Lions Raw - Tonight Sky Sports 2 - 10pm

         

Just watch. If these two trailers are anything to go by, wow.

Canterbury Cuffs

Those who remember from a while back I got quite excited about the prospect of Canterbury taking over the design and production of the new England rugby kit. They did a decent job, but their latest attempt has frankly left me baffled. 

There isn't much you can do with the color, I understand that. However, effectively keeping it the same and adding a black cuff to a short sleeve shirt makes my head hurt. Someone has reliably informed me that it is indeed dark blue but it looks black and with colours I believe its all about what it looks like rather than what marketing types tell me. 'My polo shirt is burnt terracotta'. No its not, its orange so shut the hell up and go buy yourself another skinny chai latte....

The training kit looks swish but you expect that from Canterbury. I'm hoping the disappointment of the new kit is just a ploy and a lead up to all the players ripping off their sleeves in a 'beserker' type rage before kick-off and going sleeveless 'Chuck Norris' on the un-prepared opposition.

Canterbury - Must.Do. Better.

Aviva Premiership 13/14 Top 4: All Change or Stay as You Were?

I though it might be good idea to see who the movers and shakers are after round 5 of the Aviva Premiership. It has been a fantastic few weeks, throwing up some great running rugby and some shock results to boot. 

Sitting pretty at the top of the pile are Saracens. A team this year, who seem determined to rip off those shackles and play the running rugby we so desperately asked of them.  With a backline boasting some of the most lethal finishers in the country it was about time they lived up to their billing. Throw into the mix a much beefier pack with additions Billy Vunipola and James Johnston and you start to see a side who have a well rounded edge and little in the way of weaknesses. The first 3 games optimised this and bonus point wins over London Irish, Gloucester and Bath showed a mixture of ‘forwards’ grunt and ‘backs’ prowess. Combine this with two gritty wins over Harlequins and Wasps and you see that Saracens haven’t lost their ‘wolfpack’ mentality.

They have also been lucky with injuries and with Will Fraser and Neil De Kock back to full fitness they have an abundance of talent to choose from.  Saracens are so good, that they can even bring players back from the brink of extinction......Jacques Burger. A one man wrecking ball, who is back and better than ever. Even a stamp to the face leading to 9 stitches on his eye lid can’t stop him having two man of the match performances.  We still haven’t seen the likes of Tim Streather, Championship Player of the season last year and with great strength in depth in all positions you can see Saracens pushing for honours across Europe this year. 

Northampton sit comfortably in second place and personally I feel they pose a real threat to take the top prize this year. After agonisingly missing out for a few seasons, could this be their year? From what I’ve seen, they look physical from 1 to 15. They too have made some excellent acquisitions in Kahn Fotuali’i and Lions superstars Alex Corbisiero and Geroge North and was it not for some horrific refereeing decisions against Gloucester they would be even hotter on the heels of Saracens. 

After the loss of Mujati and Tongahuia it was debated whether or not they would cope this season. Alex Corbisiero has done a great job since arriving and Tom Mercey for me, would be ‘work in progress.’ It’s the power from the second row and back row where Northampton look so strong. Samu Manoa and Courtney Lawes provide a shuddering amount of grunt and with a back row of Dowson, Wood and Van Velze, they are never short of any ‘go forward.’ The backs also look incredibly strong. The Pisi brothers have made a name for themselves in the midfield and add to that George North and Luther Burrell and you have a set of battering rams ready to get you over the gain line. 

Northampton definitely missed a trick on Saturday when they let Leicester back into the game at Welford Road. That would have been a real statement of intent and possibly highlights their one area of weakness.....their mentality.  I think back to the Premiership semi-final against Saracens at Franklins Gardens when Myler bottled the attempt at a drop goal. It is these moments that define winners and losers and I had a sense they still lack that killer instinct. If they can adopt that, then they really are in contention for some silverware this season.

