean Cronin and Brett Wilkinson as well as Ulster’s Chris Henry.

Despite a fantastic season so far, Ian Humphreys (David’s brother) has not been included in Kidney’s 39 man squad. Kidney will shorten his squad to 30 at the end of this week to face Australia .

The battle for the number ten shirt is now fiercer than ever with Jonathon Sexton doing incredibly well for Leinster filling the boots of Argentine Philippe Contepomi. Sexton’s performance in last years Heineken Cup final was immaculate and if he stays on current form, he will provide serious competition for a slightly inconsistent Ronan O’Gara. Paddy Wallace could also be a choice at ten but I think he should compete for a role in the centres alongside O’Driscoll.

Eoin Redden, Thomas O’Leary and Peter Stringer will contest for the Scrum Half spot. However in most recent times, Stringer has started on the bench for club and country. He provides that experience and knowledge that could be needed late on in a game, so I feel that for the internationals he will come on as a late replacement to control things and to give Ireland a boost. Despite an excellent individual try last weekend, Isaac Boss has not been included.

To the forwards and Leinster’s captain Leo Cullen has been brought back alongside the regulars of Donncha O’Callaghan and Lions captain Paul O’Connell.

Brett Wilkinson and Cian Healey will be pressurising the places of John Hayes, Marcus Horan and Tony Buckley. Hayes, ironically banned for stamping on Healey, is available for the tests, however I estimate Healey will receive his first cap over the Autumn series.

Sean Cronin will have to fight with Jerry Flannery and Provincial club mate John Fogarty for the hooking spot as Ulsterman Rory Best has been ruled out for this season. As Girvin Dempsey has been omitted, this will give Keith Earls a chance to contest with Rob Kearney for the number 15 shirt.

Similar to England’s situation, these younger players can come into the fold and, although the may not earn starting places, they can learn so much from being around the experienced players that form the majority of the current Irish team. These Irish icons will not be around for ever so the new capped guys are in theory, the future of Irish rugby. Now is the time for them to prove themselves and start to compete for six nations and 2011 world cup places.

Ireland kick off their autumn internationals on Sunday the 15th of November against Australia, they then go on to host Fiji and South Africa.

Who would your starting line up be for the Aussies clash?

I would pick

Cian Healy
Jerry Flannery
Marcus Horan
Paul O’Connell
Leo Cullen
Denis Leamy
Neil Best
Jamie Heaslip

O’Leary
O’Gara
Bowe
P Wallace
O’Driscoll
Fitzgerald
Kearney

Declan Kidney’s 39 man squad as follows:

Ireland squad: Tommy Bowe; Neil Best; Tony Buckley; Darren Cave, Tom Court, Sean Cronin*, Leo Cullen, Gordon D'Arcy, Gavin Duffy, Keith Earls, Stephen Ferris, Luke Fitzgerald, Jerry Flannery, John Fogarty*, John Hayes, Cian Healy*, Jamie Heaslip, Chris Henry*, Marcus Horan, Shane Horgan, Robert Kearney, Denis Leamy, Fergus McFadden*, Donncha O'Callaghan, Paul O'Connell, Brian O'Driscoll, Ronan O'Gara, Tomas O'Leary, Sean O'Brien*, Eoin Reddan, Mike Ross, Donnacha Ryan, Jonathan Sexton*, Peter Stringer, Devin Toner, Andrew Trimble, David Wallace, Paddy Wallace, Brett Wilkinson*.

Martin Johnson selects his Autumn team

England brings in both new and old faces.

Yesterday, England coach Martin Johnson announced his Autumn team to face Australia, Argentina and New Zealand. Within his squad he included a trio of debutants, in the form of Bath prop David Barnes, Leicester’s Richard Blaze and Northampton’s Courtney Lawes.

As well as the new, Johnson welcomes back many old and experienced players like Lewis Moody, Steve Thompson, Andy Goode, Ben Kay and the illustrious Fly Half Jonny Wilkinson.

England has been crippled with injuries in the past few weeks and it seems mad to say, but there can be positives from this. With the first choice front row sidelined, this can develop a new front row. Dylan Hartley has been playing fantastically well for Northampton this season and has world cup winner Steve Thompson to learn from. Duncan Bell and Tim Payne have been called up and can receive valuable experience filling the shoes of Phil Vikery and Andrew Sheridan.

Contrary to Johnson’s statement about players leaving to play in France damaging their chances of international selection, Steve Thompson, James Haskell, Andy Goode and Jonny Wilkinson have all been included. These will prove to add valuable experience to the team, not to mention a confidence boost for everyone at the site of Jonny with the number ten on his back.

However, do you think it is right for exiled players to return to international duty and be included in the squad? Is it unfair on those who have stayed in the English Premiership for the whole of their career and not received the nod? With England’s injury list the length of a rugby field, I don’t think Martin Johnson really had a choice.

I’m very surprised at the inclusion of Steve Thompson, not in a bad way because it will produce a remarkable comeback. Thompson was awarded 48 caps for England before he was forced to retire in 2007 after a serious neck injury. He returned to rugby playing for Brive and since has received new medical advice allowing him to play.

Steve Borthwick has regained captaincy and rightly so, he is currently enjoying every success at Saracens, six out of six wins for the London club in the Guinness Premiership. But the story and career for him could have been different if the eye injury sustained against Gloucester last month turned out more serious than initially thought.

The English squad has a fair mix of old and young talent, it will be interesting to see how the younger players can learn not only from the players around them, but the players opposite them. Most of the English team will have a point to prove. Due to the size of the injury list, these players are normally viewed as second or third choice. So the competition for places in the 6 Nations and 2011 world cup start in 2 weeks.


England squad
Backs: Matt Banahan, Danny Care, Mark Cueto, Ben Foden, Shane Geraghty, Andy Goode, Dan Hipkiss, Paul Hodgson, Ugo Monye, David Strettle, Mathew Tait, Mike Tindall, Richard Wigglesworth, Jonny Wilkinson.

Forwards: Steffon Armitage, David Barnes*, Duncan Bell, Richard Blaze*, Steve Borthwick, George Chuter, Jordan Crane, Tom Croft, Louis Deacon, Dylan Hartley, James Haskell, Ben Kay, Courtney Lawes*, Lewis Moody, Tim Payne, Steve Thompson, David Wilson, Joe Worsley.

England start their series against Australia on the 7th November at Twickenham

Who would you have starting against the Aussies?

I would go for:

1. D. Wilson
2. G. Chuter
3. T. Payne
4. S. Borthwick
5. T Croft
6. L. Moody
7. S. Armitage
8. J. Haskell

9. P. Hodgson
10. J. Wilkinson
11. M. Banahan
12. S. Geraghty
13. M. Tindall
14. U. Monye
15. B. Foden