Leicester complete the top three and with their coach having to sit and watch from a porter cabin, you would say they have done well. To me they are not the force of old but their never say die attitude and knowledge of how win still sees them competing in the top 4. The team looks like it is going through a rebuilding process. The loss of players such as Geordan Murphy and George Chuter means that the number of on field generals is reduced and players such as Toby Flood, Louis Deacon and Dan Cole now need to really step up and be counted. Their forwads still seem a very stable force and this was demonstrated on Saturday with the dismantling of Northampton’s scrum. Salvi is still one of the best number  7’s in the country and Jordan Crane is getting back to his best with his lung bursting runs and solid defence.

It is in the backs where I feel there is cause for concern.  Injury to Tuilagi has meant that Goneva has been moved from wing to centre. He did well against Exeter but was really found out against a much stronger backline in Northampton.  His Fijian style tackling technique means he often flies up for the big hit. More often than not against Northampton he missed, leaving the midfield exposed. When Scully was forced off they brought Dan Bowden onto the field as a make shift winger. To me it highlighted a lack of strength in depth outside of the fly half and could be Leicester’s undoing this season.

Bath are the final team currently sitting in the play off positions. Is it shock? Probably not, considering the squad they have assembled for this season.  The biggest plus for Bath, the two fingers they have given to all their doubters over the form of George Ford.  Touted as one of the worst moves to make (from Leicester to Bath) he has played with aplomb so farm, orchestrating 3 wins out of 5. To start with, they have an excellent coaching set up in Gary Gold, Mike Ford and Toby Booth. Add to this a whopping pack with new additions Alafoti Fa'osiliva, Leroy Houston and Matt Garvey and a backline with international class and you see that Bath could be starting to fulfil their potential.

Their backs look electric and could pose the meanest of defences a problem. New acquisitions Jonathon Joseph and Anthony Watson join a back division which boasts Matt Banahan, Tom Biggs and the ever impressive Semesa Rokoduguni. Add to this two international fly halves in George Ford and Tom Heathcote and you have the makings of a very potent back line. There is even everyone’s favourite Gavin Henson. I still stand by what I said when he joined Saracens. If he can get back to the form he had when he burst on to the scene then Bath have made a very astute signing. If he doesn’t find that form then Bath will look equally as stupid as Saracens, Toulon and Cardiff Blues and Henson’s career will head further down the pan!

The one area of definite weakness is their squad strength! I know Francois Louw is still to return and this is fantastic news, but against Saracens they really lacked a cutting edge. The first few weeks they had been unstoppable, defeating Leicester at the Rec was a definite highlight. Against a rampaging Saracens at Allianz Park they decided to rest/bench their top players and it proved to be their undoing in a 31-17 drubbing. They shipped 31 points in the first half and was it not for these rested players coming on in the second half, it could have been even worse. 

Will the top 4 stay this way? We will have to see. I can’t see Saracens or Northampton being dislodged but 3^rd and 4^th are definitely up for grabs. I will assess the merits of the teams further down the table in my next article and asses whether or not we have the potential for a shift of power in the Aviva Premiership. 

Sky Sports BTen by New Sports Coverage

Firstly I would like to apologise for the lack of material over the past few months. I would love to state that I have a pregnant wife of that I have had a promotion although I would be lying. The lure of many weeks away on holiday got the better of me. Teachers really don’t get enough holidays, so when they do it is best to take full advantage.

Anyway.....back to the grind.

After moving in to a new house, the all important question was who is going to provide my internet and TV service. Cue BT’s £152 million rugby deal which firmly tied my hands behind my back. A few phone calls later and the s

uccessful installation of my Home Hub and You View box and I was ready to go.

The concern of many people was the coverage and the cost. Sky and Virgin seemed to play a very childish game initially, refusing to stream the channel on their platform. Luckily for their customers, Sky backed down and were reluctantly followed by Virgin. BT can be added for £12 a month and for many this addition came at the expense of ESPN which was being charged at £10 a month. The big question: Would it be worth it?

The other big question on many people’s minds was who were BT going to employ to present the rugby. Sky Sports had created a strong band of ex professional pundits whose popularity had started to wane with the emergence of ESPN’s coverage. The boisterous chemistry between, Mark Durden Smith, Austin Healey and Ben Kay often had me in stitches and provided a welcome relief from the often stagnant thoughts of Dewi Morris and Stuart Barnes. The one shining light for Sky was Will Greenwood who really provided an excellent insight into the game and offered a passion which could get the mellowest of people really enthused.

BT were clever in their approach, gradually unveiling their new look team.  Jake Humphreys who had been extremely popular on his F1 show was swiftly followed by every woman’s favourite Irish presenter, Craig Doyle. He had been excellent on his ITV4 rugby highlights show and even managed to drag his compatriot Martin Bayfield along as well. Throw into the mix Lawrence Dallaglio, Matt Dawson, Ben Kay and Austin Healey, and you have yourself four men who were all part of a World Cup Winning Team.  Alongside this knowledgeable group, BT have also managed to snare some very popular guests including Shaun Edwards, who used their studio pitch to demonstrate blitz and drift defences.

It was a shame that Will Greenwood didn’t make the move, or wasn’t offered to move but his work with Rugby Club and School of Hard Knocks alongside Craig Quinnell was clearly a priority. ESPN’s dominance in viewing figures clearly paved the way for contracts for Ben Kay and Austin Healey. I will say it now! I like Austin Healey. I apologise if I have offended any people reading this and would urge you to read to the end. I enjoy his relationship with his co-presenters and the element of fun he provides on match days. He is also very insightful when it comes to talking about backs (something I really have no idea about). Having played nearly every position in the back line, as well as representing his country and the British Lions, we really cannot afford to ignore his insights.  Alongisde the’ forward’ thinking Ben Kay (see what I did there) they give the viewer a clear picture of how teams play, and what they are hoping to achieve.

The promise of 69 live Aviva Premiership matches brought mixed emotions in my house. On the one hand the thought of a Friday night, Saturday and Sunday game brought tears of joy (to me) although the other half seemed decidedly put out at the thought of spending weekends alone. If it wasn’t for my generous donation of the TV on a Sunday night for Downton Abbey then I may very well have been newly single. 

Four weeks later, 12 games down and I can safely say that BT Sport has been a very welcome addition in my household.  It was a brave call to broadcast Newcastle vs Bath first. In terrible conditions Bath claimed a 21-0 victory in a game which never really took off and didn’t fully show the capabilities of the new TV service. It was the double header the next day which offered more to the viewer. Pitch side insight and on field interviews during the warm up gave you a feel of the intensity within the squads and provided you with a feeling of being there even though you were sat at home on your sofa with a beer!

The games which have been broadcast have also been crackers.  From a biased view as a Saracens fan it has been excellent watching the first 4 games on TV, and I find myself quite put out that they have been shunned this week.  The game of the season so far for me was Gloucester vs Northampton. It had everything. Excellent rugby from superstars of the game.  Tightly contested scrums, contender for try of the season and some horrific refereeing decisions, this game had it all. All this in only the third week of the season. It also saw everyone’s comedy villain presenter Austin Healey losing the plot on the side lines about the abysmal refereeing decisions of Martin Fox.    

I’m looking forward to another three games this weekend, although as Saracens aren’t playing I have promised the northern other half I will sacrifice a game to head to the pub and watch her beloved Wigan in the Grand Final in rugby league.  It’s a thumbs up from me for the new BT coverage and I would be intrigued to see what others think about the coverage too.  A full season should serve the test of time, but it’s looking very promising so far.

South Africa vs Argentina - yup about exciting as it sounds

Where exactly are all the fans? That's right, they must have realised this game was about as fun as stepping on an upward facing plug. 

Todd Stupid to Clever in one movement

Skip to the slowed-down version at 2:21 on the slider. You can see Todd Clever's realisation that he is about to do something amazingly illegal then recover to 'safely' land the muppet who decided to start on one of the hardest US players outside of Samu Manoa.

I know I haven't updated in a loooooong time. Please forgive me, between newly pregnant missus and promotions at work, blogging has recently played third fiddle. However, thankyou for those 30 or so readers who keep logging on and checking daily. I look forward to repaying your loyalty over the coming weeks!

Ross

Premiership Final Day - Toby Flood can hardly contain himself